in rural or remote communities, destitute women, women in institutions or in detention,
women with disabilities, elderly women, widows and women in situations of armed conflict,
and women who are otherwise discriminated against, including on the basis of HIV status,
Noting with concern the reported incidents of violence committed against women and
girls on the basis of dress code,
1.
Welcomes:
(a)
The report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and
consequences, including her work on the relationship between violence against women and
HIV/AIDS (E/CN.4/2005/72);
(b)
The initiatives, increasing efforts and important contributions at the national,
regional and international levels to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls
and encourages the continued efforts of States, all United Nations bodies, funds and
programmes, regional organizations and non-governmental organizations, including women’s
organizations, to build upon these successful initiatives, and to support and participate in
regional consultations in this area;
2.
Reaffirms that the term “violence against women” means any act of
gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological
harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation
of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life, and encompasses but is not limited to
domestic violence, crimes committed in the name of honour, crimes committed in the name of
passion, trafficking in women and girls, traditional practices harmful to women and girls,
including female genital mutilation, early and forced marriages, female infanticide,
dowry-related violence and deaths, acid attacks and violence related to commercial sexual
exploitation as well as economic exploitation;
3.
Strongly condemns all acts of violence against women and girls, whether these
acts are perpetrated by the State, by private persons or non-State actors, and calls for the
elimination of all forms of gender-based violence in the family, within the general community
and where perpetrated or condoned by the State, in accordance with the Declaration on the
Elimination of Violence against Women, and stresses the need to treat all forms of violence
against women and girls as a criminal offence, punishable by law, as well as the duty to
provide access to just and effective remedies and specialized assistance to victims, including
medical and psychological assistance, as well as effective counselling;
4.
Reaffirms that States have an obligation to exercise due diligence to prevent,
investigate and punish the perpetrators of violence against women and girls and to provide
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