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Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- In that regard, civil society organizations stressed the importance of having a document that was legally binding and that clearly delineated the responsibilities of the sovereign bodies with regard to providing reparation for and preventing gender-based violence. In particular, prevention of gender-based violence must be promoted to a jus cogens principle in order to build momentum around efforts related to protecting women and girls from violence. Such a document needed to address gender stereotypes and stigma attached to victims, and violence against women ought to be addressed by challenging its root causes, such as poverty, disability and vulnerability.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- As previously highlighted, many civil society organizations stated that particular importance should also be given to improving implementation strategies and monitoring regimes: there should be a monitoring of State practice in implementing the principles on violence against women as a human rights issue (prevention, prosecution, protection and policy). This monitoring could be carried out by independent organizations engaging with an international treaty body. A treaty could also require States parties to create or nominate a national independent monitoring body on violence against women, which would include frameworks for respective responsibilities in federal States with sufficient resources and the ability to adjudicate cases of violence against women and girls. The treaty could establish a new global gender observatory or international watch centre. It should include a requirement for States to accept more country visits as part of monitoring, as well as ensure consultation with survivors as part of the reporting process and monitoring. Furthermore, more importance should be given to ensuring improved data collection and including a requirement for States to disseminate reports. According to some civil society organizations, any new treaty body should have the power to make general recommendations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- The Secretary-General could be asked to convene a high-level panel on intensifying efforts to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence, especially violence and discrimination against indigenous women and girls. States could increase regional monitoring and interregional cooperation; the Great Lakes treaty processes have been praised in that regard.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- The universal and overall acceptance, incorporation and implementation by States of international and regional instruments are vital steps to consolidate national legal frameworks addressing the elimination of violence against women. This includes not only the ratification of the main international and regional conventions on gender-based violence against women, but also the elimination of all those discriminatory laws and harmful practices which prevent the full enjoyment by women and girls of their human rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- The submissions received from civil society organizations on the adequacy of the existing legal framework represent a great diversity of responses. These views, together with those of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and regional mechanisms, have been an extremely enriching contribution to the debate on the adequacy of the legal framework on violence against women. Almost all submissions emphasized the role of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women as a dynamic, living instrument that encompasses violence against women as a form of discrimination against women and the progressive interpretation of the Convention through the adoption of successive general recommendations on violence against women by the Committee, as well as other related subjects, such as the core obligations on States to implement the Convention, access to justice (general recommendation No. 33 (2015) on women’s access to justice) and the rights of women and girls in conflict and post-conflict situations (general recommendation No. 30 (2013) on women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations), along with all the other general recommendations. A significant number of submissions pointed out that the lack of a specific global treaty on gender-based violence against women had important symbolic value and further indicated that a new treaty could have an important role in galvanizing implementation at the State level. That symbolic value and potential to act as a catalyst for change was particularly compelling in the broader Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions, which were the only ones that did not have a specific regional treaty on violence against women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur highlights that, apart from the Committee, a variety of international and regional human rights bodies and independent experts are working on the issue of violence against women. These bodies have all developed a rich jurisprudence, general comments and recommendations relating to the right of women and girls not to be subjected to violence, which in certain circumstances may amount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, denial of the right to health and other human rights. There are regional treaties and treaty bodies looking specifically at gender-based violence in Africa, the Americas and Europe. There are also independent experts in Africa and the Americas. However, these instruments need more incorporation and implementation, including through sustained funding of expert monitoring mechanisms to carry out their work, to facilitate coordination and to share best practices, information and insights. This urgency to support existing good work is even more compelling given the high priority dedicated to the eradication of violence against women in the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 91
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur supports the interpretation of violence against women as a form of discrimination against women and girls and a human rights violation. Therefore, the option of creating a separate treaty would expose the existing legal framework under the Convention on violence against women to the risk of isolating provisions aimed at addressing gender-based violence against women from the structural causes of discrimination against women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Closing the gap in international human rights law: lessons from three regional human rights systems on legal standards and practices regarding violence against women 2015, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- In the present section the Special Rapporteur provides an overview of the norms and standards, implementing mechanisms and relevant jurisprudence regarding violence against women in the African, European and Inter-American regional human rights systems. She attempts to provide guidance that may be helpful for the international human rights system to consider when addressing the normative gap. She also reinforces the view, articulated in previous reports by the Special Rapporteur, that in order for the regional systems to reinforce universal human rights standards, as contained in international human rights instruments, it is essential that the United Nations system adopts a legally binding framework on violence against women and girls.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Closing the gap in international human rights law: lessons from three regional human rights systems on legal standards and practices regarding violence against women 2015, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- The Protocol includes provisions on violence against women, based largely on the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, but with additions that are both context specific and progressive. Article 1 of the Protocol provides a broad definition of violence against women, which includes explicit reference to the deprivation of fundamental freedoms in private or public life, and defines harmful practices as all behaviour, attitudes and/or practices which negatively affect the fundamental rights of women and girls, such as their right to life, health, dignity, education and physical integrity. Article 4 is comprehensive with regard to the legal and non-legal measures to be taken by member States in addressing violence against women, including the enactment of specific legislation; the imposition of appropriate sanctions/punishment when violence occurs; the provision of adequate budgetary resources; the adoption of public education and awareness-raising measures, including to address negative elements in attitudes, traditions and culture in order to eliminate harmful cultural and traditional practices; and the provision of relevant services, including justice, health care and shelters.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Closing the gap in international human rights law: lessons from three regional human rights systems on legal standards and practices regarding violence against women 2015, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- The limitations of the international system, including the lack of a legally binding specific instrument on violence against women, serves to weaken the aspiration of the Human Rights Council that regional arrangements should reinforce universal human rights standards, as contained in international human rights instruments (see Council resolution 12/15). The current norms and standards within the United Nations system emanate from soft law developments and are of persuasive value, but are not legally binding. The normative gap under international human rights law raises crucial questions about the State responsibility to act with due diligence and the responsibility of the State as the ultimate duty bearer to protect women and girls from violence, its causes and consequences. In her 2014 reports to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/26/38) and to the General Assembly (A/69/368), the Special Rapporteur recommended that the international community examine the normative gaps within the existing international binding legal frameworks, and address more specifically the legal gaps in protection, prevention and accountability in respect of violence against women. Given the systemic, widespread and pervasive nature of this human rights violation, which is experienced largely by women because they are women, a different set of normative and practical measures to respond to, prevent and ultimately eliminate such violence is crucial.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Closing the gap in international human rights law: lessons from three regional human rights systems on legal standards and practices regarding violence against women 2015, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- The concerns raised more than 20 years ago, prior to the development and adoption of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, and highlighted by the mandate of the Special Rapporteur over the past 20 years, reinforce the view that it is time to consider the development and adoption of a United Nations binding international instrument on violence against women and girls, with its own dedicated monitoring body. Such an instrument should ensure that States are held accountable to standards that are legally binding, it should provide a clear normative framework for the protection of women and girls globally and should have a specific monitoring body to substantively provide in-depth analysis of both general and country-level developments. With a legally binding instrument, a protective, preventive and educative framework could be established to reaffirm the commitment of the international community to its articulation that women's rights are human rights, and that violence against women is a human rights violation, in and of itself.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Continuum of violence against women from the home to the transnational sphere: the challenges of effective redress 2011, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- The 1993 World Conference on Human Rights adopted the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action that recognized that "the human rights of women and of the girl child are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights". The World Conference called upon the General Assembly to adopt the draft declaration on violence against women and urged States to combat violence against women in accordance with its provisions. In 1993, the General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, which provides a more comprehensive framework on violence against women in terms of definition, scope, obligations of the State, and the role of the United Nations. Pursuant to a decision of the Commission on Human Rights the same year in which it considered the appointment of a special rapporteur on violence against women, the mandate was established by resolution 1994/45 on the integration of the rights of women into the human rights mechanisms of the United Nations and the elimination of violence against women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Continuum of violence against women from the home to the transnational sphere: the challenges of effective redress 2011, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- The twenty-third special session of the General Assembly on the five-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action clearly demonstrated that violence against women had become a priority issue on the agenda of many Member States. The outcome document of the session went a step further in calling on States to "treat all forms of violence against women and girls of all ages as a criminal offence punishable by law, including violence based on all forms of discrimination". In 2010, at the Beijing + 15 review, Member States recognized that implementation of the Beijing Declaration and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was mutually reinforcing in the quest to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and emphasized the interdependency between the implementation of these commitments and achieving the internationally agreed development goals.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Continuum of violence against women from the home to the transnational sphere: the challenges of effective redress 2011, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- The follow-up visit by the Special Rapporteur to El Salvador in 2010 revealed an alarming increase in extremely violent murders of women and girls in the country. The pattern of these murders was similar to femicides reported on by the former Special Rapporteur during visits to El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico: victims aged 10 to 29 are kidnapped and found murdered in parks or wasteland, often carrying signs of sexual abuse, sometimes mutilation, torture and decapitation. Extreme socio-economic inequalities, a machista culture and high criminality levels are underlying factors that sustain violence against women and discrimination in these societies. As referred to in the report of the Special Rapporteur on her visit to the United States, the murder of women, as well as rape and battering, can also be connected to stalking, which tends to target women at higher rates than men.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Continuum of violence against women from the home to the transnational sphere: the challenges of effective redress 2011, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur's visits to El Salvador, Kyrgyzstan and Zambia - all three source, transit and destination countries for human trafficking - indicated strong commonalities with regard to trafficking of women and children. In Kyrgyzstan, trafficking of women and children became increasingly common during the country's transition period and continues to be a problem. While there are no reliable statistical data with respect to the prevalence of trafficking, a Government report noted that 98 per cent of trafficking victims are women and girls between 15 and 30 years of age. Offers of false employment in urban areas lure young women and girls from rural areas to move to cities, or abroad, where they are forced into sexual exploitation. One young woman interviewed during the visit, who had come to Bishkek to seek employment, was lured to a house in the outskirts of the city where she was locked up for months and forced to have sex with clients. Due to fear of retaliation, she had not reported the case to the police and was even afraid to walk the streets. Similarly, in El Salvador the Special Rapporteur found that the majority of victims of trafficking were women and girls transferred from rural to urban areas in the country. Insufficient measures to ensure victim and witness protection, lack of support services and ineffective responses by law enforcement officials contributed to underreporting of the phenomenon.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Continuum of violence against women from the home to the transnational sphere: the challenges of effective redress 2011, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- In Vertido v. Philippines, which concerned the sexual assault of a woman and the subsequent acquittal of the perpetrator based on gender-based myths and misconceptions about rape, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women found the State party in violation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The Committee noted the obligations of States parties to the Convention to take appropriate measures to modify or abolish not only existing laws and regulations, but also customs and practices that constitute discrimination against women. In this regard, the Committee stressed that stereotyping affects women's right to a fair and just trial and underlined that the judiciary must take caution not to create inflexible standards of what women or girls should be or what they should have done when confronted with a situation of rape, based merely on preconceived notions of what defines a rape victim or a victim of gender-based violence, in general.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Continuum of violence against women from the home to the transnational sphere: the challenges of effective redress 2011, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- The lack of sufficient specialized shelters for women and girls victims of violence contributes to their invisibility and silencing. Even when government-run shelters are available, the Special Rapporteur has noted in most of her country missions the crucial role played by non-governmental organizations in managing shelter facilities and offering psychological, medical and legal assistance to women victims of violence. Whether privately funded or receiving governmental grants, these centres are usually insufficient in number, lack human and material resources, and are commonly concentrated in areas that are not accessible to all women. While commending the work of civil society organizations, the Special Rapporteur has noted that the due diligence obligation to protect women from violence rests primarily upon the State and its agents. It is therefore the responsibility of States to ensure accessibility and availability of effective protection and support services to victims of domestic violence. Further, the Special Rapporteur has raised concern at the lack of policy guidelines across health, psychosocial and legal sectors ensuring coordinated, prompt and supportive services to victims.