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The equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights 2005, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- Article 10, paragraph 1, of the Covenant requires that States parties recognize that the widest possible protection and assistance should be accorded to the family, and that marriage must be entered into with the free consent of the intending spouses. Implementing article 3, in relation to article 10, requires States parties, inter alia, to provide victims of domestic violence, who are primarily female, with access to safe housing, remedies and redress for physical, mental and emotional damage; to ensure that men and women have an equal right to choose if, whom and when to marry - in particular, the legal age of marriage for men and women should be the same, and boys and girls should be protected equally from practices that promote child marriage, marriage by proxy, or coercion; and to ensure that women have equal rights to marital property and inheritance upon their husband's death. Gender-based violence is a form of discrimination that inhibits the ability to enjoy rights and freedoms, including economic, social and cultural rights, on a basis of equality. States parties must take appropriate measures to eliminate violence against men and women and act with due diligence to prevent, investigate, mediate, punish and redress acts of violence against them by private actors.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2005
Paragraph
Violence against women 1992, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Traditional attitudes by which women are regarded as subordinate to men or as having stereotyped roles perpetuate widespread practices involving violence or coercion, such as family violence and abuse, forced marriage, dowry deaths, acid attacks and female circumcision. Such prejudices and practices may justify gender-based violence as a form of protection or control of women. The effect of such violence on the physical and mental integrity of women is to deprive them of the equal enjoyment, exercise and knowledge of human rights and fundamental freedoms. While this comment addresses mainly actual or threatened violence the underlying consequences of these forms of gender-based violence help to maintain women in subordinate roles and contribute to their low level of political participation and to their lower level of education, skills and work opportunities.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1992
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- In situations that meet the threshold definition of non-international or international armed conflict, the Convention and international humanitarian law apply concurrently and their different protections are complementary, not mutually exclusive. Under international humanitarian law, women affected by armed conflicts are entitled to general protections that apply to both women and men and to some limited specific protections, primarily protection against rape, forced prostitution and any other form of indecent assault; priority in the distribution of relief consignments to expectant mothers, maternity cases and nursing mothers in international armed conflict; detention in separate quarters from men and under the immediate supervision of women; and protection from the death penalty for pregnant women or mothers of dependent or young children.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19 2017, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- The Committee considers that gender-based violence against women is one of the fundamental social, political and economic means by which the subordinate position of women with respect to men and their stereotyped roles are perpetuated. Throughout its work, the Committee has made clear that such violence is a critical obstacle to the achievement of substantive equality between women and men and to the enjoyment by women of their human rights and fundamental freedoms, as enshrined in the Convention.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19 2017, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- The Committee regards gender-based violence against women as being rooted in gender-related factors, such as the ideology of men’s entitlement and privilege over women, social norms regarding masculinity, and the need to assert male control or power, enforce gender roles or prevent, discourage or punish what is considered to be unacceptable female behaviour. Those factors also contribute to the explicit or implicit social acceptance of gender-based violence against women, often still considered a private matter, and to the widespread impunity in that regard.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Violence against women 1992, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Family violence is one of the most insidious forms of violence against women. It is prevalent in all societies. Within family relationships women of all ages are subjected to violence of all kinds, including battering, rape, other forms of sexual assault, mental and other forms of violence, which are perpetuated by traditional attitudes. Lack of economic independence forces many women to stay in violent relationships. The abrogation of their family responsibilities by men can be a form of violence, and coercion. These forms of violence put women's health at risk and impair their ability to participate in family life and public life on a basis of equality.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1992
Paragraph
Violence against women 1992, para. 24t (ii)
- Paragraph text
- [In light of these comments, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women recommends:] That States parties should take all legal and other measures that are necessary to provide effective protection of women against gender-based violence, including, inter alia: Preventive measures, including public information and education programmes to change attitudes concerning the roles and status of men and women;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1992
Paragraph
Gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19 2017, para. 30d (i)
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee recommends that States parties implement the following preventive measures:] Adopt and implement effective measures to encourage the media to eliminate discrimination against women, including the harmful and stereotypical portrayal of women or specific groups of women, such as women human rights defenders, from their activities, practices and output, including in advertising, online and in other digital environments. Measures should include the following: Encouraging the creation or strengthening of self-regulatory mechanisms by media organizations, including online or social media organizations, aimed at the elimination of gender stereotypes relating to women and men, or to specific groups of women, and addressing gender-based violence against women that takes place through their services and platforms;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19 2017, para. 30b (ii)
- 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: Awareness-raising programmes that promote an understanding of gender-based violence against women as unacceptable and harmful, provide information about available legal recourses against it and encourage the reporting of such violence and the intervention of bystanders; address the stigma experienced by victims/survivors of such violence; and dismantle the commonly held victim-blaming beliefs under which women are responsible for their own safety and for the violence that they suffer. The programmes should target women and men at all levels of society; education, health, social services and law enforcement personnel and other professionals and agencies, including at the local level, involved in prevention and protection responses; traditional and religious leaders; and perpetrators of any form of gender-based violence, so as to prevent repeat offending;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Violence against women 1992, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- Gender-based violence is a form of discrimination that seriously inhibits women's ability to enjoy rights and freedoms on a basis of equality with men.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1992
Paragraph
Equality in marriage and family relations 1994, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- In considering the place of women in family life, the Committee wishes to stress that the provisions of General recommendation 19 (Eleventh session) concerning violence against women have great significance for women's abilities to enjoy rights and freedoms on an equal basis with men. States parties are urged to comply with that general recommendation to ensure that, in both public and family life, women will be free of the gender-based violence that so seriously impedes their rights and freedoms as individuals.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1994
Paragraph
Core obligations of States parties under article 2 2010, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Discrimination against women on the basis of sex and gender comprises, as stated in general recommendation No. 19 on violence against women, gender-based violence, namely, violence that is directed against a woman because she is a woman or violence that affects women disproportionately. It is a form of discrimination that seriously inhibits women's ability to enjoy and exercise their human rights and fundamental freedoms on the basis of equality with men. It includes acts that inflict physical, mental or sexual harm or suffering, threats of such acts, coercion and other deprivations of liberty, the violence that occurs within the family or domestic unit or within any other interpersonal relationship, or violence perpetrated or condoned by the State or its agents regardless of where it occurs. Gender-based violence may breach specific provisions of the Convention, regardless of whether those provisions expressly mention violence. States parties have a due diligence obligation to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish such acts of gender-based violence.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 25a
- Paragraph text
- [States parties should prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against rural women and girls, and, in line with general recommendations No. 19 and No. 33:] Raise the awareness of rural women and men, girls and boys, as well as local, religious and community leaders, about the rights of rural women and girls, with the aim of eliminating discriminatory social attitudes and practices, in particular those that condone gender-based violence;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Article 3: The equality of rights between men and women - replaces GC No. 4 2000, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- Having regard to their obligations under article 8, States parties should inform the Committee of measures taken to eliminate trafficking of women and children, within the country or across borders, and forced prostitution. They must also provide information on measures taken to protect women and children, including foreign women and children, from slavery, disguised, inter alia, as domestic or other kinds of personal service. States parties where women and children are recruited, and from which they are taken, and States parties where they are received should provide information on measures, national or international, which have been taken in order to prevent the violation of women's and children's rights.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph
Article 3: The equality of rights between men and women - replaces GC No. 4 2000, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Women are particularly vulnerable in times of internal or international armed conflicts.States parties should inform the Committee of all measures taken during these situations to protect women from rape, abduction and other forms of gender-based violence.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph
Servile marriage 2012, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Article 17 (2) of the American Convention on Human Rights guarantees the right of men and women of marriageable age to marry and to raise a family, and requires that no marriage is to be entered into without the free and full consent of the intending spouses. Under article 17 (3), the States parties are to take appropriate steps to ensure the equality of rights and the adequate balancing of responsibilities of the spouses as to marriage, during marriage, and in the event of its dissolution. Article 3 of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women safeguards a woman's right to be free from violence in both the public and private spheres.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Servile marriage 2012, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- The violations that occur within servile marriage cannot be viewed only as acts of violence against women and girls because, although the overwhelming majority of those in servile marriage are girls and women, boys and men are also victims. Owing to gender prejudices, it is often easier for boys and men to leave forced marriages, live as divorcees, remarry and regain control of their lives, in particular because they are usually more educated and can be financially independent. Girls and women are more vulnerable and more likely to be sexually and physically abused. The Special Rapporteur focuses herein on girls and women in servile marriage for those reasons and also because, whether by design, error or omission, there is scant information available about the impact of servile marriage on boys and men.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Malaysia is currently the world's second largest producer of palm oil. According to a recent report, in order for Malaysia to "meet the growing global demand for cheaply produced palm oil, some producers are relying on forced labor and other forms of modern slavery". Agricultural work is not an attractive form of employment for the majority of Malaysians. Therefore, men, women, and children - primarily from Indonesia and Philippines - migrate to Malaysia in order to work on these plantations. Many of these workers are undocumented, poor and isolated, making them extremely vulnerable to contemporary forms of slavery. The Secretary General of Indonesia's Commission for Child Protection reported that tens of thousands of Indonesian migrant workers and their children had been "systematically enslaved" on Malaysian plantations. The number of Indonesian children in forced labour in Sabah, Malaysia, is estimated to be as high as 72,000. Children born at the plantations are not issued birth certificates, preventing them from attending school and forcing them to stay at the plantations and work.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Men
