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The girl child 1998, para. c
- Paragraph text
- [Actions to be taken by Governments, civil society and the United Nations system, as appropriate:] Eradicate all customary or traditional practices, particularly female genital mutilation, that are harmful to or discriminate against women and girls and that are violations of women's human rights and obstacles to the full enjoyment by women of their human rights and fundamental freedoms, through the design and implementation of awareness-raising programmes, education and training, as well as programmes to help the victims of such practices to overcome their trauma;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1998
Paragraph
Women and health 1999, para. 2h
- Paragraph text
- [Actions to be taken by Governments, the United Nations system and civil society, as appropriate:] (h) Eradicate the practice of female genital mutilation, and other harmful traditional and customary practices affecting the health of women and girls, since such practices constitute a definite form of violence against women and girls and a serious form of violation of their human rights, including through development of appropriate policies and enactment and/or reinforcement of legislation, and ensure development of appropriate tools of education and advocacy and adopt legislation outlawing their practice by medical personnel;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
Women, the girl child and human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome 2001, para. 1j
- Paragraph text
- [Actions to be taken by Governments, the United Nations system and civil society, as appropriate]: Strengthen concrete measures to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls, including harmful traditional and customary practices, abuse and rape, battering and trafficking in women and girls, which aggravate the conditions fostering the spread of HIV/AIDS, through, inter alia, the enactment and enforcement of laws, as well as public campaigns to combat violence against women and girls;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2001
Paragraph
Women's empowerment and the link to sustainable development 2016, para. 23r
- Paragraph text
- [The Commission [...] urges Governments, at all levels [...] to take the following actions:] [Strengthening normative, legal and policy frameworks]: Adopt, review and ensure the accelerated and effective implementation of laws that criminalize violence against women and girls, as well as comprehensive, multidisciplinary and gender-sensitive preventive, protective and prosecutorial measures and services to eliminate and prevent all forms of violence against all women and girls, in public and private spaces, as well as harmful practices;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child 2007, para. 14.9.h
- Paragraph text
- [The Commission [...] urges Governments [...] to:] [14.9. Violence and discrimination] (h) Eliminate all forms of discrimination against the girl child and the root causes of son preference, which results in harmful and unethical practices regarding female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, which may have significant repercussions on society as a whole;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
Elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child 2007, para. 14.9.e
- Paragraph text
- [The Commission [...] urges Governments [...] to:] [14.9. Violence and discrimination] (e) Strengthen advocacy and rights-based awareness-raising programmes directed at eliminating all forms of violence and discrimination against girls by engaging girls and boys, parents and families, local community, political, religious and traditional leaders and educational institutions, and provide adequate financial support to efforts at both national and local levels to change behaviour, stereotyped attitudes and harmful practices;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls 2014, para. 42m
- Paragraph text
- [The Commission urges Governments, at all levels [...] to take the following actions:] [Realizing women's and girls' full enjoyment of all human rights]: Eliminate all harmful practices, including child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation, by reviewing, adopting, enacting and enforcing laws and regulations that prohibit such practices, creating awareness around their harmful health consequences and generating social support for the enforcement of these laws;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Women's empowerment and the link to sustainable development 2016, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- The Commission strongly condemns all forms of violence against all women and girls. It expresses deep concern that discrimination and violence against women and girls, in particular against those who are most vulnerable, continues in all parts of the world and that all forms of violence against women and girls, including, inter alia, sexual and gender-based violence, domestic violence, trafficking in persons and femicide, among others, as well as harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation, are impediments to the full achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, the realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all women and girls and the development of their full potential as equal partners with men and boys, as well as the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls 2014, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- The Commission welcomes international momentum to address the issue of child, early and forced marriage. The Commission recognizes that child, early and forced marriage is a harmful practice, and notes that its continued prevalence, among other factors, has slowed the achievement of several of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls.
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child 2007, para. 14.4.d
- Paragraph text
- [The Commission [...] urges Governments [...] to:] [14.4. Health] (d) Develop and implement national legislation and policies prohibiting harmful customary or traditional practices, particularly female genital mutilation, that are violations of and obstacles to the full enjoyment by women of their human rights and fundamental freedoms, and prosecute the perpetrators of such practices that are harmful to the health of women and girls;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls 2014, para. 42d
- Paragraph text
- [The Commission urges Governments, at all levels [...] to take the following actions:] [Realizing women's and girls' full enjoyment of all human rights]: Implement concrete and long-term measures to transform discriminatory social norms and gender stereotypes, including those that limit women's roles to being mothers and caregivers, and eliminate harmful practices including, inter alia, female genital mutilation and honour crimes, in order to achieve gender equality and women's and girls' empowerment and the full realization of the human rights of women and girls;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child 2007, para. 14.9.l
- Paragraph text
- [The Commission [...] urges Governments [...] to:] [14.9. Violence and discrimination] (l) Increase education and training among teachers and health service providers in identifying acts of violence against the girl child, and ensure that they also take action to eradicate all forms of violence against the girl child, including customary and traditional practices that are harmful to the health of the girl child;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work 2017, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- The Commission strongly condemns violence against women and girls in all its forms in public and private spaces, including harassment in the world of work, including sexual harassment, and sexual and gender-based violence, domestic violence, trafficking in persons and femicide, among others, as well as harmful practices such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation, and recognizes that these forms of violence are major impediments to the achievement of women's economic empowerment and their social and economic development, often resulting in, inter alia, absenteeism, missed promotions and job losses, thereby hampering women's ability to enter, advance and remain in the labour market and make contributions commensurate with their abilities, and also recognizes that such violence can impede economic independence and impose direct and indirect short- and long-term costs on society and individuals including, as relevant, lost economic output and the psychological and physical impact thereof, as well as expenses relating to health care, the legal sector, social welfare and specialized services, and further recognizes that women's economic autonomy can expand their options for leaving abusive relationships.
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The girl child 1998, para. e
- Paragraph text
- [Actions to be taken by Governments, local authorities, non-governmental organizations and civil society and the United Nations system, as appropriate:] Eliminate traditional and customary practices that constitute son- preference through awareness-raising campaigns and gender training;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 1998
Paragraph
Violence against women 1998, para. g
- Paragraph text
- [Actions to be taken by Governments and civil society, including non-governmental organizations:] Raise awareness and mobilize public opinion to eliminate female genital mutilation and other harmful traditional, cultural or customary practices that violate the human rights of women and girls and negatively affect their health;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1998
Paragraph
Violence against women 1998, para. m
- Paragraph text
- [Actions to be taken by Governments:] Develop and implement national legislation and policies prohibiting harmful customary or traditional practices that are violations of women's and girls' human rights and obstacles to the full enjoyment by women and girls of their human rights and fundamental freedoms;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1998
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 93
- Paragraph text
- Discrimination against girls, often resulting from son preference, in access to nutrition and health-care services endangers their current and future health and well-being. Conditions that force girls into early marriage, pregnancy and child-bearing and subject them to harmful practices, such as female genital mutilation, pose grave health risks. Adolescent girls need, but too often do not have, access to necessary health and nutrition services as they mature. Counselling and access to sexual and reproductive health information and services for adolescents are still inadequate or lacking completely, and a young woman's right to privacy, confidentiality, respect and informed consent is often not considered. Adolescent girls are both biologically and psychosocially more vulnerable than boys to sexual abuse, violence and prostitution, and to the consequences of unprotected and premature sexual relations. The trend towards early sexual experience, combined with a lack of information and services, increases the risk of unwanted and too early pregnancy, HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases, as well as unsafe abortions. Early child-bearing continues to be an impediment to improvements in the educational, economic and social status of women in all parts of the world. Overall, for young women early marriage and early motherhood can severely curtail educational and employment opportunities and are likely to have a long-term, adverse impact on the quality of their lives and the lives of their children. Young men are often not educated to respect women's self-determination and to share responsibility with women in matters of sexuality and reproduction.
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- The girl child of today is the woman of tomorrow. The skills, ideas and energy of the girl child are vital for full attainment of the goals of equality, development and peace. For the girl child to develop her full potential she needs to be nurtured in an enabling environment, where her spiritual, intellectual and material needs for survival, protection and development are met and her equal rights safeguarded. If women are to be equal partners with men, in every aspect of life and development, now is the time to recognize the human dignity and worth of the girl child and to ensure the full enjoyment of her human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the rights assured by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, universal ratification of which is strongly urged. Yet there exists worldwide evidence that discrimination and violence against girls begin at the earliest stages of life and continue unabated throughout their lives. They often have less access to nutrition, physical and mental health care and education and enjoy fewer rights, opportunities and benefits of childhood and adolescence than do boys. They are often subjected to various forms of sexual and economic exploitation, paedophilia, forced prostitution and possibly the sale of their organs and tissues, violence and harmful practices such as female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, incest, female genital mutilation and early marriage, including child marriage.
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
Paragraph
Further actions and initiatives to implement the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 2000, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Obstacles. Women continue to be victims of various forms of violence. Inadequate understanding of the root causes of all forms of violence against women and girls hinders efforts to eliminate violence against women and girls. There is a lack of comprehensive programmes dealing with the perpetrators, including programmes, where appropriate, which would enable them to solve problems without violence. Inadequate data on violence further impedes informed policy-making and analysis. Sociocultural attitudes which are discriminatory and economic inequalities reinforce women's subordinate place in society. This makes women and girls vulnerable to many forms of violence, such as physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence and violence related to exploitation. In many countries, a coordinated multidisciplinary approach to responding to violence which includes the health system, the workplace, the media, the education system, as well as the justice system, is still limited. Domestic violence, including sexual violence in marriage, is still treated as a private matter in some countries. Insufficient awareness of the consequences of domestic violence, how to prevent it and the rights of victims still exists. Although improving, the legal and legislative measures, especially in the criminal justice area, to eliminate different forms of violence against women and children, including domestic violence and child pornography, are weak in many countries. Prevention strategies also remain fragmented and reactive and there is a lack of programmes on these issues. It is also noted that, in some countries, problems have arisen from the use of new information and communication technologies for trafficking in women and children and for purposes of all forms of economic and sexual exploitation.
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph
Further actions and initiatives to implement the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 2000, para. 69e
- Paragraph text
- Develop, adopt and fully implement laws and other measures, as appropriate, such as policies and educational programmes, to eradicate harmful customary or traditional practices, including female genital mutilation, early and forced marriage and so-called honour crimes, which are violations of the human rights of women and girls and obstacles to the full enjoyment by women of their human rights and fundamental freedoms, and intensify efforts, in cooperation with local women's groups, to raise collective and individual awareness on how these harmful traditional or customary practices violate women's human rights;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 259
- Paragraph text
- The Convention on the Rights of the Child recognizes that "States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction 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 status" (art. 2, para. 1). However, in many countries available indicators show that the girl child is discriminated against from the earliest stages of life, through her childhood and into adulthood. In some areas of the world, men outnumber women by 5 in every 100. The reasons for the discrepancy include, among other things, harmful attitudes and practices, such as female genital mutilation, son preference - which results in female infanticide and prenatal sex selection - early marriage, including child marriage, violence against women, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, discrimination against girls in food allocation and other practices related to health and well-being. As a result, fewer girls than boys survive into adulthood.
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
Paragraph
Assessment of the status of implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 2014, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Expresses deep concern about the pervasiveness of gender-based violence, in particular violence against women and girls, and reiterates the need to further intensify efforts to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls and harmful practices, including child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation, and recognizes that violence against women and girls is one of the obstacles to achieving the empowerment of women and that women's poverty and lack of political, social and economic empowerment, as well as their marginalization, may result from their exclusion from social policies for and the benefits of sustainable development and can place them at increased risk of violence;
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Key actions for the further implementation of the Programme of Action of the of the International Conference on Population and Development 1999, para. 52g
- Paragraph text
- [52. Governments, in collaboration with civil society, including non-governmental organizations, donors and the United Nations system, should:] (g) Promote men's understanding of their roles and responsibilities with regard to respecting the human rights of women; protecting women's health, including supporting their partners' access to sexual and reproductive health services; preventing unwanted pregnancy; reducing maternal mortality and morbidity; reducing transmission of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS; sharing household and child-rearing responsibilities; and promoting the elimination of harmful practices, such as female genital mutilation, and sexual and other gender- based violence, ensuring that girls and women are free from coercion and violence;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
Further actions and initiatives to implement the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 2000, para. 96a
- Paragraph text
- Increase cooperation, policy responses, effective implementation of national legislation and other protective and preventive measures aimed at the elimination of violence against women and girls, especially all forms of commercial sexual exploitation, as well as economic exploitation, including trafficking in women and children, female infanticide, crimes committed in the name of honour, crimes committed in the name of passion, racially motivated crimes, abduction and sale of children, dowry-related violence and deaths, acid attacks and harmful traditional or customary practices, such as female genital mutilation, early and forced marriages;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 7.4
- Paragraph text
- Governments and communities should urgently take steps to stop the practice of female genital mutilation and protect women and girls from all such similar unnecessary and dangerous practices. Steps to eliminate the practice should include strong community outreach programmes involving village and religious leaders, education and counselling about its impact on girls' and women's health, and appropriate treatment and rehabilitation for girls and women who have suffered mutilation. Services should include counselling for women and men to discourage the practice.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1994
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 283d
- Paragraph text
- [By Governments and, as appropriate, international and non-governmental organizations:] Enact and enforce legislation protecting girls from all forms of violence, including female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, genital mutilation, incest, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, child prostitution and child pornography, and develop age-appropriate safe and confidential programmes and medical, social and psychological support services to assist girls who are subjected to violence.
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 1995
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 107a
- Paragraph text
- [By Governments, in cooperation with non-governmental organizations, the mass media, the private sector and relevant international organizations, including United Nations bodies, as appropriate:] Give priority to both formal and informal educational programmes that support and enable women to develop self-esteem, acquire knowledge, make decisions on and take responsibility for their own health, achieve mutual respect in matters concerning sexuality and fertility and educate men regarding the importance of women's health and well-being, placing special focus on programmes for both men and women that emphasize the elimination of harmful attitudes and practices, including female genital mutilation, son preference (which results in female infanticide and prenatal sex selection), early marriage, including child marriage, violence against women, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, which at times is conducive to infection with HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, drug abuse, discrimination against girls and women in food allocation and other harmful attitudes and practices related to the life, health and well-being of women, and recognizing that some of these practices can be violations of human rights and ethical medical principles;
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1995
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 277c
- Paragraph text
- [By Governments and, as appropriate, international and non-governmental organizations:] Eliminate all forms of discrimination against the girl child and the root causes of son preference, which result in harmful and unethical practices such as prenatal sex selection and female infanticide; this is often compounded by the increasing use of technologies to determine foetal sex, resulting in abortion of female foetuses;
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 1995
Paragraph
Key actions for the further implementation of the Programme of Action of the of the International Conference on Population and Development 1999, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- 48. Governments should give priority to developing programmes and policies that foster norms and attitudes of zero tolerance for harmful and discriminatory attitudes, including son preference, which can result in harmful and unethical practices such as prenatal sex selection, discrimination and violence against the girl child and all forms of violence against women, including female genital mutilation, rape, incest, trafficking, sexual violence and exploitation. This entails developing an integrated approach that addresses the need for widespread social, cultural and economic change, in addition to legal reforms. The girl child's access to health, nutrition, education and life opportunities should be protected and promoted. The role of family members, especially parents and other legal guardians, in strengthening the self-image, self-esteem and status and in protecting the health and well-being of girls should be enhanced and supported.
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 4.16a
- Paragraph text
- [The objectives are:] To eliminate all forms of discrimination against the girl child and the root causes of son preference, which results in harmful and unethical practices regarding female infanticide and prenatal sex selection;
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 1994
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 4.22
- Paragraph text
- Governments are urged to prohibit female genital mutilation wherever it exists and to give vigorous support to efforts among non-governmental and community organizations and religious institutions to eliminate such practices.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 1994
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 55f
- Paragraph text
- [The Committees recommend that the States parties to the Conventions adopt or amend legislation with a view to effectively addressing and eliminating harmful practices. In doing so, they should ensure:] That a minimum legal age of marriage for girls and boys, with or without parental consent, is established at 18 years. When a marriage at an earlier age is allowed in exceptional circumstances, the absolute minimum age must not be below 16 years, the grounds for obtaining permission must be legitimate and strictly defined by law and the marriage must be permitted only by a court of law upon the full, free and informed consent of the child or both children, who must appear in person before the court;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Female genital mutilation, female circumcision or female genital cutting is the practice of partially or wholly removing the external female genitalia or otherwise injuring the female genital organs for non-medical or non-health reasons. In the context of the present joint general recommendation/general comment, it is referred to as female genital mutilation. Female genital mutilation is performed in every region and, within some cultures, is a requirement for marriage and believed to be an effective method of controlling the sexuality of women and girls. It may have various immediate and/or long-term health consequences, including severe pain, shock, infections and complications during childbirth (affecting both the mother and the child), long-term gynaecological problems such as fistula, psychological effects and death. The World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund estimate that between 100 million and 140 million girls and women worldwide have been subjected to a type of female genital mutilation.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Child marriage, also referred to as early marriage, is any marriage where at least one of the parties is under 18 years of age. The overwhelming majority of child marriages, both formal and informal, involve girls, although at times their spouses are also under 18 years of age. A child marriage is considered to be a form of forced marriage, given that one and/or both parties have not expressed full, free and informed consent. As a matter of respecting the child's evolving capacities and autonomy in making decisions that affect her or his life, a marriage of a mature, capable child below 18 years of age may be allowed in exceptional circumstances, provided that the child is at least 16 years of age and that such decisions are made by a judge based on legitimate exceptional grounds defined by law and on the evidence of maturity, without deference to culture and tradition.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- In some contexts, children are betrothed or married very young and, in many cases, young girls are forced to marry a man who may be decades older. In 2012, the United Nations Children's Fund reported that almost 400 million women between 20 and 49 years of age around the world had been married or had entered into a union before reaching 18 years of age. The Committees have therefore been paying particular attention to cases in which girls have been married against their full, free and informed consent, such as when they have been married too young to be physically and psychologically ready for adult life or to make conscious and informed decisions and thus not ready to consent to marriage. Other examples include cases in which guardians have the legal authority to consent to marriage of girls in accordance with customary or statutory law and in which girls are thus married contrary to the right to freely enter into marriage.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 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 Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- One of the first steps in combating harmful practices is through prevention. Both Committees have underlined that prevention can be best achieved through a rights-based approach to changing social and cultural norms, empowering women and girls, building the capacity of all relevant professionals who are in regular contact with victims, potential victims and perpetrators of harmful practices at all levels and raising awareness of the causes and consequences of harmful practices, including through dialogue with relevant stakeholders.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- The best interests of the child and the protection of the rights of girls and women should always be taken into consideration and the necessary conditions must be in place to enable them to express their point of view and ensure that their opinions are given due weight. Careful consideration should also be given to the potential short-term and long-term impact on children or women of the dissolution of child and/or forced marriages and the return of dowry payments and bride prices.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- The Committees acknowledge that harmful practices affect adult women, both directly and/or owing to the long-term impact of practices to which they were subjected as girls. The present joint general recommendation/general comment therefore further elaborates on the obligations of States parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women with regard to the relevant provisions for the elimination of harmful practices that affect the rights of women.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- In line with general recommendation No. 31 (2014) on harmful practices, States parties should eliminate harmful practices, including child and/or forced marriage, female genital mutilation and the inheritance of ancestral debt, which negatively affect the health, well-being and dignity of rural women and girls. They should eliminate discriminatory stereotypes, including those that compromise the equal rights of rural women to land, water and other natural resources. In this regard, States parties should adopt a range of measures, including outreach and support programmes, awareness-raising and media campaigns, in collaboration with traditional leaders and civil society, to eliminate harmful practices and stereotypes.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Women with disabilities are subjected to the same harmful practices committed against women without disabilities such as forced marriage, female genital mutilation, crimes committed in the name of so called honour, dowry related violence, widowhood practices and accusations of witchcraft . The consequences of harmful practices goes far beyond social exclusion. It reinforces harmful gender stereotypes, perpetuates inequalities and contributes to discrimination against women and girls. They can result in physical, and psychological violence and economic exploitation. Harmful practice based on patriarchal interpretations of culture cannot be evoked to justify violence against women and girls with disabilities. In addition, women and girls with disabilities are particularly at risk of 'virgin testing' and, regarding HIV/AIDS misbeliefs, "virgin rapes" .
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- The efforts to combat harmful practices notwithstanding, the overall number of women and girls affected remains extremely high and may be increasing, including, for example, in conflict situations and as a result of technological developments such as the widespread use of social media. Through the examination of State parties' reports, the Committees have noted that there is often continued adherence to harmful practices by members of practising communities who have moved to destination countries through migration or to seek asylum. Social norms and cultural beliefs supporting such harmful practices persist and are at times emphasized by a community in an attempt to preserve its cultural identity in a new environment, in particular in destination countries where gender roles provide women and girls with greater personal freedom.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- The causes of harmful practices are multidimensional and include stereotyped sex- and gender-based roles, the presumed superiority or inferiority of either of the sexes, attempts to exert control over the bodies and sexuality of women and girls, social inequalities and the prevalence of male-dominated power structures. Efforts to change the practices must address those underlying systemic and structural causes of traditional, re-emerging and emerging harmful practices, empower girls and women and boys and men to contribute to the transformation of traditional cultural attitudes that condone harmful practices, act as agents of such change and strengthen the capacity of communities to support such processes.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 73d
- Paragraph text
- [The Committees recommend that the States parties to the Conventions:] Conduct specialized awareness and training programmes for health-care providers working with immigrant communities to address the unique health-care needs of children and women who have undergone female genital mutilation or other harmful practices and provide specialized training also for professionals within child welfare services and services focused on the rights of women and the education and police and justice sectors, politicians and media personnel working with migrant girls and women.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 77
- Paragraph text
- The most effective efforts are inclusive and engage relevant stakeholders at all levels, especially girls and women from affected communities and boys and men. Moreover, those efforts require the active participation and support of local leaders, including through the allocation of adequate resources. Establishing or strengthening existing partnerships with relevant stakeholders, institutions, organizations and social networks (religious and traditional leaders, practitioners and civil society) can help to build bridges between constituencies.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Contrary to their obligations under both Conventions, many States parties maintain legal provisions that justify, allow or lead to harmful practices, such as legislation that allows for child marriage, provides the defence of so-called honour as an exculpatory or mitigating factor for crimes committed against girls and women or enables a perpetrator of rape and/or other sexual crimes to avoid sanctions by marrying the victim.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 81b
- Paragraph text
- [The Committees recommend that the States parties to the Conventions:] Ensure that awareness-raising programmes provide accurate information and clear and unified messages from trusted sources about the negative impact of harmful practices on women, children, in particular girls, their families and society at large. Such programmes should include social media, the Internet and community communication and dissemination tools;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Many other practices having been identified as harmful practices are all strongly connected to and reinforce socially constructed gender roles and systems of patriarchal power relations and sometimes reflect negative perceptions of or discriminatory beliefs regarding certain disadvantaged groups of women and children, including individuals with disabilities or albinism. The practices include, but are not limited to, neglect of girls (linked to the preferential care and treatment of boys), extreme dietary restrictions, including during pregnancy (force-feeding, food taboos), virginity testing and related practices, binding, scarring, branding/infliction of tribal marks, corporal punishment, stoning, violent initiation rites, widowhood practices, accusations of witchcraft, infanticide and incest. They also include body modifications that are performed for the purpose of beauty or marriageability of girls and women (such as fattening, isolation, the use of lip discs and neck elongation with neck rings) or in an attempt to protect girls from early pregnancy or from being subjected to sexual harassment and violence (such as breast ironing). In addition, many women and children increasingly undergo medical treatment and/or plastic surgery to comply with social norms of the body, rather than for medical or health reasons, and many are also pressured to be fashionably thin, which has resulted in an epidemic of eating and health disorders.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- The Committees recommend that the States parties to the Conventions ensure that any efforts undertaken to tackle harmful practices and to challenge and change underlying social norms are holistic, community based and founded on a rights-based approach that includes the active participation of all relevant stakeholders, especially women and girls.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Women and health 1999, para. 12b
- Paragraph text
- [States parties should report on their understanding of how policies and measures on health care address the health rights of women from the perspective of women's needs and interests and how it addresses distinctive features and factors that differ for women in comparison to men, such as:] Socio-economic factors that vary for women in general and some groups of women in particular. For example, unequal power relationships between women and men in the home and workplace may negatively affect women's nutrition and health. They may also be exposed to different forms of violence which can affect their health. Girl children and adolescent girls are often vulnerable to sexual abuse by older men and family members, placing them at risk of physical and psychological harm and unwanted and early pregnancy. Some cultural or traditional practices such as female genital mutilation also carry a high risk of death and disability;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- The best interests of the child and the protection of the rights of girls and women should always be taken into consideration and the necessary conditions must be in place to enable them to express their point of view and ensure that their opinions are given due weight. Careful consideration should also be given to the potential short-term and long-term impact on children or women of the dissolution of child and/or forced marriages and the return of dowry payments and bride prices.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 77
- Paragraph text
- The most effective efforts are inclusive and engage relevant stakeholders at all levels, especially girls and women from affected communities and boys and men. Moreover, those efforts require the active participation and support of local leaders, including through the allocation of adequate resources. Establishing or strengthening existing partnerships with relevant stakeholders, institutions, organizations and social networks (religious and traditional leaders, practitioners and civil society) can help to build bridges between constituencies.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- Certain forms of violence, exploitation or abuse may be considered as cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment or punishment and breaches a number of international human rights treaties. Among these are forced, coerced and otherwise involuntary pregnancy or sterilisation ; as well as any other medical procedure or intervention performed without free and informed consent, including those related to contraception and abortion; the invasive and irreversible surgical practises including psychosurgery, female genital mutilation or surgery or treatment performed on intersex children without their informed consent; the administration of electroshocks, chemical, physical or mechanical restraints; isolation or seclusion.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- Girls with disabilities are particularly at risk of harmful practices, which are justified by invoking sociocultural and religious customs and values. For example, girls with disabilities are more likely to die through "mercy killings" than boys with disabilities because their families are unwilling or lack the support to raise a girl with an impairment . Other examples of harmful practices include: infanticide , accusations of "spirit possession" and restrictions in feeding and nutrition. In addition, the marriage of girls with disabilities, especially girls with intellectual disabilities, is justified under the pretext of providing future security, care and finance for her. In turn, child marriage contributes to higher rates of school drop-out as well as early and frequent childbirth. The social isolation, segregation and exploitation of girls with disabilities inside the family, includes: exclusion from family activities, prevention from leaving home, forced unpaid housework and being forbidden from attending school.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Contrary to their obligations under both Conventions, many States parties maintain legal provisions that justify, allow or lead to harmful practices, such as legislation that allows for child marriage, provides the defence of so-called honour as an exculpatory or mitigating factor for crimes committed against girls and women or enables a perpetrator of rape and/or other sexual crimes to avoid sanctions by marrying the victim.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- Moreover, the Committees recognize that boys are also the victims of violence, harmful practices and bias and that their rights must be addressed for their protection and to prevent gender-based violence and the perpetuation of bias and gender inequality later in their lives. Accordingly, reference is made herein to the obligations of States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child regarding harmful practices stemming from discrimination that affect boys' enjoyment of their rights.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 81b
- Paragraph text
- [The Committees recommend that the States parties to the Conventions:] Ensure that awareness-raising programmes provide accurate information and clear and unified messages from trusted sources about the negative impact of harmful practices on women, children, in particular girls, their families and society at large. Such programmes should include social media, the Internet and community communication and dissemination tools;
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19 2017, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Violations of women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, such as forced sterilization, forced abortion, forced pregnancy, criminalization of abortion, denial or delay of safe abortion and/or post-abortion care, forced continuation of pregnancy, and abuse and mistreatment of women and girls seeking sexual and reproductive health information, goods and services, are forms of gender-based violence that, depending on the circumstances, may amount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Child marriage, also referred to as early marriage, is any marriage where at least one of the parties is under 18 years of age. The overwhelming majority of child marriages, both formal and informal, involve girls, although at times their spouses are also under 18 years of age. A child marriage is considered to be a form of forced marriage, given that one and/or both parties have not expressed full, free and informed consent. As a matter of respecting the child's evolving capacities and autonomy in making decisions that affect her or his life, a marriage of a mature, capable child below 18 years of age may be allowed in exceptional circumstances, provided that the child is at least 16 years of age and that such decisions are made by a judge based on legitimate exceptional grounds defined by law and on the evidence of maturity, without deference to culture and tradition.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- When a woman or a girl who was subjected to or refused to undergo a practice leaves her family or community to seek refuge, her decision to return must be supported by adequate national protection mechanisms. In assisting her in making this free and informed choice, the mechanisms are required to ensure her safe return and reintegration based on the principle of her best interest, including avoiding revictimization. Such situations require close follow-up and monitoring to ensure that victims are protected and enjoy their rights in the short term and the long term.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 73d
- Paragraph text
- [The Committees recommend that the States parties to the Conventions:] Conduct specialized awareness and training programmes for health-care providers working with immigrant communities to address the unique health-care needs of children and women who have undergone female genital mutilation or other harmful practices and provide specialized training also for professionals within child welfare services and services focused on the rights of women and the education and police and justice sectors, politicians and media personnel working with migrant girls and women.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child contain legally binding obligations that relate both in general and specifically to the elimination of harmful practices. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on the Rights of the Child have consistently drawn attention to those practices affecting women and children, primarily girls, in the execution of their monitoring mandates. It is by virtue of that overlapping mandate and the shared commitment to prevent, respond to and eliminate harmful practices, wherever and in whichever form they occur, that the Committees decided to develop the present joint general recommendation/general comment.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Crimes committed in the name of so-called honour are acts of violence that are disproportionately, although not exclusively, committed against girls and women because family members consider that some suspected, perceived or actual behaviour will bring dishonour to the family or community. Such forms of behaviour include entering into sexual relations before marriage, refusing to agree to an arranged marriage, entering into a marriage without parental consent, committing adultery, seeking divorce, dressing in a way that is viewed as unacceptable to the community, working outside the home or generally failing to conform to stereotyped gender roles. Crimes in the name of so-called honour may also be committed against girls and women because they have been victims of sexual violence.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- When a woman or a girl who was subjected to or refused to undergo a practice leaves her family or community to seek refuge, her decision to return must be supported by adequate national protection mechanisms. In assisting her in making this free and informed choice, the mechanisms are required to ensure her safe return and reintegration based on the principle of her best interest, including avoiding revictimization. Such situations require close follow-up and monitoring to ensure that victims are protected and enjoy their rights in the short term and the long term.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- Victims seeking justice for violations of their rights as a result of harmful practices often face stigmatization, a risk of revictimization, harassment and possible retribution. Steps must therefore be taken to ensure that the rights of girls and women are protected throughout the legal process, in accordance with articles 2 (c) and 15 (2) and (3) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and that children are enabled to effectively engage in court proceedings as part of their right to be heard under article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- In States parties in which the prevalence of harmful practices is primarily limited to immigrant communities, health-care providers, teachers and childcare professionals, social workers, police officers, migration officials and the justice sector must be sensitized and trained in how to identify girls and women who have been, or are at risk of being, subjected to harmful practices and which steps can and should be taken to protect them.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- In States parties in which the prevalence of harmful practices is primarily limited to immigrant communities, health-care providers, teachers and childcare professionals, social workers, police officers, migration officials and the justice sector must be sensitized and trained in how to identify girls and women who have been, or are at risk of being, subjected to harmful practices and which steps can and should be taken to protect them.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child contain legally binding obligations that relate both in general and specifically to the elimination of harmful practices. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on the Rights of the Child have consistently drawn attention to those practices affecting women and children, primarily girls, in the execution of their monitoring mandates. It is by virtue of that overlapping mandate and the shared commitment to prevent, respond to and eliminate harmful practices, wherever and in whichever form they occur, that the Committees decided to develop the present joint general recommendation/general comment.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- The Committees acknowledge that harmful practices affect adult women, both directly and/or owing to the long-term impact of practices to which they were subjected as girls. The present joint general recommendation/general comment therefore further elaborates on the obligations of States parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women with regard to the relevant provisions for the elimination of harmful practices that affect the rights of women.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- One of the first steps in combating harmful practices is through prevention. Both Committees have underlined that prevention can be best achieved through a rights-based approach to changing social and cultural norms, empowering women and girls, building the capacity of all relevant professionals who are in regular contact with victims, potential victims and perpetrators of harmful practices at all levels and raising awareness of the causes and consequences of harmful practices, including through dialogue with relevant stakeholders.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Article 5 (a) addresses the elimination of discriminatory stereotypes and practices, which are often more prevalent in rural areas. Rural women and girls are often disadvantaged by harmful practices (see CEDAW/C/GC/31-CRC/C/GC/18, para. 9), such as child and/or forced marriage, polygamy and female genital mutilation, which endanger their health and well-being and may push them to migrate in order to escape such practices, potentially exposing them to other risks. They are also disadvantaged by practices such as the inheritance of ancestral debt, which perpetuates cycles of poverty, and by discriminatory stereotypes and related practices that prevent them from enjoying rights over land, water and natural resources, such as male primogeniture and property grabbing from widows.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- In practice, the choices of women with disabilities, especially women with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities are often ignored, their decisions are often substituted by third parties, including legal representatives, service providers, guardians and family members, thus violating their rights under article 12 . All women with disabilities must be able to exercise their legal capacity by taking their own decisions, with support when desired with regard to medical and/or therapeutic treatment, including decisions on: retaining their fertility, reproductive autonomy, their right to choose the number and spacing of children, to consent and accept a statement of fatherhood, and the right to establish relationships. Restricting or removing legal capacity can facilitate forced interventions, such as: sterilisation, abortion, contraception, female genital mutilation, or surgery, or treatment performed on intersex children without their informed consent and forced detention in institutions .
