Using gender analysis to improve public sector performance in the justice sector

Abstract

This paper reflects on the potential of gender analysis as a tool to measure public sector performance. It does so by using examples of the justice sector in Peru and Honduras. The paper illustrates how gender analysis can enhance knowledge about men's and women's use of justice and other public services, providing the state with information to improve the quality and reach of its services. The basic principle underlying this argument is that men and women use public services differently and experience different problems when accessing them. Analysis of such differences can help better adjust the service delivery to the characteristics of the demand.

The paper also explains how to apply principles of gender analysis to the evaluation of public sector services by describing the methodology and findings of gender assessments carried out in Honduras and Peru in the context of justice sector service delivery. In parallel, it analyzes how such assessments can contribute to bridge the gap between new and old theoretical paradigms in the field of law and development. Gender assessments' focus on male and female of justice services can help reconcile certain aspects of emerging approaches in this field which advocate for the legal empowerment of citizens, and traditional approaches which focus on reforming the justice sector from within.