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Servile marriage 2012, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- It is important to note that the payment of a dowry or bride price does not mean that a woman ends up in a servile marriage. In this context, it is the non-consensual nature of the marriage that is the abuse, not the payment. In some countries, however, a bride price does in fact translate into men feeling that they own their wives.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Manifestations and causes of domestic servitude 2010, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- Bonded labour, which has been historically associated with agricultural production and the landless poor (see A/HRC/12/21), can touch entire families. In addition to the agricultural work performed by men, bondage arrangements sometimes extend to women who are forced to serve in the household of the creditor. In some cases, parents are forced to give away one or more of their children to the creditor who often subjects them to domestic servitude.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- Social protection programmes must include accountability mechanisms that are accessible to both men and women. Their design must thus take into account the gender dynamics within the community and the household that may prevent women from voicing or lodging a complaint. Such mechanisms must also take account of the realities of gender-based violence and sexual harassment. Women, for example, might be reluctant to participate in programmes or claim rights and entitlements for fear of violence or abuse from male community members or sexual harassment from a male programme implementer. Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms must also incorporate sex-disaggregated indicators to assess and improve their ability to take into account women's voices.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- The rights and interests of women are thus especially compromised by badly resourced and trained judicial systems and police forces, State organs that traditionally reflect and prioritize the interests of men and are dominated by men. Not only do women living in poverty come up against stark power imbalances and discriminatory cultural norms and other social structures when instituting legal proceedings, they are also disadvantaged by the lack of training afforded to officials on the application of laws relating to gender-based violence and the proper treatment of victims and handling of complaints. Women living in poverty have even less power and capacity to challenge this state of affairs.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Poverty
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- In a context of armed conflict, the dynamics and evolution of the conflict may create a situation of extreme vulnerability of minorities, even for those not directly party to it, as has been the case in Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic, where it resulted in targeted killing, mass displacement and a humanitarian crisis. Civilian populations frequently bear the greatest cost of conflict and minority civilians may be particularly vulnerable. In some cases, men may join or be forcibly recruited into armed factions or flee attacks, while women are left as heads of household, taking care of family members and property.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
The role of minority rights protection in promoting stability and conflict prevention 2011, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Additionally, women and men members of minorities may be targeted by armed actors in different ways, increasing the forms of violence in the society in general. For example, women are targeted by sexual violence, while men are forcibly recruited into militias. The rape of women, for example, may be intended to humiliate men and demonstrate their inability to protect "their" women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
The impact of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements on the human rights of migrants 2016, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- Women, particularly those in the care sector, are especially vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, as they work in physical and social isolation. Men too may experience abuse and exploitation, in sectors such as construction and agriculture. The Special Rapporteur believes in the importance of trade agreements providing all migrants with the opportunity to seek redress for human rights and labour standards violations, without fear of detection, detention and deportation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Detention of migrants in an irregular situation 2012, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur has received reports indicating that migrants in detention, both men, women and children, suffer violence, including sexual violence and abuse. The behaviour of the guards is not always adequately monitored, especially if they are employed by private security companies. Proper instruction and training of the personnel who have authority over migrants in detention is therefore of utmost importance.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Men
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Detention of migrants in an irregular situation 2012, para. 72g
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur calls on States to consider progressively abolishing the administrative detention of migrants. In the meantime, Governments should take measures to ensure respect for the human rights of migrants in the context of detention, including by:] Giving particular attention to the situation of women in detention, ensuring that they are separated from men, and attended and supervised only by women officers, in order to protect them against sexual violence, and avoid the detention of pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- Women fear violence by men in public toilets and open defecation sites, and along the routes leading to both. Some women and girls looking for a place to defecate have reportedly been exposed to rude remarks, brick-throwing, stabbing and rape. Gender-based violence also occurs at places to collect water, bathe and wash clothes. Abuse of boys is reportedly a common and underrecognized phenomenon, and one that receives even less attention, as shame and cultural restrictions or taboos concerning homosexuality deters boys from reporting such abuse.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Gender-based violence can be defined as acts that "inflict physical, mental or sexual harm or suffering, threats of such acts, coercion and other deprivations of liberty". It is a widespread issue rooted in power differences and structural inequality between men and women, although men and boys can also suffer gender-based violence. As the Secretary-General has pointed out: "Violence against women and girls makes its hideous imprint on every continent, country and culture".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Effective Implementation of the OPSC 2010, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- It must not be forgotten that boys are also victims of abuse and sexual exploitation. Poverty, lack of opportunities and the development of sex tourism are the main causes. Where the latter is concerned, some foreign predators, both men and women, are interested solely in sexual relations with boys. There is still a strong taboo surrounding the subject of prostitution of boys, especially where homosexual relations are concerned. In some countries where homosexuality is an offence, a sexually exploited boy under 18 may be punished by law for homosexual relations.
- 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
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph