Promoting and Protecting the Human Rights of Women and Girls A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions KEY POINTS: CHAPTER 5 • NHRIs should ensure that their complaint handling procedures are effective; that they promote access to justice; and that they provide practical redress for women and girls who have been treated unlawfully. • Complaint handling procedures are an important vehicle for promoting and protecting the human rights of women, including by fostering greater understanding of national and international human rights standards within government, business, civil society and the broader community. • NHRIs should ensure their complaint handling procedures are accessible to women and to those who support women to defend their rights. NHRIs should consider the ways in which they can encourage complaints from women generally, as well as from groups of women who are particularly vulnerable to human rights violations. Strategies may include: – Building awareness about their own work amongst vulnerable communities – Reflecting on their own knowledge, understanding and commitment to particular issues or a particular group – Extending communication strategies to NGOs and government agencies working with vulnerable women – Improving the accessibility of their NHRIs and complaint handling procedures. • Integrating a gender perspective into NHRI complaint handling procedures will be most effective when the procedure itself is robust and accessible. • Alternative dispute resolution processes can be an effective tool for resolving complaints and helping change attitudes and behaviour. However, it will not be appropriate for complaints that involve very serious violations, criminal offences or a significant power imbalance between the parties. • NHRIs will not be able to address every issue or complaint involving violations of the human rights of women and girls. They should develop the capacity to make referrals to appropriate complaint handling and support agencies. 64