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- During adolescence, gender inequalities become more significant. Manifestations of discrimination, inequality and stereotyping against girls often intensify, leading to more serious violations of their rights, including child and forced marriage, early pregnancy, female genital mutilation, gender-based physical, mental and sexual violence, abuse, exploitation and trafficking. Cultural norms ascribing lower status to girls can increase the likelihood of confinement to the home, lack of access to secondary and tertiary education, limited opportunities for leisure, sport, recreation and income generation, lack of access to cultural life and the arts, burdensome domestic chores and childcare responsibilities. In many countries, girls report lower levels of health and life satisfaction indicators than boys, a difference that gradually increases with age.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Traditional concepts of masculinity and gender norms linked to violence and dominance can compromise boys' rights. These include the imposition of harmful initiation rites, exposure to violence, gangs, coercion into militia, extremist groups and trafficking. The denial of their vulnerability to physical and sexual abuse and exploitation also poses pervasive and significant barriers to boys gaining access to sexual and reproductive health information, goods and services, and a consequent lack of protective services.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Many other practices having been identified as harmful practices are all strongly connected to and reinforce socially constructed gender roles and systems of patriarchal power relations and sometimes reflect negative perceptions of or discriminatory beliefs regarding certain disadvantaged groups of women and children, including individuals with disabilities or albinism. The practices include, but are not limited to, neglect of girls (linked to the preferential care and treatment of boys), extreme dietary restrictions, including during pregnancy (force-feeding, food taboos), virginity testing and related practices, binding, scarring, branding/infliction of tribal marks, corporal punishment, stoning, violent initiation rites, widowhood practices, accusations of witchcraft, infanticide and incest. They also include body modifications that are performed for the purpose of beauty or marriageability of girls and women (such as fattening, isolation, the use of lip discs and neck elongation with neck rings) or in an attempt to protect girls from early pregnancy or from being subjected to sexual harassment and violence (such as breast ironing). In addition, many women and children increasingly undergo medical treatment and/or plastic surgery to comply with social norms of the body, rather than for medical or health reasons, and many are also pressured to be fashionably thin, which has resulted in an epidemic of eating and health disorders.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Women’s access to justice 2015, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Special consideration is to be given to girls (including the girl child and adolescent girls, where appropriate) because they face specific barriers to gaining access to justice. They often lack the social or legal capacity to make significant decisions about their lives in areas relating to education, health and sexual and reproductive rights. They may be forced into marriage or subjected to other harmful practices and various forms of violence.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Equality in marriage and family relations 1994, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- In the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights, held at Vienna from 14 to 25 June 1993, States are urged to repeal existing laws and regulations and to remove customs and practices which discriminate against and cause harm to the girl child. Article 16 (2) and the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child preclude States parties from permitting or giving validity to a marriage between persons who have not attained their majority. In the context of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, "a child means every human being below the age of 18 years unless, under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier". Notwithstanding this definition, and bearing in mind the provisions of the Vienna Declaration, the Committee considers that the minimum age for marriage should be 18 years for both man and woman. When men and women marry, they assume important responsibilities. Consequently, marriage should not be permitted before they have attained full maturity and capacity to act. According to the World Health Organization, when minors, particularly girls, marry and have children, their health can be adversely affected and their education is impeded. As a result their economic autonomy is restricted.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1994
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- The payment of dowries and bride prices, which varies among practising communities, may increase the vulnerability of women and girls to violence and to other harmful practices. The husband or his family members may engage in acts of physical or psychological violence, including murder, burning and acid attacks, for failure to fulfil expectations regarding the payment of a dowry or its size. In some cases, families will agree to the temporary "marriage" of their daughter in exchange for financial gains, also referred to as a contractual marriage, which is a form of trafficking in human beings. States parties to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography have explicit obligations with regard to child and/or forced marriages that include dowry payments or bride prices because they could constitute a sale of children as defined in article 2 (a) of the Protocol. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has repeatedly stressed that allowing marriage to be arranged by such payment or preferment violates the right to freely choose a spouse and has in its general recommendation No. 29 outlined that such practice should not be required for a marriage to be valid and that such agreements should not be recognized by a State party as enforceable.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- The Committee notes that contributions from its half day of general discussion on women and girls with disabilities which took place during its 9th session in April 2013, highlighted a range of topics and identified three main subjects of concern with respect to the protection of their human rights: (1) violence, (2) sexual and reproductive health and rights and (3) discrimination. Furthermore, concluding observations issued by this Committee to date on women with disabilities express concern about: the prevalence of multiple discrimination and intersectional discrimination against women with disabilities , on account of their gender, disability and other factors which are not sufficiently addressed in legislation and policies ; the right to life , equal recognition before the law , the persistence of violence against women and girls with disabilities , including sexual violence and abuse , forced sterilization , female genital mutilation , sexual and economic exploitation ; institutionalization , the lack of or insufficient participation of women with disabilities in decision-making processes in public and political life ; the lack of inclusion of a gender perspective in disability policies , the lack of a disability rights perspective in gender policies ; and the lack of or insufficient specific measures to promote the education and employment of women with disabilities .
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 83
- Paragraph text
- National protection systems or, in their absence, traditional structures should be mandated to be child friendly and gender sensitive and adequately resourced to provide all necessary protection services to women and girls who face a high risk of being subjected to violence, including girls running away to avoid being subjected to female genital mutilation, forced marriage or crimes committed in the name of so-called honour. Consideration should be given to the establishment of an easy-to-remember, free, around-the-clock helpline that is available and known nationwide. Appropriate safety and security measures for victims must be available, including specifically designed temporary shelters or specialized services within shelters for victims of violence. Given that perpetrators of harmful practices are often the spouse of the victim, a family member or a member of the victim's community, protective services should seek to relocate victims outside their immediate community if there is reason to believe that they may be unsafe. Unsupervised visits must be avoided, especially when the issue may be considered one of so-called honour. Psychosocial support must also be available to treat the immediate and long-term psychological trauma of victims, which may include post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
The right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence 2011, para. 29d
- Paragraph text
- [Harmful practices. These include, but are not limited to:] Violent and degrading initiation rites; force-feeding of girls; fattening; virginity testing (inspecting girls' genitalia);
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Women and health 1999, para. 15d
- Paragraph text
- [The obligation to protect rights relating to women's health requires States parties, their agents and officials to take action to prevent and impose sanctions for violations of rights by private persons and organizations. Since gender-based violence is a critical health issue for women, States parties should ensure:] The enactment and effective enforcement of laws that prohibit female genital mutilation and marriage of girl children.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 83
- Paragraph text
- National protection systems or, in their absence, traditional structures should be mandated to be child friendly and gender sensitive and adequately resourced to provide all necessary protection services to women and girls who face a high risk of being subjected to violence, including girls running away to avoid being subjected to female genital mutilation, forced marriage or crimes committed in the name of so-called honour. Consideration should be given to the establishment of an easy-to-remember, free, around-the-clock helpline that is available and known nationwide. Appropriate safety and security measures for victims must be available, including specifically designed temporary shelters or specialized services within shelters for victims of violence. Given that perpetrators of harmful practices are often the spouse of the victim, a family member or a member of the victim's community, protective services should seek to relocate victims outside their immediate community if there is reason to believe that they may be unsafe. Unsupervised visits must be avoided, especially when the issue may be considered one of so-called honour. Psychosocial support must also be available to treat the immediate and long-term psychological trauma of victims, which may include post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 69f
- Paragraph text
- [The Committees recommend that the States parties to the Conventions:] Engage men and boys in creating an enabling environment that supports the empowerment of women and girls.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- Moreover, the Committees recognize that boys are also the victims of violence, harmful practices and bias and that their rights must be addressed for their protection and to prevent gender-based violence and the perpetuation of bias and gender inequality later in their lives. Accordingly, reference is made herein to the obligations of States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child regarding harmful practices stemming from discrimination that affect boys' enjoyment of their rights.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- The causes of harmful practices are multidimensional and include stereotyped sex- and gender-based roles, the presumed superiority or inferiority of either of the sexes, attempts to exert control over the bodies and sexuality of women and girls, social inequalities and the prevalence of male-dominated power structures. Efforts to change the practices must address those underlying systemic and structural causes of traditional, re-emerging and emerging harmful practices, empower girls and women and boys and men to contribute to the transformation of traditional cultural attitudes that condone harmful practices, act as agents of such change and strengthen the capacity of communities to support such processes.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- The efforts to combat harmful practices notwithstanding, the overall number of women and girls affected remains extremely high and may be increasing, including, for example, in conflict situations and as a result of technological developments such as the widespread use of social media. Through the examination of State parties' reports, the Committees have noted that there is often continued adherence to harmful practices by members of practising communities who have moved to destination countries through migration or to seek asylum. Social norms and cultural beliefs supporting such harmful practices persist and are at times emphasized by a community in an attempt to preserve its cultural identity in a new environment, in particular in destination countries where gender roles provide women and girls with greater personal freedom.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Female genital mutilation, female circumcision or female genital cutting is the practice of partially or wholly removing the external female genitalia or otherwise injuring the female genital organs for non-medical or non-health reasons. In the context of the present joint general recommendation/general comment, it is referred to as female genital mutilation. Female genital mutilation is performed in every region and, within some cultures, is a requirement for marriage and believed to be an effective method of controlling the sexuality of women and girls. It may have various immediate and/or long-term health consequences, including severe pain, shock, infections and complications during childbirth (affecting both the mother and the child), long-term gynaecological problems such as fistula, psychological effects and death. The World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund estimate that between 100 million and 140 million girls and women worldwide have been subjected to a type of female genital mutilation.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- In some contexts, children are betrothed or married very young and, in many cases, young girls are forced to marry a man who may be decades older. In 2012, the United Nations Children's Fund reported that almost 400 million women between 20 and 49 years of age around the world had been married or had entered into a union before reaching 18 years of age. The Committees have therefore been paying particular attention to cases in which girls have been married against their full, free and informed consent, such as when they have been married too young to be physically and psychologically ready for adult life or to make conscious and informed decisions and thus not ready to consent to marriage. Other examples include cases in which guardians have the legal authority to consent to marriage of girls in accordance with customary or statutory law and in which girls are thus married contrary to the right to freely enter into marriage.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- 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
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Polygamy is contrary to the dignity of women and girls and infringes on their human rights and freedoms, including equality and protection within the family. Polygamy varies across, and within, legal and social contexts and its impact includes harm to the health of wives, understood as physical, mental and social well-being, the material harm and deprivation that wives are liable to suffer and emotional and material harm to children, often with serious consequences for their welfare.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- Both women and girls find themselves in polygamous unions, with evidence showing that girls are much more likely to be married or betrothed to much older men, increasing the risk of violence and violations of their rights. The coexistence of statutory laws with religious, personal status and traditional customary laws and practices often contributes to the persistence of the practice. In some States parties, however, polygamy is authorized by civil law. Constitutional and other provisions that protect the right to culture and religion have also at times been used to justify laws and practices that allow for polygamous unions.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Crimes committed in the name of so-called honour are acts of violence that are disproportionately, although not exclusively, committed against girls and women because family members consider that some suspected, perceived or actual behaviour will bring dishonour to the family or community. Such forms of behaviour include entering into sexual relations before marriage, refusing to agree to an arranged marriage, entering into a marriage without parental consent, committing adultery, seeking divorce, dressing in a way that is viewed as unacceptable to the community, working outside the home or generally failing to conform to stereotyped gender roles. Crimes in the name of so-called honour may also be committed against girls and women because they have been victims of sexual violence.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- Victims seeking justice for violations of their rights as a result of harmful practices often face stigmatization, a risk of revictimization, harassment and possible retribution. Steps must therefore be taken to ensure that the rights of girls and women are protected throughout the legal process, in accordance with articles 2 (c) and 15 (2) and (3) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and that children are enabled to effectively engage in court proceedings as part of their right to be heard under article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- States parties should take steps to prevent and prohibit child and/or forced marriage among rural women and girls, including through the reform and enforcement of laws prohibiting such practices in rural areas, media campaigns, particularly aimed at raising the awareness of men, the provision of school-based prevention programmes, including comprehensive age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health education, as well as the provision of social and health services for rural married girls and girls at risk of child and/or forced marriage. In addition, States parties should discourage and prohibit the practice of polygamy, which may be more common in rural areas.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 55f
- Paragraph text
- [The Committees recommend that the States parties to the Conventions adopt or amend legislation with a view to effectively addressing and eliminating harmful practices. In doing so, they should ensure:] That a minimum legal age of marriage for girls and boys, with or without parental consent, is established at 18 years. When a marriage at an earlier age is allowed in exceptional circumstances, the absolute minimum age must not be below 16 years, the grounds for obtaining permission must be legitimate and strictly defined by law and the marriage must be permitted only by a court of law upon the full, free and informed consent of the child or both children, who must appear in person before the court;
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- Both women and girls find themselves in polygamous unions, with evidence showing that girls are much more likely to be married or betrothed to much older men, increasing the risk of violence and violations of their rights. The coexistence of statutory laws with religious, personal status and traditional customary laws and practices often contributes to the persistence of the practice. In some States parties, however, polygamy is authorized by civil law. Constitutional and other provisions that protect the right to culture and religion have also at times been used to justify laws and practices that allow for polygamous unions.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Polygamy is contrary to the dignity of women and girls and infringes on their human rights and freedoms, including equality and protection within the family. Polygamy varies across, and within, legal and social contexts and its impact includes harm to the health of wives, understood as physical, mental and social well-being, the material harm and deprivation that wives are liable to suffer and emotional and material harm to children, often with serious consequences for their welfare.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
The rights of children with disabilities 2007, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- The Committee is deeply concerned about the prevailing practice of forced sterilisation of children with disabilities, particularly girls with disabilities. This practice, which still exists, seriously violates the right of the child to her or his physical integrity and results in adverse life-long physical and mental health effects. Therefore, the Committee urges States parties to prohibit by law the forced sterilisation of children on grounds of disability.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- The Committees recommend that the States parties to the Conventions ensure that any efforts undertaken to tackle harmful practices and to challenge and change underlying social norms are holistic, community based and founded on a rights-based approach that includes the active participation of all relevant stakeholders, especially women and girls.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on the Rights of the Child consistently note that harmful practices are deeply rooted in social attitudes according to which women and girls are regarded as inferior to men and boys based on stereotyped roles. They also highlight the gender dimension of violence and indicate that sex- and gender-based attitudes and stereotypes, power imbalances, inequalities and discrimination perpetuate the widespread existence of practices that often involve violence or coercion. It is also important to recall that the Committees are concerned that the practices are also used to justify gender-based violence as a form of "protection" or control of women and children in the home or community, at school or in other educational settings and institutions and in wider society. Moreover, the Committees draw States parties' attention to the fact that sex- and gender-based discrimination intersects with other factors that affect women and girls, in particular those who belong to, or are perceived as belonging to, disadvantaged groups, and who are therefore at a higher risk of becoming victims of harmful practices.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on the Rights of the Child consistently note that harmful practices are deeply rooted in social attitudes according to which women and girls are regarded as inferior to men and boys based on stereotyped roles. They also highlight the gender dimension of violence and indicate that sex- and gender-based attitudes and stereotypes, power imbalances, inequalities and discrimination perpetuate the widespread existence of practices that often involve violence or coercion. It is also important to recall that the Committees are concerned that the practices are also used to justify gender-based violence as a form of "protection" or control of women and children in the home or community, at school or in other educational settings and institutions and in wider society. Moreover, the Committees draw States parties' attention to the fact that sex- and gender-based discrimination intersects with other factors that affect women and girls, in particular those who belong to, or are perceived as belonging to, disadvantaged groups, and who are therefore at a higher risk of becoming victims of harmful practices.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- The payment of dowries and bride prices, which varies among practising communities, may increase the vulnerability of women and girls to violence and to other harmful practices. The husband or his family members may engage in acts of physical or psychological violence, including murder, burning and acid attacks, for failure to fulfil expectations regarding the payment of a dowry or its size. In some cases, families will agree to the temporary "marriage" of their daughter in exchange for financial gains, also referred to as a contractual marriage, which is a form of trafficking in human beings. States parties to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography have explicit obligations with regard to child and/or forced marriages that include dowry payments or bride prices because they could constitute a sale of children as defined in article 2 (a) of the Protocol. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has repeatedly stressed that allowing marriage to be arranged by such payment or preferment violates the right to freely choose a spouse and has in its general recommendation No. 29 outlined that such practice should not be required for a marriage to be valid and that such agreements should not be recognized by a State party as enforceable.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 69f
- Paragraph text
- [The Committees recommend that the States parties to the Conventions:] Engage men and boys in creating an enabling environment that supports the empowerment of women and girls.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence 2011, para. k
- Paragraph text
- Recognising, with grave concern, that women and girls are often exposed to serious forms of violence such as domestic violence, sexual harassment, rape, forced marriage, crimes committed in the name of so-called "honour" and genital mutilation, which constitute a serious violation of the human rights of women and girls and a major obstacle to the achievement of equality between women and men;
- Body
- Council of Europe
- Document type
- Regional treaty
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence 2011, para. b
- Paragraph text
- Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the following intentional conducts are criminalised: (b) coercing or procuring a woman to undergo any of the acts listed in point a; c inciting, coercing or procuring a girl to undergo any of the acts listed in point a.
- Body
- Council of Europe
- Document type
- Regional treaty
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child 1990, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Child marriage and the betrothal of girls and boys shall be prohibited and effective action, including legislation, shall be taken to specify the minimum age of marriage to be 18 years and make registration of all marriages in an official registry compulsory.
- Body
- Organization of African Unity
- Document type
- Regional treaty
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 1990
Paragraph
African Youth Charter 2006, para. 1l
- Paragraph text
- 1. States Parties acknowledge the need to eliminate discrimination against girls and young women according to obligations stipulated in various international, regional and national human rights conventions and instruments designed to protect and promote women's rights. In this regard, they shall: l) Enact and enforce legislation that protect girls and young women from all forms of violence, genital mutilation, incest, rape, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, trafficking, prostitution and pornography;
- Body
- African Union
- Document type
- Regional treaty
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2006
Paragraph
The girl child 1996, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Deeply concerned about discrimination against the girl child and the violation of the rights of the girl child, which often result in less access for girls to education, nutrition, physical and mental health care and to girls enjoying fewer rights, opportunities and benefits of childhood and adolescence than boys and often being subjected to various forms of cultural, social, sexual and economic exploitation and to violence and harmful practices such as incest, early marriage, female infanticide, prenatal sex selection and female genital mutilation,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Year
- 1996
Paragraph
The girl child 1998, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Deeply concerned about discrimination against the girl child and the violation of the rights of the girl child, which often result in less access for girls to education, nutrition, physical and mental health care and in girls enjoying fewer of the rights, opportunities and benefits of childhood and adolescence than boys and often being subjected to various forms of cultural, social, sexual and economic exploitation and to violence and harmful practices such as incest, early marriage, female infanticide, prenatal sex selection and female genital mutilation,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Year
- 1998
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 1998, para. 3l
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States:] To include specific information on measures taken to eliminate traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls, including female genital mutilation, in the reports they submit to the Secretariat on the implementation of the Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women in preparation for the high-level plenary review to appraise and assess the progress achieved in the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women and the Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women, to be convened by the General Assembly in the year 2000;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1998
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 1999, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Recalling also general recommendation 14 concerning female circumcision adopted by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women at its ninth session, as well as paragraphs 11, 20 and 24 (l) of general recommendation 19 concerning violence against women adopted by the Committee at its eleventh session and paragraphs 15 (d) and 18 of general recommendation 24 concerning article 12 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women on women and health adopted by the Committee at its twentieth session,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
The girl child 2001, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Deeply concerned about discrimination against the girl child and the violation of the rights of the girl child, which often result in less access for girls to education, nutrition and physical and mental health care and in girls enjoying fewer of the rights, opportunities and benefits of childhood and adolescence than boys and often being subjected to various forms of cultural, social, sexual and economic exploitation and to violence and harmful practices, such as female infanticide, incest, early marriage, prenatal sex selection and female genital mutilation,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Year
- 2001
Paragraph
The rights of the child 2003, para. 33b
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States to take all necessary measures, including legal reforms where appropriate:] To eliminate all forms of discrimination against girls and all forms of violence, including female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, rape, sexual abuse and harmful traditional or customary practices, including female genital mutilation, the root causes of son preference, marriages without free and full consent of the intending spouses, early marriages and forced sterilization, by enacting and enforcing legislation and, where appropriate, formulating comprehensive, multidisciplinary and coordinated national plans, programmes or strategies protecting girls;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
The girl child 2007, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Deeply concerned about discrimination against the girl child and the violation of the rights of the girl child, which often result in less access for girls to education, nutrition and physical and mental health care, in girls enjoying fewer of the rights, opportunities and benefits of childhood and adolescence than boys, and in leaving them more vulnerable than boys to the consequences of unprotected and premature sexual relations and often being subjected to various forms of cultural, social, sexual and economic exploitation and to violence, abuse, rape, incest, honour-related crimes and harmful traditional practices, such as female infanticide, early marriage, forced marriage, prenatal sex selection and female genital mutilation,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
The girl child 2007, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Urges States, the international community, the relevant United Nations entities, civil society and international financial institutions to continue to actively support, through the allocation of increased financial resources, targeted innovative programmes that address ending female genital mutilation and developing and providing education programmes and sensitization workshops on the dire consequences of this harmful practice for the health of the girl and to provide for those who perform the harmful procedure training programmes so that they may adopt an alternative profession;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
Child, early and forced marriage 2014, para. 3
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon States and the international community to create an environment in which the well-being of women and girls is ensured by, inter alia, cooperating, supporting and participating in efforts for the eradication of extreme poverty, and reaffirms that investment in women and girls and the protection of their rights are among the most effective ways to end the practice of child, early and forced marriage;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Child, early and forced marriage 2014, para. 7
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Recalls the inclusion of a target on eliminating all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage, in the outcome document of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, recognizes child, early and forced marriage as a barrier to development and the full realization of women's and girls' human rights, and recognizes the need to give due consideration to the inclusion of the target in the post-2015 development agenda in order to help to ensure progress towards the elimination of child, early and forced marriage;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Child, early and forced marriage 2014, para. 8
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Requests the Secretary-General to submit a comprehensive report to the General Assembly, before the end of its seventieth session, on progress towards ending child, early and forced marriage worldwide since the issuance of the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of 2 April 2014, with particular emphasis on high-prevalence countries, best practices for programmes aimed at ending the practice and supporting already married women and girls, gaps in research and implementation and legal reforms and policies related to this matter, using information provided by Member States, United Nations bodies, agencies, funds and programmes, civil society and other relevant stakeholders;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2014, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Reaffirming also the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century”, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social Development and their 5-, 10-, 15- and 20-year reviews, as well as the United Nations Millennium Declaration, and the commitments relevant to women and girls made at the 2005 World Summit and reiterated in Assembly resolution 65/1 of 22 September 2010, entitled “Keeping the promise: united to achieve the Millennium Development Goals”,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2014, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Further urges States, as appropriate, to promote gender-sensitive, empowering educational processes by reviewing and revising school curricula, educational materials and teacher-training programmes and elaborating policies and programmes of zero tolerance for violence against girls, including female genital mutilations, and to further integrate a comprehensive understanding of the causes and consequences of gender-based violence and discrimination against women and girls into education and training curricula at all levels;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2014, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Urges States to ensure that the protection and provision of support to women and girls subject to, or at risk of, female genital mutilation are an integral part of policies and programmes that address the practice and to provide women and girls with coordinated, specialized, accessible and quality multisectoral prevention and response, including education, as well as legal, psychological, health-care and social services, provided by qualified personnel, consistent with the guidelines of medical ethics;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2016, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- Reaffirming further the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, entitled "Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century", the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social Development and their 5-, 10-, 15- and 20 year reviews, as well as the United Nations Millennium Declaration, and the commitments relevant to women and girls made at the 2005 World Summit and reiterated in Assembly resolution 65/1 of 22 September 2010, entitled "Keeping the promise: united to achieve the Millennium Development Goals", and those made in the outcome document of the United Nations summit for the adoption of the post 2015 development agenda, entitled "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development",
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2016, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Also calls upon States to develop unified methods and standards for the collection of data on all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls, especially forms that are underdocumented, harmful practices such as female genital mutilation, to develop additional indicators to effectively measure progress in eliminating the practice and to reinforce the sharing of good practices relating to the prevention and elimination of the practice at the subregional, regional and global levels;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2016, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon States to develop, support and implement comprehensive and integrated strategies for the prevention of female genital mutilation, including the training of social workers, medical personnel, community and religious leaders and relevant professionals, and to ensure that they provide competent, supportive services and care to women and girls who are at risk of or who have undergone female genital mutilation and encourage them to report to the appropriate authorities cases in which they believe women or girls are at risk;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts and sharing good practices to effectively eliminate female genital mutilation 2014, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon States, the international community and the organizations of the United Nations system to end the medicalization of female genital mutilation, which entails the definition and dissemination of guidelines to medical staff, and to provide, including through clinical guidelines, an adequate response to the chronic health problems suffered by the millions of women and girls who have undergone female genital mutilation and that hinder progress on health in general;
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Strengthening efforts to prevent and eliminate child, early and forced marriage 2015, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Urges States to enact, enforce, harmonize and uphold laws and policies aimed at preventing and ending child, early and forced marriage, protecting those at risk and supporting already married women and girls, and to ensure that marriage is entered into only with the informed, free and full consent of the intending spouses and that women have equality with men in all matters pertaining to marriage, divorce, child custody and the economic consequences of marriage and its dissolution;
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Strengthening efforts to prevent and eliminate child, early and forced marriage 2015, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- Recognizing that child, early and forced marriage remains an impediment not only to the economic, legal, health and social status of women and girls but also to the development of society as a whole, and that the empowerment of and investment in women and girls, the meaningful participation of girls in all decisions that affect them, and women’s full, equal and effective participation at all levels of decision-making are a key factor in breaking the cycle of gender inequality and discrimination, violence and poverty and are critical for, inter alia, sustainable development, peace, security, democracy and inclusive economic growth,
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Elimination of female genital mutilation 2016, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Recognizing that female genital mutilation can be an impediment to the full achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls,
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Elimination of female genital mutilation 2016, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Reaffirming that female genital mutilation is a form of discrimination, an act of violence against women and girls and a harmful practice that constitutes a serious threat to their health, including their psychological, sexual and reproductive health, which can increase adverse obstetric and prenatal outcomes and have fatal consequences for the mother and the newborn, as well as increasing their vulnerability to HIV, and that the elimination of this harmful practice can be achieved only as a result of a comprehensive government-led movement that involves all public and private stakeholders in society, including girls and boys, women and men,
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Ending female genital mutilation 2007, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Recognizing that female genital mutilation violates, and impairs or nullifies the enjoyment of the human rights of women and girls,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
Ending female genital mutilation 2007, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Deeply concerned about discrimination against the girl child and the violation of the rights of the girl child, which often result in less access for girls to education, nutrition and physical and mental health care, in girls enjoying fewer of the rights, opportunities and benefits of childhood and adolescence than boys, and in their often being subjected to various forms of cultural, social, sexual and economic exploitation and to violence and harmful practices, such as female infanticide, rape, incest, early marriage, forced marriage, prenatal sex selection and female genital mutilation,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
Ending female genital mutilation 2007, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- Urges States to take all necessary measures to protect girls and women from female genital mutilation, including by enacting and enforcing legislation to prohibit this form of violence and to end impunity;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
Ending female genital mutilation 2007, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Also urges States to develop social and psychological support services and care and to take measures to improve health, including sexual and reproductive health, in order to assist women and girls who are subjected to this violence;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
Ending female genital mutilation 2008, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon the international community, the relevant United Nations entities and civil society to actively support, through the allocation of appropriate financial resources, targeted, innovative programmes and to disseminate best practices that address the needs and priorities of girls in vulnerable situations, such as that of female genital mutilation, who have difficulty accessing services and programmes, and in this regard welcomes the commitment of ten United Nations agencies in their joint statement of 27 February 2008 to continue working towards the elimination of female genital mutilation by, inter alia, providing technical and financial assistance to achieve this goal;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Year
- 2008
Paragraph
Ending female genital mutilation 2008, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Deeply concerned about discrimination against the girl child and the violation of the rights of the girl child, which often result in less access for girls to education, nutrition and physical and mental health care, in girls enjoying fewer of the rights, opportunities and benefits of childhood and adolescence than boys and in their often being subjected to various forms of cultural, social, sexual and economic exploitation and to violence and harmful practices, such as female infanticide, rape, incest, early marriage, forced marriage, prenatal sex selection and female genital mutilation,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2008
Paragraph
Ending female genital mutilation 2008, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Urges States to take all necessary measures, including enacting and enforcing legislation to prohibit female genital mutilation and to protect girls and women from this form of violence, and to end impunity;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2008
Paragraph
Women, the girl child and HIV/AIDS 2010, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Urges Governments to strengthen and implement legal, policy, administrative and other measures for the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls, including harmful traditional and customary practices, female genital mutilation, domestic violence, abuse, early marriage, child and forced marriage, rape, including marital rape, and other forms of sexual violence and coerced sexual activity, battering and trafficking in women and girls, and to ensure that violence against women is addressed as an integral part of the national HIV and AIDS response;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Ending female genital mutilation 2010, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Further urges States to provide education and training on the rights of women and girls to families, community leaders and members of all professions relevant to the protection and empowerment of women and girls, such as all levels of health-care providers, social workers, police officers, legal and judicial personnel and prosecutors, in order to increase awareness and commitment to the promotion and protection of the rights of women and girls and appropriate responses to rights violations with regard to female genital mutilation;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Ending female genital mutilation 2010, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon the international community, the relevant United Nations entities and civil society and international financial institutions to continue to actively support, through the allocation of increased financial resources, targeted, innovative programmes and to disseminate best practices that address the needs and priorities of girls in vulnerable situations, such as that of female genital mutilation, who have difficulty accessing services and programmes and, in this regard, welcomes the commitment of ten United Nations agencies in their joint statement of 27 February 2008 to continue working towards the elimination of female genital mutilation by, inter alia, providing technical and financial assistance to achieve this goal and further welcomes the establishment of the United Nations Population Fund-United Nations Children's Fund joint programme to accelerate the abandonment of female genital mutilation;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Eliminating maternal mortality and morbidity through the empowerment of women 2012, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- Also calls upon Member States to address gender inequalities, poverty, violations of the full enjoyment of all human rights by women and girls, including during childbirth, discrimination against women and girls, including that caused by negative attitudes and gender stereotypes, and harmful traditional practices, such as female genital mutilation/cutting, that contribute to the unacceptably high and persistent global rate of maternal mortality and morbidity, bearing in mind the impact of multiple forms of discrimination; to guarantee to all women access to the highest attainable standard of health; and to ensure women's full participation in decision-making at the local, national and international levels regarding health care;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Fertility, reproductive health and development 2011, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Stresses that States should eliminate all forms of discrimination against the girl child and the root causes of son preference, which results in harmful and unethical practices regarding female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, increase public awareness of the value of the girl child, and concurrently, strengthen the girl child's self-image, self-esteem and status, and improve the welfare of the girl child, especially in regard to health, nutrition and education, and urges Governments to take the necessary measures to prevent infanticide, prenatal sex selection, trafficking in girl children and the use of girls in prostitution and pornography;
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Child, early and forced marriage in humanitarian settings 2017, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Encourages States to promote open dialogue with all parties concerned, including religious and community leaders, women, girls, men and boys, parents, legal guardians, and other family members, as well as humanitarian and development actors in order to address the concerns and specific needs of those at risk of child, early and forced marriage within humanitarian settings, and to address social norms, gender stereotypes and harmful practices that contribute to the acceptance and continuation of the practice of child, early and forced marriage, including by raising awareness of its harm to the victims and the cost to society at large;
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Humanitarian
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Rights of the child 1998, para. 5d
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States:] To intensify efforts to raise awareness of and to mobilize international and national public opinion concerning the harmful effects of female genital mutilation and other traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls, in particular through education, information dissemination and training, involving, among others, public opinion leaders, educators, religious leaders, medical practitioners, women's health and family planning organizations and the media, in order to achieve the total elimination of these practices, and to support women's organizations at the national and local levels that are working for the elimination of female genital mutilation and other harmful traditional or customary practices;
- Body
- United Nations Commission on Human Rights
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1998
Paragraph
Rights of the child 1999, para. 7d
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States:] To eradicate traditional or customary practices, particularly female genital mutilation, that are harmful to or discriminatory against women and girls and that are violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls through the development and implementation of legislation and policies prohibiting such practices, the prosecution of perpetrators of such practices, and awareness-raising programmes, education and training, involving, among others, public opinion leaders, educators, religious leaders, medical practitioners, women's health and family planning organizations, the media, parents and young people, in order to achieve the total elimination of these practices, and to support women's organizations at the national and local levels that are working for the elimination of female genital mutilation and other harmful traditional or customary practices violating the human rights of women and girls;
- Body
- United Nations Commission on Human Rights
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
The girl child 2017, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Urges all States to enact, uphold and strictly enforce laws and policies aimed at preventing and ending child, early and forced marriage and protecting those at risk and to ensure that marriage is entered into only with the informed, free and full consent of the intending spouses, to enact and strictly enforce laws concerning the minimum legal age of consent and the minimum age for marriage, to raise the minimum age for marriage, engage all relevant stakeholders, including girls, where necessary, and ensure that these laws are well known, to further develop and implement holistic, comprehensive and coordinated policies, plans of action and programmes and to support already married girls and adolescents and ensure the provision of viable alternatives and institutional support, especially educational opportunities for girls, to ensure the survival, protection, development and advancement of the girl child in order to promote and protect the full enjoyment of her human rights and to ensure equal opportunities for girls, including by making such plans an integral part of her total development process;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Women in development 2017, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Stresses the need to take action to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence and discrimination against women and girls, including in the world of work, through the strengthening of institutional mechanisms and legal frameworks, given that violence and discrimination, including multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, against women and girls in private and public spaces are a major impediment to the achievement of the empowerment of women and girls and their social and economic development that no country has managed to eliminate, and encourages the adoption of specific preventive measures to protect women and girls, youth and children from violence, abuse and neglect, sexual abuse, exploitation, harassment, trafficking in persons and harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation, taking into account the need to address negative social norms, structural barriers and gender stereotypes that affect women in the world of work and to develop measures to promote the re-entry of victims and survivors of violence into the labour market;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 1997, para. 3d
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States:] To intensify efforts to raise awareness of and to mobilize international and national public opinion concerning the harmful effects of female genital mutilation and other traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls, in particular through education, the dissemination of information and training, with the aim of achieving the total elimination of these practices;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 1998, para. 3d
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States:] To intensify efforts to raise awareness of and to mobilize international and national public opinion concerning the harmful effects of traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls, including female genital mutilation, in particular through education, the dissemination of information, training, the media and local community meetings, in order to achieve the total elimination of these practices;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1998
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 1999, para. 3j
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States:] To involve, among others, public opinion leaders, educators, religious leaders, chiefs, traditional leaders, medical practitioners, women's health and family planning organizations, the arts and the media in publicity campaigns with a view to promoting a collective and individual awareness of the human rights of women and girls and of how harmful traditional or customary practices violate those rights;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2012, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon the international community, the relevant United Nations entities and civil society and international financial institutions to continue to actively support, through the allocation of increased financial resources and technical assistance, targeted comprehensive programmes that address the needs and priorities of women and girls at risk of or subjected to female genital mutilations;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Child, early and forced marriage 2016, para. 17
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Recognizing that child, early and forced marriage constitutes a serious threat to multiple aspects of the physical and psychological health of women and girls, including but not limited to their sexual and reproductive health, significantly increasing the risk of early, frequent and unintended pregnancy, maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity, obstetric fistula and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, as well as increasing vulnerability to all forms of violence,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Child, early and forced marriage 2016, para. 15
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Encourages relevant United Nations entities and agencies, regional and subregional organizations, within their respective mandates, civil society and other relevant actors and human rights mechanisms to continue to collaborate with Member States in developing and implementing strategies and policies at the national, regional and international levels to prevent and eliminate child, early and forced marriage, as well as to support those who were married as girls and boys;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2016, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon the international community, the relevant United Nations entities and civil society and international financial institutions to continue to actively support, through the allocation of increased financial resources and technical assistance, targeted comprehensive programmes that address the needs and priorities of women and girls at risk of or subjected to female genital mutilation;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2016, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Reaffirming also that the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and all the relevant conventions, together with the optional protocols thereto, as appropriate, constitute an important contribution to the legal framework for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women and girls,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2016, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- Urges States to condemn all harmful practices that affect women and girls, in particular female genital mutilation, whether committed within or outside a medical institution, and to take all necessary measures, especially through educational campaigns, including enacting and enforcing legislation, to prohibit female genital mutilation and to protect women and girls from this form of violence, and to hold perpetrators to account;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Strengthening efforts to prevent and eliminate child, early and forced marriage 2015, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Encourages relevant United Nations entities, regional and subregional organizations, civil society and other relevant actors and human rights mechanisms to continue to collaborate with and support Member States in developing and implementing strategies and policies at the national, regional and international levels to prevent and eliminate child, early and forced marriage, and to support already married girls, adolescents and women;
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Women, the girl child and HIV/AIDS 2006, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- Urges Governments to strengthen legal, policy, administrative and other measures for the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls, including harmful traditional and customary practices, abuse, early and forced marriage, rape, including marital rape, and other forms of sexual violence, battering and trafficking in women and girls, and to ensure that violence against women is addressed as an integral part of the national HIV/AIDS response;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2006
Paragraph
Forced marriage of the girl child 2007, para. 3e
- Paragraph text
- [Invites States and encourages, as appropriate, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and other civil society actors, and the international community:] (e) To continue to study the links between poverty, underdevelopment and certain harmful practices, such as forced marriage of the girl child, child prostitution and trafficking in persons, as well as the links between such harmful practices and customs and traditions, health, education and economic empowerment;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
Ending female genital mutilation 2008, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Urges States to provide education and training on the rights of girls to families, community leaders and members of all professions relevant to the protection and empowerment of girls, such as all levels of health-care providers, social workers, police officers, legal and judicial personnel and prosecutors, in order to increase awareness and commitment to the promotion and protection of the rights of girls and appropriate responses to rights violations with regard to female genital mutilation;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2008
Paragraph
The girl child 1996, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Also urges all States to enact and enforce legislation protecting girls from all forms of violence, including female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, female genital mutilation, incest, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, child prostitution and child pornography, and to develop age- appropriate safe and confidential programmes and medical, social and psychological support services to assist girls who are subjected to violence;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 1996
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 1997, para. 1e
- Paragraph text
- [Recalling:] The Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, which calls upon Governments and communities to take steps urgently to stop the practice of female genital mutilation and to protect women and girls from all such similar dangerous practices,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 1998, para. 1c
- Paragraph text
- [Welcomes:] The work carried out by the Special Ambassador for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation of the United Nations Population Fund and the fact that she has been invited to various countries, as well as the establishment, by the United Nations Population Fund, of a trust fund to support her work;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1998
Paragraph
The girl child 1999, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- Also urges all States to enact and to enforce legislation to protect girls from all forms of violence, including female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, female genital mutilation, rape, domestic violence, incest, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, child prostitution and child pornography, and to develop age- appropriate safe and confidential programmes and medical, social and psychological support services to assist girls who are subjected to violence;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
The girl child 2009, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report to the General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session on the implementation of the present resolution, including an emphasis on ending child and forced marriages, using information provided by Member States, the organizations and bodies of the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations, with a view to assessing the impact of the present resolution on the well-being of the girl child.
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2012, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Also urges States to ensure the national implementation of international and regional commitments and obligations undertaken as States parties to various international instruments protecting the full enjoyment of all human rights and the fundamental freedoms of women and girls;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2012, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Also calls upon States to develop unified methods and standards for the collection of data on all forms of discrimination and violence against girls, especially forms that are underdocumented, such as female genital mutilations, and to develop additional indicators to effectively measure progress in eliminating the practice;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 1997, para. 1c
- Paragraph text
- [Welcomes:] The joint statement by the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund and the United Nations Population Fund on female genital mutilation, which expresses a common purpose in supporting the efforts of Governments and communities to promote and protect the health and development of women and children by promoting awareness of the problem and by educating the public, health workers and those who carry out the practice, on all its health consequences;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 2001, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Recalling also general recommendation 14 concerning female circumcision adopted by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women at its ninth session, paragraphs 11, 20 and 24 (l) of general recommendation 19 concerning violence against women adopted by the Committee at its eleventh session, paragraphs 15 (d) and 18 of general recommendation 24 concerning article 12 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women on women and health adopted by the Committee at its twentieth session, and taking note of paragraphs 21, 35 and 51 of general comment No. 14 (2000) concerning article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights at its twenty-second session,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2001
Paragraph
The girl child 2009, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- Deeply concerned also about discrimination against the girl child and the violation of the rights of the girl child, which often result in less access for girls to education, and to quality education, nutrition and physical and mental health care, in girls enjoying fewer of the rights, opportunities and benefits of childhood and adolescence than boys, and in leaving them more vulnerable than boys to the consequences of unprotected and premature sexual relations and often being subjected to various forms of cultural, social, sexual and economic exploitation and violence, abuse, rape, incest, honour-related crimes and harmful traditional practices, such as female infanticide, child and forced marriages, prenatal sex selection and female genital mutilation,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
The girl child 2009, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Deeply concerned that the goal of ending female genital mutilation by 2010, set out in the document entitled “A world fit for children”, will go unmet,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
The girl child 2009, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- Welcomes the commitment of ten United Nations agencies, in their joint statement of 27 February 2008, to continue working towards the elimination of female genital mutilation, by, inter alia, providing technical and financial assistance, and stresses that a common coordinated approach that promotes positive social change at the community, national and international levels could lead to female genital mutilation being abandoned within a generation, with some of the main achievements being obtained by 2015, in line with the Millennium Development Goals;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2012, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- Stresses that the empowerment of women and girls is key to breaking the cycle of discrimination and violence and for the promotion and protection of human rights, including the right to the highest attainable standard of mental and physical health, including sexual and reproductive health, and calls upon States parties to fulfil their obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, as well as their commitments to implement the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, the Beijing Platform for Actionand the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century”, and of the special session of the Assembly on children;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2012, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon States to enhance awareness-raising and formal, non-formal and informal education and training in order to promote the direct engagement of girls and boys, women and men and to ensure that all key actors, Government officials, including law enforcement and judicial personnel, immigration officials, health-care providers, community and religious leaders, teachers, employers, media professionals and those directly working with girls, as well as parents, families and communities, work to eliminate attitudes and harmful practices, in particular all forms of female genital mutilations, that negatively affect girls;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
The girl child 2013, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Deeply concerned that, despite its widespread practice, child, early and forced marriage is still underreported, recognizing that this requires further attention and that child, early and forced marriage exposes the girl child to greater risk of HIV and sexually transmitted infections, often leads to premature sexual relations, early pregnancy and early childbearing and increases the risk of obstetric fistula and high levels of maternal mortality and morbidity, and furthermore entails complications during pregnancy and childbirth, which often lead to disability, stillbirth and maternal death, particularly for young women and girls, which require appropriate prenatal and postnatal health-care services for mothers, including in the area of skilled birth attendance and emergency obstetric care, and noting with concern that this reduces girls' opportunities to complete their education, gain comprehensive knowledge, participate in the community or develop employable skills and is likely to have a long-term adverse impact on their employment opportunities and their and their children's quality of life and violates and impairs the full enjoyment of their human rights,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Child, early and forced marriage 2013, para. 2
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Reaffirming its resolution 66/170 of 19 December 2011 on the International Day of the Girl Child, and noting with appreciation the theme of the first International Day, “Ending child marriage”,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Child, early and forced marriage 2014, para. 15
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Recognizing that child, early and forced marriage constitutes a serious threat to multiple aspects of the physical and psychological health of women and girls, including but not limited to their sexual and reproductive health, significantly increasing the risk of early, frequent and unintended pregnancy, maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity, obstetric fistula and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, as well as increasing vulnerability to all forms of violence, and that every girl and woman at risk of or affected by these practices must have equal access to quality services such as education, counselling, shelter and other social services, psychological, sexual and reproductive health-care services and medical care,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Child, early and forced marriage 2016, para. 5
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Also calls upon States to promote the meaningful participation of and active consultation with children and adolescents, especially girls, on all issues affecting them and to raise awareness about their rights, including the negative impact of child, early and forced marriage, through safe spaces, forums and support networks that provide girls and boys with information, life skills and leadership skills training and opportunities to be empowered, to express themselves, to participate meaningfully in all decisions that affect them and to become agents of change within their communities;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Child, early and forced marriage 2016, para. 6
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Further calls upon States and encourages other stakeholders to address gender stereotypes, discriminatory social norms and harmful practices that contribute to the acceptance and continuation of the practice of child, early and forced marriage, including by raising awareness of its harm and the cost to society at large and by providing opportunities for discussion, in this regard, among others, within communities, including with the involvement of girls and boys, women and men, religious, traditional and community leaders, and parents and other family members, on the benefits of ending child, early and forced marriage and ensuring that girls and boys receive an education;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The girl child 2015, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Deeply concerned further that despite its widespread practice, child, early and forced marriage is still underreported, recognizing that this requires further attention and that child, early and forced marriage exposes the girl child to greater risk of HIV and sexually transmitted infections, often leads to premature sexual relations, early pregnancy and early childbearing and increases the risk of obstetric fistula and high levels of maternal mortality and morbidity, and furthermore entails complications during pregnancy and childbirth, which often lead to disability, stillbirth and maternal death, particularly for young women and girls, which require appropriate prenatal and postnatal health-care services for mothers, including in the area of skilled birth attendance and emergency obstetric care, and noting with concern that this reduces girls' opportunities to complete their education, gain comprehensive knowledge, participate in the community or develop employable skills and is likely to have a long-term adverse impact on their employment opportunities, their quality of life and that of their children, and violates and impairs the full enjoyment of their human rights,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2016, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon States to place a stronger focus on the development and implementation of comprehensive prevention strategies, including the enhancement of educational campaigns, awareness-raising and formal, non-formal and informal education and training in order to promote the direct engagement of girls and boys, women and men and to ensure that all key actors, government officials, including law enforcement and judicial personnel, immigration officials and parliamentarians, health-care providers, civil society, the private sector, community and religious leaders, teachers, employers, media professionals and those directly working with girls, as well as parents, families and communities, work to eliminate attitudes and harmful practices, in particular all forms of female genital mutilation, that negatively affect women and girls;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Accelerating efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women: Ensuring due diligence in prevention 2010, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Further urges States to publicly condemn violence against women and provide visible and sustained leadership at the highest levels to prevent all forms of violence against women and girls, and, in particular, in efforts to confront the attitudes, customs, practices and gender stereotypes that lie at the core of discriminatory and harmful acts and practices that are violent towards women, such as female genital mutilation, forced and early marriage, femicide, crimes committed in the name of honour and crimes committed in the name of passion;
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Rights of the child: The right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health 2013, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon States to take all necessary measures to abolish harmful practices compromising the dignity and integrity of the child, and prejudicial to the health of boys and girls, particularly by preventing and explicitly condemning such practices including but not limited to female infanticide, female genital mutilation, virginity tests, early and forced marriage, forced sterilization, prenatal sex selection, breast ironing and harmful practices against children with disabilities and children with albinism, and to develop age-appropriate, gender-sensitive, safe and confidential programmes and medical, social and psychological support services to protect, treat, counsel and reintegrate child victims;
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Rights of the child: The right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health 2013, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Urges States to ensure a clear ban on harmful practices, which should be accompanied by preventive measures that should include education, information-sharing, enhancement of awareness and engaging stakeholders, including community and religious leaders, for promoting the abandonment of those practices and respect for children’s rights, helping to overcome discriminatory attitudes and superstitious beliefs, thus supporting a process of social change for the abandonment of harmful practices that compromise the dignity and integrity of the child and are prejudicial to the health of boys and girls;
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Strengthening efforts to prevent and eliminate child, early and forced marriage 2015, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Also urges Governments to take measures to support girls and women who have been subjected to child, early and forced marriage, and calls upon States and all relevant actors to strengthen, inter alia, the development, enactment, implementation and monitoring of relevant legislation and protection mechanisms, such as safe shelters, counselling and other support services, as well as empowerment programmes focusing on, inter alia, education, health, livelihood, autonomy and decision-making;
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Ending female genital mutilation 2010, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Recognizing that female genital mutilation violates and impairs or nullifies the enjoyment of the human rights of women and girls,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Ending female genital mutilation 2010, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Reaffirming that harmful traditional or customary practices, including female genital mutilation, constitute a serious threat to the health of women and girls, including their psychological, sexual and reproductive health, which can increase their vulnerability to HIV and may have adverse obstetric and prenatal outcomes as well as fatal consequences, and that the abandonment of this harmful practice can be achieved only as a result of a comprehensive movement that involves all public and private stakeholders in society, including men, women and girls,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Child, early and forced marriage in humanitarian settings 2017, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon States, with the participation of relevant stakeholders, including girls, women, religious and community leaders, civil society and human rights groups, humanitarian actors, men and boys, and youth organizations, to develop and implement holistic, comprehensive and coordinated responses, strategies and policies to prevent, respond to and eliminate child, early and forced marriage, including in humanitarian settings, and to support already married girls, adolescents and women, including through the strengthening of child protection systems, protection mechanisms, such as safe shelters, access to justice and legal remedies, and the sharing of best practices across borders, in full compliance with international human rights obligations and commitments;
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Rights of the child 2004, para. 27b
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States to take all necessary measures, including legal reforms where appropriate:] To eliminate all forms of discrimination against girls and all forms of violence, including female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, rape, sexual abuse and harmful traditional or customary practices, including female genital mutilation, son preference, marriages without free and full consent of the intending spouses, early marriages and forced sterilization, including addressing their root causes, by enacting and enforcing legislation and, where appropriate, formulating comprehensive, multidisciplinary and coordinated national plans, programmes or strategies protecting girls;
- Body
- United Nations Commission on Human Rights
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2004
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 1998, para. 3f
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States:] To involve, among others, public opinion leaders, educators, religious leaders, chiefs, traditional leaders, medical practitioners, women's health and family planning organizations and the media in publicity campaigns, with a view to promoting a collective and individual awareness of the human rights of women and girls and of how harmful traditional or customary practices violate those rights;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1998
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 1999, para. 3o
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States:] To include in their reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the Committee on the Rights of the Child and other relevant treaty bodies specific information on measures taken to eliminate traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls, including female genital mutilation, and to prosecute the perpetrators of such practices;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2014, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon the international community, the relevant United Nations entities and civil society and international financial institutions to continue to actively support, through the allocation of increased financial resources and technical assistance, targeted comprehensive programmes that address the needs and priorities of women and girls at risk of or subjected to female genital mutilations;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Accelerating efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women: Eliminating domestic violence 2015, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- Urges States to strongly condemn all forms of violence against women and girls, and to refrain from invoking any custom, tradition or religious consideration to avoid their obligations with respect to its elimination, including harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation, as set out in the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women;
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Adolescents and youth 2012, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Urges all States to develop, adopt and fully implement laws and to take other measures, such as policies and educational programmes, as appropriate, to eradicate harmful practices, including female genital mutilation and early and forced marriage, which are violations of the human rights of women and girls, and to intensify efforts, in cooperation with local women's and youth groups, to raise collective and individual awareness on how such harmful practices violate the human rights of women and girls;
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Elimination of violence against women 2004, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- Strongly condemns physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, which encompasses, but is not limited to, battering, sexual abuse of women and girls in the household, dowry related violence, marital rape, female infanticide, female genital mutilation, crimes committed against women in the name of honour, crimes committed in the name of passion, traditional practices harmful to women, incest, early and forced marriages, non spousal violence and violence related to commercial sexual exploitation as well as economic exploitation;
- Body
- United Nations Commission on Human Rights
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2004
Paragraph
Child, early and forced marriage in humanitarian settings 2017, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- Recognizing that child, early and forced marriage constitutes a serious threat to the full realization of the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health of women and girls, including but not limited to their sexual and reproductive health, significantly increasing the risk of early, frequent and unwanted pregnancy, maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity, obstetric fistula and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, as well as increasing vulnerability to all forms of violence,
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Ending female genital mutilation 2007, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Further urges States to review and, where appropriate, revise, amend or abolish all laws, regulations, policies, practices and customs, in particular female genital mutilation, that discriminate against women or have a discriminatory impact on women and girls and to ensure that provisions of multiple legal systems, where they exist, comply with international human rights obligations, commitments and principles, including the principle of non-discrimination;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
The girl child 1997, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Also urges all States to enact and enforce legislation protecting girls from all forms of violence, including female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, female genital mutilation, incest, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, child prostitution and child pornography, and to develop age-appropriate safe and confidential programmes and medical, social and psychological support services to assist girls who are subjected to violence;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 1997, para. 1f
- Paragraph text
- [Welcomes:] The work carried out by non-governmental and community organizations in raising awareness of the harmful effects of female genital mutilation and other traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 1997, para. 3e
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States:] To develop and implement national legislation and policies prohibiting traditional or customary practices harmful to the health of women and girls, particularly female genital mutilation;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 1999, para. 3i
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States:] To promote men's understanding of their roles and responsibilities with regard to promoting the elimination of harmful practices, such as female genital mutilation;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 1999, para. 1b
- Paragraph text
- [Welcomes:] The fact that the Commission on the Status of Women and the Commission on Human Rights addressed the issue of harmful traditional or customary practices at their sessions in 1999;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 2001, para. 3c
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States:] To collect and disseminate basic data about the occurrence of traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls, including female genital mutilation;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2001
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 2001, para. 3d
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States:] To develop, adopt and implement national legislation, policies, plans and programmes that prohibit traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls, including female genital mutilation, and to prosecute the perpetrators of such practices;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2001
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 2001, para. 1d
- Paragraph text
- [Welcomes:] The work carried out by the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children and other non-governmental and community organizations, including women's organizations, in raising awareness of the harmful effects of such practices, in particular of female genital mutilation;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2001
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 2001, para. 1e
- Paragraph text
- [Welcomes:] The fact that the elimination of harmful traditional or customary practices will be considered during the special session of the General Assembly on children;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2001
Paragraph
The girl child 2007, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report to the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session on the implementation of the present resolution, including an emphasis on ending female genital mutilation, using information provided by Member States, the organizations and bodies of the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations, with a view to assessing the impact of the present resolution on the well-being of the girl child.
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
The girl child 2011, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- Stresses that a common coordinated approach that promotes positive social change at the community, national and international levels could lead to the abandonment of female genital mutilation within a generation, with some of the main achievements being obtained by 2015, in line with the Millennium Development Goals;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
The girl child 2002, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Deeply concerned about discrimination against the girl child and the violation of the rights of the girl child, which often result in less access for girls to education, nutrition and physical and mental health care and in girls enjoying fewer of the rights, opportunities and benefits of childhood and adolescence than boys and often being subjected to various forms of cultural, social, sexual and economic exploitation and to violence and harmful practices, such as female infanticide, incest, early marriage, prenatal sex selection and female genital mutilation,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
The rights of the child 2013, para. 11c
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States:] To take all necessary and effective measures to prevent and eliminate all forms of discrimination against girls and all forms of violence, including female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, rape, sexual abuse and harmful traditional or customary practices, including female genital mutilation, child, early and forced marriage and forced sterilization, by enacting and enforcing legislation and, where appropriate, by formulating comprehensive, multidisciplinary and coordinated national plans, programmes or strategies to protect girls, as well as by promoting awareness-raising and social mobilization initiatives for the protection of their rights;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The rights of the child 2007, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon States to take all necessary and effective measures, including legal reforms where appropriate, to eliminate all forms of discrimination against girls and all forms of violence, including female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, rape, sexual abuse and harmful traditional or customary practices, including female genital mutilation, early marriage, marriage without the free and full consent of the intending spouses and forced sterilization, by enacting and enforcing legislation and, where appropriate, by formulating comprehensive, multidisciplinary and coordinated national plans, programmes or strategies to protect girls;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
The girl child 2009, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- Urges States, the international community, the relevant United Nations entities, civil society and international financial institutions to continue to actively support, through the allocation of increased financial resources, targeted innovative programmes that address ending female genital mutilation and developing and providing education programmes, such as the United Nations Population Fund-United Nations Children's Fund joint programme on accelerating the abandonment of female genital mutilation, and sensitization workshops on the dire consequences of this harmful practice for the health of the girl, and to provide training programmes for those who perform the harmful procedure so that they may adopt an alternative profession;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2012, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- Also urges States to complement punitive measures with awareness-raising and educational activities designed to promote a process of consensus towards the elimination of female genital mutilations, and further urges States to protect and support women and girls who have been subjected to female genital mutilations and those at risk, including by developing social and psychological support services and care, and to take measures to improve their health, including sexual and reproductive health, in order to assist women and girls who are subjected to the practice;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2012, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Further urges States to promote gender-sensitive, empowering educational processes by, as appropriate, reviewing and revising school curricula, educational materials and teacher-training programmes and elaborating policies and programmes of zero tolerance for violence against girls, including female genital mutilations, and to further integrate a comprehensive understanding of the causes and consequences of gender-based violence and discrimination against women and girls into education and training curricula at all levels;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2012, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon States to develop, support and implement comprehensive and integrated strategies for the prevention of female genital mutilations, including the training of social workers, medical personnel, community and religious leaders and relevant professionals, and to ensure that they provide competent, supportive services and care to women and girls who are at risk of or who have undergone female genital mutilations, and encourage them to report to the appropriate authorities cases in which they believe women or girls are at risk;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2012, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that all relevant organizations and bodies of the United Nations system, in particular the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), the World Health Organization, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the United Nations Development Programme and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, individually and collectively, take into account the protection and promotion of the rights of women and girls against female genital mutilations in their country programmes, as appropriate and in accordance with national priorities, in order to further strengthen their efforts in this regard;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2012, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Also requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly, at its sixty-ninth session, an in-depth multidisciplinary report on the root causes of and contributing factors to the practice of female genital mutilations, its prevalence worldwide and its impact on women and girls, including evidence and data, analysis of progress made to date and action-oriented recommendations for eliminating this practice on the basis of information provided by Member States, relevant actors of the United Nations system working on the issue and other relevant stakeholders.
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
The girl child 2013, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Urges all States to enact and enforce legislation to protect girls from all forms of violence, discrimination and exploitation in all settings, including female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, female genital mutilation, rape, domestic violence, incest, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, child prostitution and child pornography, trafficking and forced migration, forced labour and child, early and forced marriage, and to develop age-appropriate safe, confidential and disability-accessible programmes and medical, social and psychological support services to assist girls who are subjected to violence and discrimination;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Child, early and forced marriage 2014, para. 2
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon States, with the participation of relevant stakeholders, including girls, religious and community leaders, civil society, women's and human rights groups, men and boys and youth organizations, to develop and implement holistic, comprehensive and coordinated responses and strategies to eliminate child, early and forced marriage and to support already married girls, adolescents and women, including through the strengthening of child protection systems, protection mechanisms such as safe shelters, access to justice and the sharing of best practices across borders;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2014, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Also calls upon States to develop unified methods and standards for the collection of data on all forms of discrimination and violence against girls, especially forms that are underdocumented, such as female genital mutilations, to develop additional indicators so as to effectively measure progress in eliminating the practice and to reinforce the sharing of good practices relating to the prevention and the abandonment of the practice at the subregional and regional levels;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2014, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon States to develop, support and implement comprehensive and integrated strategies for the prevention of female genital mutilations, including the training of social workers, medical personnel, community and religious leaders and relevant professionals, and to ensure that they provide competent, supportive services and care to women and girls who are at risk of or who have undergone female genital mutilations and encourage them to report to the appropriate authorities cases in which they believe women or girls are at risk;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2014, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Recalling its resolution 68/309 of 10 September 2014, on the report of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, in which it decided that the proposal of the Open Working Group contained in the report shall be the main basis for integrating sustainable development goals into the post-2015 development agenda, while recognizing that other inputs will also be considered, in the intergovernmental negotiation process at the sixty-ninth session of the General Assembly, and noting that the report integrates the importance of the elimination of all harmful practices to women and girls, including female genital mutilation,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2014, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon States to place a stronger focus on the development of comprehensive prevention strategies, including the enhancement of educational campaigns, awareness-raising and formal, non-formal and informal education and training in order to promote the direct engagement of girls and boys, women and men and to ensure that all key actors, Government officials, including law enforcement and judicial personnel, immigration officials, health-care providers, civil society, community and religious leaders, teachers, employers, media professionals and those directly working with girls, as well as parents, families and communities, work to eliminate attitudes and harmful practices, in particular all forms of female genital mutilations, that negatively affect women and girls;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Families
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Child, early and forced marriage 2016, para. 10
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Recognizing that child, early and forced marriage is a harmful practice that violates, abuses or impairs human rights and is linked to and perpetuates other harmful practices and human rights violations and that such violations have a disproportionately negative impact on women and girls, and underscoring the human rights obligations and commitments of States to promote and protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls and to prevent and eliminate the practice of child, early and forced marriage,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Child, early and forced marriage 2016, para. 1
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon States, with the participation of relevant stakeholders, including women and girls, parents and other family members, religious, traditional and community leaders, civil society, organizations led by girls, women's organizations, youth and human rights groups, men and boys, the media and the private sector, to develop and implement holistic, comprehensive and coordinated responses and strategies to eliminate child, early and forced marriage, to support girls and women who are at risk or have been subjected to this practice, including through the strengthening of child protection systems, protection mechanisms such as safe shelters, access to justice and the sharing of best practices across borders;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The girl child 2015, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Urges all States to enact, uphold and strictly enforce laws and policies aimed at preventing and ending child, early and forced marriage and protecting those at risk and to ensure that marriage is entered into only with the informed, free and full consent of the intending spouses, to enact and strictly enforce laws concerning the minimum legal age of consent and the minimum age for marriage, to raise the minimum age for marriage, engage all relevant stakeholders, including girls, where necessary, and ensure that these laws are well known, to further develop and implement holistic, comprehensive and coordinated policies, plans of action and programmes and to support already married girls and adolescents and ensure the provision of viable alternatives and institutional support, especially educational opportunities for girls, to ensure the survival, protection, development and advancement of the girl child in order to promote and protect the full enjoyment of her human rights and to ensure equal opportunities for girls, including by making such plans an integral part of her total development process;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Intensification of efforts to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls: domestic violence 2016, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Reaffirming that female genital mutilation is a harmful practice and an act of violence against women and girls that impairs their human rights, constituting a serious threat to their health and well-being, including their psychological, sexual and reproductive health, increasing their vulnerability to HIV and possibly having adverse obstetric and prenatal outcomes, as well as fatal consequences for the mother and the newborn, and that the abandonment of this harmful practice can be achieved as a result of a comprehensive movement that involves all public and private stakeholders in society, including girls, boys, women and men,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Infants
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2016, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Recognizing that female genital mutilation constitutes irreparable, irreversible harm and an act of violence against women and girls that impairs their human rights, and recognizing also that it affects about 200 million women and girls worldwide and that each year an estimated further 4 million girls are at risk of being subjected to the practice throughout the world, which can be an impediment to the full achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2016, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- Reaffirming that female genital mutilation is a harmful practice, constituting a serious threat to the health of women and girls, including their physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health, increasing their vulnerability to HIV, as well as hepatitis A and B, and possibly having adverse obstetric and prenatal outcomes, as well as fatal consequences for the mother and the newborn, and that the elimination of this harmful practice can be achieved as a result of a comprehensive movement that involves all public and private stakeholders in society, including girls and boys, women and men,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Infants
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2016, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Further urges States to promote gender-sensitive, empowering educational processes by reviewing and revising, as appropriate, school curricula, educational materials and teacher-training programmes and elaborating policies and programmes of zero tolerance for violence against girls, including female genital mutilation, placing special emphasis on education about the harmful effects of female genital mutilation, and to further integrate a comprehensive understanding of the causes and consequences of gender-based violence and discrimination against women and girls into education and training curricula at all levels;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2016, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Urges States to ensure that the protection and provision of support to women and girls subject to, or at risk of, female genital mutilation are an integral part of policies and programmes that address the practice, and to provide women and girls with coordinated, specialized, accessible and quality multisectoral prevention and response, including education, as well as legal, psychological, health-care and social services, provided by qualified personnel, consistent with the guidelines of medical ethics;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Rights of the child: Omnibus resolution 2012, para. 17b
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States to take all necessary measures, including by enacting and enforcing legislation and, where appropriate, formulating comprehensive, multidisciplinary and coordinated national plans, policies, programmes or strategies to promote and protect the human rights of the girl child, in order to:] Protect girls from all forms of violence and exploitation, including female infanticide, female genital mutilation, rape, domestic violence, incest, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, child prostitution and child pornography, human trafficking, forced migration, forced labour, early and forced marriage and forced sterilization, including by addressing their root causes, to eliminate prenatal sex selection and to develop age-appropriate safe and confidential programmes and medical, social and psychological support services to assist girls who are subjected to violence and discrimination;
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons 2013, para. 8c
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon States to provide, as set forth in the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and with the support of international and national stakeholders, for national laws and policies that comprehensively protect the human rights of internally displaced persons and adequately address the specific needs of internally displaced women and girls, including:] By strengthening efforts to prevent and respond effectively to, at all stages of displacement, sexual and gender-based violence, and harmful practices such as female genital mutilation, including outlining specific measures which States and the international community should take to ensure greater accountability for sexual and gender-based violence, and paying special attention to the health needs of women, including access to female health-care providers and services, as well as appropriate counselling for victims and survivors of sexual and other abuses;
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts and sharing good practices to effectively eliminate female genital mutilation 2014, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Reaffirming that female genital mutilation is a form of discrimination, an act of violence against women and girls and a harmful practice that constitutes a serious threat to their health, including their psychological, sexual and reproductive health, which can increase their vulnerability to HIV and may have adverse obstetric and prenatal outcomes as well as fatal consequences for the mother and the newborn, and that the abandonment of this harmful practice can be achieved as a result of a comprehensive movement that involves all public and private stakeholders in society, including girls and boys, women and men,
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Infants
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts and sharing good practices to effectively eliminate female genital mutilation 2014, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Further urges States to develop and implement, at the national level, policies, programmes, action plans and national legislation for the elimination of female genital mutilation, based on integrated multisectoral, coordinated and collective approaches at all levels, taking into account the empowerment of former practitioners, the principles of human rights, equality between women and men and non-discrimination, to ensure that former practitioners abstain from resuming the exercise of this practice, and in general taking into account the issue of respect for the basic human rights of women and girls, while also working together with religious and traditional leaders;
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Strengthening efforts to prevent and eliminate child, early and forced marriage 2015, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Recognizing that child, early and forced marriage is a harmful practice that violates, abuses and impairs human rights and is linked to and perpetuates other harmful practices and human rights violations and that such violations have a disproportionately negative impact on women and girls, and underscoring the human rights obligations and commitments of States to promote and protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls and to prevent and eliminate the practice of child, early and forced marriage,
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Strengthening efforts to prevent and eliminate child, early and forced marriage 2015, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Also urges States to ensure access to justice and accountability mechanisms and remedies for the effective implementation and enforcement of laws aimed at preventing and eliminating child, early and forced marriage, including by informing women and girls about their rights under relevant laws, training law enforcement officers and monitoring how they handle cases of child, early and forced marriage, improving legal infrastructure and removing all barriers to access to legal counselling, assistance and remedies;
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Accelerating efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women: Eliminating domestic violence 2015, para. 8a
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon States to take effective action to prevent domestic violence, including by:] Publicly condemning, addressing and penalizing the perpetrators of offences involving physical, sexual and psychological violence and economic deprivation occurring in the family, which encompasses but is not limited to battering, sexual abuse of women and girls in the household, incest, dowry-related violence, marital rape, partner violence, femicide, female infanticide, crimes committed against women and girls in the name of so-called “honour”, crimes committed in the name of passion, practices harmful to women and girls such as child, early and forced marriage, and female genital mutilation;
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Accelerating efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women: Preventing and responding to violence against women and girls, including indigenous women and girls 2016, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Urges States to condemn strongly and publicly all forms of violence against women and girls, including indigenous women and girls, and to refrain from invoking any custom, tradition or religious consideration to avoid their obligations with respect to its elimination, including harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation;
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Preventable maternal mortality and morbidity and human rights 2016, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Urges States and encourages other relevant stakeholders, including national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations, to take action at all levels, utilizing a human rights-based approach to address the interlinked causes of maternal mortality and morbidity, such as lack of accessible, affordable and appropriate health-care services for all, and of information and education, poverty, all types of malnutrition, harmful practices, including child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation, early childbearing, gender inequalities and all forms of discrimination and violence against women, and to pay particular attention to eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls, especially adolescent girls, while ensuring the meaningful and effective participation of women and girls in the relevant processes;
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Forced marriage of the girl child 2007, para. 3a
- Paragraph text
- [Invites States and encourages, as appropriate, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and other civil society actors, and the international community:] (a) To design and implement educational programmes at all levels, and to develop information campaigns about the health-related risks, causes and consequences of forced marriage of the girl child, unprotected and premature sexual relations, and early pregnancy, as well as to develop teaching materials and textbooks, as appropriate, in order to accelerate a sociocultural change towards gender equality, in particular through sensitizing and informing women, girls, men and boys about the illegality and harmful effects of forced marriage;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
Ending female genital mutilation 2008, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that all relevant organizations and bodies of the United Nations system, in particular the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Population Fund, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, the United Nations Development Programme and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, individually and collectively, take into account the protection and promotion of the rights of girls against female genital mutilation in their country programmes, as appropriate, and in accordance with national priorities, in order to further strengthen their efforts in this regard;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2008
Paragraph
Forced marriage of the girl child 2007, para. 1i
- Paragraph text
- [Urges States:] (i) To monitor progress in efforts to address forced marriage through the collection and analysis of age- and sex-disaggregated data, and to disseminate information on the causes and consequences of such marriage;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
Ending female genital mutilation 2008, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- Stresses that the empowerment of girls is key to breaking the cycle of discrimination and violence and for the promotion and protection of human rights, including the right to the highest attainable standard of mental and physical health, including sexual and reproductive health, and calls upon States parties to fulfil their obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, as well as their commitments to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century”, and of the twenty-seventh special session of the General Assembly on children;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2008
Paragraph
Ending female genital mutilation 2008, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- Urges States to develop social and psychological support services and care and to take measures to improve health, including sexual and reproductive health, in order to assist women and girls who are subjected to this violence;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2008
Paragraph
Ending female genital mutilation 2010, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- Stresses that the empowerment of women and girls is key to breaking the cycle of discrimination and violence and for the promotion and protection of human rights, including the right to the highest attainable standard of mental and physical health, including sexual and reproductive health, and calls upon States parties to fulfil their obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, as well as their commitments to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Beijing Platform for Action, and the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century”, and of the special session of the General Assembly on children and the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Rights of the child 1999, para. 7c
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States:] To eliminate all forms of discrimination against girls and the root causes of son preference, which result in harmful and unethical practices, inter alia, by enacting and enforcing legislation protecting girls from violence, including female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, genital mutilation, incest, rape, domestic violence, sexual abuse and exploitation, and by developing age-appropriate, safe and confidential programmes and medical, social and psychological support services to assist girls who are subjected to violence;
- Body
- United Nations Commission on Human Rights
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
Rights of the child 2000, para. 27d
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States:] To eradicate traditional or customary practices, particularly female genital mutilation, that are harmful to or discriminatory against women and girls and that are violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls through the development and implementation of legislation and policies prohibiting such practices, the prosecution of perpetrators of such practices, and awareness-raising programmes, education and training, involving, among others, leaders of public opinion, educators, religious leaders, medical practitioners, women's health and family planning organizations, the media, parents and young people, in order to achieve the total elimination of these practices, and to support women's organizations at the national and local levels that are working for the elimination of female genital mutilation and other harmful traditional or customary practices violating the human rights of women and girls;
- Body
- United Nations Commission on Human Rights
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph
Rights of the child 2003, para. 27b
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States to take all necessary measures, including legal reforms where appropriate:] To eliminate all forms of discrimination against girls and all forms of violence, including female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, rape, sexual abuse and harmful traditional or customary practices, including female genital mutilation, the root causes of son preference, marriages without free and full consent of the intending spouses, early marriages and forced sterilization, by enacting and enforcing legislation and, where appropriate, formulating comprehensive, multidisciplinary and coordinated national plans, programmes or strategies protecting girls;
- Body
- United Nations Commission on Human Rights
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 1998, para. 3c
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States:] To develop and implement national legislation and policies prohibiting traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls, including female genital mutilation, inter alia, through appropriate measures against those responsible, and to establish, if they have not done so, a concrete national mechanism for the implementation and monitoring of legislation, law enforcement and national policies;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1998
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 1999, para. 3g
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States:] To intensify efforts to raise awareness of and to mobilize international and national public opinion concerning the harmful effects of traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls, including female genital mutilation, in particular through education, the dissemination of information, training, the media, the arts and local community meetings, in order to achieve the total elimination of these practices;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
The girl child 2009, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Noting with concern that in some areas of the world men outnumber women as a result, in part, of harmful attitudes and practices, such as female genital mutilation, son preference, which results in female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, early marriage, including child marriage, violence against women, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and discrimination against girls in food allocation and in other practices related to health and well-being, resulting in fewer girls than boys surviving into adulthood,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
The girl child 2011, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Noting with concern that, in some parts of the world, men outnumber women as a result, in part, of harmful attitudes and practices, such as female genital mutilation, son preference, which results in female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, early marriage, including child marriage, violence against women, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and discrimination against girls in food allocation and in other practices related to health and well-being, with the result that fewer girls than boys survive into adulthood,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2012, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Also calls upon States to strengthen advocacy and awareness-raising programmes, to mobilize girls and boys to take an active part in developing preventive and elimination programmes to address harmful practices, especially female genital mutilations, and to engage community and religious leaders, educational institutions, the media and families and provide increased financial support to efforts at all levels to end those practices;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Child, early and forced marriage 2013, para. 1
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Recalling its resolutions 66/140 of 19 December 2011 on the girl child and 67/144 of 20 December 2012 on the intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women, as well as Human Rights Council resolution 24/23 of 27 September 2013, entitled “Strengthening efforts to prevent and eliminate child, early and forced marriage: challenges, achievements, best practices and implementation gaps”, and all other previous resolutions relevant to child, early and forced marriage,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Child, early and forced marriage 2016, para. 13
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Recognizing that child, early and forced marriage undermines women's and girls' autonomy and decision-making in all aspects of their lives and also that the empowerment of and investment in women and girls, as well as their meaningful participation in all decisions that affect them, are key factors in breaking the cycle of gender inequality and discrimination, violence and poverty and are critical, inter alia, for sustainable development, peace, security, democracy and inclusive economic growth,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2016, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Urges States to pursue a comprehensive, culturally sensitive, systematic approach that incorporates a social perspective and is based on human rights and gender-equality principles in providing education and training to families, local community leaders and members of all professions relevant to the protection and empowerment of women and girls in order to increase awareness of and commitment to the elimination of female genital mutilation;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Strengthening efforts to prevent and eliminate child, early and forced marriage: challenges, achievements, best practices and implementation gaps 2013, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Deeply concerned by the impact of deep-rooted gender inequalities, norms and stereotypes, and harmful traditional practices, perceptions and customs that are obstacles to the full enjoyment of human rights, in particular of women and girls, and are among the primary causes of child, early and forced marriage,
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Women, the girl child and HIV/AIDS 2007, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- Urges Governments to strengthen legal, policy, administrative and other measures for the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls, including harmful traditional and customary practices, abuse, early and forced marriage, rape, including marital rape, and other forms of sexual violence, battering and trafficking in women and girls, and to ensure that violence against women is addressed as an integral part of the national HIV/AIDS response;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
Women, the girl child and HIV/AIDS 2008, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Urges Governments to strengthen legal, policy, administrative and other measures for the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls, including harmful traditional and customary practices, female genital mutilation, abuse, early marriage and forced marriage, rape, including marital rape, and other forms of sexual violence, battering and trafficking in women and girls, and to ensure that violence against women is addressed as an integral part of the national HIV/AIDS response;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2008
Paragraph
Women, the girl child and HIV/AIDS 2009, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Urges Governments to strengthen legal, policy, administrative and other measures for the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls, including harmful traditional and customary practices, female genital mutilation, abuse, early marriage and forced marriage, rape, including marital rape, and other forms of sexual violence, battering and trafficking in women and girls, and to ensure that violence against women is addressed as an integral part of the national HIV and AIDS response;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Child, early and forced marriage in humanitarian settings 2017, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Urges States to enact, enforce, harmonize and uphold laws and policies aimed at preventing, responding to and eliminating child, early and forced marriage, protecting those at risk, including in humanitarian settings, and supporting already married women and girls, and to ensure that marriage is entered into only with the informed, free and full consent of the intending spouses and that women have equality with men in all matters pertaining to marriage, divorce, child custody and the economic consequences of marriage and its dissolution;
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Elimination of violence against women 2002, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon States to include in reports submitted in accordance with the provisions of relevant United Nations human rights instruments sex- and age-disaggregated data and information pertaining to violence against women, including measures to eliminate traditional or customary practices harmful to women and girls, and other measures taken to implement the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women and other instruments relevant to the elimination of violence against women;
- Body
- United Nations Commission on Human Rights
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
Elimination of violence against women 2003, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Strongly condemns physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, which encompasses, but is not limited to, battering, sexual abuse of women and girls in the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female infanticide, female genital mutilation, crimes committed against women in the name of honour, crimes committed in the name of passion, traditional practices harmful to women, incest, early and forced marriages, non-spousal violence and violence related to commercial sexual exploitation as well as economic exploitation;
- Body
- United Nations Commission on Human Rights
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
Elimination of violence against women 2003, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon States to include in reports submitted in accordance with the provisions of relevant United Nations human rights instruments sex- and age-disaggregated data and information pertaining to violence against women, including measures to eliminate traditional or customary practices harmful to women and girls, and other measures taken to implement the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women and other instruments relevant to the elimination of violence against women;
- Body
- United Nations Commission on Human Rights
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 1997, para. 1g
- Paragraph text
- [Welcomes:] The fact that the Commission on the Status of Women will address the critical areas of concern, namely, "Violence against women", "The girl child" and "Human rights of women", at its session in 1998 and "Women and health" at its session in 1999, and invites the Commission to address the issue of harmful traditional or customary practices during those sessions;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2014, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Urges States to take, within the general framework of integration policies and in consultation with affected communities, effective and specific targeted measures for refugee women and women migrants and their communities in order to protect girls from female genital mutilations, including when the practice occurs outside the country of residence;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Ending female genital mutilation 2008, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Emphasizes that awareness-raising, community mobilization, education and training are needed to ensure that all key actors, Government officials, including law enforcement and judicial personnel, health-care providers, religious and community leaders, teachers, employers, media professionals and those directly working with girls, as well as parents, families and communities, work to eliminate attitudes and harmful practices that negatively affect girls;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2008
Paragraph
Ending female genital mutilation 2008, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Further urges States to review and, where appropriate, revise, amend or abolish all laws, regulations, policies, practices and customs, in particular female genital mutilation, that discriminate against women or have a discriminatory impact on women and girls and to ensure that provisions of multiple legal systems, where they exist, comply with international human rights obligations, commitments and principles, including the principle of non-discrimination;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2008
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 1997, para. 1a
- Paragraph text
- [Welcomes:] The progress achieved by a number of Governments in their struggle against harmful traditional or customary practices, in particular against female genital mutilation, and encourages the Governments in question to continue and to increase their efforts aimed at the eradication of these practices;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 1997, para. 3f
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States:] To support women's organizations, at the national and local levels, working for the elimination of female genital mutilation and other traditional or customary practices harmful to the health of women and girls;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 1999, para. 1c
- Paragraph text
- [Welcomes:] The fact that the General Assembly, at its special session for the review and appraisal of the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, has addressed the issue of harmful practices;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 1999, para. 1e
- Paragraph text
- [Welcomes:] The work carried out by the Special Ambassador for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation of the United Nations Population Fund, including her visits to a number of countries, and the fact that she has been invited to other countries;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 1999, para. 1f
- Paragraph text
- [Welcomes:] The work carried out by the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children and other non-governmental and community organizations, including women's organizations, in raising awareness of the harmful effects of such practices, in particular of female genital mutilation;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 1999, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Welcoming also the Ouagadougou Declaration adopted on 6 May 1999 at the Regional Workshop on the Fight against Female Genital Mutilation in the countries members of the West African Economic and Monetary Union,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 1999, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Reaffirming that such traditional or customary practices constitute a definite form of violence against women and girls and a serious form of violation of their human rights,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
The girl child 2000, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- Also urges all States to enact and enforce legislation to protect girls from all forms of violence, including female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, female genital mutilation, rape, domestic violence, incest, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, child prostitution and child pornography, and to develop age-appropriate safe and confidential programmes and medical, social and psychological support services to assist girls who are subjected to violence;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 2001, para. 3l
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States:] To continue to take specific measures to increase the capacity of communities, including immigrant and refugee communities, in which female genital mutilation is practised, to engage in activities aimed at preventing and eliminating such practices;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2001
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 2001, para. 1c
- Paragraph text
- [Welcomes:] The work carried out by the Special Ambassador for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation of the United Nations Population Fund and her continuing contribution to the campaign to eliminate female genital mutilation;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2001
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls 2001, para. 4c
- Paragraph text
- [Invites:] Governments, organizations and individuals that are in a position to do so to contribute to the trust fund that supports the work of the Special Ambassador for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation of the United Nations Population Fund;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2001
Paragraph
The girl child 2013, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Deeply concerned also that female genital mutilation violates and impairs the full enjoyment of the human rights of women and girls and that it is an irreparable and irreversible harmful practice, and that the goal of ending female genital mutilation in the next generation, as reaffirmed by the General Assembly in its resolution 67/146 of 20 December 2012, remains unfinished business,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The rights of the child 2004, para. 30b
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States to take all necessary measures, including legal reforms where appropriate:] To eliminate all forms of discrimination against girls and all forms of violence, including female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, rape, sexual abuse and harmful traditional or customary practices, including female genital mutilation, the root causes of son preference, marriages without free and full consent of the intending spouses, early marriages and forced sterilization, by enacting and enforcing legislation and, where appropriate, formulating comprehensive, multidisciplinary and coordinated national plans, programmes or strategies protecting girls;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2004
Paragraph
The rights of the child 2006, para. 30b
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States to take all necessary measures, including legal reforms where appropriate:] To eliminate all forms of discrimination against girls and all forms of violence, including female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, rape, sexual abuse and harmful traditional or customary practices, including female genital mutilation, the root causes of son preference, marriages without free and full consent of the intending spouses, early marriages and forced sterilization, by enacting and enforcing legislation and, where appropriate, formulating comprehensive, multidisciplinary and coordinated national plans, programmes or strategies protecting girls;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2006
Paragraph
The rights of the child 2008, para. 9c
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States:] To take all necessary and effective measures, including legal reforms where appropriate, to eliminate all forms of discrimination against girls and all forms of violence, including female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, rape, sexual abuse and harmful traditional or customary practices, including female genital mutilation, early marriage, marriage without the free and full consent of the intending spouses and forced sterilization, by enacting and enforcing legislation and, where appropriate, by formulating comprehensive, multidisciplinary and coordinated national plans, programmes or strategies to protect girls;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2008
Paragraph
The girl child 2009, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Urges all States to enact and enforce legislation to protect girls from all forms of violence and exploitation, including female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, female genital mutilation, rape, domestic violence, incest, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, child prostitution and child pornography, trafficking and forced migration, forced labour, and forced marriage, as well as marriage under legal age, and to develop age-appropriate safe and confidential programmes and medical, social and psychological support services to assist girls who are subjected to violence and discrimination;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
The girl child 2011, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- Deeply concerned that, despite their widespread practice, child and forced marriages are still underreported, and recognizing that this requires further attention,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
The girl child 2011, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon States to support community workshops and discussion sessions to enable communities to collectively explore ways to prevent and address child and forced marriages, provide information through stakeholders who are credible to the community, such as medical personnel and local, community and religious leaders, regarding the harm associated with these marriages, give greater voice to girls and ensure consistence of message throughout the entire community, and encourage the much-needed strong engagement of men and boys;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
The girl child 2011, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Urges all States to enact and enforce legislation to protect girls from all forms of violence and exploitation, including female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, female genital mutilation, rape, domestic violence, incest, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, child prostitution and child pornography, trafficking and forced migration, forced labour and forced marriage, as well as marriage under legal age, and to develop age-appropriate safe, confidential and disability-accessible programmes and medical, social and psychological support services to assist girls who are subjected to violence and discrimination;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2012, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Reaffirming also the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century”, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social Development and their 5-year, 10-year and 15-year reviews, as well as the United Nations Millennium Declaration and the commitments relevant to women and girls made at the 2005 World Summit and reiterated in Assembly resolution 65/1 of 22 September 2010, entitled “Keeping the promise: united to achieve the Millennium Development Goals”,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2012, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Reaffirming that female genital mutilations are a harmful practice that constitutes a serious threat to the health of women and girls, including their psychological, sexual and reproductive health, which can increase their vulnerability to HIV and may have adverse obstetric and prenatal outcomes as well as fatal consequences for the mother and the newborn, and that the abandonment of this harmful practice can be achieved as a result of a comprehensive movement that involves all public and private stakeholders in society, including girls and boys, women and men,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
The girl child 2013, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- Urges all States to enact and strictly enforce laws ending child, early and forced marriage and ensure that marriage is entered into only with the informed, free and full consent of the intending spouses, to enact and strictly enforce laws concerning the minimum legal age of consent and the minimum age for marriage, to raise the minimum age for marriage, engage all stakeholders, where necessary, and ensure that these laws to end child, early and forced marriage are well known, to further develop and implement comprehensive policies, plans of action and programmes for the survival, protection, development and advancement of the girl child in order to promote and protect the full enjoyment of her human rights and to ensure equal opportunities for girls, including by making such plans an integral part of her total development process;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The girl child 2013, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- Deeply concerned further about discrimination against the girl child and the violation of the rights of the girl child, which often result in less access for girls to education, and to quality education, nutrition, including food allocation, and physical and mental health-care services, in girls enjoying fewer of the rights, opportunities and benefits of childhood and adolescence than boys, and in leaving them more vulnerable than boys to the consequences of unprotected and premature sexual relations and often being subjected to various forms of cultural, social, sexual and economic exploitation and violence, abuse, rape, incest, honour-related crimes and harmful practices, such as female infanticide, child, early and forced marriage, prenatal sex selection and female genital mutilation,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Child, early and forced marriage 2014, para. 6
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Encourages relevant United Nations entities and agencies to continue to collaborate with and support Member States in developing and implementing strategies and policies at the national, regional and international levels to prevent and eliminate child, early and forced marriage, as well as to support already married girls, adolescents and women;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Child, early and forced marriage 2014, para. 8
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Deeply concerned about the continued prevalence of child, early and forced marriage worldwide, including the fact that approximately 15 million girls are married every year before they reach 18 years of age and that more than 700 million women and girls alive today were married before their eighteenth birthday,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
The rights of the child 2014, para. 48d
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States to include the relevant provisions to protect children from discrimination and overcome inequalities and, in particular:] To take all necessary and effective measures to prevent and eliminate all forms of discrimination against girls and all forms of violence, including female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, rape, sexual abuse, forced sterilization and harmful traditional or customary practices, including female genital mutilation and child, early and forced marriage, by enacting and enforcing legislation and, where appropriate, by formulating comprehensive, multidisciplinary and coordinated national plans, programmes or strategies to protect girls, as well as by promoting awareness-raising and social mobilization initiatives for the protection of their rights;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2014, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- Stresses that the empowerment of women and girls is key to breaking the cycle of discrimination and violence and for the promotion and protection of human rights, including the right to the highest attainable standard of mental and physical health, including sexual and reproductive health, and calls upon States parties to fulfil their obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, as well as their commitments to implement the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century”, and of the special session of the Assembly on children;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation 2014, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- Also urges States to complement punitive measures with awareness-raising and educational activities designed to promote a process of consensus towards the elimination of female genital mutilations, and further urges States to protect and support women and girls who have been subjected to female genital mutilations and those at risk, including by developing social and psychological support services and care, and to explore other remedies, as appropriate, and take measures to improve their health, including sexual and reproductive health, in order to assist women and girls who are subjected to the practice;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Child, early and forced marriage 2016, para. 11
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Urges States to ensure access to justice and accountability mechanisms and remedies for the effective implementation and enforcement of laws aimed at preventing and eliminating child, early and forced marriage, including by informing women, girls and boys about their rights under relevant laws, training law enforcement officers, the judiciary and professionals working with women and children and ensuring oversight of the handling of cases of child, early and forced marriage, improving legal infrastructure and removing all barriers to access to legal counselling, assistance and remedies;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Rights of the child 2016, para. 19c
- Paragraph text
- Reaffirms paragraphs 34 to 39 of its resolution 68/147 and paragraphs 47 to 62 of its resolution 62/141 of 18 December 2007 on the elimination of violence against children, condemns all forms of violence against children, and urges all States to implement the measures set out in paragraph 34 of its resolution 68/147 and paragraph 3 of its resolution 69/158 and: (c) To address the gender dimension of all forms of violence against children and incorporate a gender perspective in all policies adopted and actions taken to protect children against all forms of violence and harmful practices, including female genital mutilation, acknowledging that girls and boys face varying risks from different forms of violence at different ages and in different situations, including in schools;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The girl child 2015, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Deeply concerned also about discrimination against the girl child and the violation of the rights of the girl child, including girls with disabilities, which often result in less access for girls to education, and to quality education, nutrition, including food allocation, and physical and mental health-care services, in girls enjoying fewer of the rights, opportunities and benefits of childhood and adolescence than boys, and in leaving them more vulnerable than boys to the consequences of unprotected and premature sexual relations and often being subjected to various forms of cultural, social, sexual and economic exploitation and violence, abuse, rape, incest, honour-related crimes and harmful practices, such as female infanticide, child, early and forced marriage, prenatal sex selection and female genital mutilation,
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph