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Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse 2007, para. 1b
- Paragraph text
- 1 Each Party shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the following intentional conduct is criminalised: (b) engaging in sexual activities with a child where: – use is made of coercion, force or threats; or – abuse is made of a recognised position of trust, authority or influence over the child, including within the family; or – abuse is made of a particularly vulnerable situation of the child, notably because of a mental or physical disability or a situation of dependence.
- Body
- Council of Europe
- Document type
- Regional treaty
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse 2007, para. d
- Paragraph text
- Each Party shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the following circumstances, in so far as they do not already form part of the constituent elements of the offence, may, in conformity with the relevant provisions of internal law, be taken into consideration as aggravating circumstances in the determination of the sanctions in relation to the offences established in accordance with this Convention: (d) the offence was committed by a member of the family, a person cohabiting with the child or a person having abused his or her authority;
- Body
- Council of Europe
- Document type
- Regional treaty
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
The right of the child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel and degrading forms of punishment 2006, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- The principle of equal protection of children and adults from assault, including within the family, does not mean that all cases of corporal punishment of children by their parents that come to light should lead to prosecution of parents. The de minimis principle - that the law does not concern itself with trivial matters - ensures that minor assaults between adults only come to court in very exceptional circumstances; the same will be true of minor assaults on children. States need to develop effective reporting and referral mechanisms. While all reports of violence against children should be appropriately investigated and their protection from significant harm assured, the aim should be to stop parents from using violent or other cruel or degrading punishments through supportive and educational, not punitive, interventions.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2006
Paragraph
The right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence 2011, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- Prevention. The Committee emphasizes in the strongest terms that child protection must begin with proactive prevention of all forms of violence as well as explicitly prohibit all forms of violence. States have the obligation to adopt all measures necessary to ensure that adults responsible for the care, guidance and upbringing of children will respect and protect children's rights. Prevention includes public health and other measures to positively promote respectful child-rearing, free from violence, for all children, and to target the root causes of violence at the levels of the child, family, perpetrator, community, institution and society. Emphasis on general (primary) and targeted (secondary) prevention must remain paramount at all times in the development and implementation of child protection systems. Preventive measures offer the greatest return in the long term. However, commitment to prevention does not lessen States' obligations to respond effectively to violence when it occurs.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
The right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence 2011, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Article 2 (non-discrimination). The Committee stresses that States parties shall take adequate measures to assure to every child the right to protection from all forms of violence "without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child's or his or her parent's or legal guardian's race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status". This includes discrimination based on prejudices towards commercially sexually exploited children, children in street situations or children in conflict with the law or based on children's clothing and behaviour. States parties must address discrimination against vulnerable or marginalized groups of children, such as outlined in paragraph 72 (g) of the present general comment, and make proactive efforts to ensure that such children are assured their right to protection on an equal basis with all other children.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
HIV/AIDS and the rights of the children 2003, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Children may be exposed to various forms of violence and abuse which may increase the risk of their becoming HIV-infected, and may also be subjected to violence as a result of their being infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. Violence, including rape and other forms of sexual abuse, can occur in the family or foster setting or may be perpetrated by those with specific responsibilities towards children, including teachers and employees of institutions working with children, such as prisons and institutions concerned with mental health and other disabilities. In keeping with the rights of the child set forth in article 19 of the Convention, States parties have the obligation to protect children from all forms of violence and abuse, whether at home, in school or other institutions, or in the community.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
Implementing child rights in early childhood 2006, para. 36a
- Paragraph text
- Abuse and neglect (art. 19). Young children are frequent victims of neglect, maltreatment and abuse, including physical and mental violence. Abuse very often happens within families, which can be especially destructive. Young children are least able to avoid or resist, least able to comprehend what is happening and least able to seek the protection of others. There is compelling evidence that trauma as a result of neglect and abuse has negative impacts on development, including, for the very youngest children, measurable effects on processes of brain maturation. Bearing in mind the prevalence of abuse and neglect in early childhood and the evidence that it has long term repercussions, States parties should take all necessary measures to safeguard young children at risk and offer protection to victims of abuse, taking positive steps to support their recovery from trauma while avoiding stigmatization for the violations they have suffered;
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Youth
- Year
- 2006
Paragraph
Priorities of the new mandate holder 2014, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Another key area of focus of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, is child and forced marriage. The Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery obligates Member States to take all "practicable and necessary legislative and other measures to bring about progressively and as soon as possible the complete abolition or abandonment" of, inter alia, any institution or practice which amounts to forced marriage, such as when a woman, without the right to refuse, is promised or given in marriage on payment to her parents, guardians, family or another person or group; when a husband, his family or his clan transfers his wife to another person for value received or for any other reason; or the inheriting by another person of a woman on the death of her husband (see art. 1). Early and forced marriage can, under certain circumstances, constitute servile marriage or result in domestic servitude or other forms of slavery. The previous mandate holder drew links between child marriage and slavery, and pointed out that Member States were obliged to prohibit and eliminate slavery as a non-derogable and fundamental principle of international law. Child marriage is linked to the thematic issues of trafficking for forced labour, commercial sexual exploitation, migration and contemporary forms of slavery, which reinforces the need for cooperation among the respective mandate holders as part of a comprehensive multi-agency and multi-stakeholder effort to eradicate those practices from society, as women and girls in child and forced marriages may experience conditions within the marriage that meet "international legal definitions of slavery and slavery-like practices", including forced labour. Furthermore, "a potentially high proportion of child marriage cases appear to constitute the worst forms of child labour under the 1999 ILO Convention No. 182."
