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Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- The Indian Supreme Court ordered schools to provide adequate toilet facilities in schools. Relying on empirical research showing that "parents do not send their children (particularly girls) to schools" wherever sanitation facilities are not provided, the Court found that a lack of toilets violated the right to education. Failure to provide water and sanitation to those deprived of liberty has been addressed by courts and international bodies primarily as constituting cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The High Court of Fiji held that prisoners' right to freedom from inhuman and degrading treatment was violated by lack of access to adequate sanitation facilities. The Human Rights Committee has found human rights violations, as have regional human rights bodies, in a number of cases in which prisoners have been denied access to sanitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- Community education programmes are a key component of the implementation strategy. In this case, a robust pilot project on public legal education included community training on the decision and the related girls’ rights and police obligations; awareness-raising events including drama/theatre and panel discussions; rights-training for children; a smartphone application giving details on the steps to take in rape investigations; and public awareness materials, including billboards, radio and television programmes, social media outreach and short videos on the Internet. These measures have been replicated in other parts of the country.
- 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
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Continuum of violence against women from the home to the transnational sphere: the challenges of effective redress 2011, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- Sexual harassment at school and at the workplace is acknowledged as a pervasive manifestation of violence. In El Salvador, the Special Rapporteur heard testimonies of the working conditions of young women working in the maquila plants, where they were subjected to verbal and physical abuse by supervisors, sexual harassment, and mandatory pregnancy tests. Sexual harassment in educational and training institutions in Algeria was pervasive and underreported at the time of the visit of the Special Rapporteur, despite commendable steps by the authorities to criminalize sexual harassment based on abuse of authority. The visit to the United States revealed the particular vulnerability of undocumented immigrant women to violence, including sexual harassment and abuse, in the workplace. Sexual and physical violence against girls in educational establishments perpetrated by male school staff and school boys remains problematic, as reported during the visit of the Special Rapporteur in Zambia. Long distances from home to school also increased risk of harassment, with girls reportedly having sexual relationships with minibus and taxi drivers as a way of coping with transportation costs.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Effective Implementation of the OPSC 2010, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- In many societies, the unequal social status of women continues to contribute to patent discrimination against girls, particularly in poor and rural communities. Girls born in poor households or living in rural communities are at a clear disadvantage in terms of education, owing to persistent attitudes and practices that encourage early marriages and the confinement of young women, and give greater importance to the education of boys over girls.
- 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)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- Education of girls is key to quality of life for girls, adult women, families and communities. Education has a multiplier effect, increasing labour force participation and reducing child and maternal mortality. A country's progress depends, among other things, on the enhancement of its female human capital. Above all, education is a basic human right that must, at all levels, be made equally available to girls.
- 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. 34
- Paragraph text
- The gender gap in education is not as stark as it once was: today, female enrolment is rising at greater rate than among males, and data show the achievement of gender parity at primary and/or secondary levels in two thirds of countries. In 2013, 25 countries had fully closed the gap in educational attainment at all levels (5 more than in 2012) with, in some cases, even disparities in favour of girls.
- 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
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- Despite this significant progress, there are still social and cultural barriers preventing girls' access to school in some countries, as resonantly evidenced by Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani schoolgirl who was the victim of an assassination attempt by Taliban gunmen in 2012 and has since been a vocal advocate for girls' right to education.
- 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
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Ensuring girls' education may require protecting their families against economic shocks and incentivizing parents to keep their girls in school. Cash transfer programmes, for example, have assisted families in return for committing to keeping their girls and boys in school and attending regular health checks, or by providing a stipend to girls who agree to delay marriage until they complete secondary education. Such programmes have been successful in decreasing girls' dropout rates.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Education
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- While educational gender parity shows signs of improvement, it is often not reflected in parallel gains in economic and political participation. Amongst countries that have invested in girls' education, some see returns in terms of women's economic and political participation, but others do not. These countries have an untapped educated talent pool and would have much to gain through women's greater participation in the economy.
- 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
- Girls
- 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 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
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- The Rio+20 outcome document highlights the fact that green economy policies in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication should "enhance the welfare of indigenous peoples and their communities, other local and traditional communities, and ethnic minorities, recognizing and supporting their identity, culture and interests and avoid endangering their cultural heritage, practices and traditional knowledge" (para. 58). It also stresses the need to ensure equal access to education for ethnic minorities and for an enabling environment for women and girls from ethnic minorities (paras. 229 and 238). The High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons, in its report, states: "We should ensure that no person - regardless of ethnicity, gender, geography, disability, race or other status - is denied universal human rights and basic economic opportunities. We should design goals that focus on reaching excluded groups".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Equality of opportunity in education 2011, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- Efforts to universalize access to education over the last decades are underpinned by repeated political commitments. The EFA and Millennium Development Goals campaigns inspired expansions of primary education systems and created more education opportunities for girls. However, progress is fragile and uneven across regions and among population groups. Unprecedented disparities in access and quality emerge as the demand for education grows and education systems expand. Significant gaps remain even in the coverage of education as there are about 67 million children of primary school age who are out of school; while a larger number of adolescents (another 71 million), remain deprived of basic post-primary education.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Equality of opportunity in education 2011, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Reports indicate that the EFA agenda is falling behind, and the prospects of achieving Millennium Development Goals 2 and 3 on universal primary education and gender equality, respectively, are also bleak. The target of universal primary education is unlikely to be achieved by 2015. Inequalities, stigmatization and discrimination linked to economic status, gender, ethnicity, language, location and disability are also holding back progress. Social and economic status and sex appear as major factors of marginalization in education, with girls and those living in poverty being the most affected. “Poverty and gender inequalities magnify other disadvantages, and close doors to education opportunity for millions of children.”
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Equality of opportunity in education 2011, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Article 10 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women contains detailed provisions related to equality of opportunity in education and the equal rights of women and men in the field of education.” Furthermore, general recommendation No. 25, elaborated by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, which oversees the implementation of this treaty, explains that “the Convention requires that women be given an equal start and that they be empowered by an enabling environment to achieve equality of results.” In this regard, the Committee further specified that temporary special measures are necessary, not as an exception to the prohibition of discrimination, but as a central part of a strategy to achieve substantive or de facto equality between women and men. The Committee has also specifically referred to the equal rights of girls in the area of basic education in its general recommendation No. 28 on the core obligations of States parties.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Equality of opportunity in education 2011, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Concerning equality between men and women, the Human Rights Committee has also interpreted articles 3 and 24 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on equality between men and women, and on protection of children, respectively, as requiring States to provide information on “measures taken to ensure that girls are treated equally to boys in education.”
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Equality of opportunity in education 2011, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- Reflecting the commitments adopted by world leaders in 2000 and set to be achieved by 2015, the Millennium Development Goals are amongst the most significant political commitments in recent history to tackle the most pressing challenges of our world, including serious concerns relating to education. Goal 2 calls on States to ensure that all children complete primary education, while Goal 3 calls on States to eliminate disparities between girls and boys in primary as well as secondary education. Progress towards these goals requires fully embracing equality of opportunity in education in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of education policies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Equality of opportunity in education 2011, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Girls and women constitute the majority of those who remain deprived of education. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has repeatedly expressed concern in its concluding observations at the low level of education of women and girls, and the prevailing obstacles to their access to education at all levels, especially the secondary and tertiary levels. The Special Rapporteur is of the view that the human rights framework is pivotal in the struggle against multiple forms of discrimination which women and girls in vulnerable and marginalized situations suffer. Educating women and girls should, a priori, be viewed as a human rights imperative, rather than undertaken solely because of the potential benefits to one’s children or to society.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Equality of opportunity in education 2011, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- Threat of violence against girls on the way to and from schools limits their education opportunities: household surveys in many countries identify distance as a major factor in parents’ decisions to keep daughters out of school, and concerns over security figure prominently.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Financing education and update on education in emergencies 2011, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Specific resources must be ensured to address the root causes of the exclusion from education of girls, those living in poverty or with disabilities, ethnic and linguistic minorities, migrants, and other marginalized and disadvantaged groups. Specific measures targeting important obstacles to education must be considered, including the abolition of school fees and the provision of subsidies for other costs, such as textbooks, uniforms and transportation. Temporary special measures to provide financial support to such groups through affirmative action have a normative basis in international human rights treaties. Particular attention must be paid to the principles of transparency and accountability in the management of education budgets.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Financing education and update on education in emergencies 2011, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- The current update is divided into six sections reflecting the content and core recommendations of resolution 64/290. Each section provides an indication of remaining challenges in the promotion of education in emergencies, and progress made in the past three years. The first section focuses on the recommendation for increasing political and financial support to education in emergencies. The second section addresses the recommendation to better protect schools from attacks and to ensure accountability. The third section addresses the recommendation to better prepare education systems for situations of natural disaster. The fourth section addresses the recommendation that attention be given to the specific needs of girls and other marginalized groups. The fifth section focuses on the recommendation to ensure quality education in emergencies. The sixth section is dedicated to the need for improving the collection of data on education in emergencies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- The fact that in many instances women and girls risk being harassed when they relieve themselves in the open or in public facilities is partly due to the structural and systematic use of stereotypes and stigma. The promotion of awareness-raising campaigns, targeted education programmes and discussion groups, among other measures, to transform both men's and women's perceptions of gender roles is therefore encouraged. Gender-based violence must be prevented and investigated, and those responsible must be prosecuted, in order to break patterns of societal acceptance of exclusion and violence based on gender norms. Recognizing that young people may grow up to be change makers, curricula in all schools should challenge gender stereotypes and encourage critical thinking.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19 2017, para. 30b (i)
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee recommends that States parties implement the following preventive measures:] Develop and implement effective measures, with the active participation of all relevant stakeholders, such as representatives of women’s organizations and of marginalized groups of women and girls, to address and eradicate the stereotypes, prejudices, customs and practices set out in article 5 of the Convention, which condone or promote gender-based violence against women and underpin the structural inequality of women with men. Such measures should include the following: Integration of content on gender equality into curricula at all levels of education, both public and private, from early childhood onwards and into education programmes with a human rights approach. The content should target stereotyped gender roles and promote the values of gender equality and non-discrimination, including non-violent masculinities, and ensure age-appropriate, evidence-based and scientifically accurate comprehensive sexuality education for girls and boys;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19 2017, para. 30c
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee recommends that States parties implement the following preventive measures:] Develop and implement effective measures to make public spaces safe for and accessible to all women and girls, including by promoting and supporting community-based measures adopted with the participation of women’s groups. Measures should include ensuring adequate physical infrastructure, including lighting, in urban and rural settings, in particular in and around schools;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- States parties have an obligation to challenge and change patriarchal ideologies and structures that constrain women and girls from fully exercising their human rights and freedoms. For girls and women to overcome the social exclusion and poverty that many experience, which increase their vulnerability to exploitation, harmful practices and other forms of gender-based violence, they need to be equipped with the skills and competencies necessary to assert their rights, including to make autonomous and informed decisions and choices about their own lives. In this context, education is an important tool for empowering women and girls to claim their rights.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- There is a clear correlation between the low educational attainment of girls and women and the prevalence of harmful practices. States parties to the Conventions have obligations to ensure the universal right to high-quality education and to create an enabling environment that allows girls and women to become agents of change (Convention on the Rights of the Child, arts. 28-29; Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, art. 10). This entails providing universal, free and compulsory primary school enrolment and ensuring regular attendance, discouraging dropping out, eliminating existing gender disparities and supporting access for the most marginalized girls, including those living in remote and rural communities. In implementing the obligations, consideration should be given to making schools and their surroundings safe, friendly to girls and conducive to their optimal performance.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- The completion of primary and secondary education provides girls with short-term and long-term benefits by contributing to the prevention of child marriage and adolescent pregnancy and lower rates of infant and maternal mortality and morbidity, preparing women and girls to better claim their right to freedom from violence and increasing their opportunities for effective participation in all spheres of life. The Committees have consistently encouraged States parties to take measures to boost enrolment and retention in secondary education, including by ensuring that pupils complete primary school, abolishing school fees for both primary and secondary education, promoting equitable access to secondary education, including technical-vocational educational opportunities and giving consideration to making secondary education compulsory. The right of adolescent girls to continue their studies, during and after pregnancy, can be guaranteed through non-discriminatory return policies.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- For out-of-school girls, non-formal education is often their only route to learning and should provide basic education and instruction in life skills. It is an alternative to formal schooling for those who did not complete primary or secondary school and may also be made available through radio programmes and other media, including digital media.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Childhood, and early adolescence at the latest, are entry points for assisting both girls and boys and supporting them to change gender-based attitudes and adopt more positive roles and forms of behaviour in the home, at school and in wider society. This means facilitating discussions with them on social norms, attitudes and expectations that are associated with traditional femininity and masculinity and sex- and gender-linked stereotypical roles and working in partnership with them to support personal and social change aimed at eliminating gender inequality and promoting the importance of valuing education, especially girls' education, in the effort to eliminate harmful practices that specifically affect pre-adolescent and adolescent girls.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Child marriage is often accompanied by early and frequent pregnancy and childbirth, resulting in higher than average maternal morbidity and mortality rates. Pregnancy-related deaths are the leading cause of mortality for girls between 15 and 19 years of age, whether married or unmarried, around the world. Infant mortality among the children of very young mothers is higher (sometimes as much as two times higher) than among those of older mothers. In cases of child and/or forced marriage, in particular where the husband is significantly older than the wife, and where girls have limited education, the girls generally have limited decision-making power in relation to their own lives. Child marriage also contributes to higher rates of school dropout, especially among girls, forced exclusion from school and an increased risk of domestic violence, in addition to limiting the enjoyment of the right to freedom of movement.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph