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Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- Girls and young women with disabilities are disproportionately affected by different forms of gender-based violence, including physical, sexual, psychological and emotional abuse; bullying; coercion; arbitrary deprivation of liberty; institutionalization; female infanticide; trafficking; neglect; domestic violence; and harmful practices such as child and forced marriage, female genital mutilation, forced sterilization and invasive and irreversible involuntary treatments (see A/HRC/20/5, paras. 12-27). Many of those forms of violence are a consequence of the intersection between disability and gender, and might happen while a girl or young woman with disabilities performs daily hygiene, receives treatment or is overmedicated. Gender-based violence occurs at home, in institutions, in schools, in health centres and in other public and private facilities, and perpetrators are frequently relatives, caregivers and professionals on whom the girl or young woman may depend.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2017
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: protection of the rights of the child in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 2017, para. 22e
- Paragraph text
- [Urges States to take all the measures necessary to implement fully the objectives of the 2030 Agenda to contribute to the realization of the rights of the child by, inter alia:] Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all young women and girls by ending all forms of discrimination and violence against them in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation, and eliminating all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation, including by attaining all Goals and targets related to Goal 5;
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Girls and young women with disabilities have the same sexual and reproductive health and rights as other girls and young women. However they encounter significant obstacles in exercising and accessing those rights, including stigma and stereotypes, restrictive legislation and a lack of child- and disability-appropriate information and services. Moreover, poverty and/or social exclusion deprive them of the necessary knowledge to develop healthy relationships and increase the risk of sexual abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, unintended pregnancies and harmful practices. Grave human rights violations such as forced sterilization, forced abortion and forced contraception are frequent, and the violence experienced by girls and young women with disabilities remains largely invisible.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2016, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- The First African Girls' Summit on Ending Child Marriage in Africa was held in Lusaka in November 2015. Hosted by the African Union and the Government of Zambia, the Summit gathered Heads of State and Government, ministers responsible for gender and children, United Nations entities, development partners, civil society organizations and religious and traditional leaders, as well as young people who have experienced child marriage. The participants took stock of the progress made to end child marriage across the continent, shared evidence and good practices and renewed their commitment to bringing an end to this and other harmful practices in Africa.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Youth
- 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
Tackling the demand for the sexual exploitation of children 2016, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- A major enabler of demand is the perception of youth, consent and virginity. Indeed, the attraction of preferential offenders who are not paedophiles to adolescents often stems from social and cultural constructs. The obsession with virginity owing to notions of purity and health is, for example, a source of demand for the sexual exploitation of children. There are thus in several regions of the world those who specifically seek to have intercourse with virgins. Concurrently, a child who has lost his or her virginity is considered in negative terms and devalued, thus being more vulnerable to sexual exploitation. Besides, the definition of a child, although set at any person under 18 in international law, varies from one culture to another and is strongly related to his or her sexual maturity. There is further confusion as a result of the varying ages of sexual consent across the world. Preferential and situational offenders will thus justify their actions by affirming, based on their personal belief or on the degree of social tolerance, that their victim was not a child or consented to his or her exploitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Preliminary survey on the root causes of attacks and discrimination against persons with albinism 2016, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- There is also the myth that intercourse with female persons with albinism can cure infertility, sexually transmitted infections and, in particular, HIV/AIDS. This has led to the rape and forced prostitution of women and girls with albinism, some of whom end up contracting various infections. Cases have been reported of young girls with albinism being prostituted by their family to customers who thereby expect to be cured of HIV/AIDS. It is believed that cases of this sort are underreported owing to various factors, including a pre-existing context of myth-led discrimination against persons with albinism, the stigma of reporting rape and the likelihood of further abuse. Such lack of reporting is bound to aggravate the already oppressed and disenfranchised situation of women and girls with albinism.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2016, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- A study published by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children shows that in the United Kingdom, between 15 and 40 per cent of young people are involved in sexting. This includes children younger than 12 years of age, who are often worried, confused and upset by the sexting pressures they face from their peers. The primary technology-related threat is not from strangers but rather from their peers and their social network "friends". Teenagers are aware of how to reduce online risks from strangers, but awareness-raising needs to shift towards reducing the risks from their peers. The role of schools in holding discussions of the sexual pressures that students face and in promoting the support and training of teachers to facilitate these discussions is important.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Preliminary survey on the root causes of attacks and discrimination against persons with albinism 2016, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- This seems to be a historical trend, as the nineteenth century Scottish missionary David Livingstone described the killing of a young boy with albinism by his mother: "the mother is said to have become tired of living apart from the father, who refused to have her while she retained their son. She took him out one day, and killed him close to the village of Mabotsa, and nothing was done to her by the authorities".
