A/HRC/RES/29/14
deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life, and also notes the
economic and social harm caused by such violence;
2.
Also stresses that domestic violence can take many different forms, including
physical, psychological and sexual violence, economic deprivation and isolation, and
neglect, occurs within the family or domestic unit, and generally between individuals who
are related through blood or intimacy;
3.
Strongly condemns all forms of violence against women of all ages, including
domestic violence, while recognizing that it is an impediment to achieving gender equality
and to the full realization of all human rights of women, while expressing concern that
domestic violence is the most prevalent and least visible forms of violence against women
and girls and that its consequences are long-lasting and profound and affect many areas in
the lives of victims;
4.
Recognizes that violence against women, including domestic violence, can
take the form of an isolated act or pattern of abusive behaviour that may occur over a period
of time, which as a pattern constitutes violence against women, and can include acts such as
cyberbullying and cyberstalking;
5.
Urges States to strongly condemn all forms of violence against women and
girls, and to refrain from invoking any custom, tradition or religious consideration to avoid
their obligations with respect to its elimination, including harmful practices, such as child,
early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation, as set out in the Declaration on the
Elimination of Violence against Women;
6.
Underscores that domestic violence is of public concern and that States have
the primary responsibility for protecting and promoting the human rights of women and
girls facing violence, including those facing domestic violence;
7.
Urges States to support initiatives aimed at promoting gender equality and at
preventing, responding to, and protecting women and girls from, domestic violence,
undertaken by, inter alia, relevant women’s and men’s organizations, international and nongovernmental organizations, the private sector, media, faith and community groups,
religious leaders, parliamentarians, human rights defenders, including women human rights
defenders, and other relevant civil society actors, as part of their efforts to develop targeted
and accessible programmes and policies;
8.
Calls upon States to take effective action to prevent domestic violence,
including by:
(a)
Publicly condemning, addressing and penalizing the perpetrators of offences
involving physical, sexual and psychological violence and economic deprivation occurring
in the family, which encompasses but is not limited to battering, sexual abuse of women
and girls in the household, incest, dowry-related violence, marital rape, partner violence,
femicide, female infanticide, crimes committed against women and girls in the name of socalled “honour”, crimes committed in the name of passion, practices harmful to women and
girls such as child, early and forced marriage, and female genital mutilation;
(b)
Preventing violations and taking steps to prevent abuses of all human rights
of women and girls, devoting particular attention to abolishing practices and legislation that
discriminate against women and girls, eliminating prejudices, harmful practices and gender
stereotypes and raising awareness of the unacceptability of violence against women and
girls, including domestic violence, at all levels;
(c)
Accelerating efforts to develop, review and strengthen inclusive policies,
including by allocating adequate resources to address the structural and underlying causes
of domestic violence against women and girls, to overcome gender stereotypes, to
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