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Girls in the criminal justice system are at particular risk of experiencing torture and ill-treatment. The majority have prior histories of abuse and violence that serve as primary predictors of their entry into the juvenile justice system. Girls' particular physical and mental health needs often go unrecognized and incarceration itself tends to exacerbate trauma, with girls suffering disproportionately from depression and anxiety and exhibiting a higher risk of self-harm or suicide than boys or adults. Many States lack facilities for separating girls from adults or boys, which significantly increases the risks of violence, including sexual violence. The employment of male guards in girls' facilities significantly increases the risk of abuse, while girls held in remote, segregated facilities are isolated and have limited contact with their families.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- Victims of gender-based violence face significant hurdles in accessing justice and reparations, including absence of or shortcomings in domestic legal frameworks to hold perpetrators accountable, and practical obstacles such as the significant expense involved in accessing courts. Stigma can be a factor associated with gender-based crimes, and victims may fear rejection by families and communities and encounter personnel who are not properly trained to respond to their needs. All victims must be granted access to effective judicial and administrative remedies. This entails the dismantling of discriminatory barriers and the provision of support to victims at all stages of the legal process.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to access information 2013, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- The gravity and the scale of the practice of disappearances by the regimes that were in power in Latin America from the 1960s, and the subsequent struggle of family members and society in general to establish the fate of the victims and to ensure investigation into the facts and punishment of the perpetrators, was initially at the centre of the development of the right to truth. During those regimes, the justice systems of the countries in which such acts occurred were completely ineffective in carrying out investigations into the facts. Moreover, many of the countries concerned adopted amnesty laws that not only ensured impunity for the perpetrators but, in effect, also impeded investigations by the justice systems.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 96
- Paragraph text
- As the global community is concerned by the increasing prevalence of collective violence, including violent extremism, it is important to note how the relationship between collective violence and interpersonal forms of violence may reinforce and feed one another. For example, violence against children in families can lead to high prevalence of youth violence and may contribute to the phenomenon of violent extremism. Prohibiting boys from expressing emotions from an early age, enforcing a toxic and primitive understanding of masculinity, has been linked to acts of extreme violence by young men and reinforced a tendency to join groups and movements that are involved in collective violence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Families
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Internally displaced women: progress, challenges and the way ahead 2013, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- The pursuit of durable solutions raises a range of concerns for IDW. Although the choice of a durable solution is, in principle, an individual matter, in practice decisions concerning durable solutions are usually made by families or communities, often marginalizing women's preferences. For example, particularly when they have been the targets of SGBV, IDW may be deterred from returning due to traumatic associations or fear of further attacks. Yet, in some instances families or other actors may pressure women to return despite these concerns.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The human rights situation of Roma worldwide, with a particular focus on the phenomenon of anti-Gypsyism 2015, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- In Canada, in order to reduce discriminatory policing behaviours, in 2011-2012, training on Roma culture was delivered, as part of the Hate Can Kill project, to Ontario police, including information about the Roma Holocaust, the racially motivated violence experienced by Roma and the lack of trust in police authorities among Roma communities. In parallel, Roma families and young people were also educated on what constitutes a hate crime, on relevant legal instruments and on the importance of reporting hate crimes to the police. Following that training, in 2012 both the Toronto Police Force and the Hamilton Police Force recorded hate crimes reported by people of Roma identity.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Sale of children for the purpose of forced labour 2016, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- While data remains scarce, ILO has concluded that there are significant numbers of children in debt bondage, child victims of trafficking and children in situations of servitude. The ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations has defined numerous situations of domestic work as amounting to child labour and, in several instances, forced labour. Children can be forced into domestic work under the guise of adoption, in conditions similar to bonded labour. Children may also be sold for the purpose of forced domestic work because their families are in bonded labour. A UNICEF study has highlighted the multiple ways in which children are recruited for domestic work. In some cases, intermediaries earn money from the child's placement and/or by taking a significant share of children's wages.
- 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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Sale of children for the purpose of forced labour 2016, para. 94
- Paragraph text
- Social policy measures that ensure a minimum standard of living and protect families in case of shocks have been found to be particularly effective in preventing labour exploitation and trafficking. An ILO report which focused on social protection as an instrument to eliminate child labour, found that cash transfers were more effective among children from poorer backgrounds and when coupled with other interventions, such as the provision of health and education services. Similarly, health insurance and pension and unemployment benefits can help families cope with a shock which renders a family member unable to work and avoid them resorting to child labour to compensate for loss of income or to pay for treatment. Interventions aimed at supporting parents, such as a public employment programme, may also have a positive effect as long as they do not result in children simply taking the place of their parents in their former jobs.
- 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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Study on illegal adoptions 2017, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- The above-mentioned motivations for carrying out illegal adoptions often overlapped, as was notably the case in Spain throughout the Franco regime and during the first decades of democracy. Indeed, the practice of illegally adopting children for ideological and religious reasons soon morphed into a profit-driven criminal activity. Thousands of newborn babies were reportedly abducted from their parents by criminal networks involved in large-scale illegal adoptions. Medical personnel and clergy members actively participated in the abduction of children. Newborn babies were abducted from hospitals and subsequently told that their parents had died. The children were then given to other parents following the falsification of documents and, in certain cases, payments.
- 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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Infants
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Study on illegal adoptions 2017, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- Guatemala presents one of the few examples of investigation and prosecution efforts having been made with the aim of dismantling criminal structures. In 2011, with the support of the United Nations-backed International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, the Public Prosecutor's Office proved the existence of a criminal structure involved in trafficking in children for the purpose of illegal intercountry adoptions operated by owners of residential facilities with the complicity of lawyers, registrars and judges. Despite the convictions, the case illustrated the difficulties in balancing the conflicting needs and desires of those involved in adoptions (adoptees, adoptive parents and biological parents) and the interests of justice.
- 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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Study on illegal adoptions 2017, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- Various countries emerging from conflict or an authoritarian regime have been confronted with allegations of systematic illegal adoptions as part of past large-scale abuses. Few countries have responded to victims' calls for truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, however, and none have done so in a comprehensive manner. Argentina has pioneered such responses, in particular in relation to enforced disappearances, through truth-seeking and accountability. Genetic tracing and the establishment of a national genetic database have played a key role in identifying disappeared children who were subjected to illegal adoption and in efforts to seek judicial accountability. Moreover, the "disappeared" children, now adults, are stepping forward to uncover their biological origins and some are playing a role in the prosecution of their adoptive parents.
- 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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- It has also been reported that indigenous peoples in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are subjected to practices similar to slavery, including debt bondage, by the Bantu majority. Indigenous peoples are often trapped in debt bondage by Bantu "masters" who often sell them goods such as clothes, food and medicine at inflated prices and add exorbitant rates of interest if the goods are not paid for on time and who demand their work in return. It is also a common practice for the Bantu to create new debts in order to sustain the exploitation of bonded labourers. For example, it has been reported that they provide food to indigenous children and then add inflated costs to the debts of parents.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Families
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to an effective remedy for trafficked persons 2011, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- The best interests of the child need to be carefully considered before deciding the course of action for trafficked children, particularly where it involves criminal proceedings. In many cases, the child's participation in criminal proceedings may not be in his or her best interest where, for example, he or she is interviewed repeatedly, required to provide testimony in court in the presence of the traffickers, subjected to hostile questioning by the traffickers or their legal representative, or effective witness protection is not in place to guarantee the privacy and security of the child and his or her family members. Thus, in determining whether a trafficked child should be involved in criminal proceedings, the benefits of such involvement should be carefully weighed against any negative consequences in order to ensure that it is indeed in the best interests of the particular child.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- There is a need for a holistic approach to both physical and ideological restrictions as an issue in the human rights discourse around violence against women. Mainstream human rights discourse has demonstrated its capacity to acknowledge as a human rights violation the violence that flows from physical restrictions which are created and/or maintained by the State, communities, families or individuals. The same cannot be said, however, for the violence of ideological restrictions which may be deployed to justify physical violence against women or to restrict women's choices in ways that make submission to violent acts necessary to access resources and to demonstrate community membership. Ideological constraints help either to normalize the differential vulnerability based on the violence inherent in the context, the personhood of the women involved, or some combination of the two.