in addition courts often lack the infrastructure capacity and expertise to prosecute crimes such as genderbased violence supporting the development of special measures to address genderbased violence can include effective witness and victim protection programmes including safe houses and protective orders preventing the submission of evidence on the prior or subsequent sexual conduct of the victim specialist courts focusing on sexual offences or genderbased violence staff specially trained to give support to victims properlyequipped forensic labs and trained personnel and involving womens organisations and social and health workers in providing assistance to victims in order to increase women and mens access to justice paralegals can be used to promote legal literacy assistance and access