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Elimination of female genital mutilation 2016, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- Urges States to place special emphasis on education, in particular of youth, parents and religious, traditional and community leaders, about the harmful effects of female genital mutilation, and especially to encourage men and boys to become more involved in information and awareness-raising campaigns and to become agents of change;
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Men
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Elimination of female genital mutilation 2016, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- Encourages States to develop comprehensive policies to combat female genital mutilation involving the Government, the parliament, the judiciary, civil society, youth, the media, the private sector and all relevant stakeholders;
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2016, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- The vast majority of young people who generate or receive sexts would not tell an adult about it; parents and teachers are considered the last resort for seeking help. While most sexting images are self-generated and distributed on a mobile device, the images move easily from the mobile platform onto social networks, which can result in cyberbullying and online abuse on those platforms.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2016, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- The First African Girls' Summit on Ending Child Marriage was held in Lusaka in November 2015. Hosted by the African Union and the Government of Zambia, the summit gathered Heads of State and Government, ministers responsible for gender and children, United Nations agencies, development partners, civil society organizations and religious and traditional leaders as well as young people who have experienced child marriage. The participants took stock of the progress made to end child marriage across the continent, shared evidence and good practices and renewed their commitment to end child marriage and other harmful practices in Africa.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- In many cultures, girls are considered adults after their first menstruation and may drop out of school, marry and start having children. Increased knowledge of menstruation by both men and women, combined with strategies to lift social taboos on menstruation, may prevent girls from being considered as adults ready for marriage but, rather, as young adolescents going through a normal phase of their development.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Work of the mandate and priorities of the SR 2015, para. 105
- Paragraph text
- The human rights approach, together with the modern understanding of public health, warns against typifying violence into severe forms and those forms which are considered to be "milder" and thus perceived as not harmful. That can lead to the proliferation of practices which are justified as being "mild" forms of violence and thus tolerated or even recommended, such as domestic violence against women, female genital mutilation or the institutional care of young children.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Strengthening efforts to prevent and eliminate child, early and forced marriage 2015, 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, men and boys, and youth organizations to develop and implement holistic, comprehensive and coordinated responses, strategies and policies to prevent and 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 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)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Strengthening efforts to prevent and eliminate child, early and forced marriage 2015, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon States to promote the meaningful participation and active consultation of children and young people in all issues affecting them, and to create 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 training and the opportunities to be empowered and become agents of change within their communities;
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
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
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2014, para. 99
- Paragraph text
- Self-exposure. Sending explicit self-generated text or images by mobile phone or instant messenger, known as "sexting", is becoming widespread. As a result of peer pressure or as part of online interaction, there is a real risk of such material falling into the wrong hands and used to harass young people, or blackmailing them into engaging in further risky behaviour. According to the Internet Watch Foundation, up to 88 per cent of self-generated sexually explicit content online has been taken from its original location and uploaded elsewhere on the Internet.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Youth
- Year
- 2014
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
Violence against women as a barrier to the effective realization of all human rights 2014, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- The right to education is affected by violence, including family violence and abuse, sexual violence at school, early and forced marriage, human trafficking and harmful traditional practices - which all prevent women and girls from realizing their right to education. Sexual harassment at school has negative physical and emotional effects and also results in decreased productivity, absenteeism from school, difficulty concentrating, declining academic performance or dropping out from school, often after becoming pregnant. As recognized by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 24/23, child, early and forced marriage prevents individuals from living their lives free from all forms of violence and has adverse consequences on the enjoyment of human rights, such as the right to education (see also A/HRC/21/41, para. 74). Girls who enter into early marriage often leave school to assume the responsibilities of caring for their spouse and home and to raise a family. This, in turn, limits young women's economic opportunities and independence and places them at greater risk of domestic violence than married women who are older and more educated.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Intensifying global efforts and sharing good practices to effectively eliminate female genital mutilation 2014, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- Urges States to place special emphasis on education, in particular of youth, parents and community leaders, about the harmful effects of female genital mutilation, and especially to encourage men and boys to become more involved in information and awareness campaigns and become agents of change;
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Men
- Youth
- 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. 57
- Paragraph text
- A social norm is a contributing factor to and social determinant of certain practices in a community that may be positive and strengthen its identity and cohesion or may be negative and potentially lead to harm. It is also a social rule of behaviour that members of a community are expected to observe. This creates and sustains a collective sense of social obligation and expectation that conditions the behaviour of individual community members, even if they are not personally in agreement with the practice. For example, where female genital mutilation is the social norm, parents are motivated to agree to its being performed on their daughters because they see other parents doing so and believe that others expect them to do the same. The norm or practice is often perpetuated by other women in community networks who have already undergone the procedure and exert additional pressure on younger women to conform to the practice or risk ostracism, being shunned and stigmatization. Such marginalization may include the loss of important economic and social support and social mobility. Conversely, if individuals conform to the social norm, they expect to be rewarded, for example through inclusion and praise. Changing social norms that underlie and justify harmful practices requires that such expectations be challenged and modified.
- 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
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- A social norm is a contributing factor to and social determinant of certain practices in a community that may be positive and strengthen its identity and cohesion or may be negative and potentially lead to harm. It is also a social rule of behaviour that members of a community are expected to observe. This creates and sustains a collective sense of social obligation and expectation that conditions the behaviour of individual community members, even if they are not personally in agreement with the practice. For example, where female genital mutilation is the social norm, parents are motivated to agree to its being performed on their daughters because they see other parents doing so and believe that others expect them to do the same. The norm or practice is often perpetuated by other women in community networks who have already undergone the procedure and exert additional pressure on younger women to conform to the practice or risk ostracism, being shunned and stigmatization. Such marginalization may include the loss of important economic and social support and social mobility. Conversely, if individuals conform to the social norm, they expect to be rewarded, for example through inclusion and praise. Changing social norms that underlie and justify harmful practices requires that such expectations be challenged and modified.
- 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
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Child, early and forced marriage 2013, para. 2
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Decides to convene during its sixty-eighth session a panel discussion on child, early and forced marriage worldwide, including the elaboration of the post-2015 development agenda, requests the Secretary-General to liaise with States, relevant agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations system, relevant special procedures mechanisms, civil society, including relevant children and youth organizations, and national human rights institutions with a view to ensuring their input, and also requests the Secretary-General to prepare an informal summary report on the panel discussion;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Strengthening efforts to prevent and eliminate child, early and forced marriage: challenges, achievements, best practices and implementation gaps 2013, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- Decides to convene, at its twenty-sixth session, a panel discussion on preventing and eliminating child, early and forced marriage, with a particular focus on challenges, achievements, best practices and implementation gaps, and requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to liaise with States, relevant United Nations bodies, agencies, funds and programmes, relevant special procedures, civil society, including relevant children and youth organizations, and national human rights institutions, with a view to ensuring their participation and also requests the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare a summary report on the panel discussion;
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism 2013, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- In some cases this phenomenon may be veiled in a "culturally acceptable" practice through, for instance, child marriage. In countries where early marriage is still a common practice, money can be offered to families to marry young girls, despite the marriage only lasting for the length of the stay. Visitors may also take the minor back to their country, where the child will be subjected to continual sexual exploitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- Honour killings take many forms, including direct murder; stoning; women and young girls being forced to commit suicide after public denunciations of their behaviour; and women being disfigured by acid burns, leading to death. Honour crimes are also linked to other forms of family violence, and are usually committed by male family members as a means of controlling women's sexual choices and limiting their freedom of movement. Punishment usually has a collective dimension, with the family as a whole believing it to be injured by a woman's actual or perceived behaviour, and is often public in character. The visibility of the issue and the punishment also serves a social objective, namely, influencing the conduct of other women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph