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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.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- 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. 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.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- 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 cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Plural legal systems are systems in which various laws coexist. They may include various combinations of codified civil law, religious law systems, indigenous or customary legal codes, community arbitration or other dispute settlement procedures. Plural legal systems may be formal or informal. They most often affect personal status law and family law. In States with plural legal systems, the State legal system, which is generally civil and codified, and the State courts address matters relating to the public sphere.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- Parallel justice systems apply religious, customary or indigenous laws, which, as shown above, are patriarchal. These systems are mostly dominated by men and therefore tend to perpetuate inequalities and patriarchal interpretations of culture, resulting in discrimination against women. Regardless of whether the law is religious or customary, its provisions are often interpreted differently for men and women. The rulings and procedures of these legal mechanisms generally discriminate against women. Moreover, gender-based violence is seldom punished and is sometimes downplayed by religious or customary law courts.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group notes the vital importance of article 5 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which requires States to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary practices that are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women. This provision establishes a legal basis for the primacy of women's right to equality over discriminatory cultural patterns of conduct, including those stemming from religious edicts.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- 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
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 73a (iii)
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Establish a national legal framework recognizing gender equality in cultural and family life, in accordance with regional and international standards: (iii) Develop national strategies to eradicate cultural practices that discriminate against women and girls, as well as gender stereotypes, through awareness-raising campaigns, educational and informational programmes and stakeholder mobilization. Engage men, as appropriate, in prevention and protection efforts in respect of gender-based discrimination and violence;
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- 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
- Families
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Vision of the mandate 2014, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- States must recognize the need to accommodate the specific time and mobility constraints on women, given their role in the "care" economy, while at the same time reconstituting gender roles by adopting a transformative approach to employment and social protection (see A/HRC/22/50). The Special Rapporteur will endeavour to promote greater awareness of the guidance provided by general comments No. 16 (2005) on the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights and No. 20 (2009) on non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights of the Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, which relate to discriminatory practices against women.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Women and their right to adequate housing 2012, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- The e-consultation highlighted a host of issues which continue to impact the ability of women to enjoy their right to adequate housing or which otherwise have a disproportionate gender impact. In all regions, patriarchy and gender discrimination; poverty; and the impact of globalization, neo-liberal economic policies and privatization surfaced as overarching issues of concern which set the stage for violations of women's right to adequate housing. More specifically, the impact of natural and human-induced disasters, conflict and internal displacement, war and occupation, lack of affordable and low-cost housing, forced evictions, homelessness, domestic violence, lack of women's participation in law and policy-making, lack of access to remedies, inadequate and discriminatory laws, and the application of discriminatory customary law, all emerged as relevant barriers to women's right to adequate housing across regions.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Women and their right to adequate housing 2012, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- Security of tenure, as a cornerstone element of the right to adequate housing, provides legal protection against forced eviction, as well as harassment and other threats. For women, security of tenure is too often tenuous and secondary because it is assumed to be achieved through their relationship with a male - be it their husband, father, brother, or son. This situation falls far short of the standard, and gaps in protection are easily exposed. For many women, once that relationship with a male family member is severed through death or divorce, they are immediately vulnerable to being forced out of their homes. As we know, this is the case for widows who are routinely "disinherited" after the death of their husbands, as well as for women victims of domestic violence where a woman's housing situation depends on her relationship to her abuser.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Women and their right to adequate housing 2012, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Housing law, policy and programmes should also ensure that women have the legal literacy and legal resources needed to effectively claim and enforce their rights within the context of eviction. Women must "have the right to relevant information, full consultation and participation throughout the entire [evictions] process, and to propose alternatives that authorities should duly consider" and in the event of eviction "[w]omen and men must be co-beneficiaries of all compensation packages. Single women and widows should be entitled to their own compensation."
