A/HRC/26/38 31. Since the Secretary-General’s 2006 in-depth study on all forms of violence against women,16 the General Assembly receives biennial reports from the Secretary-General on legislative, policy and other measures undertaken by Member States and United Nations bodies and entities to combat violence against women.17 In its resolutions 61/143 and 62/133, the Assembly requested the Statistical Commission and the Secretary-General to develop and propose, in consultation with the Commission on the Status of Women, and building on the work undertaken by the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, a set of possible indicators on violence against women, in order to assist States in assessing its scope, prevalence and incidence. 32. The engagement of the Security Council with regard to violence against women is reflected in the seven resolutions on women that it adopted between 2000 and 2013. Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) focuses on the incorporation of a gender perspective in conflict resolution by addressing the special needs of women, ensuring that humanitarian law is used to address women’s rights and highlighting the critical role of women in peacebuilding. In this resolution, the Security Council recognized that women and children account for the vast majority of those adversely affected by armed conflict; called for specialized training for all peacekeeping personnel on the protection, special needs and human rights of women and children in conflict situations; and urged the Secretary-General to increase women’s representation in conflict-resolution efforts. The Council also emphasized the responsibility of States to prosecute those responsible for sexual violence and highlighted the need for data collection. 33. In subsequent resolutions, the Security Council focused on protecting civilians in general, particularly those who have been displaced; stressed the importance of education for preventing sexual exploitation and trafficking in humans; condemned all acts of sexual exploitation, abuse and trafficking of women and children by military, police and civilian personnel involved in United Nations operations; and recommended a policy of zerotolerance for such violations. The Council also raised concerns about the obstacles to women’s participation in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, including violence, intimidation, and discrimination. It requested the Secretary-General to publish a report on situations of armed conflict in which sexual violence has been widely or systematically employed against civilians, including an analysis of trends in sexual violence and benchmarks for measuring progress towards its elimination. 34. To ensure effective focus on the issue of sexual violence in armed conflict situations and their aftermath, the Security Council suggested that the Secretary-General appoint a special representative to provide coherent and strategic leadership and work effectively to strengthen existing United Nations coordinating mechanisms in addressing sexual violence in such situations. The Security Council urged States to adopt judicial reforms to address sexual violence; investigate all reports of sexual violence; and deploy a team of experts to investigate situations of sexual violence in armed conflict. The Security Council also called for more effective monitoring and reporting of issues of sexual violence within the United Nations system, targeted sanctions and more effective use of periodic field visits by its mechanisms. 35. The 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women, elaborates on various manifestations of violence against women, such as murder, systematic rape and forced pregnancy during armed conflict, as well as sexual slavery, forced sterilization, forced abortion, female infanticide and prenatal sex 16 17 10 A/61/122/Add.1. A/HRC/23/25, para. 25.