A/HRC/29/40 be well defined, rights-based, have local relevance and comprise legal, economic and social support measures combined with proportional political engagement and State responsibility at all levels. 19. In many contexts, States fail to establish and enforce a clear legal hierarchy based on the guarantees of equality and non-discrimination set forth in international human rights law and national legislation, thus helping to maintain patriarchal modes of organization and behaviours.16 Even when the law is independent of any religious source, it may be strongly influenced by culture, deriving from dominant ideologies linked to religion, traditional attitudes and social norms. Some States adopt national laws and regulations that restrict the rights, power and mobility of women on the basis of essentialist points of view belonging to a particular culture or religion. Conservative religious extremist movements impose strict modesty codes in order to subjugate women and girls in the name of religion, particularly in situations of political transition or conflict. For example, some branches of Islam have reintroduced forced and/or early marriage and some branches of Christianity prevent women from having access to therapeutic abortion. Religious extremism limits women’s rights, including their right to health and economic activity, and they are generally subject to harsh sanctions for crimes committed against the patriarchy, such as adultery. At the international level, many States justify their reservations to articles of several human rights conventions, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, in the name of preserving their cultures and religions. Human Rights Council resolutions 16/3 on promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms through a better understanding of traditional values of humankind and 26/11 on the protection of the family threaten to undermine international achievements in the field of human rights in the name of cultural and religious diversity. 20. The Working Group is concerned about the considerable increase in laws and public policies developed to protect culture and religion that threaten the universally established standards on the rights of women. Gender-based stereotypes, often strengthened and legitimized in national constitutions, laws and policies, are justified in the name of cultural norms or religious beliefs. Failure to eliminate these stereotypes leads to the generalization of practices that are harmful to women and girls. The sexist stereotypes present in the media, on the Internet, in audiovisual productions and in video games contribute to the perpetuation of a culture of discrimination and violence against women. 21. Women who do not conform to the gender stereotypes that predominate in some cultures and those who openly contest them, including within their own cultural or religious communities, are particularly vulnerable to discrimination, violence and criminalization. They include, among others, single women, widows, female heads of family, lesbians, bisexual and transgender women, sex workers and women human rights defenders. The Working Group emphasizes that the obligation of States to protect cultural diversity applies to diversity within cultures as well as between them. 22. While gender stereotypes pervade all aspects of human existence, women’s rights are at particular risk in the family, which is a locus for the perpetuation of traditional values. The family is a product of patriarchal culture and a vital institution for upholding the patriarchy. The Working Group emphasizes that women’s equal rights in the family are closely linked to their rights in all areas of life, including public and political life and social, economic and cultural life. 16 GE.15-07003 See A/67/287, para. 3. 7