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Women’s and girl’s sexual and reproductive health rights in crisis
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2021
- Document code
- A/HRC/47/38
Document
Women's human rights in the changing world of work
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2020
- Document code
- A/HRC/44/51
Document
Women deprived of liberty
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2019
- Document code
- A/HRC/41/33
Document
Reasserting equality, countering rollbacks
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2018
- Document code
- A/HRC/38/46
Document
Girls’ and young women’s activism
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2022
- Document code
- A/HRC/50/25
Document
Gendered inequalities of poverty: feminist and human rights-based approaches
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2023
- Document code
- A/HRC/53/39
Document
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 108j
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Ensure that the standards contained in the present recommendations are observed and enforced by all health-care providers, public or private, and engage both women and men, as appropriate, in efforts to prevent discrimination, stereotyping and instrumentalization of women's bodies and biological functions.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 108i
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Provide age-appropriate, comprehensive and inclusive sexuality education based on scientific evidence and human rights, for girls and boys, as part of the mandatory school programmes. Sexuality education should give particular attention to gender equality, sexuality, relationships, gender identity, including non-conforming gender identities, and responsible parenthood and sexual behaviour to prevent early pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 108h
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Exercise due diligence to ensure that the diverse actors and corporate and individual health providers who provide health services or produce medications do so in a non-discriminatory way and establish guidelines for the equal treatment of women patients under their codes of conduct;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 108g
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Restrict conscientious objection to the direct provider of the medical intervention and allow conscientious objection only where an alternative can be found for the patient to access treatment within the time needed for performance of the procedure;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 108f
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Include contraception of choice, preventive care and treatment for cervical and breast cancer, termination of pregnancy and maternity care in universal health care or subsidize provision of these treatments and medicines to ensure that they are affordable;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 108e
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Provide non-discriminatory health insurance coverage for women, without surcharges for coverage of their reproductive and sexual health;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 108d
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Provide training to health providers, including on gender equality and non-discrimination, respect for women's rights and dignity and recognition of alternative medicine;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 108c
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Invalidate conditioning of women's and girls' access to health care on third-party authorization;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 108b
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Address underlying factors which negate women's autonomy in decision-making regarding their own lives, health or bodies, through education, provision of information and monitoring mechanisms to ensure that their autonomy is respected at all levels of the health-care system;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 108a
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Ensure that access to health care is autonomous, affordable and effective;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 107e
- Paragraph text
- [In relation to reproductive and sexual health care, the Working Group recommends that States:] Eliminate discriminatory barriers to access to legal termination of pregnancy that not based on medical needs, such as waiting periods for implementation of the decision to terminate a pregnancy, authorization requirements for reproductive health clinics and staff, and unduly restrictive interpretations of legal grounds for termination of pregnancy.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 107d
- Paragraph text
- [In relation to reproductive and sexual health care, the Working Group recommends that States:] Discontinue the use of criminal law to punish woman for ending a pregnancy and provide women and girls with medical treatment for miscarriage and complications of unsafe termination of pregnancy;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 107c
- Paragraph text
- [In relation to reproductive and sexual health care, the Working Group recommends that States:] Recognize women's right to be free from unwanted pregnancies and ensure access to affordable and effective family planning measures. Noting that many countries where women have the right to abortion on request supported by affordable and effective family planning measures have the lowest abortion rates in the world, States should allow women to terminate a pregnancy on request during the first trimester or later in the specific cases listed above;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 107b
- Paragraph text
- [In relation to reproductive and sexual health care, the Working Group recommends that States:] Repeal restrictive laws and policies in relation to termination of pregnancy, especially in cases of risk to the life or health, including the mental health, of the pregnant woman, rape, incest and fatal impairment of the fetus, recognizing that such laws and policies in any case primarily affect women living in poverty in a highly discriminatory way;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 107a
- Paragraph text
- [In relation to reproductive and sexual health care, the Working Group recommends that States:] Abolish bans on contraception, including emergency contraceptives, and provide access to affordable modern contraceptives;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 106j
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Monitor and prevent the use of mental health to institutionalize women unnecessarily as a social control mechanism.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 106i
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Use educational and social work alternatives instead of custodial or punitive measures to prevent injury to the fetus as a result of drug or alcohol consumption by addicted pregnant women;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 106h
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Prevent instrumentalization of women in the birthing process and ensure that penalties are incurred for gynaecological or obstetrical violence, including performing abusive caesarean sections, refusing to give women pain relief during birth or surgical termination of pregnancy and performing unnecessary episiotomies;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Infants
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 106g
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Regulate birthing facilities to ensure respect for women's autonomy and privacy and human dignity, including respect for women's choice regarding home deliveries provided there are no specific medical contraindications;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Infants
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 106f
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Combat stereotyping and empower girls to take care of their own health and safety from a young age, both at school and at home, and inform and empower women regarding their own bodies at all stages of their lives;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 106e
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Decriminalize sexual and reproductive behaviours that are attributed exclusively or mainly to women, including adultery and prostitution, and termination of pregnancy;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 106d
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Take and implement strong and efficient measures to prevent female genital mutilation and other harmful practices;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 106c
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Prevent exclusion from the public space during menstruation or breastfeeding and prevent discrimination in relation to menopause in the workplace;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 106b
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Eliminate harmful gender stereotypes, which could lead to anorexia and bulimia and invasive cosmetic procedures;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 106a
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Take measures to combat and eliminate, in legislation and policies, cultural practices and social stereotypes, all forms of instrumentalization of women's bodies and biological functions;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 105e (v)
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Provide special protection and support services to women facing multiple forms of discrimination, and in this regard: Allow non-custodial sentences for pregnant women and women with dependent children in accordance with the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules).
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 105e (iv)
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Provide special protection and support services to women facing multiple forms of discrimination, and in this regard: Provide access to preventive and remedial health services for women in prison, including in relation to cervical and breast cancer, contraception, antiretroviral therapy and gender transition, and take all necessary measures to protect them from violence;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 105e (iii)
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Provide special protection and support services to women facing multiple forms of discrimination, and in this regard: Ensure social and health-care benefits, entitlements and protection to lesbians and bisexual and transgender persons without discrimination;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 105e (ii)
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Provide special protection and support services to women facing multiple forms of discrimination, and in this regard: Provide health-care coverage for migrant women and domestic workers, whose sexual and reproductive health, preventive health care and protection against gender-based violence are otherwise prejudiced;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 105e (i)
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Provide special protection and support services to women facing multiple forms of discrimination, and in this regard: Ensure that health services, including reproductive and sexual health, for women with disabilities are available and accessible on an equal basis with others and that their autonomy and decision-making, including in relation to their sexuality and reproduction, are guaranteed in accordance with the principles of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 105d (viii)
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Adopt a holistic approach towards women's health and safety by looking at their full life cycle from childhood to old age as interconnected phases with distinct considerations and needs, and in this regard: Provide gender- and age-sensitive health-care services for older women, taking cognizance of their heightened health and safety vulnerability;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 105d (vii)
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Adopt a holistic approach towards women's health and safety by looking at their full life cycle from childhood to old age as interconnected phases with distinct considerations and needs, and in this regard: Ensure that laws, policies and practices mandate respect for women's autonomy in their decision-making, especially regarding pregnancy, birthing and postnatal care;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 105d (vi)
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Adopt a holistic approach towards women's health and safety by looking at their full life cycle from childhood to old age as interconnected phases with distinct considerations and needs, and in this regard: Provide adequate nutrition and free services for pregnant and lactating women, as required by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 105d (v)
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Adopt a holistic approach towards women's health and safety by looking at their full life cycle from childhood to old age as interconnected phases with distinct considerations and needs, and in this regard: Reduce the high incidence of maternal mortality among women with HIV/AIDS, both by preventing infection, particularly of women in prostitution/sex workers, and by free and secure provision of condoms and of antiretroviral treatment for pregnant women;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 105d (iv)
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Adopt a holistic approach towards women's health and safety by looking at their full life cycle from childhood to old age as interconnected phases with distinct considerations and needs, and in this regard: Reduce maternal mortality and morbidity by ensuring proper prenatal, birthing and post-natal care, including, where necessary, safe termination of pregnancy.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 105d (iii)
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Adopt a holistic approach towards women's health and safety by looking at their full life cycle from childhood to old age as interconnected phases with distinct considerations and needs, and in this regard: Allow pregnant girls and adolescents to terminate unwanted pregnancies, as a measure of equality and health, so that they can complete their school education and protect them from the high risk to life and health, including from obstetric fistula, in continuing to bring a pregnancy to term;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 105d (ii)
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Adopt a holistic approach towards women's health and safety by looking at their full life cycle from childhood to old age as interconnected phases with distinct considerations and needs, and in this regard: Address the gender discrimination that exists in some cultures in the provision of food to the girl child, including through the empowerment of women and girls;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 105d (i)
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Adopt a holistic approach towards women's health and safety by looking at their full life cycle from childhood to old age as interconnected phases with distinct considerations and needs, and in this regard: Take effective measures to prevent child marriage and adolescent pregnancies and provide girls with comprehensive education based on scientific evidence on matters of health, including sexuality;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 105c
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Take into account the impact of women's safety on their physical and mental health and protect women and girls from violence at home, on their way to or at school and in other public spaces and in health facilities;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 105b
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Be guided by an understanding of women's right to equality, which requires differential treatment in health, including and beyond their sexual and reproductive health, in designing policy measures and resource allocations;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 105a
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Apply human rights standards and principles of equality, non-discrimination and empowerment of women as the framework for all interventions regarding women's health and safety;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 104
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group calls upon all Member States to reaffirm and respect the commitments they made in Beijing and in Cairo and in the Sustainable Development Goals to implement the comprehensive provisions concerning women's health in the agreements they adopted and to develop national laws, policies and programmes within the framework of international human rights standards.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 103
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group calls upon the Human Rights Council to urge States to take all necessary measures to respect, protect and fulfil women's right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standards of health worldwide, including regarding their reproductive and sexual health, and to dedicate priority attention to a thorough stocktaking, including by convening an appropriate forum to tackle this crucial issue.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 102
- Paragraph text
- The result of the various forms of discrimination against women in the provision of health services is the costly and tragic phenomenon of women's preventable ill health.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 101
- Paragraph text
- Health services are provided by various actors, State and non-State. All actors have some form of responsibility for providing equal access for women to the highest attainable standard of health, including with regard to their reproductive and sexual health. The State has a due diligence obligation to ensure that private actors do not discriminate against women.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 100
- Paragraph text
- Women's access to health services in many countries is not autonomous, affordable and effective, elements which are essential for States to respect, protect and fulfil women's and girls' rights to life, health, privacy, equality and human dignity. A major barrier is lack of affordability as a result of exclusion from insurance for treatments specifically needed by women and girls or exclusion of groups of women such as migrants. Non-affordability severely discriminates against women living in poverty. Barriers also include restrictive legislative requirements, biased and stigmatized provision of services and conscientious objection to providing services.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 99
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group found that instrumentalization and politicization of women's biological functions in many countries subjects legislation and policies regarding women's and girls' health and safety to patriarchal agendas, especially regarding reproductive and sexual health and mental health. The Working Group found manifestations in all regions of instrumentalization, taboos regarding menstruation and breastfeeding and stereotypes which result in harmful practices such as female genital mutilation or which have a negative impact on women's body image, leading to their seeking invasive cosmetic procedures.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 98
- Paragraph text
- In the context of women's and girls' health and safety, equality means the provision of differential services, treatment and medicines in accordance with their specific biological needs, throughout their life cycle. In many countries there is discriminatory exclusion and neglect of women in providing the highest attainable standard of health for women. Discrimination is particularly evident regarding women's right to reproductive and sexual health. It is exacerbated in the case of women members of marginalized groups. Discrimination against women and girls leading to the violation of their right to health and safety denies their right to human dignity.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 97
- Paragraph text
- A growing number of States worldwide have confirmed their commitment to comprehensive sexuality education as an essential priority for achieving national development, health and education goals. In its resolution 70/137, the General Assembly called upon all States to develop and implement educational programmes and teaching materials, as well as teacher education and training programmes for both formal and non-formal education, including comprehensive evidence-based education on human sexuality, based on full and accurate information, for all adolescents and youth; to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women of all ages; to eliminate prejudices; and to promote and build decision-making, communication and risk reduction skills for the development of respectful relationships based on gender equality and human rights.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Men
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 96
- Paragraph text
- States have an obligation to provide education, one of whose aims is to facilitate access to scientific and technical knowledge. This is of crucial importance with respect to questions of sexuality, reproduction and health education. States have an obligation to allow information about health matters to flow freely, without State interference on moral or other grounds. It also encompasses the possibility for non-State actors to disseminate information, including in relation to sexuality and sexual and reproductive health services. However, States also have an obligation to address and eliminate harmful and wrongful gender stereotypes that contribute to the violation of women's right to health and safety.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 95
- Paragraph text
- Restrictions in many countries on girls' and women's access to unbiased, quality education, including evidence-based comprehensive sexuality education, and information about where and how to obtain essential health services prevent women from making free and informed decisions about their health and safety and hence obstruct proper, informed access to health care. This is particularly true for adolescents and marginalized women facing multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination. Such restrictions are manifestations of censorship that limit women's and girls' choices.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 94
- Paragraph text
- A number of countries have legal guarantees that protect women in the case of conscience-based refusal of care. They include the requirement of referral to non-objecting providers, registration/written notice to the employer and/or a government body, disclosure of information to patients about the provider's status as a conscientious objector, provision of services in cases of emergency, and restriction of the right to conscientious objection to the individuals directly involved in the medical intervention and not institutions or those indirectly involved, such as pharmacists. The Working Group reiterates that the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion or belief cannot be used to justify gender discrimination and therefore should not be regarded as a justification for hindering the realization of women's right to the highest attainable standard of health.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 93
- Paragraph text
- Inadequately regulated conscientious objection may constitute a barrier for women when exercising their right to have access to reproductive and sexual health services. The jurisprudence of human rights treaty bodies states that where conscientious objection is permitted, States still have an obligation to ensure that women's access to reproductive health services is not limited and that conscientious objection is a personal, not an institutional, practice.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 92
- Paragraph text
- Unaffordability of medicines is also closely linked to intellectual property laws, many of which provide exclusive patents for new medicines for long periods. However, intellectual property laws that fail to address the medical needs of women obstruct access to medicines by pushing up the price and by impeding the production and distribution of low-cost generic drugs. The right to health requires States to ensure that the pharmaceutical companies that hold a patent on essential medicines and medical devices make use of all the arrangements at their disposal to render the medicines accessible to all.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 91
- Paragraph text
- Good practices include listing as essential medicines all those recommended as necessary for women's health in the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, public subsidization of the cost of women's health-related services for everyone and subsidies to women of a given age or income.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 90
- Paragraph text
- Public funding is necessary to subsidize primary health-care services, including medications, contraceptives, legal termination of pregnancy and treatment of sexually transmitted infections. Such services should be affordable and, in the case of economically disadvantaged women, provided free of charge. User or "informal" fees for health-care services increase the risk that these women will either forgo services or resort to substandard services, perhaps from unqualified providers.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 89
- Paragraph text
- Health care is often unaffordable owing to discriminatory health insurance coverage. Some health insurance policies and programmes exclude various aspects of reproductive health care, including modern forms of contraception, termination of pregnancy and maternal care. Alternatively, some private health insurance schemes insure women's reproductive health needs but add a surcharge to the premiums paid by women. Good practice includes measures that discourage insurance companies from charging women more for health insurance than men because of perceived higher costs associated with women's reproductive health needs.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 88
- Paragraph text
- Economically disadvantaged women who do not have the means to access private health care and services are disparately affected by barriers created by unaffordability. It is therefore important for States to ensure that all health care is affordable and to remove legal restrictions that in effect discriminate against women who are economically disadvantaged.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 87
- Paragraph text
- Even where significant resources are being put in place to provide universal health care, women continue to have unequal access to good-quality health-care services in many countries. This is often because the health services that only women need are excluded from insurance coverage and are not affordable.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- Autonomous access to health care means ensuring a woman's right to make decisions concerning her health, fertility and sexuality free of coercion and violence. Key to this is the notion of choice. The rights to informed consent and confidentiality are crucial to ensuring that women can make decisions freely. These rights impose corresponding duties upon health-care providers, who are bound to disclose information about proposed treatments and alternatives in order to aid informed consent and to respect the right to refuse treatment; likewise, they are bound to maintain confidentiality to allow women to make private decisions without the interference of others whom they have not chosen to consult and who might not have their best interests at heart. Autonomy means that a woman seeking services in relation to her health, fertility or sexuality is entitled to be treated as an individual in her own right, the sole beneficiary of the service provided by the health-care practitioner and fully competent to make decisions concerning her own health. This is a matter of, among other things, a woman's right to equality before the law.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- International organizations and human rights bodies have called on States to ensure, at a minimum, that women in prostitution/sex workers have the right to access sexual health services; are free from violence or discrimination, whether committed by State agents or private persons; and have access to equal protection of the law. In particular, States should also ensure that law enforcement officials serve a protective function, as opposed to engaging in or perpetuating violence against women in prostitution/sex workers. A number of States have introduced regulations that cover health and safety issues, including access to health services, medical insurance and social security benefits that have had a positive impact on women engaged in prostitution/sex work.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- Criminal laws and other punitive regulations have imposed custodial sentences on women involved in prostitution/sex work in a manner that has been shown to harm rather than protect them. The Working Group considers that the criminalization of women in prostitution/sex work places them in a situation of injustice, vulnerability and stigma and is contrary to international human rights law. It notes that the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women calls for prohibition of the exploitation of prostitution and not for punishment of the women in prostitution/sex work themselves; the well-established position of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women that women should not be criminalized for prostitution; and the stipulation in the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Protocol) that efforts should be made to discourage the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation of women, including trafficking for sexual exploitation.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 83
- Paragraph text
- International and regional human rights bodies have called on States to decriminalize access to termination of pregnancy and to liberalize laws and policies in order to guarantee women's access to safe services. Treaty bodies, including the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, have requested States, through their jurisprudence, their general comments/recommendations and their concluding observations, to review national legislation with a view to decriminalizing termination of pregnancy and to ensure a woman's right to termination of pregnancy where there is a threat to her life or health, or where the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. The Committee against Torture and the Human Rights Committee have determined that, in some cases, being forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term amounts to cruel and inhuman treatment.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 82
- Paragraph text
- In addition, restrictions on access to information on termination of pregnancy and services can deter women from seeking professional medical attention, with detrimental consequences for their health and safety. Examples of restrictions include criminalization of medical practitioners who provide these services; prohibiting access to information on legal termination of pregnancy; requiring third-party authorization from one or more medical professionals, a hospital committee, a parent, guardian or spouse; conscientious objection by health practitioners without provision of an alternative; requiring compulsory waiting periods; and excluding coverage for termination of pregnancy services under health insurance. None of these requirements is justified on health grounds.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- It is important to recall that the use of effective contraception can result in lowering the incidence of unintended pregnancy. However, contraception cannot eliminate women's need for access to termination of pregnancy, for example in the case of rape. In addition, no method of contraception is 100 per cent effective in preventing pregnancy.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 80
- Paragraph text
- As demonstrated by WHO data, criminalizing termination of pregnancy does not reduce the need for it. Rather, it is likely to increase the number of women seeking clandestine and unsafe solutions. Countries in Northern Europe, where women gained the right to termination of pregnancy in the 1970s or 1980s and are provided with access to information and to all methods of contraception, have the lowest rates of termination of pregnancy. Ultimately, criminalization does grave harm to women's health and human rights by stigmatizing a safe and needed medical procedure. In countries where induced termination of pregnancy is restricted by law and/or otherwise unavailable, safe termination of pregnancy is a privilege of the rich, while women with limited resources have little choice but to resort to unsafe providers and practices. This results in severe discrimination against economically disadvantaged women, which the Working Group has highlighted during its country visits.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- Criminalization of termination of pregnancy is one of the most damaging ways of instrumentalizing and politicizing women's bodies and lives, subjecting them to risks to their lives or health in order to preserve their function as reproductive agents and depriving them of autonomy in decision-making about their own bodies. Restrictive laws apply to 40 per cent of women worldwide. In some countries, as a result of retrogressive anti-abortion laws, women are imprisoned for having had a miscarriage, imposing an intolerable cost on the women, their families and their societies.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 78
- Paragraph text
- Criminalization of behaviour that is attributed only to women is discriminatory per se and generates and perpetuates stigma. The threat of criminal punishment restricts women's access to sexual and reproductive health-care services and information and acts as a deterrent to health-care professionals, thus barring women's and girls' access to health-care services.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 77
- Paragraph text
- States also violate women's right to health and safety where women are penalized for sexual or reproductive conduct that should not be criminally prohibited, such as adultery, prostitution or termination of pregnancy; States also violate the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment where they impose penalties such as stoning and lashing.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- The discriminatory use of criminal law, punitive sanctions and legal restrictions to regulate women's control over their own bodies is a severe and unjustified form of State control. This can include punitive provisions in criminal, civil and administrative laws and regulations governing extramarital consensual sex, same-sex consensual adult relations, gender non-conforming expressions, provision of reproductive and sexual education and information, termination of pregnancy and prostitution/sex work. The enforcement of such provisions generates stigma and discrimination and violates women's human rights. It infringes women's dignity and bodily integrity by restricting their autonomy to make decisions about their own lives and health.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- Overmedicalization may result in reduced access to or affordability of services needed by women and a barrier to developing adequate alternative services which can be competently provided by nurses, midwives or auxiliary nurses, either at clinics or at home. Such "task shifting", particularly in places where there are few qualified doctors, would make services more accessible. Similarly, restricting authorization for the use of contraceptives to a medical practitioner is a barrier to access. Allowing pharmacists to provide contraceptives, including emergency contraceptives, over the counter is essential for effective availability, especially for economically disadvantaged women or adolescent girls.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group is concerned that many national laws and policies provide for overmedicalization of certain services that women need to preserve their health without a justified medical reason. These include requirements that only doctors can perform certain services, such as pharmaceutical termination of pregnancy or obstetric care. In many countries, women are not given a free choice between different ways of giving birth. Caesarian sections, when medically justified, can be crucial in preventing maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity. However, studies conducted by WHO demonstrated that performing caesarian sections on more than 10 per cent of women does not lead to improvement in mortality rates. Caesarean section rates of 30 per cent in some countries demonstrate overmedicalization of childbirth, with the risks of obstetrical complications and health problems.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- Viewing women's behaviour and biological physiology, in particular their reproductive functions and sexuality, as symptomatic of medical problems reflects a history of gendered pathologization. Historically, pathologization, unnecessary medicalization and institutionalization in mental care facilities have functioned as forms of social control exercised by patriarchal establishments to preserve the gender roles of women. Pathologization of women's behaviour has been evidenced in psychiatric diagnoses, which often directly target perceived immoral activity such as unconventional sexual activity or intellectual independence as a source of mental illness or disorder.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- Similarly, instrumentalization and stigmatization are at work regarding breastfeeding in public spaces and at workplaces. Aside from the fact that breastfeeding is often promoted or discouraged for economic reasons, it may be viewed as inappropriate even in countries where the practice is legally protected, exposing women to unnecessary stress and pressure from intimidation and harassment. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the majority of the approximately 830 million women workers worldwide do not enjoy workplace policies that support nursing mothers.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- Prejudices surrounding menopause may affect women's confidence in professional and public life, owing to age-based discrimination in the workplace. In some societies, this question is poorly addressed and understood, if at all. Medicalization through hormone replacement therapy, and pressure on active women to use it, even where there are health contraindications, can have a detrimental effect on women's mental health.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- The stigma and shame generated by stereotypes around menstruation have severe impacts on all aspects of women's and girls' lives, on their dignity and well-being as well as on their right to education and to employment, as they may feel obliged to stay home from school or work every month because of appropriate facilities and hygienic items are not available. Characterizing women's menstrual pain as "neurotic" tends to make women reluctant to seek help, which can delay diagnosis of, for example, the severely disabling disease of endometriosis, in which tissue that normally grows inside the uterus grows in an abnormal anatomical location.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- Furthermore, many girls do not receive sexuality education, including knowledge about the functioning of their bodies, and hygienic materials for menstruation are either unavailable or too costly. They are forced to use improvised, unhygienic materials that may lead to leaking and infections.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- Menstruation is surrounded by stigma, resulting in the ostracism of and discrimination against women and girls. In some cultures menstruating women and girls are considered to be contaminated and impure and restrictions and interdictions during menstruation are imposed on them. Women and girls may continue to harbour internalized stigma and are embarrassed to discuss menstruation even where there are no restrictions. They live with a lack of privacy for cleaning and washing, a fear of staining and smelling and a lack of hygiene in school toilets or separate sanitation facilities.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Stigma is a deeply entrenched social and cultural phenomenon which lies at the root of many human rights violations and results in entire population groups being disadvantaged and excluded, as the Special Rapporteur on the right to water and sanitation has noted (A/HRC/30/39). Women are exposed to harmful gender stereotypes or taboos regarding natural and biological functions such as menstruation, breastfeeding and menopause. Diagnosis of mental illnesses in women is biased so as to stigmatize them and has been used as a justification for institutionalizing women unnecessarily against their will.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- According to WHO, a body mass index under 16 represents severe thinness. Setting minimum standards of weight for fashion models in line with health guidance via national legislation and policies and/or regulations by modelling agencies as well as advertising campaigns embracing the diversity of female forms are good practices. The development of new models of dolls with body proportions corresponding to those of healthy women is another.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- The instrumentalization of women's bodies as objects to serve sexual and other purposes leads to practices such as invasive cosmetic procedures. Unhealthy dieting, particularly among adolescent girls, can have disastrous health consequences, including eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- In patriarchal cultures, the preference for sons leads to the prioritization of boys' and men's health before that of women and girls, resulting in discriminatory practices such as female infanticide. This is evident in cultural customs relating to food which cause girls and women, including pregnant and nursing women, to suffer disproportionately from malnutrition.