E/2003/27 E/CN.6/2003/12 Annex II Panel discussion on women’s human rights and the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls as defined in the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly Summary submitted by the moderator (Fernando Estellita Lins de Salvo Coimbra (Brazil)) 1. At its 3rd meeting, on 3 March 2003, the Commission on the Status of Women held a panel discussion followed by a dialogue on women’s human rights and the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women as defined in the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome document of the twenty-third special session, one of the themes of the forty-seventh session of the Commission. The panellists were Zhang Lixi (China), Vice President of China’s Women’s University; Vera Duarte Lobo de Pina (Cape Verde), Coordinator of the National Committee of Human Rights; Barbara Limanowska (Poland), Special Adviser on Trafficking for various international organizations; and Ayse Feride Acar (Turkey), Chairperson of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. 2. The participants agreed that all forms of violence against women were a clear violation of women’s human rights. Every day women and girls died as a result of various forms of sex-based violence. 3. Participants focused on domestic violence as one of the most widespread forms of violence against women. Domestic violence should not be regarded as an event between a man and a woman but should be dealt within the context of overall relations between women and men. Violence against women was a manifestation of unequal distribution of power between men and women within families and communities. Within families, women might be subordinate to men and be considered the property of their husbands and families. It was important to sensitize government officials, law enforcement officials, medical workers, social workers and society at large to domestic violence, its causes and ways and means to prevent it. 4. Participants stressed that, in addition to physical and sexual abuse, hidden forms of violence, such as psychological abuse, also needed to be addressed. Psychological abuse had a long-lasting, negative impact on victims’ lives, damaging victims’ self-esteem and confidence, destroying their dignity and respect as human beings, isolating them from the outside world and entrapping them in violent relationships. 5. Improvements in the response of social services in intervening in and preventing domestic violence against women had been observed in many parts of the world. However, a lot more needed to be done, and social services agencies had to be strengthened. Participants also stressed the need to provide for treatment programmes for male perpetrators and conduct community-based public education and “zero tolerance” campaigns. Efforts had to be undertaken, especially through the media, to change public attitudes towards domestic violence and disseminate 51