A/HRC/41/33 3. Perceptions of women as weak, incapable, or in need of care or protection 42. Other stereotypes that lead to women’s deprivation of liberty are those that label women as weak, helpless, incapable or in need of care or protection. Those stereotypes are interconnected with those described above, as ideas of the frailty or incapability of women are tied to expectations that they should assume a submissive role in the household and in society, and it is often their moral virtue and sexual purity that are seen as most in need of preservation. Sometimes women are seen as easily falling prey to “vice” so that men and society have to “look after” them. 43. Those stereotypes are particularly likely to lead to detention in the family home and other private forms of detention, as family members may see it as their duty to “protect” women by keeping them within a “safe” space. That perception has permeated different forms of “protective” custody that can easily be translated into repressive control by male family members or unsupportive families or communities, resulting in the exclusion of women from certain areas of society and confinement in others. 27 For example, there are reports that capture the experiences of women trapped in a guardian system that restricts them from moving freely and making decisions on their own. 28 44. Women with disabilities in particular are seen as weak or in need of protection, causing families to determine that they are better off confined in institutions. In many cases, the State may orchestrate such acts of deprivation of liberty by allowing women with disabilities to be stripped of legal capacity, without adequate support structures or recognition of their autonomy. As a result, they may end up being placed under guardianship and have their decision-making ability relegated to a third party. Home confinement is another challenge for this group. Women with disabilities are in several cases confined at home owing to cultural stereotypes or a lack of services and support systems. Girls with disabilities are more likely to experience confinement in the family context, associated with fears that they might be prone to sexual abuse, combined with panic about girls’ sexuality. 45. Women’s actual or perceived vulnerability to gender-based violence has led some States to institute forms of protective/administrative detention for women who are at risk. In some such shelters, harsh curfews are applied for the sake of protection. Protective detention is also used to “protect” girls with disabilities or adolescent girls from violence and/or “unwanted” pregnancies. Although such institutions are intended to provide safety to women, sometimes they are, or may become, sites of deprivation of liberty, where women may be confined according to the dictates of the State or of their family members (see A/HRC/35/40 and Corr. 1). There have been reports of protective custody being used solely to “safeguard” or prevent women from deviance from societal norms and expectations, which has been identified as a form of arbitrary detention contrary to international human rights law (A/HRC/27/48 paras. 78–79). 46. The belief that women need protection has an impact in crisis situations, where families may be displaced and destabilized and face heightened risks, including, as has been extensively documented, that of gender-based violence for women. The Working Group has received reports of severe restrictions of liberty for women, and particularly girls, in humanitarian settings, where family members may force them to remain in their homes or shelters rather than risk moving about. As a result, camps for internally displaced persons and refugees sometimes become sites of confinement for women, from where they are unable to leave to access resources or services. On the other hand, detrimental stereotypes also influence responses to migration. In States that are seeking to stem migration flows, there is a tendency to believe that because women are viewed as weak and in need of protection, subjecting them to migration detention will be viewed as more shocking and thus have a greater deterrent effect. 27 28 See Johannes Jütting and Christian Morrisson, “Changing social institutions to improve the status of women in developing countries”, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Centre, policy brief No. 27 (2005). Human Rights Watch Boxed in: Women and Saudi Arabia’s Male Guardianship System (2016). 11