A/HRC/RES/26/15
Expressing concern that social norms and legal constraints that restrict women’s
agency in the public and private sphere and their economic independence can constrain a
woman’s ability to leave an abusive or violent situation and reduce her ability to access
protection and to secure an adequate standard of living,
Recognizing that violence against women has both short- and long-term adverse
consequences for women’s health, including their sexual and reproductive health, and for
the enjoyment of their human rights, and that respecting and promoting sexual and
reproductive health, and protecting and fulfilling reproductive rights in accordance with the
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, the
Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences is a
necessary condition to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women to enable
them to enjoy all their human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to prevent and mitigate
violence against women,
Recognizing also the important role of the United Nations system, in particular of
the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, in
addressing discrimination and violence against women and girls at the global, regional and
national levels and in assisting States, upon their request, in their efforts to eliminate and
prevent all forms of violence against women and girls, and highlighting the relevance of
such efforts to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals,
Taking note of the work of the Statistical Commission of the United Nations and the
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, towards
developing a set of indicators on violence against women,
Underscoring the positive role that intergovernmental organizations, international
financial institutions, regional development banks, civil society, including nongovernmental organizations, the private sector, employer organizations, trade unions, media
and other relevant organizations can play in supporting State action to promote women’s
economic empowerment and political participation, which can help to reduce violence
against women and girls,
Taking particular note of the report of the High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on
the Post-2015 Development Agenda,1 and noting other relevant contributions by United
Nations agencies, programmes and funds on the post-2015 development agenda, which
highlight the impact of violence against women and girls on development outcomes and
consider the elimination of violence against women and women’s empowerment as a key
factor for achieving gender equality,
1.
Strongly condemns all acts of violence against women and girls, whether
these acts are perpetrated by the State, private persons or non-State actors, and calls for the
prevention and elimination of all forms of gender-based violence in the family, within the
general community and where perpetrated or condoned by the State;
2.
Urges States and all segments of society, including all levels of government,
civil society organizations, the private sector and the media, as well as community and
religious leaders, to take meaningful steps to address the harmful attitudes, customs,
practices, stereotypes and unequal power relations that underlie and perpetuate violence
against women and girls, including by designing, implementing and evaluating national
policies, programmes and strategies aimed at transforming social norms that condone
violence against women and girls, and to counteract attitudes by which women and girls are
1
A New Global Partnership: Eradicate Poverty and Transform Economies Through Sustainable
Development (United Nations, New York, 2013).
3