BREAKING BARRIERS
WOMEN LAWYERS CAMPAIGN
Why this campaign?
Women lawyers are essential to ensuring access to justice. Around the world, they are at the forefront of cases involving women’s rights, gender-based violence, and sexual and reproductive rights. Yet this vital work often comes at a high personal and professional cost.
Lawyers face intimidation, harassment, and even life-threatening risks simply for doing their jobs. For women lawyers, these dangers are compounded by gender-based discrimination, stigmatization, and sexist attacks that undermine their credibility and professional standing. These risks are further intensified by systemic inequalities within the legal profession, including underrepresentation in leadership and the unequal burden of unpaid care work.
To address these challenges, Lawyers for Lawyers launched the Breaking Barriers: Women Lawyers Campaign running from 2026 to 2028. The campaign aims to contribute to a legal environment where women can practice safely, advance professionally, and fully exercise their rights as lawyers—an essential foundation for access to justice.
Strategies
The Breaking Barriers campaign uses a combined approach of documentation, empowerment, and advocacy strategies to address the gender-specific challenges faced by women lawyers worldwide.
By amplifying women’s voices and fostering peer support and cross-border solidarity, the campaign strengthens the resilience, leadership, and professional capacity of women lawyers. In parallel, it engages with legal institutions, bar associations, and international mechanisms to promote reforms that integrate a gender perspective and improve protection, safety, and equality within the legal profession.
