We work with governments & parliaments

Equal laws create stronger, more prosperous societies

Since 1992, Equality Now has worked to eliminate all barriers to legal and systemic gender equality through expert advocacy, strategic litigation, partnerships, and grassroots collaboration. As a recognised international human rights expert, convener and reformer, we shape laws, unite powerful movements, and hold power to account—delivering enduring change to the benefit of all.

Around the world, laws still fall short of guaranteeing gender equality. We inform and advise national and local governments and parliamentary bodies, supporting them to align their legal systems with international human rights law and best practice. 

How we support governments and parliaments

Legal analysis & frameworks

Legal analysis and model legislative frameworks: from sexual violence to family law, female genital mutilation to tech-facilitated gender based violence. 

Technical assistance

Technical assistance on international and regional human rights obligations: including the Maputo Protocol and the Belem do Para Convention, to United Nations Treaty Body obligations. 

 

Policy development

Context-specific policy development informed by our global expertise: guided by our global expertise and grounded in local realities. 

 

Our impact: Transforming policy into action

Over 30 years, we’ve helped reform more than 120 discriminatory laws across the globe transforming the lives of millions of people for generations to come.

In 2024 alone, we contributed to legal reform in 10 countries, strengthening protections for over 52 million women and girls. In past years, our work informed reforms in Nepal, Mexico, Uzbekistan, the USA, and Bolivia – ensuring gender-sensitive legislation and enforcement systems across regions.

Everything we do at Equality Now is based around our four strategic aims, all of which are defined by key drivers of global (in)equality.

Explore the issues we work on: 

When laws treat everyone equally everyone benefits.

The impact of legal inequality is felt most directly by girls, women, and their families, but the wider economic and social consequences affect everyone. Research has shown that if women were to achieve full parity in the workforce, the global economy would increase by $7 trillion USD.

Securing legal equality for women and girls unlocks the full promise of gender equality – and with it, a more stable, prosperous, sustainable future for everyone.

Learn.

Use our women’s rights around the world resource to explore legal gaps and how your government can lead the change. 

Connect.

Partner.

Partner with us to align your laws  with global standards of equality and justice, to build a just world for everyone.

Explore more resources

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Submission to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights Promotion Mission to Zimbabwe

Equality Now, together with Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association, and FEMNET, submitted recommendations to the African Commission urging stronger protections for women’s rights, gender equality, refugee rights, prison reforms, and gender-responsive AI governance in Zimbabwe.

From the paradigm of force to that of consent: Towards a comprehensive reform of sexual offences in Mexico

This brief examines Mexico’s 33 criminal codes on rape, estupro, sexual abuse, statutes of limitation and reparations, identifying reforms needed to place consent at the centre of sexual violence laws.

A toolkit for journalists covering sexual violence in Latin America and the Caribbean

A practical guide to help journalists report on sexual violence accurately, sensitively and without revictimising or causing further harm.

Latest News & Insights

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3rd September 2026

9 mins

Commemorating and celebrating Gloria Steinem: The life and legacy of a feminist trailblazer

News and Insights

24th August 2026

7 mins

African rights advocates coordinate response to family law backlash

News and Insights

20th August 2026

12 mins

Uruguay: new steps towards transforming access to justice in response to sexual violence

News and Insights

14th August 2026

14 mins

5 years of Taliban rule: Generations of progress erased for women and girls

News and Insights

12th August 2026

9 mins

Young people leverage digital media to advance gender equality in the Middle East and North Africa

News and Insights

10th August 2026

11 mins

Communities that support: Collective responses to sexual violence against children and adolescents in Latin America

News and Insights

4th August 2026

10 mins

Justice delayed across borders: What the Tate cases reveal about the cost of system failure

News and Insights

3rd August 2026

12 mins

I Am SAMAJ: Saritha Irugalbandara (she/they), youth advocate from Sri Lanka

Stories

29th July 2026

6 mins

What to know about human trafficking this World Day Against Trafficking in Persons

News and Insights

Latest event

Tools for Justice: Strengthening Sexual Violence Prosecutions

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