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Existing legal standards and practices regarding violence against women in three regional human rights systems and activities being undertaken by civil society regarding the normative gap in international human rights law 2015, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- The present section provides an overview of the norms and standards, implementing mechanisms and relevant jurisprudence regarding violence against women in the African, European and inter-American regional human rights systems. The Special Rapporteur attempts to provide guidance that may be helpful for the international human rights system to consider when addressing the normative gap. She also reinforces the view, articulated in previous reports by the Special Rapporteur, that in order for the regional systems to reinforce universal human rights standards, as contained in international human rights instruments, it is essential that the United Nations system adopt a legally binding framework on violence against women and girls.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Existing legal standards and practices regarding violence against women in three regional human rights systems and activities being undertaken by civil society regarding the normative gap in international human rights law 2015, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- The Protocol includes provisions on violence against women, based largely on the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, but with additions that are both context-specific and progressive. Article 1 of the Protocol provides a broad definition of violence against women, which includes explicit reference to the deprivation of fundamental freedoms in private or public life, and defines harmful practices as all behaviour, attitudes and/or practices which negatively affect the fundamental rights of women and girls, such as their right to life, health, dignity, education and physical integrity. Article 4 is comprehensive with regard to the legal and non-legal measures to be taken by member States in addressing violence against women, including the enactment of specific legislation; the imposition of appropriate sanctions/punishment when violence occurs; the provision of adequate budgetary resources; the adoption of public education and awareness-raising measures, including to address negative elements in attitudes, traditions and culture in order to eliminate harmful cultural and traditional practices; and the provision of relevant services, including justice, health care and shelters.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Existing legal standards and practices regarding violence against women in three regional human rights systems and activities being undertaken by civil society regarding the normative gap in international human rights law 2015, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- The concerns raised more than 20 years ago and further highlighted by the Special Rapporteur in her reports reinforce the view that it is time to consider the development and adoption of a binding international instrument on violence against women and girls. Such an instrument should ensure that States are held accountable to standards that are legally binding, provide a clear normative framework for the protection of women and girls globally and have a specific monitoring body to substantively provide in-depth analysis of both general and country-level developments. With a legally binding instrument, a protective, preventive and educative framework could be established to reaffirm the commitment of the international community to its articulation that women's rights are human rights and that violence against women is a human rights violation in and of itself.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Existing legal standards and practices regarding violence against women in three regional human rights systems and activities being undertaken by civil society regarding the normative gap in international human rights law 2015, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Closing the normative gap requires the international legalization of women's right to be free of all forms of violence, whether public or private. An international human rights law that explicitly articulates legal obligations in the protection of dignity, freedom, safety, security and equality rights for women will result in legal obligations, thereby providing for international scrutiny and accountability through a dedicated monitoring body. This will lead to positive consequences in domestic human rights practices in respect of protection, prevention and accountability for all manifestations of violence against women and girls.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- With the alarming escalation of extreme forms of violence against women and girls in the 1990s, including in Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala, there was a pressing need to create and adopt new concepts and strategies to address the phenomenon. The disproportionate impact of economic, political and social factors in which the killings of women and girls were occurring, as well as the patriarchal nature of the societies that subordinated them, had to be taken into account. This violence has included torture, sexual abuse, deprivation of liberty, post mortem dismembering and the abandoning of bodies in public spaces by perpetrators (individual or groups), known or unknown to the victim. It is in this specific context that the concept of femicide scenarios was developed to determine the existence of a femicide crime, despite the difficulties of identifying motive, intention and perpetrators.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- In his report on working towards the elimination of crimes against women committed in the name of honour, the Secretary-General presented a series of recommendations in relation to the criminalization of such acts, and noted that those deliberately participating in, facilitating, encouraging or threatening women and girls in the name of honour should be punished. He also noted that "in countries with immigrant communities, protection should be given to victims and potential victims in connection with asylum and immigration procedures".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- A significant component of the international human rights framework is the duty placed on States to prevent, investigate, punish and provide compensation for all acts of violence. The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women spells out the obligation of States to exercise due diligence when gender-based violence occurs, whether perpetrated by the State or by private persons. In numerous resolutions relating to the intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women, the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly have also urged States to act with due diligence to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish the perpetrators of violence against women and girls and to provide protection to the victims.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- The rights of women and girls to be informed about and provided with access to the mechanisms of justice and effective remedies are also contained within international human rights law. As noted by the Special Rapporteur: "the obligation to provide adequate reparations involves ensuring the rights of women to access both criminal and civil remedies and the establishment of effective protection, support and rehabilitation services for survivors of violence". The General Assembly has repeatedly urged Member States to take action towards this end by means of a more systematic, comprehensive, multisectoral and sustained approach, adequately supported and facilitated by strong institutional mechanisms and financing, through national action plans; and to ensure that all human rights and fundamental freedoms are respected and protected.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 89
- Paragraph text
- In 2000, the Human Rights Committee adopted general comment 28 on the equality of rights between men and women, in which it stated that honour crimes which remained unpunished constituted a serious violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Moreover, laws which imposed more severe penalties on women than on men for adultery or other offences also violated the requirement of equal treatment. In 2004, the General Assembly passed a resolution on the elimination of crimes against women and girls committed in the name of honour. It stressed the need to treat such crimes as criminal offences punishable by law. It emphasized that such crimes are incompatible with all religious and cultural values, and called upon all States to continue to intensify efforts to prevent and eliminate crimes against women and girls committed in the name of honour, by using legislative, administrative and programmatic measures.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Modalities for the establishment of femicides/gender-related killings watch 2016, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- In 2013, the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice initiated a resolution on the gender-related killing of women that was adopted by the General Assembly (resolution 68/191). For the first time, this issue was placed at the highest level of the international political agenda. It its resolution, the Assembly expressed its deep concern for the alarming proportion of different manifestations of the gender-related killing of women and girls and for their high level of impunity and called for renewed action. It urged Member States to exercise due diligence to prevent and investigate acts of violence against women and eliminate impunity. Recognizing the key role of the criminal justice system in preventing and responding to the gender-related killing of women and girls, the Assembly also invited Member States to strengthen their criminal justice response. Furthermore, it requested the Secretary-General to convene an open-ended intergovernmental expert group meeting to discuss ways and means to more effectively prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish the gender-related killing of women and girls, with a view to making practical recommendations, drawing on current best practices. That expert group meeting, held in Bangkok in November 2014, resulted in a set of recommendations on practical steps against the gender-related killing of women (see UNODC/CCPCJ/EG.8/2014/2), to which the Special Rapporteur provided input.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Pathways to, conditions and consequences of incarceration for women 2013, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- A recent study uncovered cases of rape of female political prisoners in the Islamic Republic of Iran throughout the 1980s, including the rape of young virgin girls before execution, forced marriages and other forms of sexual violence, some of which continues today. In July 2011, a female prisoner committed suicide after violent beatings, including with electronic batons. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran states that a prisoner alleged that prison guards tortured her by subjecting her to sleep and toilet deprivation, keeping her in a standing position for hours, burning her with cigarettes, exposing her to extreme temperatures for extended periods of time and punching, kicking and striking her with batons (A/67/369, para. 27).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Reparations to women who have been subjected to violence 2010, para. 29
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- The importance of women's participation in reparations discussions and processes cannot be overestimated. Without the participation of women and girls from different contexts, initiatives are more likely to reflect men's experience of violence and their concerns, priorities and needs regarding redress. Additionally, without such participation, an opportunity is missed for victims to gain a sense of agency that may in itself be an important form of rehabilitation, especially when victims come to perceive themselves as actors of social change. Finally, such participation is important for women and society in general to draw the links between past and present forms of violence and seize the opportunity provided by reparations discussions to press for more structural reforms.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
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Reparations to women who have been subjected to violence 2010, para. 32
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- Women-centred processes of reparations require participation of women in the process of shaping, implementing, monitoring and evaluating reparations programmes; design of a reparations procedure that renders it accessible to all women and girls; investigation of facts to determine whether certain violations of rights have taken place and making sure that those violations that target women and girls have been duly included; determination of harms, including those which are gender-specific or have a differential impact on women and girls; identification of responsibility for the violation, including by omission, and by those perpetrators that target women and girls; and determination of measures of redress aimed at returning the victim to where she was before the violation took place, except for when those measures may in themselves be discriminatory or fail to address the structural roots underlying the violence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2010
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