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- The instrumentalization of women's bodies may result in conditioning women's access to medical assistance on the consent of a spouse or male guardian, causing withholding or delay of treatment, curtailment of women's autonomy and denial of respect for privacy and obstructing their access to health care, particularly reproductive and sexual health care. Patriarchal negation of women's autonomy in decision-making leads to violation of women's rights to health, privacy, reproductive and sexual self-determination, physical integrity and even to life.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- Much of the discrimination in access to health services and the resulting preventable ill health of women, including maternal mortality and morbidity and infertility, can be attributed to the instrumentalization of women's bodies for political, cultural, religious and economic purposes.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- Throughout their life cycle, women's bodies are instrumentalized and their biological functions and needs are stigmatized and subjected to a politicized patriarchal agenda. States have also often treated women instrumentally as tools with which to implement population programmes and policies. This is sometimes carried out through the use of criminal sanctions and often under the guise of protecting women's health and safety and with cultural or religious justifications.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Women prisoners show high rates of mental health problems owing to violence and trauma to which they had been exposed and which are exacerbated by imprisonment. Concerns about their children also have a significant impact on the mental health of women prisoners, especially when they are breastfeeding; separation from their children creates anxiety and guilt, resulting in great suffering. Women are more likely to harm themselves or attempt suicide while in detention than men. Extensive reliance on preventive use of psychotropic medication for "safety" reasons in such situations is an example of overmedicalization.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- Women in detention have specific health needs, particularly in terms of mental and reproductive health care, that are often neglected. Preventive services related to cervical and breast cancer are often unavailable and antiretroviral therapy, even for pregnant women living with HIV/AIDS, is completely absent in some facilities. The lack of adequate access to hygiene facilities and products for women prisoners is a typical and crucial concern in all regions of the world, jeopardizing the dignity and health of women prisoners. Practices such as shackling pregnant inmates during labour still occur in some countries. Detained women also face violence, including sexual violence from other prisoners or by staff.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- In many settings, especially where same-sex consensual sexual behaviour is prohibited, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons are deterred from seeking health services out of fear of being arrested and prosecuted. Even in countries where same-sex sexual orientation is not criminalized, lesbians are often discriminated against and mistreated by medical providers, which deters them from seeking health services. In some settings, they are subjected to coercive, inhumane and degrading practices such as "corrective" or punitive rape. Transgender persons are often subjected in law and practice to compulsory medical interventions without being given an opportunity for informed decision-making and choice. Their gender identity is pathologized in many countries and they are often subjected to mental and physical examinations and treatments and forced to undergo "conversion therapies". Transgender persons' biological needs, such as transition-related medical services, screening for cervical cancer, termination of pregnancy and contraception, are often refused by service providers.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- As highlighted by the Special Rapporteur on minority issues (A/HRC/31/56), minority women, including women affected by discrimination based on caste, are particularly vulnerable to violations of their right to health, including reproductive and sexual health. Women members of "lower caste" groups present the worst health outcomes, especially in terms of life expectancy, access to maternal care, nutrition and incidence of infections. Roma women are the subjects of degrading stereotypes, depicted as "fertile" and "promiscuous"; this increases their vulnerability to gender-based violence and forced sterilization.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- Rural women are particularly affected by patriarchal gender stereotypes and roles and are extremely vulnerable to harmful practices such as early or forced marriage and female genital mutilation, as well as to violence and poverty. These practices have a negative impact on their right to health. Rural women are usually particularly disadvantaged in accessing health-care services, including reproductive and sexual health services.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- The deplorable health outcomes for indigenous women are linked to decades of oppression and human rights violations against indigenous peoples, and against indigenous women in particular. Furthermore, non-indigenous health systems generally do not take into account the indigenous concept of health and health care, thereby creating barriers to access by indigenous women. Data usually fail to capture information on indigenous communities, rendering them "invisible". Even when such information exists, it is generally not disaggregated by sex. Additionally, indigenous women are disproportionately affected by illness owing to reduced coping capacity caused by the denial of other human rights and by extreme poverty.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- Indigenous women experience a complex spectrum of mutually reinforcing human rights abuses which is influenced by intersecting forms of discrimination and marginalization, reinforced by patriarchal power structures and past and present forms of violations of the right to self-determination and control of resources. These intersecting forms of discrimination have profound health consequences for indigenous women, especially for their reproductive and sexual health. The Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples has reported (see A/HRC/30/41) about the barriers to reproductive and sexual health services encountered by indigenous women as well as past and recurrent human rights violations in relation to their sexual and reproductive rights. For example, indigenous women experience disproportionately higher levels of maternal mortality, indigenous girls are overrepresented among pregnant teenagers and indigenous women have lower rates of contraceptive use and higher rates of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. Historically, there have also been instances of serious violations of indigenous women's rights to reproductive health in the context of the denial of the rights of indigenous peoples to self-determination and cultural autonomy. Those violations include forced sterilization of indigenous women and attempts to force them to have children with non-indigenous men as part of policies of cultural assimilation. Indigenous women may also face barriers to preventive care services that support their right to health, such as screening for ovarian and breast cancer.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Migrant women may be subject to mandatory pregnancy tests upon arrival in some countries; if the test is positive, they are dismissed and/or deported. Furthermore, pregnancy tests can be imposed on migrant domestic workers during the course of their employment, leading to pregnant women losing their jobs and/or seeking termination of the pregnancy, sometimes by means of unsafe practices, especially in countries that criminalize induced termination. Migrant women have been charged with "illegal sexual relationships" when they become pregnant, including following rape. They are held in detention centres in deplorable conditions pending their deportation, or face severe punishment, including the death penalty in countries where sexual relationships outside marriage are criminalized.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- The pattern of physical, sexual and psychological abuse of migrant domestic workers is widespread. These women are often exposed to health and safety risks without being provided with proper information or adequate protection. Furthermore, the working and living conditions of many undocumented domestic workers, which are tantamount to slavery, and the separation from family members cause serious health, particularly mental health, problems.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- Even where they are entitled to emergency health care, women migrant domestic workers are often excluded from preventive reproductive and sexual health services, as well as gynaecological and obstetric care, because of their status and lack of access to insurance or national health schemes.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- Women migrant workers, especially those in irregular situations, have greater difficulty in accessing almost all forms of health care, including maternal care, emergency care and treatment for chronic diseases and mental health problems, because they are often denied these rights legally and/or they fear arrest and deportation. In some countries, while legal access to health care for migrant women has been expanded, they still do not receive needed medical services because health-care providers often refuse treat them.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- Women migrants are often at great risk of being subjected by public authorities or private individuals to all manner of violence, exploitation, trafficking and slavery while in transit or in detention. These practices can amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or torture.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- Women are disproportionately vulnerable to HIV/AIDS owing to various factors, including gender-based violence and lack of autonomy to negotiate safe and responsible sexual practices and make informed health-related decisions. Even when women living with HIV/AIDS are able to access health services, they often face stigma and discrimination on the part of health-care professionals, ranging from abuse to denial of services. Laws, policies and practices that prevent women living with HIV from bearing children through, for example, forced termination of pregnancy and forced sterilization constitute an extreme form of discrimination.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities has called on States to guarantee women with disabilities safe participation in matters affecting their lives, especially in relation to sexual and reproductive rights and gender-based violence, including sexual violence, matters which are cited in a recent study as high-priority concerns for women and girls with disabilities.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- Women with disabilities are disproportionately subject to intimate-partner violence, owing to the mutually reinforcing dynamics of gender and disability.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- Women with disabilities face particular barriers in accessing health care for reasons of cost, distance, discriminatory attitudes, and lack of physical access or information. This seriously limits their access to immunization, reproductive health care and cancer screening. In some settings women with disabilities, particularly intellectual disabilities, are subjected to forced sterilization or termination of pregnancy or to long-term contraception, with relatives or doctors taking decisions on their behalf without their informed consent, in violation of their right to exercise legal capacity guaranteed under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- There is growing concern about the feminization of poverty and the disparate impact of global economic crises, austerity measures and climate change on women's health and safety. Gender inequality persists in all regions, and women and girls continue to be overrepresented among the world's population living in poverty. Women and girls, particularly those living in the global South, are disproportionately burdened by the costs of these rapid changes, to the detriment of their personal health and well-being.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group is particularly concerned about the discrimination experienced by women because of their economic status. It has witnessed first-hand during its country visits that women living in poverty are disparately affected in their access to health services, particularly reproductive and sexual health and preventive health care.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Recognizing and addressing the nature and consequences of multiple and intersectional discrimination against women in national laws and practices is essential for protecting women's health and safety. Factors such as socioeconomic, minority and ethnic status, religion, race, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability and bodily diversity exacerbate the discrimination that women face and infringe upon their ability to protect their health and safety.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- In addition, problems associated with ageing affect women disproportionally as a result of the cumulative effect of discriminatory practices women face over the course of their lives, as the Working Group described in its report on discrimination against women in economic and social life (A/HRC/26/39). Women are more likely to take care of men and to be left without spousal support. At the same time, they are more likely to suffer economic disadvantages, exacerbated by discriminatory pension systems that fail to produce equal outcomes for women, and to be excluded from social security and health insurance schemes. They are thus at greater risk of living in poverty. The mere recognition of equal rights for all, without distinction, is thus insufficient to ensure in practice the enjoyment by older women of all human rights, including the right to health.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- Women have a longer life expectancy and are particularly exposed to neglect and abuse in older age, including in health-care settings, and higher risks of diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. A gender- and age-sensitive approach needs to take into account the specific needs for care and protection of older women, including those widowed, living alone or displaced, those with dementia or other disability, those in need of palliative and geriatric care and those in emergency situations; these women are most at risk of multiple forms of discrimination, violence and poverty.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- Women's mental health during pregnancy, childbirth and the post-partum period requires both stability in their environment and emotional support. Reports of disrespect and ill treatment during childbirth in health facilities in many countries provide a deeply distressing picture of the extent of women's exposure to degrading treatment, lack of privacy, and even verbal and physical violence. Pregnant women are sometimes refused pain relief during labour or anaesthesia during a termination of pregnancy by curettage. The use in some countries of custodial or punitive rather than educative measures to prevent injury to the fetus as result of drug or alcohol consumption by addicted pregnant women is another manifestation of gender discrimination.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- Delays in seeking appropriate medical care, in reaching an appropriate health facility and in receiving appropriate care once at a facility, along with the lack of accessible maternal health care, are the main reasons behind high rates of maternal mortality and morbidity. A human rights-based approach that provides a functioning health system with adequate supplies, equipment and infrastructure as well as an efficient system of communication, referral and transport are therefore essential to eliminate these preventable deaths and to ensure women's rights to health and life.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- During pregnancy, many women are vulnerable to malnutrition owing to discrimination in the allocation of food. This can result in a serious and irreversible deterioration of women's general health and increase the risk of premature delivery, low birth weight and birth defects. After childbirth, such discrimination can continue to affect women's health, including in connection with breastfeeding. Furthermore, as stated by the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, structural violence is an underexamined barrier to women's right to adequate food and nutrition. Gender-based violence, which is a primary form of discrimination, can impede women from accessing adequate food and nutrition.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- In some countries, adolescent girls are deterred from accessing information and services for family planning and termination of pregnancy that are needed to protect their health and safety and prevent unwanted high-risk pregnancies, including the requirement of third party authorization.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- Adolescent girls are particularly exposed to gender-based violence in the family and on their way to or at school, with extremely harmful impacts on their physical and mental health. In its resolution 70/137 the General Assembly called upon all States to improve the safety of girls on the way to and from school, taking steps to ensure that all schools are accessible, safe, secure and free from violence and providing separate and adequate sanitation facilities that provide privacy and dignity.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- Many girls are exposed to a wide variety of practices which are harmful to their health and well-being, such as female genital mutilation, discrimination in food allocation resulting in malnutrition and discrimination in access to professional health care. Furthermore, early marriage and adolescent pregnancy have a long-lasting impact on girls' physical integrity and mental health. Pregnancy and childbirth are together the second leading cause of death among 15- to 19-year-old girls globally, putting them at the highest risk of dying or suffering serious lifelong injuries as a result of pregnancy. For example, up to 65 per cent of women with obstetric fistula, which is a severely disabling condition and often results in social exclusion, develop this condition as adolescents.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group notes with concern that issues relating to women's health are not addressed in a holistic manner on political and health agendas at the national and international levels. Policies regarding women's health services are often limited to questions of "maternal health". Despite the importance of prioritizing this issue, such a restrictive focus fails to recognize the full spectrum of women's rights to sexual and reproductive health at all stages of their life cycle and contributes to the instrumentalization of women's bodies, viewing them mainly as a means of reproduction.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- Discriminatory laws and practices have contributed to a deplorable global situation with respect to women's health and safety which calls for urgent, immediate and effective actions. According to WHO, an estimated 225 million women are deprived of access to essential modern contraception. Pregnancy and childbirth-related complications resulted in the deaths of almost 300,000 women worldwide in 2013. About 22 million unsafe abortions take place annually and an estimated 47,000 women die from complications resulting from unsafe abortion each year. Breast and cervical cancer remain the leading cancers among women aged 20-59 years, resulting in 1 million deaths, the majority in low- and middle-income countries where screening, prevention and treatment are almost non-existent. Young women bear the brunt of new HIV infections. One in three women under 50 has experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner or family member. At least 200 million women and girls have been subjected to female genital mutilation.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- Discrimination against women is also manifest in the unequal provision of health services required by both women and men. This has been especially severe in countries where women have been excluded from receiving medical treatment by male doctors on the grounds of "modesty".
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Discrimination is sometimes manifested in humiliating treatment women that may face in facilities that are dedicated exclusively to them, such as birthing facilities where, as repeatedly stressed by United Nations human rights mechanisms and WHO, they are too often subjected to degrading and sometimes violent treatment.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Infants
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Denial of access to essential health services with respect to termination of pregnancy, contraception, treatment for sexually transmitted diseases and infertility treatment has particularly serious consequences for women's health and lives. Women may be denied such services through criminalization, reduction of availability, stigmatization, deterrence or derogatory attitudes of health-care professionals. In reality, denial of access drives service provision underground into the hands of unqualified practitioners. This exacerbates the risks to the health and safety of the affected women. Persistently high maternal mortality rates often reflect a lack of investment in and underprioritization of services required only by women
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Discriminatory practices in the area of health and safety occur at all stages of women's life cycle. Multiple discrimination merits particular consideration and remedies. Denying women access to services which only they require and failing to address their specific health and safety, including their reproductive and sexual health needs, are inherently discriminatory and prevent women from exercising control over their own bodies and lives. Gender-based discrimination in the administration of medical services also violates women's human rights and dignity.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- The social, religious and cultural factors that disregard the dignity of girls and women must be tackled to achieve women's right to equality in health and safety.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Women's specific health and safety needs require protection against gender-based violence that affects their physical integrity and mental health, including in health-care settings.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Many drug therapy protocols and other medical treatments and interventions administered to women are based on research conducted on the male of the species without any investigation and adjustment for biological and gender differences. Equality requires the conduct of medical research on the basis of women's experience and biological differences. It also requires adequate attention to be paid to the particular health risks to which women are disproportionately exposed, such as depression and suicide, and proper gender-sensitive treatment of diseases which tend to be considered, inaccurately, as typically masculine, such as cardiovascular diseases.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Equality also requires health policy to be based solely on women's health needs and not to be influenced by instrumentalization and politicization. Political contestation around rights to reproductive and sexual health remains a global challenge, resulting in women paying a high price in terms of their health and lives. In adopting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, States committed to ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes. A strong commitment to women's sexual and reproductive rights in international and national law, policies and programmes is crucial for achieving gender equality and ensuring women's and girl's right to health and well-being.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Central among women's and girls' health needs are those relating to their reproductive and sexual health. Substantive equality requires that States attend to the risk factors that predominantly affect women. For instance, since only women can become pregnant, a lack of access to contraceptives is bound to affect their health disproportionately. Equality in reproductive health requires access, without discrimination, to affordable, quality contraception; maternal health care, including during childbirth and the post-partum period; access to safe termination of pregnancy; access to effective screening and early treatment for breast and cervical cancer; and special attention to the high rate of HIV infections among young women and treatment to prevent mother-to-infant transmission.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- In the area of health, the distinctly different biological and reproductive functions of women and men necessitate differential treatment and proper algorithms are required to make sure that women have equal access to and enjoy the highest achievable level of health treatment. An identical approach to treatment, medication, budgeting and accessibility would in fact constitute discrimination.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- A number of other factors and developments which have serious implications for women's health and safety are not tackled in the present report owing to space restrictions. These include climate change and other environmental catastrophes and degradation and gender-based violence in armed conflicts.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- The State is accountable for fulfilling its international human rights obligation to ensure that women are provided with gender-responsive scientific research, medicines and health interventions and for providing appropriate and adequate gender-based resources and a system of effective monitoring, budgeting, remedies and redress. It is also obligated to provide women with autonomous, effective and affordable access to health care. The State has a responsibility to ensure that barriers to women's enjoyment of the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health are dismantled, including by exercising due diligence.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- A wide range of actors, both public and private, play a role that affects women's health and access to health care and each of the actors bears responsibility for its actions or inactions. In particular, the significant role of the principles enshrined in the deontological codes of different medical professionals and in the rules governing the corporate social responsibility of the pharmaceutical industry are an essential locus for establishing gender-sensitive research, medicines and treatments.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Women's bodies are instrumentalized for cultural, political and economic purposes rooted in patriarchal traditions. Instrumentalization occurs within and beyond the health sector and is deeply embedded in multiple forms of social and political control over women. It aims at perpetuating taboos and stigmas concerning women's bodies and their traditional roles in society, especially in relation to their sexuality and to reproduction. As a result, women face continuous challenges in accessing health care and in maintaining autonomous control in decision-making about their own bodies. Understanding and eliminating the instrumentalization of women's bodies, which is based on harmful cultural norms and stereotypes, and its detrimental impact on women's health, is critical for change to occur.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- Women face a disproportionate risk of being subjected to humiliating and degrading treatment in health-care facilities, especially during pregnancy, childbirth and the post-partum period. Furthermore, they are especially vulnerable to degrading treatment in situations where they are deprived of liberty, including in migrant detention facilities or mental institutions. They are subjected to humiliating treatment within the health-care system because of their gender identity and sexual orientation, sometimes expressly in the name of morality or religion, as a way of punishing what is considered "immoral" behaviour.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- Substantive equality in the area of health and safety requires differential treatment. Throughout their life cycle from childhood to old age, women have health needs and vulnerabilities that are distinctively different from those of men. Women have specific biological functions, are exposed to health problems that affect only women, are victims of pervasive gender-based violence and, statistically speaking, live longer than men, resulting in their greater need to access health services frequently and into older age. Hence, women and girls experience the negative effects of insufficiencies in health-care services more intensively than men.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- WHO defines health as not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, but as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being. In the present report the Working Group addresses women's safety as an integral aspect of their health. Women's exposure to gender-based violence in both the public and private spheres, including in conflict situations, is a major component of women's physical and mental ill health and the destruction of their well-being, and constitutes a violation of their human rights.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- States are obliged to secure women's rights to the highest attainable standard of health and safety, including their underlying determinants, and women's equal access to health-care services, including those related to family planning, as well as their rights to privacy, information and bodily integrity. The obligation to respect, protect and fulfil women's right to equal access to health-care services and to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women with regard to their health and safety is violated by neglecting women's health needs, failing to make gender-sensitive health interventions, depriving women of autonomous decision-making capacity and criminalizing or denying them access to health services that only women require. In some situations, failure to protect women's rights to health and safety may amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment or torture, or even a violation of their right to life.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Women's rights to equality and to the highest attainable standards of health, to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and to health-care services, including those related to reproductive and sexual health, are enshrined in international and regional human rights instruments, reaffirmed in consensus agreements, including the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women and the outcome documents of the review and appraisal conferences, and recognized by international, regional and national mechanisms and jurisprudence. The International Conference on Population and Development, held in 1994, recognized women's rights to reproductive and sexual health as being key to women's health. Discrimination against women in the area of health and safety and denial of their right to control their own bodies severely violate their human dignity, which, along with equality, is recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- The present report aims to clarify the meaning of equality in the area of health and safety, identify discriminatory practices, expose the instrumentalization of women's bodies in violation of their human dignity and reveal the barriers to women's autonomous, effective and affordable access to health care. Instrumentalization is defined as the subjection of women's natural biological functions to a politicized patriarchal agenda, which aims at maintaining and perpetrating certain ideas of femininity versus masculinity or of women's subordinate role in society.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2016
- Document code
- A/HRC/32/44
Document
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 97j
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Guarantee women's equal access to decision-making positions and processes in all institutions of global governance, including the United Nations.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 97i
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Accelerate efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women, including through a comprehensive legal framework to combat impunity, in order to fulfil women's human rights and to improve the enabling conditions for women's participation in political and public life;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 97h
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Support women's equal participation in political and public life through ICTs, including by: (i) Increasing women's digital literacy, particularly among marginalized women; (ii) Ensuring gender-responsiveness in the promotion and protection of human rights on the Internet; (iii) Improving women's access to the global governance of ICTs;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 97g
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Overcome the knowledge gap regarding women's participation in political and public life, at the national and global levels, by generating robust sex-disaggregated statistics and multidisciplinary research reflecting the whole spectrum of women's engagements, including through innovative documentation produced by the women themselves;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 97f
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Support the sustainability and growth of autonomous women's movements in their multifaceted efforts to ground universal standards of equality and human rights in diverse contexts, including by providing non-binding funding at the national and international levels and by supporting the development of independent women's funds;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 97e
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Create a coherent institutional architecture for women's human rights and gender equality, including by: (i) Securing the gender balance and gender-responsive capacity of national human rights institutions (NHRIs) and other independent monitoring bodies; (ii) Institutionalizing gender responsiveness as part of the international standards for effective NHRIs; (iii) Establishing well-resourced specialized national mechanisms for women's rights and gender equality;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 97d
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Support and ensure women's equal participation in and benefit from all areas of political decision-making during times of political transition. States should: (i) Apply special measures to ensure the equal and full participation of women in all transitional authorities and mechanisms; (ii) Ensure, including through constitutional provisions, a coherent system-wide framework for equality between men and women in all fields of life; (iii) Engage women in meaningful and sustainable ways in the development and implementation of policies to achieve lasting peace and security, including by promoting a culture of peace through formal and informal education in a multicultural setting; (iv) Ensure women's effective participation in all initiatives to secure accountability for past abuses, including transitional justice processes, and ensure that the guarantee for non-recurrence incorporates overcoming the root causes of gender-based violations in everyday life and institutions;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 97c
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Develop a bottom-up approach to building democratic and accountable relations between State and society, including in local governance and governance in the sectoral fields, with the active participation of institutions and organizations in which women's leadership is located and growing;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 97b
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Create the enabling conditions for public recognition and acceptance for women in positions of leadership and decision-making through public campaigns and educational programmes which are responsive to multicultural settings, including by: (i) Giving recognition to the diversity of women's engagements in political and public life; (ii) Providing a positive image of diverse women, including minority women, indigenous women, women with disabilities, and other historically marginalized women, in leadership and decision-making positions; (iii) Providing youth and children with a wide range of relevant role models and career paths for women, including through mentoring programmes for young women's participation in political and public life;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 97a
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Take concrete steps towards achieving parity in political decision-making and leadership at all levels through a multifaceted approach that is responsive to the different obstacles faced by women, including in dealing with multiple discrimination. States should: (i) Strengthen the legislative foundation towards parity, including through constitutional provisions and other legislative measures for positive action, such as quotas, to overcome structural barriers to women's political participation; (ii) Provide effective policy measures to increase women's electability for public office and in key institutions of political and public life, including political parties; (iii) Address any indication of stagnation and segregation in the progress towards parity by designing and implementing innovative strategies to overcome specific barriers; (iv) Develop strategies to support capacity development for women in public office, including through national and international cooperation among peers; (v) Enhance the capacity to consistently and regularly monitor progress at all levels of decision-making across the whole spectrum of institutions of public and political life;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 96
- Paragraph text
- The right mix of special measures, both temporary and permanent, is required to address reported stagnation in the rise in women's participation in public office. Partial and selective application of gender quotas and other temporary special measures must be replaced by a comprehensive system-wide approach, in permanent as well as ad hoc institutions of governance, peace, development and human rights, at the local, national and global levels. The emerging framework for global governance of information and communications technologies (ICTs) is particularly important, considering the crucial role that ICTs are playing in the political and public life of women.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 95
- Paragraph text
- Women's capacity for equal participation in all aspects of political and public life depends on a coherent set of social and economic policies directed at the family, workplace and marketplace. It also requires their capacity to engage in complex issues such as peace and security, state-building, and extreme poverty and all forms of social exclusion. Positive action is needed to empower women to produce knowledge and engage actively and creatively in these fields. As women act collectively to overcome the structural barriers they face, sustainable access of these groups or communities to adequate resources, including financial, is critical.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 94
- Paragraph text
- For women's participation in political and public life to be meaningful it must be on equal footing with that of men, covering all aspects of political and public life, and effective in achieving substantive outcomes on equality between men and women in all fields of life. Women's economic independence and the economic viability of their enterprises and collective actions are crucial, and the conditions necessary for this to be achievable is distinct for differently located women, defined by the unique intersections of multiple forms of discrimination experienced by them. Political transitions do not always lead to inclusive democracy and long-lasting peace, and require the effectiveness of autonomous women's movements to ground universal standards of human rights in political and public life.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 93
- Paragraph text
- Civil society organizations have supported ground-breaking cases on women's rights generally and as they relate to participation in public and political life. This underlines the importance of securing the capacity of civil society organizations to sustainably fund their critical work, including in the areas of litigation for violations of women's rights.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 92
- Paragraph text
- Making justice systems work for women, whether by catalysing legal reform, or supporting legal aid, one-stop shops and training for judges, is key to the sustainability of women's political participation. This area requires investment. Recognizing the importance of strengthening the rule of law, Governments spend a significant amount on legal and judicial development and human rights. However, targeted funding for gender equality remains low, and gender budgeting initiatives are primarily focused on providing financial resources within State institutions.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 91
- Paragraph text
- However, there are no international standards for NHRIs to integrate gender and women's rights into their work, resulting in the uneven responsiveness of NHRIs to the specific protection needs of women in political and public life, including women human rights defenders and female politicians at the local level. Specialized NHRIs on women's human rights exist in some countries, but no mechanism guarantees coordination between specialized and the main national human rights bodies, resulting in serious gaps and the risk of fragmented national human rights systems.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 90
- Paragraph text
- NHRIs play a crucial role in providing human rights protection and access to redress for politically active women at risk. Given the complex obstacles deeply rooted in structural inequalities and multiple intersections of social-cultural exclusion, women's effective participation in political and public life can be achieved only when they have equal and full access to all mechanisms of independent human rights monitoring and redress, particularly in contexts where the risks are high. Gender responsiveness and gender balance in NHRIs and other human rights institutions at the regional and international levels are imperative.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 89
- Paragraph text
- Effective elimination of discrimination against women in political and public life relies on the capacity to implement legal guarantees of equality between men and women in this field. National women's machineries set up within the executive bodies of States have been consistently underresourced and are therefore disadvantaged in carrying out their functions. Autonomous women's movements which promote universal standards of equality and non-discrimination are key players, both for maintaining the continued existence of these national machineries as well as for promoting their effectiveness. The equal participation of women from minority, indigenous and other marginalized communities in decision-making positions is the measure of a full implementation of legal guarantees and measures.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 88
- Paragraph text
- Transitional justice mechanisms should provide accountability for gross violations of human rights affecting women, a comprehensive analysis of gender-based violence and abuse by past regimes, the means for transformative reparations for women victims, and the foundation for a gender-responsive reform of the political and legal institutions as part of the guarantee of non-recurrence.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 87
- Paragraph text
- For all women to have the capacity to exercise their right to equal and full participation in political and public life, States must provide a comprehensive legal framework to eliminate all forms of violence against women, including domestic violence, gender-based violence in conflict situations and under current or past dictatorships, and violence directed at women who speak out and play leadership roles during times of war and peace. As articulated in the agreed conclusions of the fifty-seventh session of the Commission for the Status of Women, these laws must provide for multidisciplinary and gender-sensitive preventive and protective measures, such as emergency barring orders and protection orders; the investigation, submission for prosecution and appropriate punishment of perpetrators to end impunity; and support services that empower victims and survivors, as well as access to appropriate civil remedies and redress.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- Women and girls belonging to minority communities, rural and indigenous women, migrant women, refugee women and those seeking asylum, and poor women face discriminatory practices in the implementation of laws on nationality and citizenship. They face prejudicial attitudes as well as structural obstacles which limit access to formal registration of births, marriage, residence and other citizenship documents as well as to relevant information on their rights as citizens. Women who are de facto heads of households, including those who have been abandoned by their husbands, whose divorce is not legally registered, or whose husbands have been forcibly disappeared and do not have death certificates for their husbands , are denied recognition of their status in official documents. Without such access, women from these communities become disproportionately vulnerable in exercising their full and equal rights as citizens.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- In recent years, many countries have repealed or amended discriminatory nationality provisions to allow women to transfer nationality to their children, and, albeit to a lesser extent, to foreign husbands, or to reduce the occurrence of statelessness. Some countries have lifted their reservations to article 9 of the Convention, mostly in relation to women passing on nationality to children (art. 9, para. 2). Nationality laws which discriminate against women have been challenged in the courts of many countries and in international human rights mechanisms, resulting in a number of positive court decisions.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- Elimination of discrimination against women in political and public life necessitates reform of nationality laws. Women's capacity to participate in political and public life is defined by their citizenship and nationality, but nationality laws often discriminate against women, particularly when they require a single nationality in a family and the wife's nationality is treated as dependent on her husband's. In effect, women lose their nationality upon marriage with a foreign husband, particularly if both countries of the spouses follow the principle of dependent nationality. If the country of the husband does not follow this principle, then the wife is at risk of becoming stateless, denying her the right to legitimately participate in the political and public life of any country. Laws which require women to seek permission from their husbands, or other family members traditionally defined as their guardians, in acquiring passports and other identity documents also potentially undermine women's capacity to equal participation in political and public life, including through limited freedom of movement.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 83
- Paragraph text
- Constitutional guarantees of gender equality will be operative only if there is provision for effective judicial review of legislative and governmental action and women are empowered to process their claim for equality through the courts. Beyond State courts, the possibility of recourse to international and regional mechanisms opens access to interpretation of the constitutional provisions in line with the international and regional State obligation to respect, protect and fulfil women's right to equality.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 82
- Paragraph text
- Effective constitutions for gender equality and non-discrimination provide clarity in a hierarchy of competing laws, legal provisions which establish compliance with universal standards of human rights, and coherence throughout national legal frameworks. There are good practices to be found in different regions, where recognition of the autonomy of customary or indigenous communities is nevertheless subject to the requirement that they respect women's human rights. For instance, in the sub-Saharan region, one constitutional provision mandates that "laws, cultures, customs and traditions which are against the dignity, welfare or interest of women or any other marginalised group … or which undermine their status, are prohibited by this Constitution", and in Latin America and the Caribbean one constitution provides far-reaching recognition of both gender equality and indigenous rights, guaranteeing women's participation and decision-making in indigenous governance and justice systems.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- The inclusion of any clause in the constitution that derogates from the guarantee of gender equality, by deferring to contradictory precepts in other orders of justice such as traditional and religious principles, undermines the equality standards of international human rights law. Similarly, constitutions that have an override clause, which excludes plural legal systems, religious or customary courts or alternative dispute settlement procedures from the obligation to respect the gender equality guarantee, violate the equality standards of the Convention. Many of the countries that have derogation or exclusion clauses in their constitutions have entered reservations to the human rights treaties, and these reservations have been addressed within the concluding observations of the treaty bodies, which have required their removal.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 80
- Paragraph text
- Model examples of constitutional design can be found in recent constitutions in different regions. Since 1981, in many countries in the Western region, constitutions have been amended to include provisions permitting the use of temporary special measures to promote the participation of women in political and public life. One recently established constitution in the Maghreb confers systematically, throughout its provisions, constitutional rights expressly on women as well as men, and seeks to ensure parity between them; in Latin America and the Caribbean there is a constitution which contains approximately 34 references to the rights of women, including the right to political participation.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- In order to ensure effective access to justice for women, the constitutional requirements for gender equality should be specific. Research on constitutional provisions that specifically grant or protect the rights of women has shown that while women's protection clauses cannot be shown to be the exclusive cause of improved legal protection of women, they are associated with gains in women's rights.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 78
- Paragraph text
- National constitutions define the framework for eliminating discrimination against women in law and practice and articulate the principles and ways by which historical power asymmetries are redressed. Constitutions provide important clarity on the relationship between distinct normative regimes which are adhered to and practiced de facto by different sections of society. A constitutional guarantee of equality for women, in line with international standards, most especially the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and regional standards, is essential in order to establish a universal imperative of equality for women on which the entire chain of justice within the State will rest. Increasingly, in different regions, women's rights and non-discrimination clauses have been incorporated into new constitutions or are part of constitutional reform efforts. This transnational constitutional pattern can be attributed to ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the concluding observations of the Committee, together with campaigning by women's activists.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 77
- Paragraph text
- The obligation of States to advance women's equality and empower women in public and political life requires legal measures at all levels: constitutional, legislative and judicial.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group notes that good practices of States include a legislative, and preferably constitutional, requirement that political parties place women in realistic positions for election, apply quotas, guarantee the rotation of power, accountability and parity membership between women and men on their governing boards and condition the funding of political parties on their integration of women in realistic positions on their candidate lists.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- The most effective strategies for women's political empowerment involve reforms to incorporate rules that guarantee women's representation within political parties. Some 50 countries have adopted legislation on electoral quotas in order to ensure that a certain proportion of candidates for political office are women. Hundreds of political parties in another 20 countries have voluntarily adopted their own gender quotas. In some countries the quota system is established by the constitution. One constitution in the Latin American and Caribbean region includes the principle of parity in all policymaking mechanisms, including elections, ministries, the justice system and political parties, and stipulates that political parties' "organization, structure and functioning shall be democratic and shall guarantee the rotation of power, accountability, and parity membership between women and men on their governing boards". In the Maghreb, one new constitution mandates the establishment of a mechanism for parity (see A/HRC/20/28/Add.1). Women's movements were intensely involved in these constitutional processes, illustrating the importance of activism to exert pressure for the creation of a constitutional framework that supports women's right to representation.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- Political parties, which function as gatekeepers in political decision-making, tend to be exclusionary towards women. Women also frequently lack access to political party funding and financial resources for their election bids and campaigns. Some political parties exclude women on religious ideological grounds. Both a national court and the European Court of Human Rights found that a confessional political party's exclusion of women from its parliamentary candidate list, because "differences in nature, talents and place in society means that, although women are not inferior to men as human beings, they should not be eligible for public office", was in violation of the State's Constitution and article 7 of the Convention.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- Political parties are key determinants of women's political empowerment and women's participation in politics, as political parties recruit and select candidates for elections.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- Particularly during times of political transitions, in highly polarized discourse regarding national identity, gender stereotypes can be magnified and undermine progress in eliminating discrimination against women.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group notes that negotiation by international, regional and State agencies with sectoral or minority groups is negatively influenced by gender stereotyping when conducted solely with the male community leadership, thereby making women's leadership effectively invisible and further marginalizing women.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- Women who belong to vulnerable groups, based on race, class, ethnicity, religion or belief, health, status, age, class, caste and sexual orientation and gender identity, are effectively barred from political and public life based on multiple stereotyping. In its concluding observations, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has expressed concern about stereotyped media portrayals of women's roles within the family and society.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- Stereotypes of women's capacities and roles that negatively affect women's effective participation in political and public life persist around the world. Despite evidence of women's important contributions in other fields of life, including in the labour market, stereotypes of female inadequacy in politics continue to be used as a basis for their marginalization and segregation in decision-making positions, with care and distributive tasks such as health and social welfare allocated to women, while men are assigned to economic and defence affairs, distorting the power structure and resource allocation.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- In 2012, recognizing the importance of eliminating violence against women in public and political life, the General Assembly, in its resolution 66/130, called for an environment of zero tolerance for violence against women elected officials and candidates for public office. In the Latin American and Caribbean region, the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women explicitly recognizes the right of women to be free from violence in both the public and the private spheres and the impact that violence can have on civil, political and economic, social and cultural rights. In this region, there are examples of legislation prohibiting gender-based harassment and violence against a woman candidate as well as pressure on a female candidate's family. In the African region, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights recently issued a decision on the failure of States in protecting women during acts of political protest, including in a case concerning violence against women journalists. In an environment where sexual violence continues to go unpunished, this decision makes a valuable contribution towards ensuring that States are held to account when they fail to protect women from violence.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Domestic violence is public as well as private in its debilitating impact on women. It can also be used directly as a form of punishment by resentful husbands or other family members against wives or female relatives who become leaders in their community.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- The Internet has become a site of diverse forms of violence against women, in the form of pornography, sexist games and breaches of privacy. For women who engage in public debate through the Internet, the risk of harassment is experienced online, for example, an anonymous negative campaign calling for the gang rape of a woman human rights defender, with racist abuse posted in her Wikipedia profile. Female ICT users have publicly protested about sexist attacks.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- Stigmatization, harassment and outright attacks have been used to silence and discredit women who are outspoken as leaders, community workers, human rights defenders and politicians. Sexual harassment against female political candidates has been reported as a tactic to discourage women from exercising their right to vote and run for elections. Women defenders are often the target of gender-specific violence, such as verbal abuse based on their sex, sexual abuse or rape; they may experience intimidation, attacks, death threats and even murder by community members. Violence against women defenders is sometimes condoned or perpetrated by State actors, including through police harassment of female demonstrators.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- Violence against women in all its forms, whether in the private or the public space, undermines women's capacity to effectively engage in political and public life.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- Good practice regarding the work-life balance for public and political participation includes both childcare support and institutional family-friendly scheduling. The highest performing countries in terms of proportion of women in public office have the most generous entitlements for maternal and parental leave. This reflects States' effectiveness in creating better options for women to reconcile the balance between work and family life, promoting a better balance of responsibilities between men and women in the home and encouraging a higher percentage of fathers to take parental leave. This demonstrates a significant cultural change in society's views of gender roles, which is itself a culmination of decades of responsive social policies. Good practices regarding gender-sensitive parliaments are found in some Western European and other States that have changed the scheduling of parliamentary session to allow a work-life balance for Members of Parliament who have parental responsibilities.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- Caregiving responsibilities in the family are disproportionately in the hands of women. Both the reality and the a priori belief that this is the way it should be put women at a structural disadvantage in entering and participating sustainably in political and public life. The long hours of work and heavy travel demands make it difficult for women with caregiving responsibilities to maintain consistent engagement in political and public life without adequate support for the caring responsibilities. At the same time, women who carry out full-time engagement in politics and public affairs are often harassed and stigmatized, as they are perceived to undermine traditional family values.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- Reform of family laws provides a firm basis to overcome structural and cultural impediments to women's equal and full participation in political and public life. Family laws have been the focus of reform throughout history, as part of whole movements of States and societies towards modernity. In most cases, religious hermeneutic projects, particularly when initiated as part of broader reforms during times of political transition, have been an integral part of making these changes possible, with a prominent role played by women's rights movements, as in the case of Morocco, which achieved significant reform on many fronts in the family code (Moudawana), and by reform-minded religious institutions. The political will for these reforms, in State-sponsored modernization projects and social engineering agendas, has existed in diverse contexts of colonial power, the post-colonial State and communist regimes.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Many States have entered reservations to articles 2 and 16 of the Convention, on equality in the family, almost all in deference to religious family law, and in so doing perpetuate the structural impediment of inequality in the family to women's full and effective participation in political and public life. The Working Group regards the elimination of discrimination in the family as central to women's capacity to participate in political and public life on equal terms with men and the withdrawal of these reservations as imperative.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- Women belonging to minority groups are often victims of dual discrimination, as they must address discrimination against minorities and within their own communities. Providing special measures of education, leadership training and economic assistance for women and awareness-raising for men in patriarchal communities are some of the good practices by which States can address such multiple discrimination.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- Patriarchal and discriminatory family law or practice may limit women's freedom of occupation and freedom of movement in the public space. In some countries, men are still regarded by law as the head of household, barring women from representing their families in official decision-making processes on public affairs, including on development projects and issues of good governance, which have an impact on women and their families. The system of heads of household has been abrogated in many countries' legal systems.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- The institution of family is one of the foundations of whole political systems, and family law is core to women's citizenship and public life. Women's right to equality in the family shapes opportunities and constraints for women's agency and autonomy and also regulates access to land, income, education and health, including reproductive health, thereby determining a woman's capacity to fully engage in all aspects of life. The right of women to equality in the family was established in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and elaborated in articles 2 and 16 of the Convention.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- While women are situated in different locations, each with distinct vulnerabilities and assets, their participation in political and public life is commonly constrained by structural and societal discrimination in the family, in caregiving responsibilities, in violence against women, and marginalization by political parties and other non-State public institutions. The obligation of States to remove these barriers is clearly mandated in article 2 (f) of the Convention and has been repeatedly advocated by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- Political will of States is the key element to ensure gender equality outcomes, combined with persistent support, pressure and scrutiny by women's movements, whose autonomy should be protected by the State
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- Poverty and social exclusion, including women's high levels of illiteracy and poor health, lock women into a persistent state of dependence and deprivation and often make long-term participation in political and public life an unviable option. Programmes addressing poverty and social exclusion and containing strong empowerment components for marginalized women, including those who face multiple discrimination, enhance the opportunity and capacity for these particular women to participate meaningfully in political and public life.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Guarantees of women's rights to education, decent employment and access to economic resources are preconditions for women's equal and effective participation in political and public life. A coherent set of gender-responsive social and economic policies is necessary to overcome the multifaceted structural barriers that women face.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- The democratic deficit also expresses itself in the lack of capacity by States to address perpetual insecurity in all its different dimensions, including militarism and the culture of violence, especially, but not only, in situations of conflict and transition, in which women are primary victims.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- The delegation of political or public power to religious institutions or indigenous communities that are exempt from the requirement to include women in their leadership and decision-making bodies cancels women's right to participate in significant aspects of public and political life; in such cases, the boundaries of women's rights are defined unilaterally by decision-makers of patriarchal social orders.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- The democratic deficit undermines women's substantive participation in political and public life. Patronage politics, corruption, and undemocratic local government reduce women's effectiveness in the political arena, as they prevent transparency and accountability in decision-making and in the distribution of resources. Gender discriminatory policies and regulations have been applied by autonomous local governments even when national or federal laws mandate gender equality. Empowering women's participation in political and public life from the community level up helps build a culture of accountability, as it broadens the constituency for democratic decision-making, and is crucial to the effective application of good governance at all levels.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- In the negotiation of political settlements during political transitions or in law reform, the inclusion of women's civil society organizations and women leaders or spokespersons from sectoral or minority communities is crucial to ensure the equal benefit of reform to all citizens. As political transitions do not always lead to inclusive democracy, the empowerment of autonomous women's movements is of equal priority to the process of state-building and the reform of political institutions.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- The new space and opportunities created by revolutionary developments in ICTs have enabled women to initiate or enhance their participation in political and public life. Women who are confined in private homes have used ICTs as a means to break out of their isolation and take part in collective action. Women who live under threat of attack because of their sexual orientation have found safety in the anonymity of the Internet, which allows them to freely speak out, establish virtual communities and participate in public debates. During moments of political unrest, women have utilized SMS, micro-blogging and social networking to provide "bodyguard" protection to each other on the ground.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Women's rights advocates engage actively in different normative regimes, including religious communities and indigenous or customary groups. They do so, among others, by initiating hermeneutic projects within their respective religions. In their cultural communities, women express their opinions on politics also through the arts, including writings, music and plays, and their works have been attacked, criminalized and condemned by State and non-State actors. In certain contexts, economically independent women playing leadership roles are stigmatized and attacked as witches. Lesbian, bisexual and transgender women who defend their human rights are vulnerable to attacks on their civil rights and personhood where there is a climate of intolerance arising from their perceived challenge to established norms of gender identity, gender roles and sexuality.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- Women's participation in political and public life remains dynamic, multifaceted, and resilient, including in gaining access to power through alternative structures, as recognized in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Even as the glass ceiling in formal political institutions stays mostly intact, women actively open new spaces for discourse, build networks across long-standing divides and create new communities of engagement. Through the autonomous movements they build at the local to global levels, women's political engagements develop across formal administrative boundaries and are transnational in reach based on the universality of women's right to equality, challenging unequal power relations, demanding accountability, defending rights and achievements, and advocating for systemic and cultural change in societies, institutions and States. Women's autonomous civil society organizations are crucial to women's participation in public and political life.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- The whole spectrum of women's engagement and activism in political and public life, through all State institutions, the wide range of organizations in civil society and the diversity of public discourse, is integral to democracy, development and peace.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- The election and appointment of women to public and political office is a necessary condition for equality in public and political life, but the number of women in office is insufficient for advancing gender equality in society. Evidence shows that women who are appointed or elected to public office do not necessarily promote gender-equality agendas. Policy outcomes that advance substantive equality between men and women involve larger processes of public debate, alliance-building across political divides, and activism by autonomous women's movements based on universal standards of equality, non-discrimination, human rights and inclusive democracy.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), in its 2013 Plan of Action for Gender-sensitive Parliaments, has drawn attention to the need for gender sensitivity in the composition, structures, operations, methods and work of parliaments. In the plan, it noted that "gender-sensitive parliaments remove the barriers to women's full participation and offer a positive example or model to society at large" (p. 8). The Working Group considers the IPU plan of action to be adaptable for other public and political institutions in which women's equal representation must be secured.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group welcomes a general trend in recent years to extend special measures or positive action to other areas of public life beyond legislative bodies. Positive action encompasses actions to promote women's participation in public life by such tools as media campaigns and training opportunities, which are not legally binding quotas, and new generation transformative measures setting out an overriding objective of equal power of women and men to shape society and their own lives.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- Effective political participation of women requires not only admission to political institutions but also integration into their decision-making forums. Women's full participation requires concerted action to overcome the de facto segregation of women's political participation in sectors which are stereotypically associated with women's gender roles. It requires that women be integrated into positions with decision-making power across the spectrum of issues dealt with by the institutions to which they have been elected or appointed. During political transitions, the same applies to all transitional authorities and mechanisms.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- Quotas introduced at the local level are rare but important for equality outcomes on the ground. In one country in South Asia, for example, a constitutional amendment mandated the representation of women, reserving one third of the seats within each council and women taking one third of the leadership positions as head. Research has shown that after a decade of implementation, women are more likely to stand for, and win, elected positions in councils. The requirement of female leadership changes voter attitudes and improves perceptions of female leadership effectiveness.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- Many of the quota systems were adopted as part of the rebuilding of political systems and institutions after years of conflict and/or authoritarianism. Quotas work best when accompanied by sanctions and closely monitored by gender-responsive independent bodies, including national electoral bodies and human rights institutions. Research has shown that, in general, women's chances of winning seats in parliamentary elections increase in proportional representation systems.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- Special measures, including quotas for women and other temporary measures, as required under article 4, paragraph 1, of the Convention and general recommendations No. 23 (1997) and No. 25 (2004) of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, are necessary to achieve equality between men and women in political and public life, in order to contend with the underlying structural disadvantaging of women. The most significant increase in the numbers of women in national parliaments over the years has occurred in countries where special measures, such as gender quotas, have been effectively constructed and implemented. The use of quotas to advance women's political representation and participation has increased in the past three decades and produced significant results when properly adapted to specific electoral and political systems.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- The participation of women in public and political institutions is crucial for their equality in citizenship and for empowering them to have an impact on and integrate a gender perspective into policy and decision-making.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- In times of political transition when political life is highly volatile and polarized, women's equal and full participation in political and public life depends on the effective protection of their fundamental freedoms and human rights, particularly those mentioned above. National human rights institutions (NHRIs) and other independent monitoring bodies play a particularly crucial role for women during these times.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- Women's right to enjoy their cultural rights as equals is an integral part of their right to participation in political and public life. In the light of the persistent use of cultural and traditional values to justify resistance to women's political and public roles, women's capacity for equal participation depends on their autonomous agency regarding cultural life. As articulated by the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, this involves: The freedom to create new communities of shared cultural values around any markers of identity they want to privilege, new cultural meanings and practices without fear of punitive actions, including any form of violence. This means that women must be able to embrace or reject particular cultural practices and identities as well as to revise and (re)negotiate existing traditions, values or practices, regardless of their provenance. Active engagement in the cultural sphere … helps to build central traits of democratic citizenship.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- For women to have the capacity to participate in political and public life on equal footing with men, including to build autonomous movements for their own empowerment, they must be able to exercise their rights to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, expression, movement and association. It is imperative to recognize and secure these rights as individual rights for women's effective participation in political and public life, in the light of the complex tensions between collective rights and women's rights.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- The conflict and post-conflict experience leads to an increased awareness of the different conditions of States, including weak, fragile, failed and/or hybrid States, and an increasing focus on State-building processes. State-building is understood as "purposeful action to develop the capacity, institutions and legitimacy of the state in relation to an effective political process for negotiating the mutual demands between state and societal groups". Such processes reveal the complex and critical roles and relations of State and non-State actors in the renegotiation of the balance of power, the allocation of resources and entitlements, and the formation of the identity of whole nations. Contestations over national identity are heightened during times of political change and present new vulnerabilities for those women whose values, roles and behaviours do not fit the power elite's idealized imagery of womanhood. Where identity politics are predominant, women's movements defending universal standards of gender equality risk marginalization and stigmatization, especially when such standards are characterized as unwanted external influence and a source of threat.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- Political transitions present an opportunity for States to democratize and to advance women's equal representation in the reformed State institutions. However, they can also pose a danger of undermining or reversing human rights and women's gains in public and political life achieved under the previous regime. In some political transitions, women who had been pro-democracy activists have been excluded from formal political processes negotiating the new division of power.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- There is growing recognition of the Internet as a key means by which individuals can exercise their right to freedom of opinion and expression (A/HRC/17/27, para. 20). Through initiatives on e-government and e-democracy and the innovative use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) by civil society, there is also a rising awareness of the Internet's role in expanding the concept of citizenship online. The Working Group welcomes the work by the International Telecommunication Union, the World Bank and civil society organizations, and encourages them to continue such work so as to deepen the knowledge on gender differences in the use of the Internet and other ICTs.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- These essential elements of democracy are a necessary condition for women's substantive equality in public and political life. The Working Group would like to emphasize that there can be no true democracy without women's full and equal participation in all its institutions and that women's substantive equality in political and public life can be fully realized only in conditions of democracy.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Democracy and human rights are mutually reinforcing. Women's rights are human rights and hence are an integral element of the democracy and human rights axis. The General Assembly, in its resolution 59/201 (para. 1), declared the "essential elements of democracy" to consist of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, inter alia, freedom of association and peaceful assembly and of expression and opinion; the right to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives; to vote and to be a candidate in free elections by universal and equal suffrage; a pluralistic system of political parties and organizations; respect for the rule of law; the separation of powers; the independence of the judiciary; transparency and accountability in public administration; and free, independent and pluralistic media.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group is concerned that the knowledge gap remains on the whole spectrum of women's participation in political and public life. This undermines the capacity to move to gender-responsive inclusive democracy, development and peace. Most available data is not sufficiently disaggregated to allow the understanding of the intersectionality of gender with other grounds of discrimination, in the light of Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women general recommendation No. 28 (2010) according to which "discrimination against women based on sex and gender is inextricably linked with other factors that affect women, such as race, ethnicity, religion or belief, health, status, age, class, caste and sexual orientation and gender identity" (para. 18). Evidence-based knowledge is weak on the extent of violence against women in political and public life and its impact on women's capacity to exercise their right to political participation.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group observes that the impact of political transitions on gender equality in public and political life is inherently related not only to the nature of regime change but also to the political will of the incoming Government to guarantee women's human rights, including the right to equal representation, and requires a responsive political leadership with respect to gender equality concerns, including as raised by autonomous women's movements. The Working Group notes the urgency for women's equal and full participation in peace negotiations and in decision-making in all transitional authorities, mechanisms and processes.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- The focus of the Working Group on political transition has been carried out through its communications, country visits and regional and global expert input. Experience in countries in transition has varied greatly. In the Russian Federation and Eastern Europe during the 1990s, as in some of the recent political transitions in the Middle East and North Africa, there was backsliding on key gains for gender equality and/or the numerical representation of women was reduced. In contrast, in some political transitions in various countries in many regions, the introduction of quotas facilitated a significant rise in representation of women, producing, for instance in sub-Saharan Africa, some of the highest percentages of women members of parliament. Good practice in these States included the active engagement with the international community in the peacebuilding process and an emphasis on democracy, human rights and women's rights as human rights.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- In peacebuilding processes, studies made a decade after the adoption of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) show that only 16 per cent of 585 peace agreements referenced women.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Within the United Nations system, the Secretary-General set a target, endorsed in the Beijing Platform for Action, of 50 per cent of managerial and decision-making positions for women by 2000. Gender parity was achieved at the lowest two levels (P1 and P2) in 2011; the percentage of women at the professional levels was 40.7; but only 27.4 to 30.2 per cent at the highest decision-making levels (D-1, D-2 and Under-Secretary-General).
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- In other public bodies there is no systematic data regarding women's representation which covers the whole spectrum of political and public life as defined by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women: public administration, local government, political parties, trade unions, professional or industry associations, women's organizations, community-based organizations and other organizations concerned with public and political life.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- In the judicial branch, women account for only 27 per cent of judges worldwide. There is wide divergence among States as regards the numbers of women in the judiciary, with some States in the Eastern European region having a majority of women judges. Even in countries that have a higher representation of women in the judiciary, the numbers of women decrease at higher levels. There are few women in the highest courts, including supreme courts, and rarely are the presidents women. In most religious courts women are excluded from holding office. There is, however, good practice in the Asia-Pacific region: in one country, women judges have been part of the religious courts since the institution was created in the 1950s, reaching a participation rate of 20 per cent in 2011; in another, female judges were appointed to the Sharia court pursuant to the removal of its reservation to article 7 (b) of the Convention.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- In the executive branch, only 17 women are Heads of State/Government. Women's representation in Governments is far lower than their representation in parliaments. Good practice where women occupy more than 40 per cent of Government positions were found in only a small number of States: six in the region of Western European and other States, two in sub-Saharan Africa and three in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Working Group notes that the obligation of States to secure women's equal representation includes the executive branch, and draws attention to the good practice in different regions which has demonstrated the feasibility of female-headed States and gender-balanced Governments.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- The right to representation in the legislative branch includes the right to vote in all elections and public referenda. This condition has gradually been fulfilled during the course of the twentieth century and is now almost universally implemented. Nevertheless there remain some discriminatory laws and practices, such as kinship voting practices. In one State, women have still have not been granted the right to vote.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- In the legislative branch, the current global average of women in national parliaments is 20 per cent. While this achievement marks a first in history, the climb has been slow, revealing a global average increase of less than 1 per cent per year. Only 33 countries out of 149 have national parliaments where women constitute 30 per cent or more of the members. With parity as the ultimate measure of equality, then a mere two countries have reached this point. Furthermore, there are wide divergences among States, with women accounting for less than 10 per cent of representatives in 45 States.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- General recommendation No. 23 (1997) of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women refers to political and public life as encompassing the exercise of legislative, judicial, executive and administrative powers; covering all aspects of public administration and the formulation and implementation of policy at the international, national, regional and local levels; and including civil society, such as public boards and local councils and the activities of organizations such as political parties, trade unions, professional or industry associations, women's organizations, community-based organizations and other organizations concerned with public and political life (para. 5). The Beijing Platform for Action, in its paragraph 182, referred to the scant progress made towards achieving by 1995 the 30 per cent target for women in decision-making positions. Global progress in achieving the goals for women's political representation set by the international community continues to be excruciatingly slow and is far from being met 18 years after the target date.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- Yet, despite decades of efforts, the Working Group notes that, in 2012, the General Assembly expressed its concern at the reality that women in every part of the world continued to be largely marginalized from the political sphere and saw it necessary to again dedicate a resolution to promote women's political participation. In 2012, the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality of the European Parliament indicated its alarm at the underrepresentation of women in the European Union legislative council and leadership positions, and at the stagnation of women's representation at one third or less in parliaments across the region. In 2011, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) reported on the "inequitable and sluggish" progress made in women's political representation at different levels of government in the Americas. In 2012, the World Bank found that in the Asia-Pacific region, rapid growth and economic development, with the highest female labour force participation rate in the developing world, have not been enough to attain gender equality, including in the area of political agency and representation.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- At the same time, international commitment to fulfilling women's equal right to political participation has grown substantially. The 1993 World Conference on Human Rights and its outcome document, the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, whose twentieth anniversary is being commemorated in 2013, gave recognition to women's rights as human rights. In 1995, the Fourth World Conference on Women and its outcome document, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, became the catalyst for governments around the world to introduce special measures, such as quotas for women's political representation, and propelled the doubling of the global average of such representation in less than two decades. Further, the Security Council made an historic breakthrough in 2000 when it adopted its resolution 1325 (2000), with a view to enhancing the role of women and the gender perspective in conflict resolution and peacebuilding.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- Since the introduction of the Convention, the world's political landscape has gone through substantial changes. These have been marked, variously in different regions and States, by the dismantling of long-standing totalitarian regimes, democratization and the emergence of new forms of authoritarianism. This period has also witnessed armed conflicts both between and within States, the creation of refugee populations and international involvement in conflict resolution and peacebuilding. Technological leaps in the field of information and communications, particularly the Internet, have created a new public and political space, with revolutionary impact on the development and the exercise of human rights, allowing new forms of political expression and mobilization, and facilitating political communication and organization for men and women globally.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- In 1981, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (the Convention) entered into force. Article 7 of the Convention articulates women's right to equal participation in political and public life as encompassing the right to vote in all elections and public referenda and to be eligible for election to all publicly elected bodies; to participate in the formulation of government policy and the implementation thereof and to hold public office and perform all public functions at all levels of government; and to participate in non-governmental organizations and associations concerned with the public and political life of the country. Article 8, in addition, refers to State obligations to take all appropriate measures to ensure to women, on equal terms with men and without any discrimination, the opportunity to represent their Governments at the international level and to participate in the work of international organizations. The Convention thus specified and expanded the State obligations set out under articles 2, 3 and 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which require a guarantee of the equal right to take part in the conduct of public affairs, including direct participation as well as participation through freely chosen representatives.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2013
- Document code
- A/HRC/23/50
Document
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 138
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Take special measures to prohibit and prevent gender-based violence, including punishing intercourse with minors as rape, introduction of confidential school reporting mechanisms, capacity-building for police, child-friendly courts and barring sexual offenders from teaching.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 137
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Take preventive measures, deter and severely punish all forms of gender-based violence and sexual harassment against women in the public arena, including public transport and services, workplaces, educational institutions, streets and cyberspace, whether it is perpetrated by state agents or by private persons;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 136
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Eliminate all laws which discriminate against women by punishment of behaviours which are not punished when performed by men or by prescribing invasion of women's physical integrity and autonomy;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 135
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Ensure that women are not forced into early retirement; that women who have been economically active have access to adequate occupational pensions, including by introducing gender-specific compensatory measures such as accumulation of pension rights during maternity and childcare absences; unisex calculation of benefits; equalizing of mandatory retirement age and mandatory joint annuities.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 134
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Provide adequate non-contributory pensions, on an equal basis with men, as a core social and economic right;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 133
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] States must provide paid maternity leave of at least 14 weeks, 6 of which are mandatory. Such leave should be fully paid and should be funded by social insurance or public funds. Maternity leave should be provided for women in the informal sector as well as the formal sector, entrepreneurship, trade and corporate boards.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 132
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] States must prohibit discrimination on grounds of maternity or of care functions, whether performed by women or men;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 131
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Childcare should be guaranteed as a social protection floor and, in addition, States should encourage community, cooperative, trade union and corporate initiatives to provide care services;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 130
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Paid care leave should be provided on an equal basis to mothers and fathers;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 129
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] States should recognize, reduce and redistribute unpaid care work for children and other disabled or elderly dependents, by including unpaid care work in gross national product; allowing deduction of care expenses for tax purposes; improving the environmental and service infrastructure to reduce private care burdens; and synchronizing school time with working time;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Older persons
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 128
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] It is incumbent upon States and economic decision-makers to integrate the care economy as an integral part of macroeconomic policy and recognize the right to care as an economic and social right which requires a social protection floor;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 127
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] International institutions and States should include women in senior positions in economic, financial and trade governance, and should gender-mainstream policymaking, including mitigation of dramatic increases in inequality of resources and income and the feminization of poverty.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 126
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Gender-mainstream the principles of corporate responsibility, identifying, preventing and remedying the harm caused by corporate activities to women, as workers, consumers and community members, especially with regard to export processing zones; sweatshops and home working; the garment industry; and land dispossession by extractive, biofuel, agribusiness and real estate projects;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 125
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Advance women's entrepreneurship opportunities through provision of training, information, credit and saving facilities and government procurement policies that target women's businesses;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 124
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Take positive measures to accelerate de facto equality for women in leadership positions in corporate, financial and trade institutions and enterprises, including by the introduction of quotas for corporate boards;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 123
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Eliminate laws, including personal laws, that discriminate against women as business leaders or entrepreneurs, particularly regarding registering a business; freedom of movement; land and property rights; savings, credit and inheritance rights; and membership in cooperatives;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 122
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Provide protection against discrimination and abuse of migrant workers and domestic workers, and ratify and implement the ILO Domestic Workers Convention (No. 189).
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 121
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Take measures to reduce and reconstruct informal work; to reduce informal work, States should increase job opportunities for women in formal employment, especially in the public sector, and with targeted programmes for women's training, professionalization reskilling and unemployment programmes. To reconstruct, they should redefine the scope of protective labour law, introduce pro rata pay and social security benefits for part-time or casual work, and extend paid maternity leave and care rights to workers in both the formal and informal sectors;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 120
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Impose on employers the obligation to pay equal pay for equal work or work of equal value through the use a variety of means, including by objective job evaluation with participation by stakeholders and social partners, and by desegregation of professions;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 119
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Ensure that prohibition of discrimination on grounds of sex, pregnancy or parenthood, are enforced for all women in work;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 118
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Introduce a universal core syllabus which will inform boys and girls of their human rights, including women's human rights.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 117
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Ensure equality for girls in the quality of education at all levels, including breaking down gender stereotypes in school curricula, teacher training programmes, textbooks and teaching materials; and encourage girls' engagement in non-traditional vocational skill areas and academic disciplines, such as mathematics, science and technology;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 116
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Adopt good practices to combat non-attendance by girls, such as providing financial resources to parents to keep their girls in school, preventing violence against girls in schools, providing proper sanitary facilities and making provision for pregnant girls and school-age mothers;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 115
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Ensure all girls' de facto access to education, including mandatory, free primary education and access to secondary and tertiary education, free of discrimination;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 114
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Eliminate all discriminatory laws and practices which prevent girls from completing their education, including child marriage;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 113
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Recognize the disparate impact of austerity measures on women in response to economic crisis and adopt gender-sensitive strategies that avoid labour market exclusion, loss of social protection floors and reduction of social services.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 112
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Recognize that vulnerability and economic disadvantage for women are exacerbated by macroeconomic policies which increase inequalities and reduce social protection floors;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 111
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Ensure women's access to judicial redress and remedies for discrimination in economic and social life, accountability being an essential part of the fulfilment of women's right to equality and entailing affordable access to justice and adequate remedies;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 110
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Eliminate discriminatory laws which create barriers to women's formal or informal employment and to their enjoyment of economic and social rights; expressly guarantee women's right to equality in economic and social life in the private as well as public sector, with immediate effect, and with special measures to accelerate de facto equality;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 109
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:]
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 108
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group additionally recommends the adoption of concrete measures based on the good practices which inform this thematic report.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 107
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group calls on States to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and all relevant international human rights treaties and ILO Conventions which guarantee women's economic and social rights. It calls upon them to implement the obligations therein, including by ratifying the Optional Protocols of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, by introducing the required constitutional and legislative guarantees, and by adopting a transformative agenda which will produce an outcome of de facto equality for women in their economic and social lives.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 106
- Paragraph text
- Women are also highly vulnerable to trafficking for sexual or work exploitation. This form of gender-based violence will be addressed by the Working Group in its report on health and safety.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 105
- Paragraph text
- School-related gender-based violence takes different forms, with girls in some countries violently targeted for attending school, while in other countries, they are subject in school to sexual violence or harassment, including by teachers. Such violence results in trauma, stigmatization and sometimes pregnancy, and severely curtails girls' educational opportunities. In many States, sexual intercourse with a minor is considered rape, as minors are not capable of consent, but only 32 out of 100 States have specific provisions on sexual harassment at schools. Examples of good practices by some States include introducing confidential school reporting mechanisms, capacity-building for police, child-friendly courts, a public register of sexual offenders and barring sexual offenders from teaching.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 104
- Paragraph text
- In addition, women are exposed to sexual harassment in the public arena, including service institutions, public transport, "street harassment," cyberbullying and pornographic advertising, producing a fear factor that severely curtails their freedom of movement and occupation. However, only 8 out of 100 States have enacted laws prohibiting sexual harassment in public places. Good practice includes prohibition of sexual harassment in the provision of services. It entails municipal responsibility for policing, lighting and introducing surveillance cameras in public spaces.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 103
- Paragraph text
- Many countries prohibit sexual harassment in the workplace, whether it is quid pro quo (extorting sexual cooperation by threat of job-related consequences) or creating a hostile environment, and impose accountability on the employer. Out of 100 countries surveyed, 78 have laws addressing sexual harassment in the workplace, and of these, 52 criminalize such conduct. The legal prohibition of sexual harassment has been based, variously, on the concepts of discrimination against women and of violation of women's human dignity, and good practice is to apply a "double approach" involving both concepts.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 102
- Paragraph text
- Gender-based violence against women, including state violation of women's bodily integrity and autonomy, violence in the public arena, violence in workplaces and educational institutions, and domestic violence and economic violence by intimate partners, can severely impact and restrict women's economic and social potential throughout their life cycle, including their access to education, freedom of movement and employment. In economic and social institutions, women are exposed to sexual harassment, including unwelcome sexual behaviour, remarks, and pornographic images and demands, whether by words or actions. Such conduct is threatening and humiliating.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 101
- Paragraph text
- Good practices include gender-specific compensatory measures such as continuing pension contributions during maternity and childcare leaves, unisex calculation of benefits, equalizing mandatory retirement age and mandatory joint annuities. All these measures, with quite wide margins of difference in the extent of their generosity and with some caveats as to the categories of women who do not benefit from each of these measures, have some marginal impact in reducing the pension gap. Of these gender-specific measures, the only one that almost closes the gender pension gap is mandatory joint annuities. This suggests that the way to rectify women's relative poverty in old age is through mandating joint annuities with their husbands. However, this does not solve the problem for single or divorced women. Furthermore, it leaves the problem of engineering a system that is equitable for traditional dependent marriages and yet can still incentivize economically independent women.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 100
- Paragraph text
- Discriminatory laws and practice prevail in most countries. Some such laws are self-evident, such as mandatory early retirement for women. Some are what has been called "statistical discrimination", such as separate annuity tables for women and men based on women's greater longevity. Others are the result of the sociology of the family and of legislative policy endorsing and perpetuating the economic dependence of women on a husband's income and pension entitlement.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 99
- Paragraph text
- There is a gender pension gap both in wealth accumulation and income. The balance of pension entitlements within multipillar systems has a direct impact on the gender pension gap. Social (World Bank "zero pillar") schemes, which give basic flat rate citizens' pensions, are non-contributory and do not, as such, differentiate between men's and women's pension entitlement, thus producing equality. Therefore, the trend to diversify pension systems to include contributory first and second pillar systems, which base a substantial element of pension entitlement on working life contributions, impacts women adversely, increasing the gender pension gap, as women's contribution to these funded pension schemes is lower because of the structural factors in their labour market and care work.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 98
- Paragraph text
- Women's poverty and quality of life in older age derives from the culmination of the earlier phases in their life cycle and bears their imprint: stereotyping in education and girlhood; precarious jobs; informal labour; the costs of caring; interrupted career patterns; and the motherhood penalty in labour force participation. Hence women's situation in retirement can be regarded as a litmus test for the quality of women's economic and social life.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 97
- Paragraph text
- As regards childcare, the Working Group supports the call of UN-Women for States to guarantee quality and accessible childcare as a social protection floor. This both serves the obligation to achieve de facto equality for women in economic and social life and enables parents to reconcile work and family life. The Working Group suggests that the provision of childcare may also be engineered as an economic efficiency measure, with the right to fully subsidized care services linked to the parent's participation in economic activity. In addition, good practice includes State support for community, trade union and corporate initiatives to provide care services. Furthermore, after children start school, it is good practice to synchronize children's school hours and holidays with adults' work schedules.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 96
- Paragraph text
- Need for care continues for toddlers and older children after the period of parental leave and also exists for the elderly and disabled. Responsibility for this needs to be redistributed through care services. At present, international minimum state obligations for provision of childcare services or for elderly and disabled services are lacking.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Older persons
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 95
- Paragraph text
- Sharing of care responsibilities within the household should remain a matter of choice for women and men. For any real choice to be possible, paid care leave must be available to both parents. The Nordic countries were the first to introduce an independent paternity leave in order to overcome stereotypes and barriers to men sharing childcare functions. Such provisions are becoming more common around the world, with increased awareness of men's parenting roles and their need to reconcile work and family life. Paternity leave is usually much shorter than maternity leave and more often unpaid. Some countries have introduced more gender-neutral parental leave options, and recent best practice in one Nordic country provides symmetry in childcare leave, with five months for each parent individually and two months that can be allocated according to parental choice.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 94
- Paragraph text
- Redistributing care work involves restructuring the design, funding and delivery of care by households, markets, the State and civil society so that a disproportionate burden of unpaid care does not fall on women. The equal sharing of care amongst different actors requires, on one hand, the sharing of care responsibilities by men as well as women in households and, on the other, the provision by the State of affordable and accessible care facilities, including childcare, adequate hospital care and recuperation periods, and facilities for the care of the disabled and the elderly.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 93
- Paragraph text
- Reducing care work may, especially in developing countries and rural areas, be achieved by improving the basic infrastructure, including water, sanitation and transportation.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 92
- Paragraph text
- Recognition of unpaid care work entails the imposition, on the international and constitutional levels, of a state obligation to guarantee an equal distribution of care functions as a fully-fledged economic and social right. It also signifies the recognition of care expenses as part of the gross national product, thus requiring integration of the care economy into the macroeconomy. It necessitates the prohibition of direct or indirect discrimination on grounds of care functions, as established by the ILO and the European Court of Justice. Furthermore, it justifies the good practice of recognizing care expenses as deductible for income tax purposes, since provision of care for dependents is a necessary expenditure to allow an unpaid caretaker to generate income.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 91
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group considers that the three "Rs" of unpaid care work - recognition, reduction and redistribution - should be integrated into macroeconomic policy in order to fulfil women's right to care services and to facilitate the women's economic empowerment.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 90
- Paragraph text
- Unlike women's reproductive function, care functions do not necessarily have to fall on women. All forms of care, including childcare, are amenable to social reconstruction, and indeed in the Nordic countries, which have long pursued a policy of gender equality in the division of work and childcare functions, the distribution of care work comes close to parity. Good practice regarding the allocation of care responsibilities, pioneered in the Nordic countries, encourages men to enter traditionally women's worlds, both in the family and in the workplace, thus allowing women to participate and advance in the labour market.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 89
- Paragraph text
- A disproportionate amount of unpaid care work falls on women, limiting women's capacity to engage in paid work. This is evidenced in empirical studies which show that women, whether or not they are in paid employment, spend between twice to four times the amount of hours on care functions than do men. Up to 90 per cent of home care due to illness is performed by women and girls.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 88
- Paragraph text
- Despite efforts to extend the reach of ILO Conventions to women in precarious employment, many women still do not have the basic rights set out above. The informal economy, on which overwhelming numbers of women depend for their livelihood, remains beyond the reach of labour regulation and maternity rights. The extension of paid maternity leave to women entrepreneurs or self-employed women is a good practice found in some countries. Under European Union Directives, there is a requirement to provide paid maternity leave for self-employed women, calculated on the basis of average loss of income or profit (subject to ceiling) or a national allowances level such as minimum wage. Leave is not compulsory, however, and the conditions on which is it paid often differ from those for women in formal employment. The Working Group welcomes in that regard a decision by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (Communication No. 36/2012) in which it considered that the abolition of an initially existing public maternity leave scheme, without establishing an adequate alternative maternity leave scheme to cover loss of income during maternity immediately available to self-employed women, constituted a breach of article 11 (2) (b) of the Convention.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 87
- Paragraph text
- State obligation under the Convention and ILO Conventions is to provide paid leave. Maternity leave policies without adequate compensation can lead to financial stress, and research suggests that women who return to work without taking their full maternity leave entitlement usually do so for financial reasons. Good practice for payment of maternity leave is through social insurance or public funds so as not to increase discrimination against women by employers seeking to avoid the burden of paid maternity leave.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- The frameworks of the ILO and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women impose an obligation on States parties to provide paid maternity leave to employed women, set by the ILO at a minimum of 14 weeks with a recommended 18 weeks, and daily breaks for breastfeeding. The provision of maternity leave has become almost universal: 51 per cent of countries provide maternity leave of at least 14 weeks; 20 per cent of 18 weeks or more; 35 per cent of 12-13 weeks of leave. Only 14 per cent of countries provide less than 12 weeks.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- Women's reproductive functions include pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding. These are the biological functions of maternity. In accordance with the normative framework created by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the ILO Conventions, in some States, there are provisions, statutory or judicial, prohibiting discrimination during pregnancy and protecting women against dismissal for a period of months or even years after they give birth. Nevertheless, there has been a rise in complaints of pregnancy discrimination in a number of countries, and effective measures are required to guarantee women's employment security during pregnancy and after birth.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- Patterns of allocation are often not the result of choice, but rather of stereotyping and discrimination. There is evidence, in most countries, of discrimination in hiring, firing and workplace treatment of pregnant women; imposition of a disproportionate share of unpaid care responsibilities on women; and negative stereotyping of mothers and also fathers who are taking care of children. Cultural assumptions of the motherhood role appear to exist in tension with the conception of the ideal worker. Nevertheless, in a cross-regional comparison of selected countries, it was found that motherhood does not uniformly reduce labour force participation or occupational success and, indeed, it increases these in some countries as compared to women without children. However, it does reduce the number of hours worked and, even more, it increases, disproportionately and beyond any difference that might be explained by the reduction of work hours, the gap between mothers' wages and fathers' wages.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Infants
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 83
- Paragraph text
- Barriers to women's economic opportunities resulting from reproduction and care functions must be removed in order to permit choice by women and men as to how they allocate economic and caring duties. Three possible patterns of allocation have been identified: both parents as full-time workers; one full-time and one part-time worker, where the part-time worker is usually the woman; or the male breadwinner model. There is also the single parent pattern, which is usually a woman.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 82
- Paragraph text
- It is crucial to recognize both the right to maternity benefits and also the right to an equal and fair distribution of care functions as fully-fledged economic and social rights. These rights are a prerequisite for the equal right of women to the enjoyment of all economic social and cultural rights and, in particular: the right to work; the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions of work; an adequate standard of living; freedom from hunger; enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; and the right to take part in cultural life.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- Reproduction and care functions are the very basis of human life and society. These functions, whether paid or unpaid, are performed either solely or largely by women. The fact that these functions are performed by women creates a major barrier to women's equality of opportunity in the labour market or in business, finance and entrepreneurship. Women's maternity rights have been widely recognized in formal employment, but not extended to either other spheres of economic activity or care functions. There has been a systemic failure to properly integrate the biological function of reproduction and the gendered function of unpaid caring into macroeconomic policy in a holistic, effective and coherent way, to ensure that reproduction and caring go hand-in-hand with the overall economic empowerment of women. This policy failure in effect endorses a major structural barrier to the equality of economic opportunity for women.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 80
- Paragraph text
- These issues, though flagged as crucial, will not be dealt with in this report, due to space limitations.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- Furthermore, failure to provide access to housing, food and water has disproportionately burdened women as vulnerable members of communities, as childbearers and as primary carers. These issues have been gender-mainstreamed in reports by, for example, the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context; the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights; the Special Rapporteur on the right to food; the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation; and Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 78
- Paragraph text
- In some countries, discriminatory legislation or implementation of legislation results in the negation of women's rights to land and other productive resources. These issues have been examined by a UN-Women/OHCHR expert group meeting, in which a member of the Working Group participated, and have been documented in an in-depth report.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 77
- Paragraph text
- Secure rights over resources, including property, land, housing, food, water and sanitation, are essential to women's equality and well-being, and to their economic independence and autonomy.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- Civil society representatives have joined a handful of business leaders to form the Business and Human Rights Reference Group, which has begun to elaborate how gender fits into the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- Additionally, civil society and women workers have been important agents for change. They have, for example, created drop-in centres where young women garment workers learn about their labour rights, and they have organized and achieved widespread change in conditions of agricultural workers, previously similar to slavery practices.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has, for instance, held States responsible for denying equal access for women to private health providers. One binational trade agreement, supported by the ILO, linked access to markets in importing countries with improved labour conditions for the largely female garment workers in the exporting country. There are examples of corporate initiatives to provide childcare, career development and training for female workers in overseas garment industries, or to prevent use of ultrasound equipment, which may be used to increase sex-selective abortion.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph