d) Ensure the free and prior informed consent of women in all matters and processes that affect them. indigenous B. General Recommendation Number 33 : Access to Justice The Philippine report describes available legal remedies instituted in cases of VAW (Para 46). On the ground, however, justice is still elusive to indigenous women and girls. Of the 185 cases mentioned above, 25.95 % have not been reported where victims resort to seeking refuge with their families and leaving their fate to the “Creator” (religious reference). From the documentation of VAW under the UNFGE-supported project, several mechanisms are sought to seek justice for the victims. There are 11.89 % of the VAW cases referred to the Katarungang Pambarangay or the Barangay Justice System15 while 9.73 % are reported and settled through the customary justice system16. Close to five percent (4.86) or 9 cases are filed in court with one perpetrator sentenced to jail. In labor-related cases, the government agency for overseas workers and non-government organization working for migrant Filipino workers have been instrumental in facilitating formal complaints and providing the necessary aid. It is notable that only 4 or 2.16 % of the cases are reported to the police and there are 4 instances when the community confronted the state’s armed forces for the violations committed against their collective rights. Legal pluralism provides options for access to justice in relation to violence against indigenous women. Indigenous peoples, including women in cases of VAW, have the options to refer their plight to the legal or traditional justice systems, or use one if the other fails. Often, the legal system is shunned because of the cost, stigma/double victimization, length and lack of understanding of the process by the victims. On top of these is the lack of confidence in the complicated process which does not guarantee that justice is obtained. On the other hand, traditional justice systems, which vary from one community to another, are resorted to for being more direct and fast and its process and structure fully understood by the victim. This is true in communities where indigenous systems are still strong. Given the influence of patriarchy on                                                                                                                 15  Republic  Act  7160  or  the  Local  Government  Code  decentralized  to  the  barangay,  the  basic  political   unit  of  the  country,  the  mandate  to  enforce  peace  and  order.  It  also  empowers  the  barangays  to  settle   disputes  through  the  barangay  heads  and  barangay  peace  council  in  order  to  ensure  the  effective   enforcement  of  human  rights  and  justice.  The  barangay  justice  system  aims  to  decongest  the  judicial   courts  at  the  same  time  to  cater  closely  to  the  needs  of  the  marginalized  or  the  grassroots  with  least   cost  and  faster  delivery  of  justice.     16  Justice  mechanism  among  indigenous  communities  which  is  not  codified  and  varies  in  its   methodologies  and  structures  in  indigenous  communities.  It  is  recognized  through  the  IPRA  but  is   discouraged  to  resolved  cases  that  are  considered  heinous  under  the  penal  code  of  the  country,   including  rape.)     13