As 2026 Women’s Month Begins,
PCW Calls for Protection and Justice for All Women Worldwide!
Justice is the bedrock of equality. For women and girls, access to justice is not just a legal principle; it is the fundamental mechanism that safeguards their lives, affirms their dignity, and secures their human rights.
As the international community convenes for the 70th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), the theme of Ensuring and Strengthening Access to Justice, serves as a critical call to action.
The Need for Comprehensive Accountability
We are alarmed by a global trend of legislative regression that narrows the legal definitions of violence against women and domestic violence. In several jurisdictions, new or amended criminal codes have surfaced that make accountability contingent solely upon “visible” physical injury. This shift risks rolling back decades of progress in recognizing the full spectrum of abuse.
Across various regions, emerging legal frameworks reportedly limit domestic violence accountability to cases of severe physical trauma like visible wounds or fractured bones. By focusing exclusively on what is visible, these provisions systematically ignore psychological, economic, and sexual violence. Such frameworks do not merely fail survivors; they institutionalize the invisibility of non-physical abuse and reinforce social hierarchies that further marginalize the most vulnerable.
This emerging trend represents a departure from the survivor-centered legal standards and international human rights benchmarks, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), that the global community has spent decades establishing.
A Universal Mandate for Reform
Human rights are universal and inalienable. Legal protection enjoyed by women must be provided to all women regardless of where they are. Legal frameworks must be:
- Comprehensive: covering the full spectrum of violence (physical, emotional, and systemic);
- Accessible: removing barriers that silence survivors; and
- Equitable: ensuring that justice is not a privilege of the few, but a right for all.
Solidarity and Action
As we approach International Women’s Day on March 8, the PCW stands in steadfast solidarity with women and girls whose safety and agency are being eroded by regressive legal interpretations. Violence against women must never be excused by custom, practice, or decree. Ensuring that justice is meaningful, not just performative, remains a collective global responsibility. We call on stakeholders at CSW70 to move beyond rhetoric and commit to the rigorous institutional reforms necessary to protect every woman, everywhere.