Global Justice Systems Fail Women as Discriminatory Laws Persist in 70% of Countries

Women worldwide have only 64 percent of the legal rights that men possess. No country has achieved full legal equality between women and men. These are the findings of a UN Women report released March 4, which reveals discriminatory legal frameworks in nearly 70 percent of countries surveyed.

"Justice systems do not stand apart from those pressures, they actually reflect them," Sarah Hendriks, UN Women's Director of Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Division, told reporters at a briefing in New York.

The report, titled Ensuring and Strengthening Access to Justice for All Women and Girls, identifies five barriers preventing fairness for women: discriminatory legal frameworks, restrictive social norms, gaps between laws and implementation, traditional justice systems operating independently from the state, and conflict settings. Together, these leave women exposed to abuse without recourse in most of the world.

Fifty-four percent of countries lack consent-based legal definitions of rape. In 2024, 676 million women and girls lived within 50 kilometers of a deadly conflict—the highest figure since the 1990s. Conflict-related sexual violence violations increased 87 percent as a result.

Brazil Deploys Electronic Monitoring for Domestic Violence Offenders

Brazil this week launched the first measures under its Brazil Pact Against Femicide, a national initiative coordinating executive, legislative, and judicial branches to address gender-based violence. The plan includes electronic monitoring of domestic violence offenders through a system called Safe Woman Alert.

Authorities will track individuals accused of domestic violence when courts have issued protective measures for victims. The monitoring will be coordinated through a newly created Integrated Safe Woman Center, which centralizes information and allows real-time oversight.

Brazil's Ministry of Justice also announced a national task force to execute approximately 1,000 outstanding arrest warrants against individuals accused of violence against women. The Ministry of Health committed to providing 4.7 million psychological consultations in 2026 focused on women experiencing violence.

The initiative follows Brazil's landmark Maria da Penha Law, named after a woman whose case became a symbol of the country's efforts to confront domestic violence.

UK Mandates Gender Pay Gap Action Plans from 2027

The United Kingdom government this week launched voluntary gender pay gap action plans for employers with 250 or more employees, which will become mandatory in spring 2027. The plans require employers to publish steps they are taking to reduce pay disparities and support employees through menopause.

"Too many women are still not paid fairly, held back at work due to inconsistencies in support or find common sense adjustments for their health needs overlooked or dismissed," Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities, said.

A Glassdoor report released March 6 found the gender pay gap doubles over the course of women's careers. During the first ten years of their careers, the overall gender pay gap between women and men grows from 12 percent to 19 percent. The within-role gap rises from 0 percent to 4 percent during the same period.

One in ten women who worked during menopause have left a job due to their symptoms, according to UK government data. The new action plans aim to address this by encouraging workplace conversations about women's health needs.

Uzbekistan to Criminalize Femicide

Uzbekistan's government announced March 5 it will introduce legal responsibility for femicide—gender-based killing of women—as well as familicide, stalking, cyberviolence, and online grooming aimed at sexual exploitation of minors. The decree proposes tougher penalties for harassment and violence against women and children.

The move follows similar legislative efforts in Latin America, where several countries have introduced femicide as a distinct crime category with enhanced penalties. The legal recognition aims to address patterns of gender-motivated violence that courts previously classified under general homicide statutes.

Reproductive Rights Diverge Across US States

An Indiana judge this week temporarily halted the state's abortion law, ruling it violates the religious freedom of non-Christians. Judge Klineman stated Indiana's law substantially burdens abortions potentially sought as a religious exercise by preventing access unless the pregnancy falls within three exceptions: lethal fetal anomaly, rape or incest, or necessity to save the pregnant person's life.

Connecticut's legislature is considering S.B. 295, which would protect patients and providers involved in reproductive and gender-affirming telehealth care. The bill would allow providers to prescribe medications like abortion pills over video calls, shielding them from legal action by other states.

Human Rights Watch reported March 6 that state restrictions on abortion since the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling are creating preventable deaths of pregnant people nationwide. Seventy-seven countries authorize abortion on request globally, with varying gestational limits, while 12 countries permit it for broad socio-economic reasons.

Political Representation Remains Lowest in Middle East and North Africa

Women hold just 16.2 percent of parliamentary seats on average in the Middle East and North Africa, the lowest regional representation globally, according to a UN report released this week. The global average has seen sluggish gains despite decades of advocacy for women's political participation.

Nigeria's Revised National Gender Policy (2021-2026) adopted a 35 percent affirmative action target, aligning with international frameworks including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Nigeria's Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, this week advocated for stronger political representation through the Reserved Special Seats Bill.

Malaysia's Free Malaysia Today published an analysis March 8 noting that while domestic violence legislation and Islamic family law exist to protect women's rights, "for many women, the gap between legal protections and lived reality remains."

Violence Against Women in the European Union

One in three women in the European Union face violence, with most cases unreported, according to a survey published March 3 by Reuters. The European Institute for Gender Equality stated that "the scale of unreported violence shows systems must be improved and victims must be supported."

The EU has designated combating violence against women and domestic violence as a core priority. A French police officer initially charged with murder in the 2023 deadly shooting of a teenager will now stand trial for the lesser charge of voluntary assault leading to death, the Versailles appeals court said Thursday.

France's High Council for Gender Equality identified online masculinism as a security issue in its 2026 annual report. The council warned that the lack of women involved in decisions relating to the adoption and implementation of artificial intelligence presents a risk that these systems will reinforce existing inequalities.

The 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, the UN's largest annual forum on gender equality, runs March 9-19 in New York. This year's theme is "Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls."