Supporting Access to Justice for Survivors of Gender-Based Violence

In 2020, there were more than 122,000 reported cases of gender-based violence (GBV) in Colombia. The country has also seen a rise in femicides in recent years. Since January 2022, the USAID Inclusive Justice Activity has been trying to improve Colombian citizens’ trust in the justice system by increasing access to justice services and reducing…

Trust Issues: Why Trust Matters in International Development

Trust is a familiar concept, yet one too often ignored in programme design. It isan essential ingredient of mutually beneficial human relationships. Internationaldevelopment projects, particularly those in the field of governance, rely on relationshipsto meet their objectives. Trust smooths collaboration between project staff, donors,local stakeholders, governments, and, ultimately, the people who benefit fromprogramming. Despite its…

Final Report: Haiti Justice Sector Strengthening Program

Haiti needed a functional justice system for its citizens to emancipate economic development and lift Haiti out of extreme poverty To do so, JSSP used strategies with various stakeholders to adopt a modernized Haitian penal procedural code, replacing the outdated 1835 version. Legislations to accompany the code, such as the laws on prosecutors, and the…

Advocating for an Inclusive Justice System for All Colombians

For years, public confidence in Colombia’s justice system has been troublingly low, particularly in rural areas that lack sufficient government presence. Citizens in these areas interact with a justice system that is unresponsive to their needs and has a limited capacity to meet local requirements. Opportunities to improve citizens’ trust in the justice system are…

Development Works Here with Karina Perez Jvostova

We’d like you to meet Karina Perez Jvostova! Karina is Chemonics’ monitoring, evaluation, and learning specialist for USAID’s Violence Prevention and Reduction Activity in Mexico. In this video, she shares her path to global development, what she learned as an UNLEASH ambassador, and advice for those interested in working in the development sector. Posts on the blog represent the…

Final Report: Justice for a Sustainable Peace Activity

From April 2017 to September 2021, the Justice for a Sustainable Peace (JSP) Activity strengthened Colombia’s access to justice, increased citizen support for the rule of law, and improved the judicial response for victims affected by the armed conflict. Focusing on  54 prioritized municipalities in six departments, the Activity fostered a systemic, holistic, and comprehensive…

Final Report: Duteze Imbere Ubutabera Activity

The activity’s period of performance focused on five districts — Gasabo, Nyaruguru, Musanze, Bugesera, and Nyamasheke — which connected local and national government representatives, non-governmental organizations, citizens, and community leaders through activities that enhanced access to justice and improved both the formal and the community justice systems. Duteze Imbere Ubutabera (DIU) aimed to increase access…

Final Report: Guatemala Youth and Gender Justice Project

Since 2016, USAID/Guatemala’s Youth and Gender Justice Project (YGJP) has focused on strengthening the government’s and civil society’s capacity to provide justice and related services to juvenile offenders, victims of gender-based violence (GBV), and victims of trafficking in persons (TIP). This final report examines and presents highlighted results, lessons learned, and key recommendations from the…

Luke Waggoner

Luke Waggoner is a former senior democracy and governance specialist at Chemonics.