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Intimate-partner violence is a problem affecting millions of women all over the world, and the overwhelming burden of partner violence is borne by women. Research on homicide resulting from intimate-partner violence reflects, almost without exception, that females are at greater risk than males, and that the majority of female homicide victims are killed by male intimate partners. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime studies also confirm that in many countries, intimate partner/family-related homicide is the major cause of female homicides, and that female homicide rates are much more likely to be driven by this type of violence than by the organized crime-related homicide typology that so affects men.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- Honour killings take many forms, including direct murder; stoning; women and young girls being forced to commit suicide after public denunciations of their behaviour; and women being disfigured by acid burns, leading to death. Honour crimes are also linked to other forms of family violence, and are usually committed by male family members as a means of controlling women's sexual choices and limiting their freedom of movement. Punishment usually has a collective dimension, with the family as a whole believing it to be injured by a woman's actual or perceived behaviour, and is often public in character. The visibility of the issue and the punishment also serves a social objective, namely, influencing the conduct of other women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- It is argued that the term feminicide could be usefully adopted when holding governments to account at the international level, as it highlights the impunity and the institutional violence aspect of such crimes, which are caused by States' acts or omissions. Institutional violence against women and their families is present in all aspects of States' responses to the killings of women. This can include: tolerance, the blaming of victims, lack of access to justice and effective remedies, negligence, threats, corruption and abuse by officials. Under this scenario, femicide/feminicide is a State crime tolerated by public institutions and officials, due to the inability to prevent, protect and guarantee the lives of women, who have consequently experienced multiple forms of discrimination and violence throughout their lifetime.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Violence against women as a barrier to the effective realization of all human rights 2014, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- For a long time, traditional human rights advocacy viewed gender-based violence through a public versus private lens, where States are responsible only for violence committed against women in the public sphere. This flawed understanding of gender-based violence ignores the reality that violence crosses the public and private domains and ranges from intimate and interpersonal violence to structural, systematic and institutional forms of violence. In more recent times, there has been greater acceptance that the State has a responsibility for violence occurring in the cultural, social or family life, as such violence does have an impact on the ability of women to exercise their full citizenship rights. It is argued that women are full agents that are at once sexual, civil, political, economic, social and cultural beings, and that States must recognize women as such to guarantee their full and equal citizenship rights. Thus a more holistic examination of root causes, including potential economic and social remedies for rights violations, is necessary.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Violence against women as a barrier to the effective realization of all human rights 2014, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Violence violates women's rights to equality and non-discrimination on the basis of their sex and gender and to liberty and security of the person, and the right not to be subjected to torture, cruel or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It also impedes women's right to equality within the family. The experience or threat of violence makes many women reluctant to leave their homes, which deprives them of their rights to take part in the political, economic, social and cultural life of their community. This in turn precludes women from exercising their right to vote and hold public office, to work, to education, to a secure livelihood and to access to justice and to health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Modalities for the establishment of femicides/gender-related killings watch 2016, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- The issue of femicide has received serious attention since the establishment of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur. It is examined systematically during country visits. In 1995, the Special Rapporteur presented a thematic report on violence in the family to the Commission on Human Rights, in which it was highlighted that the dominance of a familial ideology entrenched women's roles as wives and mothers and impeded them from gaining access to non-traditional roles and exposed women who did not fit within or ascribe to traditional sex roles to gender-based hate crimes. The Special Rapporteur emphasized that such an ideology legitimated violence against women, including honour killings and other forms of femicide (see E/CN.4/1999/68). In 2002, the Special Rapporteur presented a thematic report on cultural practices in the family that were violent towards women, referring to honour killings, and noted that those types of crimes were carried out by husbands, fathers, brothers or uncles, sometimes on behalf of tribal councils (see E/CN.4/2002/83). The Special Rapporteur organized an expert meeting on the gender-motivated killing of women in New York in 2011 in order to consolidate and build on national, regional and international expertise with regard to the manifestations and root causes of and State responses to gender-motivated killings of women, discuss policy, legal and institutional challenges at the national, regional and international levels and identify good practices and lessons learned in that regard in various regions (see A/HRC/2016/Add.4). The 2012 thematic report of the Special Rapporteur to the Human Rights Council was focused on the issue of the gender-related killing of women (see A/HRC/20/16).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Modalities for the establishment of femicides/gender-related killings watch 2016, para. 83b
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur recommends the following modalities for the establishment of a national femicide watch and/or observatories on violence against women:] States should systematically collect relevant disaggregated data on all forms of violence against women, in particular on femicide or the gender-related killing of women, which could include the killing of children in this regard. States should disaggregate data on femicide under two broad categories, which could include subcategories in line with their national realities, namely, intimate partner femicide or family-related femicide, based on a relationship between the victim and the perpetrator, and other femicides;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph