DILI, 23 november 2023 (TATOLI) – The Judicial System Monitoring Program (JSMP), launched a report entitled: “Perception and Satisfaction of Judicial Services on Gender-Based Violence”.
The project survey was carried out with the support of KOICA and the UNDP in order to improve women’s and children’s access to justice in the country.
The survey was carried out in a number of institutions, including the Court of First Instance in Dili, Baucau, Suai, and Oe-Cusse, the Mobile Court, and the prisons in Dili and Gleno.
The aim of the survey is to assess user satisfaction with judicial services in the country, including victims, defendants, convicts, witnesses, prosecutors, lawyers, public defenders, judges, and so on. A total of 123 respondents took part in the survey, including LGBTIQ+, people with disabilities, etc.
The survey report recommends that the Ministry of Justice must take crucial actions to be taken to address the problem of gender-based violence in the country: Facilitating legal education and training to improve the quality of judges and court staff through the Legal Training Center; amending law regulates the initial training of judicial magistrates, prosecutors, and public defenders, so as to include subjects related to gender-based violence and domestic violence; ensuring Legal and Judicial Training Centre include gender-based violence in their curriculum, and so on.
In addition, the report also recommends that the Ministry of Justice provide adequate facilities in all courts to support clients, speeding up the legal process of gender-based violence, improving the human resources of the courts, etc.
“The court must improve mobile court services in order to provide services to people who are far from the court, ensuring that all victims are well informed about their trials, ensuring that all victims receive a written copy of the court’s decision on their cases, etc.,” according to the report.
JSMP’s Director, Ana Paula Marçal, said that this is the first survey carried out by JSMP to find out about the perception and satisfaction of Timor-Leste’s judicial services, including the performance of judges, prosecutors, public defenders, lawyers, court staff, victims, defendants, convicts, and witnesses.
Representative of UNDP, Adeline Carrier, said that access to justice is one of the most fundamental human rights and that UNDP is committed to strengthening the justice system in Timor-Leste, especially for vulnerable groups such as women and children.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Filomeno Martins
