twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century”; (c) To take all measures to empower women and strengthen their economic independence and to protect and promote the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms in order to allow women and girls to protect themselves better against violence and, in this regard, to give priority to education, training, economic opportunity and political participation of women; (d) To include in reports submitted in accordance with the provisions of relevant United Nations human rights instruments data and information disaggregated by sex, age and other factors, where appropriate, 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; (e) To condemn violence against women and not to invoke custom, tradition or practices in the name of religion or culture to avoid their obligations to eliminate such violence; (f) To address the specific circumstances facing girls and young women in relation to violence, especially sexual violence, including its immediate and long-term consequences; (g) To intensify efforts to develop and/or utilize legislative, educational, social and other measures aimed at the prevention of violence against women and to ensure women’s full and equal access to justice, including the adoption and implementation of laws, dissemination of information, active involvement with community-based players, and training of legal, judicial and health personnel on gender-based violence and related issues, and, where possible, through developing and strengthening support services; (h) To enact and, where necessary, reinforce or amend domestic legislation, including measures to enhance the protection of victims, to investigate, prosecute, punish and redress the wrongs done to women and girls subjected to any form of violence, whether in the home, the workplace, the community or society, in custody or in situations of armed conflict, to ensure that such legislation conforms with relevant international human rights instruments and international humanitarian law, and to take action to investigate and punish persons who perpetrate acts of violence against women; (i) To formulate, implement and promote, at all appropriate levels, plans of action, including time-bound measurable targets where appropriate, to eliminate violence against women, guided by, inter alia, the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, as well as relevant regional instruments pertaining to the elimination of violence against women; (j) To support initiatives undertaken by women’s organizations and non-governmental organizations on the elimination of violence against women and to establish and/or strengthen, at the national level, collaborative relationships with relevant non-governmental and community-based organizations, and with public and private sector institutions, aimed at the development and effective implementation of provisions and policies relating to violence against women, including in the area of support services for victims; page 5