A/HRC/RES/20/12 stages of the proceedings determined to be appropriate by the Court and to protect their safety, physical and psychological well-being, dignity and privacy, 1 Welcoming the identification of violence against women as a priority for United Nations programmes, funds and specialized agencies, especially the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, Noting that remedies for women and girls who have been subjected to violence may include a range of judicial and non-judicial measures that can result in reparations, such as restitution, compensation, rehabilitation and guarantees of non-repetition, and measures of satisfaction, such as public apologies, commemorations and judicial decisions restoring dignity and reputation, Underscoring that women who are subjected to violence should be provided with access to the mechanisms of justice and, as provided for by national legislation, to just and effective remedies for the harm that they have suffered, and information about their rights in seeking redress through such mechanisms, Recognizing that sexual violence, particularly in conflict and post-conflict situations, affects victims, families, communities and societies, and stressing that effective remedies in those situations should include access to health care, psychosocial support, legal assistance and socioeconomic reintegration services for victims of sexual violence, Convinced that effective remedies for women and girls should aim to have a transformative effect by addressing the root causes of violence against them, Convinced also that men and boys have an important role to play in addressing the root causes of violence against women and in facilitating the access of women and girls to just and effective remedies for the harm they have suffered, Acknowledging that alternatives to judicial remedies can, particularly in cases of mass violations, allow victims, victims’ advocacy groups and civil society to be involved in the process in proactive ways, thereby conveying a sense of agency that can have a reparative effect and promote greater access to remedies by victims, Stressing that education can play a key role in efforts to guarantee non-repetition of violence against women and girls by promoting changes in attitudes and behaviour, 1. Strongly condemns all acts of violence against women and girls, whether these acts are perpetrated by the State, private persons or non-State actors, and calls for the elimination of all forms of gender-based violence in the family, within the general community and where perpetrated or condoned by the State, in accordance with the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, and stresses the need to treat all forms of violence against women and girls as a criminal offence, punishable by law, and the duty to provide victims with access to just and effective remedies and specialized assistance, including medical and psychological assistance, as well as effective counselling; 2. Underscores that States have the primary responsibility for protecting women and girls facing violence and, in this regard, urges States to take measures to investigate, prosecute, punish and redress, including by ensuring access to adequate, effective, prompt and appropriate remedies, the wrongs done to women and girls subjected to any form of violence, whether in the home, the workplace, the community or society, in custody or in situations of armed conflict; 1 2 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, art. 68, paras. 3 and 1.