Search Tips
Violence against women: Twenty years of developments to combat violence against women 2014, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- In general recommendation No. 19, the Committee establishes that gender-based violence, which impairs or nullifies the enjoyment by women of human rights and fundamental freedoms under general international law or under human rights conventions, is discrimination within the meaning of article 1 of the Convention and links gender-based violence to the different rights and substantive areas covered by the Convention. In practice, the Committee invokes several substantive provisions in the Convention to address the issue of violence against women, including article 5 on stereotyping and the consequences thereof; article 11 on sexual harassment; article 12 on sexual and reproductive health violations; and article 16 on matters relating to marriage and family relations. The adoption of the Optional Protocol to the Convention, in 1999, and the subsequent jurisprudence thereunder further reinforce the Committee's position that violence against women equates to discrimination based on sex, which disproportionately affects women. It is important to note that these developments do not explicitly articulate violence against women as a human rights violation in and of itself.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women: Twenty years of developments to combat violence against women 2014, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Prior to, and during, the United Nations Decade for Women, from 1975 to 1985, the issue of violence against women in general, and more specifically domestic violence, was high on the agenda of women's rights activists. Advocacy at the World Conferences on Women, held in Mexico City and Copenhagen in 1975 and 1980 respectively, served as a catalyst for the adoption in 1985 of General Assembly resolution 40/36 on domestic violence. The Third World Conference on Women, held in Nairobi in 1985, and the Expert Group meeting on violence in the family, held in Vienna in 1986, further highlighted the global nature and concern regarding violence against women. In May 1991, the Economic and Social Council adopted resolution 1991/18 on violence against women in all its forms, in which it recommended the development of a framework for an international instrument that would explicitly address the issue of violence against women. The Council also urged Member States to adopt, strengthen and enforce legislation prohibiting violence against women and to take appropriate administrative, social and educational measures to protect women from all forms of physical and mental violence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Pathways to, conditions and consequences of incarceration for women 2013, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- In some countries, women are imprisoned for leaving their homes without permission. Many of these women leave in an attempt to escape violence in the home, including forced marriages, forced prostitution, and physical or sexual violence by a family member.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Continuum of violence against women from the home to the transnational sphere: the challenges of effective redress 2011, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- Honour-related violence and killings against women intersect with discrimination and inequalities within both the family and community spheres. Statistics from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) suggest that approximately 5,000 women are murdered each year by family members in honour-related violence. Since the establishment of the mandate, violence and murder of women in the name of honour have been reported on in the course of visits to Algeria, Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Netherlands, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Pakistan, Sweden, and Turkey. As described by the Secretary-General in his 2006 in-depth study on all forms of violence against women, crimes committed in the name of honour often have a collective dimension, with the family as a whole considered to be injured by a woman's actual or perceived behaviour. They are also public in character and influence the conduct of other women. This collective element makes it extremely difficult to separate the victim from actual or potential perpetrators unless she is willing to break all family relations and start a life outside her social frame of reference.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Civil society organizations added that a new treaty could make clear the necessity to ensure consistency across different domestic legal regimes. In some States, domestic violence might be a criminal offence, but it was still intrinsically accepted through other procedures, such as mediation and conciliation in family law proceedings.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision-setting report 2016, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- The mandate holder considers that the universal and full acceptance and incorporation by States of both international and regional instruments are crucial for the establishment and improvement of existing national legal frameworks on the elimination of violence against women, including by the elimination of discriminatory family laws and penal laws, also with regard to harmful practices that hinder the enjoyment by women and girls of their rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Existing legal standards and practices regarding violence against women in three regional human rights systems and activities being undertaken by civil society regarding the normative gap in international human rights law 2015, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- With respect to substantive law, States are required to provide for adequate civil remedies; ensure that all forms of violence against women and domestic violence are criminalized and appropriately punished; and recognize in law that being a family member or ex-spouse of a victim of violence against women and domestic violence is an aggravating circumstance that must be taken into consideration in the determination of the penalty. As regards investigation, prosecution and procedural aspects, States must ensure that all forms of violence against women and domestic violence are appropriately punished; ensure that culture, custom, religion or so-called honour are not accepted as justification for any act of violence; ensure that victims have access to special protection measures during investigation and judicial proceedings; implement risk assessment protocols to enhance the protection of victims; ensure that law enforcement agencies respond promptly to calls for assistance and that they manage dangerous situations adequately; and introduce preventive and protective legislation, including emergency barring orders.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Existing legal standards and practices regarding violence against women in three regional human rights systems and activities being undertaken by civil society regarding the normative gap in international human rights law 2015, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- In the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the member States stress the interdependence of rights and introduce unique features, such as the protection of community and group rights, and the imposition of duties on individuals. The Charter was the first human rights instrument to entrench the right to development. Specific references to women are included in the Charter, for example, in article 2, which prohibits discrimination, including on the basis of sex, and article 18 (3), which obliges States to eliminate all discrimination against women and to ensure the protection of the rights of women as stipulated in international declarations and conventions. The Charter incorporates principles related to culture, group rights and respect for the family environment. Article 60 of the Charter mandates the African Commission to draw inspiration from international law in its promotion and protection of human rights. Some scholars have argued that despite having minimal provisions on the rights of women, the Charter by inference imposes a duty on member States to abide by international human rights standards on women's rights. The Charter has been criticized by some for being unrealistic and overambitious and for ignoring women's human rights, while others have praised it for protecting all human rights, both individual and collective.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Closing the gap in international human rights law: lessons from three regional human rights systems on legal standards and practices regarding violence against women 2015, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- With respect to substantive law, States are required: to provide for adequate civil remedies; to ensure that all forms of violence against women and domestic violence are criminalized and appropriately punished; and to recognize in law that being a family member or ex-spouse of a victim of violence against women and domestic violence is an aggravating circumstance that must be taken into consideration in the determination of the penalty. As regards investigation, prosecution and procedural aspects, States must ensure that all forms of violence against women and domestic violence are appropriately punished; ensure that culture, custom, religion or so-called "honour" are not accepted as justification for any act of violence; ensure that victims have access to special protection measures during investigation and judicial proceedings; implement risk assessment protocols to enhance the protection of victims; ensure that law enforcement agencies respond promptly to calls for assistance and that they manage dangerous situations adequately; and introduce preventive and protective legislation, including emergency barring orders.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Closing the gap in international human rights law: lessons from three regional human rights systems on legal standards and practices regarding violence against women 2015, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- In the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the member States stress the interdependence of rights and introduce unique features, such as the protection of community and group rights, and the imposition of duties on individuals. The Charter was the first human rights instrument to entrench the right to development. Specific references to women are included in the Charter, for example, in article 2, which prohibits discrimination, including on the basis of sex, and article 18 (3), which obliges States to eliminate all discrimination against women and to ensure the protection of the rights of women as stipulated in international declarations and conventions. The Charter incorporates principles related to culture, group rights and respect for the family environment. Article 60 of the Charter mandates the African Commission to draw inspiration from international law in its promotion and protection of human rights. Some scholars have argued that despite having minimal provisions on the rights of women, the Charter by inference imposes a duty on member States to abide by international human rights standards on women's rights. The Charter has been criticized by some for being unrealistic and overambitious, and for ignoring women's human rights, while others have praised it for protecting all human rights, both individual and collective.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Pathways to, conditions and consequences of incarceration for women 2013, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- Stigmatization, social alienation and feelings of shame and guilt may also contribute to hindering reintegration. Stigma and the loss of certain rights are a challenge to re-establishing relationships and social ties. Family and community support is critical to successful reintegration, and also to decreasing the chance of recidivism.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Pathways to, conditions and consequences of incarceration for women 2013, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Many countries hold women in pretrial detention for extremely long periods, and the number of female pretrial detainees is often equivalent to or larger than the number of convicted female prisoners. Pretrial detainees may have limited contact with other prisoners, fewer opportunities for health-care, vocational or job programmes, as well as restrictions on family contact.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 116d
- Paragraph text
- [In cases involving gender-related killings, the international and regional human rights systems have included some of the following standards regarding the due diligence obligations of States:] Ensure comprehensive reparations for women victims of violence and their relatives, including measures that are designed to address institutional and social factors;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 116c
- Paragraph text
- [In cases involving gender-related killings, the international and regional human rights systems have included some of the following standards regarding the due diligence obligations of States:] Include in the obligation of access to justice a requirement to treat women victims and their relatives with respect and dignity throughout the legal process;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- In some South Asian countries, a widespread practice is that of dowry-related murders. This term covers the deaths of young brides who are murdered, or driven to suicide by continuous harassment and torture perpetrated by the groom's family in an effort to extort dowry payment or an increased dowry of cash or goods. The most common manifestation of this practice is the burning of the bride. These incidents are often presented as, and accepted to be, accidents, such as death as a result of an "exploding stove".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Youth
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- United Nations treaty bodies have expressed concerns that honour-related crimes often go unreported, are rarely investigated and usually go unpunished, and that when they are punished the sentences are far less than those for equally violent crimes without the "honour" dimension. Reduced sentences are justified on the basis of the necessity of murdering such women, to defend the misconceived notion of family honour.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- Honour killings remain underreported and underdocumented globally. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has estimated that 5,000 women globally are murdered by family members each year in honour killings. With widespread urbanization, the proliferation of media and the changing roles of women, it has become difficult for such crimes to go unnoticed, and such killings are becoming more visible.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- A study in Zimbabwe found that of the 42 cases of femicide involving women older than 50, most of the women had been accused of witchcraft by male relatives prior to the killing. A study conducted in Ghana found that many poor, often elderly, women were accused of witchcraft and subsequently murdered by male relatives, or subjected to a range of physical, sexual and economic abuses.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- As with all forms of intimate-partner violence, intimate-partner femicide is likely to be significantly underreported. Studies have shown that in some countries between 40 and 70 per cent of female murder victims are killed by an intimate partner. In many countries the home is the place where a woman is most likely to be murdered, whereas men are more likely to be murdered in the street.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- In this report, the Special Rapporteur addresses the topic of gender-related killings of women whether they occur in the family or the community or are perpetrated or condoned by the State. Globally, the prevalence of different manifestations of such killings is increasing, and a lack of accountability for such crimes is the norm. Terms such as femicide, feminicide, honour killings and crimes of passion, among others, have been used to define such killings.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 106
- Paragraph text
- The use of inexact categories for the classification of murders, such as the category "others", results in misidentification, concealment and underreporting of femicides-in particular those that do not occur in a family situation. Another common practice is the use of stereotypical and potentially prejudicial categories, including "crime of passion" or "mistress".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Though disability laws may prohibit discrimination in social services, these laws do not always extend to child custody and protection proceedings. As a result, divorce proceedings and child custody hearings may focus on the mother's disability as opposed to her parenting behaviour, thereby implicitly equating parental disability with parental unfitness.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Many policies operate on the assumption that a disabling condition is pathological and a defect, and not a socially ascribed so-called deficit. The impact of such a perspective is clear: persons with disabilities are to be avoided and/or excluded, as opposed to accommodated and included in the community. According to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, accommodation, inclusion and support are the obligated responses to disability, including for families of persons with disabilities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- In addition, religious, traditional and cultural practices are sometimes instrumentalized both to justify and to perpetrate discrimination and violence against women. Moreover, the prerogatives of patriarchy often include perpetrating violence against women in contexts including in family settings and war situations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Social structures (family forms, formal and informal institutions, religious and societal beliefs) also generate the inequitable valuing of men over women, and promote male dominance over females. Often these values are reproduced from one generation to the next.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- It has been acknowledged that violence results from a complex interplay of individual, family, community and social factors, and that, even though all women are at risk of violence in every society in the world, not all women are equally vulnerable to acts and structures of violence. Representing both the universality and the particularity of women's risk of violence requires the social location and bodily attributes of individuals and groups to be explicitly accounted for.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Reparations to women who have been subjected to violence 2010, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- There is a broader question regarding the concept of family that is embraced in reparations programmes. In this regard, polygamous unions, de facto unions, same-sex unions and more extensive culturally contingent support mechanisms, should be adequately represented to reflect the real web of dependencies and the harms entailed by their disruption.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Reparations to women who have been subjected to violence 2010, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- Judicial arenas for obtaining reparations are, however, riddled with difficulties. Procedural obstacles that victims of sexual violence have traditionally encountered in the judicial arena can amount to an experience of re-victimization, exposing women not only to psychological harm but also to reprisal, stigma and communal and family ostracism. Crucial here are both the evidentiary standards relied upon and the degree of confidentiality upheld during the reparations process.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Reparations to women who have been subjected to violence 2010, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- The Basic Guidelines and Principles affirm that the modality of reparation must be proportional to the gravity of the violation and can include the following forms: restitution, as those measures to restore the victim to his/her original situation before the violation, including restoration of liberty, enjoyment of human rights, identity, family life and citizenship, return to one's place of residence, restoration of employment and return of property; compensation for any economically assessable damage, as appropriate and proportional to the gravity of the violation including physical or mental harm, lost opportunities including employment, education and social benefits, and material and moral damages; measures of rehabilitation, including medical and psychological care as well as legal and social services; measures of satisfaction including, among others, the verification of the facts and full and public disclosure of the truth, the search for the whereabouts of the disappeared, public apologies, judicial and administrative sanctions against persons liable for the violations, commemorations and tributes to the victims; and guarantees of non-repetition, including measures which contribute to prevention such as ensuring effective civilian control of military and security forces, protecting human rights defenders, providing human rights education and reviewing and reforming laws contributing to or allowing gross violations of international human rights law.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- In addition, several organizations highlighted that there was a normative gap at the international level and persistent obstacles to the protection of women subjected to gender-based violence, for example the normalization of sexual violence against women or an emphasis on preserving marriages and family rather than addressing men’s impunity for family violence. Concern was expressed about the spiral of fundamentalism and extremism that was currently contributing to exacerbating violence against women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph