United Nations Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Children in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice A/RES/69/194 (e) That all strategies and measures to prevent and respond to violence against children are designed and implemented from a gender perspective that specifically addresses gender-based violence; (f) That the specific vulnerabilities of children and the situations they find themselves in, including children in need of special protection and children committing criminal offences under the age of criminal responsibility, should be addressed as part of comprehensive violence prevention strategies and identified as a priority for action; (g) That measures to protect child victims of violence are non-coercive and do not compromise the rights of these children. Part one Prohibiting violence against children, implementing broad prevention measures and promoting research and data collection 8. Child protection should begin with the proactive prevention of violence and the explicit prohibition of all forms of violence. Member States have the duty to take appropriate measures that effectively protect children from all forms of violence. I. Ensuring the prohibition by law of all forms of violence against children 9. Recognizing the importance of the existence of a sound legal framework which prohibits violence against children and empowers authorities to respond appropriately to incidents of violence, Member States are urged, as appropriate and while taking into consideration relevant international human rights instruments, to ensure: (a) That their laws are comprehensive and effective in prohibiting and eliminating all forms of violence against children and that provisions that justify, allow for or condone violence against children or may increase the risk of violence against children are removed; (b) That cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of children is prohibited and eliminated in all settings, including schools. 10. Because a countless number of girls and boys fall victim to harmful practices undertaken under different pretexts or grounds, including female genital mutilation or cutting, forced marriage, breast ironing and witchcraft rituals, Member States are urged, as appropriate and while taking into consideration relevant international human rights instruments: (a) To establish by law a clear and comprehensive prohibition of all harmful practices against children, supported by detailed provisions in relevant legislation to secure the effective protection of girls and boys from those practices, to provide means of redress and to fight impunity; (b) To remove from all national legislation any legal provisions that provide justification or allow for consent to harmful practices against children; (c) To ensure that resorting to informal justice systems does not jeopardize children’s rights or preclude child victims from accessing the formal justice system, and to establish the supremacy of international human rights law. 11. Recognizing the serious nature of many forms of violence against children and the need to criminalize these conducts, Member States should review and update their criminal law to ensure that the following acts are fully covered thereunder: (a) Engaging in sexual activities with a child who is under the legal age of consent, ensuring as well that an appropriate “age of protection” or “legal age of consent”, below which a child cannot legally consent to sexual activity, is set; 8/29