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Access to Justice and Legal Empowerment of Victims of Domestic Violence through Legal Organizations in the City of Buenos Aires A Qualitative Empirical Legal Study

Members of society approach the judicial system when facing problems. Connections between the judicial system and the members of society should flow smoothly under ideal conditions, yet that is not always the case. This lack of flow generates unequal access to the courts and to the use of rights, especially for vulnerable groups. Reforms are currently being implemented in a number of jurisdictions to support the efforts of vulnerable groups to access the judicial system; for example, by means of adopting tailor-made laws and establishing organizations that implement initiatives to specifically attend to the needs of those groups.
 
This study focuses on understanding how access to justice legally empowers women victims of domestic violence. Legal provisions, in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, represent the rules analyzed in this study; while the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the City represents the Legal Organization subject to analysis. Moreover, women victims of domestic violence represent the vulnerable group. The perceptions and behaviors of women victims of domestic violence who access the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the City with criminal complaints on threats, harassment, or breach of family assistance duties in the context of domestic violence are subject to analysis in this study. The study develops a legal empowerment framework and the analysis uses a qualitative research design that relies on a variety of sources (e.g. legal provisions, observations, interviews).
 
This resource is a doctoral dissertation presented at the University of Maastricht.
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Uploaded on: Apr 18, 2017
Last Updated: Apr 25, 2017
Year Published: 2017
Author: Julieta Marotta


Resource Tags

Resource Type: Impact Evidence Issues: Children's Rights, Community Paralegals, Gender-based violence, Generalist Legal Services, Women's Rights Tool Type: Reports / Research Method: Research Languages: English Regions: Argentina Nature of Impact: Acquisition of Remedy / Entitlement / Information, Change in institutional / government practice, Change in law or policy, Conflict resolution / Case resolution, Legal Knowledge and Skills Institutions Engaged: Public Legal Institution, Service Delivery Agencies Evaluation Method: Case Studies, Interviews, Observation, Project Document Review