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Women and their right to adequate housing 2012, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- Adequate housing requires availability of services, materials, facilities and infrastructure, including access to water and sanitation; heating, cooling, and lighting; energy; washing facilities; food storage and refuse disposal; as well as emergency services. Taking into account women's perspectives on these issues is vital given the fact that women tend to spend more time at home, and are often disproportionately burdened with household chores which depend directly on the availability of such services, materials, facilities and infrastructure. There are interesting precedents for this type of gender-sensitive planning, as in the housing project Frauen-Werk-Stadt developed by the City of Vienna. This housing project received international acclaim for being a "housing project for and by women" and was designated a best practice for urban settlements by UN-Habitat and UNESCO.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Women and their right to adequate housing 2012, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Women's access to and control over land is also a critical issue which connects in very real ways to women's right to adequate housing. At national levels, advancements in this area are also taking place. In Tajikistan, a joint effort of UNIFEM (now UN-Women) with the Government of Tajikistan, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other partners resulted in the establishment of the Coordination Council dealing with women's ownership issues, whose key task was to mainstream gender in Tajik land reform. In 2004, seven changes were made to the clauses of the national Land Code which previously discriminated against women. Changes in the Land Code made it mandatory that all family members - women included - are now listed on land use certificates when families receive pieces of land from former collective farms. Over the course of a few years, those changes coupled with media campaigns, the provision of free legal advice, and the collection of sex-disaggregated data, resulted in raising women's land ownership from 2 to 14 per cent.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Women and their right to adequate housing 2012, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- On the positive side, the design of housing itself can certainly encourage greater equality vis-à-vis enjoyment and use of domestic space. An example of new ways of thinking about domestic space from a gender perspective can be seen through the development of housing projects which seek to promote non-hierarchical and more flexible uses of the home. For example, creating personal workspaces inside the home can support women who are more likely to engage in home-based income-generating activities. Another interesting development which can be found in certain policies relates to the design of kitchens, a traditionally female space which is often cramped and separated. The design of housing from a gender-sensitive perspective can better promote family integration, as well as a more equitable sharing of household responsibilities between women and men through openness and shared use of spaces.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Women and their right to adequate housing 2012, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Culturally adequate housing allows for the expression of cultural diversity, yet too often women are excluded from being able to shape that cultural identity and to participate in traditional cultural decision-making structures. In order to ensure that women's voices and visions are reflected, women must be able to effectively participate in defining what adequate housing means to them within their particular context, and to ensure that housing addresses not only their practical, material needs, but also their needs vis-à-vis autonomy, equality and dignity. In order to achieve this, women must be seen as partners in the creation and interpretation of cultural norms related to housing and land. The Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV and AIDS (KELIN) has spearheaded innovative efforts specifically designed to utilize cultural structures to protect women's rights, including to adequate housing.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Mapping and framing security of tenure 2013, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- Conversely, when access to secure housing or land is provided, the potential for social and economic progress is immense-a fact recognized globally. Tenure security means a lot to families and individuals. It gives people certainty about what they can do with their land or home; and it offers them protection from encroachments by others. It often protects, increases and enables access to public services and benefits. It increases economic opportunities. It is a basis for women's economic empowerment and protection from violence. The relevance of the issue, not only to human rights but also to development, is evident.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Reflection on work undertaken in first 14 years of the mandate; outline of opportunities and priorities 2014, para. 87
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur values and will continue to nurture the long-standing cooperation that the mandate holder has developed with civil society organizations, community organizations and regional and international networks around the world, notably those with a focus on the right to housing, women's housing and land rights, the "right to the city", economic, social and cultural rights and strategic litigation and, in general, organizations focused on the living conditions of people in situations of poverty or exclusion. She also wishes to consolidate channels of cooperation with tenant associations and with emerging movements and groups that will help to ensure that the mandate addresses housing rights issues as they arise. She hopes that the mandate will also give rise to new relationships, particularly through her missions and her participation in various forums, with constituencies that play an active role in the development of their communities, such as unions and community associations.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Centrality of the right to adequate housing for the development and implementation of the New Urban Agenda to be adopted at Habitat III in October 2016 2015, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- In some situations, children and youth, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex youth, and women can be vulnerable to violence, requiring access to safe housing and basic services if they are to thrive in the urban context. These groups are often forced into homelessness by sexual and other violence, socioeconomic deprivation, and religious and cultural intolerance within their homes or communities. A sound housing structure does not guarantee safety within housing for these vulnerable groups. When women, children and youth leave their homes, they require both short- and long-term support to secure adequate housing, as they often lack the means to secure housing themselves. In this regard, diverse, culturally appropriate options must be made available.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- LGBTQI+
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Centrality of the right to adequate housing for the development and implementation of the New Urban Agenda to be adopted at Habitat III in October 2016 2015, para. 76i
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur recommends that the urban rights agenda should:] Commit to security of tenure for all households, including all residents of informal settlements. The guiding principles on security of tenure for the urban poor (A/HRC/25/54, sect. II) should be directly incorporated, particularly with respect to strengthening diverse tenure forms, prioritizing in situ solutions, promoting the social function of property, promoting women's security of tenure and ensuring access to justice;
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
On the Declaration on human rights defenders 2011, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- The right to meet or assemble peacefully applies to every man and woman acting to promote and protect human rights, providing they accept and apply the principles of universality and non-violence. As women's inequality in the enjoyment of rights is rooted in "tradition, history and culture, including religious attitudes", States should ensure that these attitudes are not used to justify violations of women's right to equality before the law and to equal enjoyment of all rights,2 including the right to freedom of assembly.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples, including their economic, social and cultural rights in the post-2015 development framework 2014, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- The right to non-discrimination in the context of economic, social and cultural rights aims at ensuring substantial equality in the progressive achievement of these rights. It should be noted that the principle of non-discrimination has two dimensions: to ensure equality for all indigenous individuals, both men and women, and for indigenous peoples as collectives. This is made explicit in the Declaration, which stipulates that "Indigenous peoples and individuals are free and equal to all other peoples and individuals and have the right to be free from any kind of discrimination, in the exercise of their rights, in particular that based on their indigenous origin or identity" (article 2), and further that all rights and freedoms in the Declaration "are equally guaranteed to male and female indigenous individuals" (article 44).
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples, including their economic, social and cultural rights in the post-2015 development framework 2014, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Pervasive discrimination against indigenous peoples in many places results in the failure to respect the value of skills related to traditional knowledge and indigenous identity, for example the ability to speak an indigenous language. In addition to the general discrimination against indigenous peoples in employment and occupations, they are particularly vulnerable to the most extreme forms of labour exploitation, such as hazardous labour conditions, child labour and forced labour. The latter includes: the bonded labour of indigenous peoples in several countries in South Asia; slavery-like practices in parts of Africa; and debt-bondage in parts of Latin America. Indigenous women and children face additional risks related to trafficking and sexual exploitation, as well as exploitation in the context of domestic work.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous women and girls 2015, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- When examining the rights of indigenous women and girls, it is vital to consider the unique historical experiences of indigenous communities. Many forms of violence and abuse against indigenous women and girls have a strong intergenerational element. Violations of the broad right to self-determination of indigenous peoples are historically and currently endemic. Those have included gross and sustained assaults on the cultural integrity of indigenous peoples; denigration and non-recognition of customary laws and governance systems; failure to develop frameworks that allow indigenous peoples appropriate levels of self-governance; and practices that strip indigenous peoples of autonomy over land and natural resources. Those patterns of violations are vividly exemplified by colonization, but have also been perpetuated by post-colonial power structures and State practices. Those violations of the right to self-determination have been highly detrimental to the advancement of the rights of indigenous women and girls in a number of ways.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous women and girls 2015, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- As discussed by the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences in her 2007 thematic report, culture-based identity politics can be used to justify violence against women in the name of traditional practices and/or values. Practices commonly carried out in the name of tradition, such as female gender mutilation and child marriage, impact some but not all indigenous communities. The fact that those traditional practices cut across religious, geographical and ethnic characteristics demonstrate that there are multidimensional causal factors and that no one factor attributed to the identity of women makes them vulnerable. Violations suffered by indigenous women and girls must be viewed within the context of the broad spectrum of violations experienced and their specific vulnerabilities as members of indigenous communities.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Conservation measures and their impact on indigenous peoples’ rights 2016, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- Protected areas constitute approximately 20 per cent of the total landmass in Nepal. The National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act in that country provides no recognition of indigenous peoples' right to consultation or to access their traditional lands and resources. During a country visit in 2009, the Special Rapporteur received reports of mistreatment, arbitrary detention and sexual abuse of indigenous villagers, in particular indigenous women, by Chitwan National Park rangers and military officials (see HRC/12/34/Add.3, para. 37).
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Priorities for the work of the Independent Expert and the twentieth anniversary of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities 2012, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- Sex- and minority-based discrimination in hiring, promotion and pay also create significant barriers for minority women. Increasingly informal labour markets - a result of globalization - have brought more women into paid work, but often with low pay, excluded from basic labour protection and employed under poor working conditions. This renders the conditions under which minority women - and all too often young girls - earn incomes that may be insecure, difficult, harmful or even dangerous. Their workload can be made heavier by the lack of such basic amenities as clean water and sanitation, the availability of child-care support and protection against domestic and social violence. Minority girls and women in difficult circumstances are often forced to find survival opportunities outside their communities and home, and can easily fall victim to trafficking, exploitation and illegal migration within or outside their own country, which makes them even more vulnerable.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Rights of linguistic minorities 2013, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- Some persons belonging to minorities may face particular challenges in learning the national language, including the elderly and those who have not attended education in their country of residence, those with low incomes, the relatively newly arrived, and in some cases women. For them, the ability to engage administrative authorities and receive information and documents in their language can be essential to their ability to comply with administrative requirements and to benefit from administrative and social assistance to which they are entitled. Where larger and established minority language communities exist in a country, it is necessary to ensure to the fullest extent possible that public institutions in all relevant regions are equipped to handle interactions in minority languages if required.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Efforts to advance a development agenda based on human rights must address State obligations concerning gender equality and women's empowerment. Since several social protection programmes, such as cash or asset transfer schemes, and public-works schemes, explicitly target women, it is often assumed that gender issues are already addressed. Such targeting, however, does not mean that gender dynamics have been adequately taken into account in the design, implementation and evaluation of such programmes. Owing to existing economic, social and cultural inequalities, women face a number of obstacles that affect their ability to benefit from social protection schemes. States must therefore examine and address the roles that power and gender dynamics play in the implementation, sustainability and impact of social programmes. Otherwise, such programmes may increase the vulnerability and inequality of women, and thus fail to comply with human rights standards.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Comprehensive, rights-based and child-centred care, recovery and reintegration programmes 2015, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Gender-based discrimination and inequalities also play a large role in the propagation of sexual exploitation of children, in particular girls and children who identify as transgender. Sexual exploitation of girls is often rooted in patriarchal structures that promote male sexual domination and do not condemn the commercialization of girls and women. Culturally imposed feminine gender stereotypes also contribute to sexual exploitation of women and girls by placing them in the role of serving males, negating their ability to make decisions regarding their own sexual and reproductive life and making them prime targets for sexual violence.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Reparations to women who have been subjected to violence 2010, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- Reintegration and rehabilitation may also require adopting women-friendly forms of distribution of services and creating opportunities that were previously denied to victims, often on the grounds of sex, including through meaningful employment, education, skill training, access to land titles and initiatives such as microcredit to motivate economic entrepreneurship. Because the experience of conflict or political repression leads many women to become publicly and politically active for the first time in their lives, encouraging this agency, including by promoting women's associations or political parties, could also be a way of rehabilitating women in a way that does not return them exclusively to their homes and family lives.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 92
- Paragraph text
- Women also have the right to freely participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits. International law has recognized a woman and girl child's right to benefit from artistic and literary endeavours, and to pursue interests in science or other forms of creative expression. Additionally, all women have a right to fully participate in the cultural life of their communities and States. Any group or individual that denies a woman or girl child the right to cultural expression is denying her right to participate fully in a meaningful cultural life. Similarly, if any act of abuse is perpetrated against a woman or girl child in the name of culture, this individual or group is perverting the basic fundamental right to culture as found in international law, and is perpetuating a static and narrow conception of culture.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph