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Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur highlights that, apart from the Committee, a variety of international and regional human rights bodies and independent experts are working on the issue of violence against women. These bodies have all developed a rich jurisprudence, general comments and recommendations relating to the right of women and girls not to be subjected to violence, which in certain circumstances may amount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, denial of the right to health and other human rights. There are regional treaties and treaty bodies looking specifically at gender-based violence in Africa, the Americas and Europe. There are also independent experts in Africa and the Americas. However, these instruments need more incorporation and implementation, including through sustained funding of expert monitoring mechanisms to carry out their work, to facilitate coordination and to share best practices, information and insights. This urgency to support existing good work is even more compelling given the high priority dedicated to the eradication of violence against women in the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women: Twenty years of developments to combat violence against women 2014, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- One of the five priority areas of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) is ending violence against women. The efforts of UN-Women in this regard include standard setting, technical assistance, financial assistance, education, advocacy, data collection and coordination. The entity supports Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programmes and services needed to implement these standards, including in developing and implementing national action plans to end violence against women. UN-Women also participates in a number of joint programmes with partner agencies at the country level and coordinates the Secretary-General's UNiTE campaign and the COMMIT initiative. The Inventory of United Nations activities to prevent and eliminate violence against women describes the efforts of 38 United Nations entities, the International Organization for Migration and six inter-agency partnerships. UN-Women has also developed the Virtual Knowledge Centre to End Violence against Women and Girls, an online resource centre.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women as a barrier to the effective realization of all human rights 2014, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- A more recent challenge is the creation of hierarchies of violence against women, especially through political and funding actions. This is particularly evident in the articulation of sexual violence in conflict situations as being different and exceptional, as opposed to its being a continuation of a pattern of discrimination and violence that is exacerbated in times of conflict - as reflected in recent armed conflict situations. The prioritizing of this manifestation of violence has led to numerous concerns, including a shift away from an understanding of violence against women as both gendered and part of a continuum of violence; a shift in resources, in some instances, despite the need to address all manifestations of violence, including at the national level; a shift in focus by some United Nations entities; and the effect of donor-driven priorities in this process. The view of many women's rights defenders is that these shifts have led to focusing on the manifestation of violence against women in conflict situations, to the detriment and ignoring of the low-level "warfare" that women and girls experience in their homes and communities on a daily basis.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- The above-mentioned developments have been relied on by the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council to pass resolutions that focus particular attention on violence against women and girls. For example, both the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council have identified inter-gender inequality and discrimination, including gender-based violence, as violating the human rights of women and girls. Over time, the language of these resolutions has evolved to reflect the heightened risk of gender-based violence to women suffering intersectional discrimination. As analyzed within the United Nations human rights framework, "power imbalances and structural inequality between men and women are among the root causes of violence against women." This makes violence against women a matter of inter-gender inequality between women and men. In addition, various resolutions have acknowledged that discrimination is understood as having multiple forms that combine to heighten the vulnerability of some women and girls to violence. This reflects an understanding that discrimination and violence against women is also a matter of intra-gender inequality among women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision-setting report 2016, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development comprises 17 transformative Sustainable Development Goals aimed at the realization of the human rights of all, including the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. Goal 5, and in particular its targets 5.2, focuses on the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation, while target 5.3 focuses on the elimination of all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation While it is remarkable that, For the first time, the elimination of violence against women is included as a target for the achievement of sustainable goals, violence against women is also an issue addressed in Goal 11, on safe spaces, and Goal 16, relating to peace and security. It is also a barrier to achieving other gender-related goals, such as those on health, education, reducing poverty in all its forms, and sustainable growth. For the first time, a global gendered framework for development has been adopted that is inclusive and builds upon human rights instruments, all relevant world conferences, such as the four World Conferences on Women. The implementation of all 17 goals also requires systematic gender mainstreaming in all targets and indicators.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- 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. 66
- Paragraph text
- The concerns raised more than 20 years ago and further highlighted by the Special Rapporteur in her reports reinforce the view that it is time to consider the development and adoption of a binding international instrument on violence against women and girls. Such an instrument should ensure that States are held accountable to standards that are legally binding, provide a clear normative framework for the protection of women and girls globally and have a specific monitoring body to substantively provide in-depth analysis of both general and country-level developments. With a legally binding instrument, a protective, preventive and educative framework could be established to reaffirm the commitment of the international community to its articulation that women's rights are human rights and that violence against women is 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
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women: Twenty years of developments to combat violence against women 2014, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- A more recent challenge is the creation of hierarchies of violence against women, especially through political and funding actions. This is particularly evident in the articulation of sexual violence in conflict situations as being different and exceptional, as opposed to it being a continuation of a pattern of discrimination and violence that is exacerbated in times of conflict - as reflected in recent armed conflict situations. The prioritizing of this manifestation of violence has led to numerous concerns, including a shift away from an understanding of violence against women as both gendered and as part of a continuum of violence; a shift in resources, in some instances, despite the need to address all manifestations of violence, including at the national level; a shift in focus by some United Nations entities; and the effect of donor-driven priorities in this process. The views of many women's rights defenders is that these shifts have led to "privileging" the manifestation of violence against women in conflict situations, to the detriment and ignoring of the low-level "warfare" that women and girls experience in their homes and communities on a daily basis.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women: Twenty years of developments to combat violence against women 2014, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Several General Assembly resolutions on women address the issue of violence against women migrant workers; trafficking; traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls; crimes committed against women in the name of honour; rape and other forms of sexual violence, including in conflict and related situations; women, disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control; female genital mutilation; gender-related killings of women; and protection for human rights defenders. These resolutions reiterate normative developments relating to the recognition of violence against women as a human rights violation; States' due diligence obligation to end impunity; and the introduction of the concepts of intersectionality and a multisectoral approach to violence against women. Other resolutions on women concern, inter alia, the designation of 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women; crime prevention and criminal justice measures to eliminate violence against women; and the annual reporting obligation of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, which includes the requirement to submit a written report annually to the Assembly.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Pathways to, conditions and consequences of incarceration for women 2013, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- Women and girls who are coerced and become victims of sex trafficking have also been incarcerated in numerous countries for crimes such as prostitution. They are frequently prosecuted because States have inadequate or no formal procedures for identifying such victims.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- During armed conflict, women experience all forms of physical, sexual and psychological violence, perpetrated by both State and non-State actors, including unlawful killings. Such violence is often used as a weapon of war, to punish or dehumanize women and girls, and to persecute the community to which they belong.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- In addition, the Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur on the right to education dedicated his 2007 thematic report to the issue of the right of persons with disabilities to inclusive education (A/HRC/4/29, paras. 8 and 76). He found that literacy rates for women and girls with disabilities were significantly lower than for men and boys, and that women and girls were generally subjected to more discrimination. Similarly, in his 2005 thematic report, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, focused on the right to health of persons with mental disabilities (E/CN.4/2005/51, paras. 12 and 49) and found that women with intellectual disabilities were especially vulnerable to forced sterilization and sexual violence. He advocated for measures to protect them from violence and other right to health-related abuses, whether occurring in private health-care or support services. Finally, the Special Rapporteur to monitor the implementation of the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities reports annually to the Commission for Social Development and has mainstreamed the issue of women and disabilities in his reports (see E/CN.5/2011/9).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- 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. 35
- Paragraph text
- Sexual harassment at school and at the workplace is acknowledged as a pervasive manifestation of violence. In El Salvador, the Special Rapporteur heard testimonies of the working conditions of young women working in the maquila plants, where they were subjected to verbal and physical abuse by supervisors, sexual harassment, and mandatory pregnancy tests. Sexual harassment in educational and training institutions in Algeria was pervasive and underreported at the time of the visit of the Special Rapporteur, despite commendable steps by the authorities to criminalize sexual harassment based on abuse of authority. The visit to the United States revealed the particular vulnerability of undocumented immigrant women to violence, including sexual harassment and abuse, in the workplace. Sexual and physical violence against girls in educational establishments perpetrated by male school staff and school boys remains problematic, as reported during the visit of the Special Rapporteur in Zambia. Long distances from home to school also increased risk of harassment, with girls reportedly having sexual relationships with minibus and taxi drivers as a way of coping with transportation costs.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2011
- 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. 86
- Paragraph text
- A one-size-fits-all programmatic approach is insufficient for combating gender-based violence. Violence results from a complex interplay of individual, family, community and social factors - and, even though all women are at risk for violence in every society in the world, not all women are equally vulnerable to acts and structures of violence. A holistic approach for the elimination of all forms of violence against all women requires addressing systematic discrimination and marginalization through the adoption of measures that address inequality and discrimination among women, and between women and men. The United Nations human rights treaties, declarations and mechanisms provide the institutional framework within which Governments, non-State actors, and local activists can promote a holistic response to identifying, preventing, and ultimately ending, all forms of violence against women. The fight for the human rights of women remains a collective endeavour in which we should jointly take action to ensure their full enjoyment by every woman and girl worldwide.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- The Secretary-General could be asked to convene a high-level panel on intensifying efforts to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence, especially violence and discrimination against indigenous women and girls. States could increase regional monitoring and interregional cooperation; the Great Lakes treaty processes have been praised in that regard.
- 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
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- As previously highlighted, many civil society organizations stated that particular importance should also be given to improving implementation strategies and monitoring regimes: there should be a monitoring of State practice in implementing the principles on violence against women as a human rights issue (prevention, prosecution, protection and policy). This monitoring could be carried out by independent organizations engaging with an international treaty body. A treaty could also require States parties to create or nominate a national independent monitoring body on violence against women, which would include frameworks for respective responsibilities in federal States with sufficient resources and the ability to adjudicate cases of violence against women and girls. The treaty could establish a new global gender observatory or international watch centre. It should include a requirement for States to accept more country visits as part of monitoring, as well as ensure consultation with survivors as part of the reporting process and monitoring. Furthermore, more importance should be given to ensuring improved data collection and including a requirement for States to disseminate reports. According to some civil society organizations, any new treaty body should have the power to make general recommendations.
- 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
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision-setting report 2016, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- At the Special General Assembly of the Kigali International Conference Declaration, on the role of security organs in ending violence against women and girls (see para. 19 above), 12 Member States signed the Declaration following the high-level international conference on the same topic, which was held in Kigali in 2010. Since then, 43 States have taken part in activities to implement the Declaration, which includes a commitment "to recruit and promote more women officers at all echelons of the security organs".
- 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
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision-setting report 2016, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur recalls General Assembly resolution 70/176 on action against gender-related killing of women and girls, in which the Assembly encouraged Member States to collect, disaggregate, analyse and report data on gender-related killing of women and girls and to ensure that appropriate punishment for perpetrators of gender-related killings of women and girls are in place and are proportionate to the gravity of the offence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision-setting report 2016, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- In her report on gender-related killing of women and girls: promising practices, challenges and practical recommendations (A/HRC/20/16), the previous mandate holder noted different manifestations of gender-related killings of women, including as a result of intimate-partner violence, following accusations of sorcery or witchcraft, in the name of "honour", in the context of armed conflict, dowry-related killings of women, and killings of aboriginal and indigenous women, among others.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- 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
Vision-setting report 2016, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- At the sixtieth session of the Commission on the Status of Women, the Special Rapporteur called upon all Members States and other stakeholders to send her their views and proposals on any actions needed to improve the current framework addressing violence against women and girls, and also to consider the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and its call for the development of specific guidelines for its more effective implementation.
- 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
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision-setting report 2016, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- In 2003, the Committee, pursuant to article 8 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention, undertook an inquiry into the abduction, rape and murder of women in and around Ciudad Juarez, State of Chihuahua, Mexico, and recommended that the Government investigate thoroughly and punish the negligence and complicity of public authorities in, the disappearances and murders of women. In 2012, the Committee conducted an inquiry with regard to the Philippines on the implementation of an order issued by the Mayor of the City of Manila on 29 February 2000, on the provision of sexual and reproductive health rights, services and commodities in the City of Manila. The Committee recommended that the State party ensure the immediate implementation of the Reproductive Health Act (adopted on 21 December 2012) and its Implementing Rules and Regulations, including provisions that guaranteed universal access to the full range of reproductive health services and information for women (CEDAW/C/OP.8/PHL/1, para. 51 (b)). In 2013, the Committee conducted an inquiry on Canada, based on allegations of severe of violence, including disappearances and murder, suffered by aboriginal women and girls. The Committee recommended that the State ensure that all cases of missing and murdered women were duly investigated and prosecuted (CEDAW/C/OP.8/CAN/1, para. 217 (a)). These examples show how jurisprudence can be an important tool for transformative change.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Modalities for the establishment of femicides/gender-related killings watch 2016, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- In 2013, the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice initiated a resolution on the gender-related killing of women that was adopted by the General Assembly (resolution 68/191). For the first time, this issue was placed at the highest level of the international political agenda. It its resolution, the Assembly expressed its deep concern for the alarming proportion of different manifestations of the gender-related killing of women and girls and for their high level of impunity and called for renewed action. It urged Member States to exercise due diligence to prevent and investigate acts of violence against women and eliminate impunity. Recognizing the key role of the criminal justice system in preventing and responding to the gender-related killing of women and girls, the Assembly also invited Member States to strengthen their criminal justice response. Furthermore, it requested the Secretary-General to convene an open-ended intergovernmental expert group meeting to discuss ways and means to more effectively prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish the gender-related killing of women and girls, with a view to making practical recommendations, drawing on current best practices. That expert group meeting, held in Bangkok in November 2014, resulted in a set of recommendations on practical steps against the gender-related killing of women (see UNODC/CCPCJ/EG.8/2014/2), to which the Special Rapporteur provided input.
- 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
- 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. 14
- Paragraph text
- The Protocol includes provisions on violence against women, based largely on the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, but with additions that are both context-specific and progressive. Article 1 of the Protocol provides a broad definition of violence against women, which includes explicit reference to the deprivation of fundamental freedoms in private or public life, and defines harmful practices as all behaviour, attitudes and/or practices which negatively affect the fundamental rights of women and girls, such as their right to life, health, dignity, education and physical integrity. Article 4 is comprehensive with regard to the legal and non-legal measures to be taken by member States in addressing violence against women, including the enactment of specific legislation; the imposition of appropriate sanctions/punishment when violence occurs; the provision of adequate budgetary resources; the adoption of public education and awareness-raising measures, including to address negative elements in attitudes, traditions and culture in order to eliminate harmful cultural and traditional practices; and the provision of relevant services, including justice, health care and shelters.
- 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
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- 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. 64
- Paragraph text
- The concerns raised more than 20 years ago, prior to the development and adoption of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, and highlighted by the mandate of the Special Rapporteur over the past 20 years, reinforce the view that it is time to consider the development and adoption of a United Nations binding international instrument on violence against women and girls, with its own dedicated monitoring body. Such an instrument should ensure that States are held accountable to standards that are legally binding, it should provide a clear normative framework for the protection of women and girls globally and should have a specific monitoring body to substantively provide in-depth analysis of both general and country-level developments. With a legally binding instrument, a protective, preventive and educative framework could be established to reaffirm the commitment of the international community to its articulation that women's rights are human rights, and that violence against women is 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
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- 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. 15
- Paragraph text
- The Protocol includes provisions on violence against women, based largely on the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, but with additions that are both context specific and progressive. Article 1 of the Protocol provides a broad definition of violence against women, which includes explicit reference to the deprivation of fundamental freedoms in private or public life, and defines harmful practices as all behaviour, attitudes and/or practices which negatively affect the fundamental rights of women and girls, such as their right to life, health, dignity, education and physical integrity. Article 4 is comprehensive with regard to the legal and non-legal measures to be taken by member States in addressing violence against women, including the enactment of specific legislation; the imposition of appropriate sanctions/punishment when violence occurs; the provision of adequate budgetary resources; the adoption of public education and awareness-raising measures, including to address negative elements in attitudes, traditions and culture in order to eliminate harmful cultural and traditional practices; and the provision of relevant services, including justice, health care and shelters.
- 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
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women: Twenty years of developments to combat violence against women 2014, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- In their resolutions on violence against women, several United Nations bodies call upon States to exercise due diligence to prevent and investigate acts of violence against women and girls and to punish the perpetrators. States are broadly called upon to develop civil and criminal measures to address offender accountability; to ensure victim safety; and to provide redress and justice measures that victims can access effectively.
- 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
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women: Twenty years of developments to combat violence against women 2014, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- The United Nations explicitly recognized violence against women as a human rights violation at the World Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna in 1993. The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted by the Conference, noted that "the human rights of women and of the girl-child are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights". Emphasizing that the elimination of violence against women in all areas of life, both public and private, was central to the attainment of women's human rights, the Conference called on governments and the United Nations to take the steps necessary for the realization of this goal, including by integrating the human rights of women "into the mainstream of United Nations system-wide activity", through the activities of the treaty bodies and relevant mechanisms, including the promotion of how to make effective use of existing procedures, and the adoption of new procedures to "strengthen implementation of the commitment to women's equality and the human rights of women." Furthermore, in 1993, the General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (resolution 48/104), as recommended by the Economic and Social Council, and in 1994, the Commission on Human Rights adopted resolution 1994/45, establishing the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women as a barrier to the effective realization of all human rights 2014, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- The concerns raised prior to the development and adoption of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, and subsequently reinforced by the work of the mandate holder over the past 20 years, give rise to the view that it is time for the international community to consider the adoption of a binding international convention or protocol on violence against women and girls, which should include a separate monitoring body. An international convention on the elimination of violence against women or an optional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women would ensure that States are held accountable to standards that are legally binding and that provide a clear normative framework for the protection of women and girls globally, one which would have a specific monitoring body to substantively provide in-depth analysis of both general and country-level developments. A legally binding international instrument would provide a function that is protective and preventative, as well as educative. Recognition that women's rights are human rights and that violence against women is a human rights violation demands this measure of commitment.
- 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
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
State responsibility for eliminating violence against women 2013, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- In 2010, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (now integrated into the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women)) produced the National Accountability Framework to End Violence against Women and Girls as a tool to assist Member States in their national-level efforts at monitoring laws, policies and programmes. This framework draws on and expands on many of the issues raised in the 1999 report of the first Special Rapporteur on violence against women. It includes a checklist of key elements for promoting national accountability to end violence against women. The 10 broad questions are: (a) Are various forms of violence against women and girls addressed? (b) Are data collection, analysis and dissemination systems in place? (c) Do policies and programmes reflect a holistic, multisectoral approach? (d) Are emergency "Frontline Services" available and accessible? (e) Is national legislation adequate and aligned with human rights standards? (f) Do decrees, regulations and protocols establish responsibilities and standards? (g) Is there a National Action Plan and are key policies in place and under way? (h) Are sufficient resources regularly provided to enforce laws and implement programmes? (i) Are efforts focused on women's empowerment and community mobilization? (j) Are monitoring and accountability systems functional and participatory?
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
State responsibility for eliminating violence against women 2013, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- The previous mandate holder also highlighted the lack of State accountability for social structural deficiencies, such as ongoing gender discrimination, that create environments that are conducive to acts of violence against women. This theme was addressed in more detail by the current mandate holder in the 2011 report on multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination that contribute to and exacerbate violence against women (A/HRC/17/26). In that report the Special Rapporteur argues that while laws, policies and resources are crucial to address effectively violence against women and girls, efforts must be coupled with renewed will and actions to combat the structural and systemic challenges which are a cause and consequence of such violence. Also, in order to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls, such violence has to be understood as an element which affects women through their life cycle and is underpinned by a complex interplay of individual, family, community, economic and social factors. This requires recognizing that State responsibility to act with due diligence is both a systemic-level responsibility, i.e. the responsibility of States to create good and effective systems and structures that address the root causes and consequences of violence against women; and also an individual-level responsibility, i.e., the responsibility of States to provide each victim with effective measures of prevention, protection, punishment and reparation.
- 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
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 78
- Paragraph text
- Female infanticide has been practiced throughout history, on all continents, and by persons from all backgrounds. It remains a critical concern in a number of countries today. It is closely linked to the phenomenon of sex-selective abortion, which targets female foetuses. Female infanticide has been known to take such forms as the induced death of infants by suffocation, drowning, neglect and exposure to danger or other means.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Infants
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- The killing of women accused of sorcery/witchcraft has been reported as a significant phenomenon in countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands. The pattern of violations includes violent murders, physical mutilation, displacement, kidnapping and disappearances of girls and women. In many countries where women are accused of sorcery/witchcraft, they are also subjected to exorcism ceremonies involving public beating and abuse by shamans or village elders.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- In its resolution 17/11, the Human Rights Council requested OHCHR to prepare a thematic analytical study on the issue of violence against women and girls and disability in consultation, inter alia, with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences. The resulting report (A/HRC/20/5 and Corr.1) was based on the submissions received from Member States, United Nations agencies and programmes, national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations.
- 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
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 91
- Paragraph text
- The right to an education also includes the right to a quality education. The substance of the education is as crucial as access to it. Low quality education, which disproportionately affects the world's women and girls, does not seek to uplift women and girls, but rather further entrenches them in disadvantaged situations. Quality education should include anti-violence and anti-gender stereotyping as part of the curriculum.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 90
- Paragraph text
- Women have been disproportionately impacted by a lack of educational opportunities. Having a basic education and being literate improves a woman's opportunities for preventing and removing violence from her life, and this is especially true for women who experience multiple forms of discrimination. When women and girls are able to exercise their right to an education and livelihood, they will enjoy a high level of security in their social lives and financial well-being.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- In order to flee violent situations, women and girls must have the right to adequate housing enforced. Adequate housing refers not only to sufficient housing options, but also to secure ones. Lack of access to and availability of housing options for women seeking security puts women's lives at risk. Furthermore, housing in areas where violence is rampant jeopardizes the lives of women and their families.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- Starvation in a world in which food is plentiful is a form of violence inflicted on the body - both physically and mentally. Many studies recognize the discrimination inherent in starvation, which affects the world's women and girls at a disproportionately higher level than men and boys. The human right to food still faces important challenges, as starvation continues to exist throughout the world.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Building on the Vienna Declaration and its framework, both the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing (1995) and the Third World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in Durban (2001) addressed the multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination that cause intra-gender and intra-racial inequalities respectively. The Fourth World Conference on Women recognized the particular vulnerability to violence of "women belonging to minority groups, indigenous women, refugee women, women migrants, including women migrant workers, women in poverty living in rural or remote communities, destitute women, women in institutions or in detention, female children, women with disabilities, elderly women, displaced women, repatriated women, women living in poverty and women in situations of armed conflict, foreign occupation, wars of aggression, civil wars, terrorism, including hostage-taking." The World Conference against Racism included gender and racial discrimination among its five areas of focus. The Durban Declaration expressed the view "that racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance reveal themselves in a differentiated manner for women and girls, and can be among the factors leading to a deterioration in their living conditions, poverty, violence, multiple forms of discrimination, and the limitation or denial of their human rights."
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- 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. 66
- Paragraph text
- The lack of sufficient specialized shelters for women and girls victims of violence contributes to their invisibility and silencing. Even when government-run shelters are available, the Special Rapporteur has noted in most of her country missions the crucial role played by non-governmental organizations in managing shelter facilities and offering psychological, medical and legal assistance to women victims of violence. Whether privately funded or receiving governmental grants, these centres are usually insufficient in number, lack human and material resources, and are commonly concentrated in areas that are not accessible to all women. While commending the work of civil society organizations, the Special Rapporteur has noted that the due diligence obligation to protect women from violence rests primarily upon the State and its agents. It is therefore the responsibility of States to ensure accessibility and availability of effective protection and support services to victims of domestic violence. Further, the Special Rapporteur has raised concern at the lack of policy guidelines across health, psychosocial and legal sectors ensuring coordinated, prompt and supportive services to victims.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- 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. 45
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur's visits to El Salvador, Kyrgyzstan and Zambia - all three source, transit and destination countries for human trafficking - indicated strong commonalities with regard to trafficking of women and children. In Kyrgyzstan, trafficking of women and children became increasingly common during the country's transition period and continues to be a problem. While there are no reliable statistical data with respect to the prevalence of trafficking, a Government report noted that 98 per cent of trafficking victims are women and girls between 15 and 30 years of age. Offers of false employment in urban areas lure young women and girls from rural areas to move to cities, or abroad, where they are forced into sexual exploitation. One young woman interviewed during the visit, who had come to Bishkek to seek employment, was lured to a house in the outskirts of the city where she was locked up for months and forced to have sex with clients. Due to fear of retaliation, she had not reported the case to the police and was even afraid to walk the streets. Similarly, in El Salvador the Special Rapporteur found that the majority of victims of trafficking were women and girls transferred from rural to urban areas in the country. Insufficient measures to ensure victim and witness protection, lack of support services and ineffective responses by law enforcement officials contributed to underreporting of the phenomenon.
- 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
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2011
- 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. 30
- Paragraph text
- Closely tied to domestic violence, practices that are harmful and degrading undermine the rights and status of women and girls and continue without systematic monitoring or punishment, despite the increasing existence of legal prohibitions. In some countries, early and forced marriage, polygamy and unregistered marriages continue to be of concern. The mandate considers these practices "aggravated factors" that increase vulnerability of women to violence. In Kyrgyzstan, the Special Rapporteur found correlation between early marriages (12.2 per cent of women) and unregistered marriages, on the one hand, and rising unemployment and feminization of poverty and the resurfacing of patriarchal traditions and religious conservatism, on the other. Early marriage contributes to high maternal mortality rates due to prolonged labour and other complications. Similarly, women living in unregistered marriages in Algeria experienced heightened vulnerability to violence and abuse and were reported to have difficulties in ending abusive relationships due to lack of support, alternative housing and legal protection. Despite legal restrictions in regard to polygamy, the Special Rapporteur heard accounts from women who were subjected to violence or threats of violence by husbands who wished to obtain consent to a polygamous marriage.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women as a barrier to the effective realization of all human rights 2014, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- Millennium Development Goal 6 commits Governments to combating HIV/AIDS, but exposure to HIV is positively correlated with gender-based violence and poverty. For example in Sub-Saharan Africa, women in the 19-24 age group are twice as likely to be infected as men, owing to sexual violence and related inequality in decision-making and autonomy. Rates of girls being infected have also increased owing to sexual assaults related to myths about preventing the transmission of HIV or curing AIDS.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Health
- Poverty
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women as a barrier to the effective realization of all human rights 2014, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- Violence against women also works against the achievement of development goals such as education, the focus of Millennium Development Goal 3. The fact that 60 million girls worldwide are assaulted while travelling to and from school prevents many girls from completing their education. Many adolescent girls are also forced to withdraw from school owing to marriage and school-related violence, while sexual violence increases the dropout rates of girls and undermines educational achievement.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Pathways to, conditions and consequences of incarceration for women 2013, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- A communication sent to the Government of Brazil addressed the case of a 15 year-old girl who was accused of petty theft and placed in a police cell with approximately 20 male prisoners, where she was raped by several of the men (A/HRC/11/6/Add.1). An urgent appeal was sent to the Government of Kyrgyzstan regarding the multiple rape of a detainee in police detention, the subsequent threats and assaults against her and the lack of attention to her allegations by the court (A/HRC/11/6/Add.1).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- In his report on working towards the elimination of crimes against women committed in the name of honour, the Secretary-General presented a series of recommendations in relation to the criminalization of such acts, and noted that those deliberately participating in, facilitating, encouraging or threatening women and girls in the name of honour should be punished. He also noted that "in countries with immigrant communities, protection should be given to victims and potential victims in connection with asylum and immigration procedures".
- 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
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- General comment No. 5 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights formulates obligations of States to ensure equal rights and to eliminate discrimination against persons with disabilities in numerous areas. Significantly, the Committee articulated a connection between non-discrimination and the duty to provide reasonable accommodation. Furthermore, the Committee has stated that forced sterilization of women and girls with disabilities breaches article 10 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural 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
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Reparations to women who have been subjected to violence 2010, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- Women and girls are victimized under authoritarian regimes and during violent conflict in multiple ways. They suffer from operations randomly or strategically targeting and terrorizing the civilian population, but also from summary and extrajudicial executions, imprisonment, torture, rape and sexual mutilations for fighting in resistance movements, engaging in the search for and defence of their loved ones or for coming from communities suspected of collaboration. Women and children represent the majority of the forcefully displaced in internal and international armed conflicts. Women can suffer the consequences of violent actions that target "their" men (husbands, sons, brothers, etc.), for example, when they become the sole breadwinners and protectors of their families. Some forms of violence that women are subject to are similar to those suffered by men; others are more specific to women and girls, subjecting them to systematic patterns of sexual or reproductive violence or to different forms of domestic enslavement. In some settings, certain crimes tend to be perpetrated mostly by State forces while others are used mostly by non-State armed groups or self-defence groups as tools to recruit and instrumentalize women. More importantly, even when women are subjected to the same violations as men, their pre-existing socio-economic and legal status and the cultural meanings surrounding the construction of the male and the female in patriarchal societies may cause different ensuing harms for men and women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 91
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur supports the interpretation of violence against women as a form of discrimination against women and girls and a human rights violation. Therefore, the option of creating a separate treaty would expose the existing legal framework under the Convention on violence against women to the risk of isolating provisions aimed at addressing gender-based violence against women from the structural causes of discrimination against women.
- 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
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Reparations to women who have been subjected to violence 2010, para. 83
- Paragraph text
- Reparation measures should not concentrate on the fairly limited and traditionally conceived catalogue of violations of civil and political rights, but instead should include the worst forms of crimes or violations targeting women and girls. It must additionally be acknowledged that the same violations may entail different harms for men and women, but also for women and girls and women from specific groups, and that violations may be perpetrated with the complicity of non-State actors.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 96f
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur makes the following specific recommendations:] States should repeal all provisions and procedures that are discriminatory against women and girls, and that thereby facilitate and allow for the toleration of any form of gender-based violence against them, including legislation justifying harmful practices against women, but also abrogate or modify those gender-neutral laws and policies which may prevent women and girls from fully enjoying their human rights in both the private and public spheres;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- The universal and overall acceptance, incorporation and implementation by States of international and regional instruments are vital steps to consolidate national legal frameworks addressing the elimination of violence against women. This includes not only the ratification of the main international and regional conventions on gender-based violence against women, but also the elimination of all those discriminatory laws and harmful practices which prevent the full enjoyment by women and girls of their human rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision-setting report 2016, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- While the use of information and communications technology has contributed to the empowerment of women and girls, its use has also generated online violence. In the view of the Special Rapporteur, there is a need to examine this recent phenomenon, and the applicability of national laws to it, and to make recommendations for States and non-State actors to fight online violence against women and girls while respecting freedom of expression and the prohibition of incitement to violence and hatred, in accordance with article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision-setting report 2016, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- In the view of the Special Rapporteur, the involvement of security organs, including those in peacekeeping operations, and the police in combating violence against women and girls is extremely important. Security organs are the first respondents in cases of violence, and have a key role to play in prevention, the prosecution of perpetrators and the protection of women survivors of violence. The goals attained and the challenges encountered in the implementation of the Kigali Declaration could be used as good practices for the formulation of a global code of conduct for police forces.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision-setting report 2016, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- In times of peace, violence is committed in both the public and the private spheres, including in the family, the community, in State institutions and at the transnational level. Such violence is more common where patriarchal gender norms are entrenched, and where social and cultural norms contribute to the acceptance of violence against women and girls, or where there are formal or discriminatory provisions in domestic legislation relating to sex and gender, and no specific measures to address or prevent violence against women. The mandate holder also notes the severe underreporting of sexual violence, and consequently the lack of prosecution of perpetrators. Conflict and post-conflict situations often exacerbate existing forms of discrimination, or generate new forms of violence against women who are already in a vulnerable situation, such as rape by State or non-State actors, maiming, sexual mutilation, abduction, forced marriages to armed fighters (enslavement), torture and other forms of inhuman, cruel or degrading treatment of punishment. The prevention of such violence must be placed within the broader context of the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women. Under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, States are responsible for preventing acts of violence by State actors, and also to exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and, in accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence against women perpetrated by non-State actors.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Modalities for the establishment of femicides/gender-related killings watch 2016, para. 83f
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur recommends the following modalities for the establishment of a national femicide watch and/or observatories on violence against women:] The mandate of femicide watch panels or observatories on violence against women would include systematic analyses of all cases of femicide, including court cases, with the aim of determining gaps in the response system to such violence, the criminal justice system and judicial procedures and of establishing risk factors to prevent such violence and to protect women and girls from femicide;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision-setting report 2016, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- The large-scale phenomenon of female migration has yet to be adequately addressed in migration policies with the full recognition of the gender-specific challenges and risks that migrating and refugee women and girls face. The Special Rapporteur stands ready to assist in the development of necessary guidance for States in this field.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision-setting report 2016, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur notes that there is a lack of data on such human rights violations, a fact that prevents authorities from taking the necessary measures to ensure the safety of these women and girls. She intends to assist in the development of the necessary guidance for States in this field.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision-setting report 2016, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- Women and girls fleeing conflicts and persecution face various forms of gender-based violence and cases of multiple discrimination, particularly when they travel alone. These women and girls are vulnerable at all stages of their journey; in the countries of origin, of transit and of destination.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision-setting report 2016, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- The mandate holder intends to explore the possibility of formulating a global code of conduct for security officers required to address cases of violence against women and girls, which could possibly be extended to other service providers, such as social workers and health providers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Modalities for the establishment of femicides/gender-related killings watch 2016, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Target 5.1, on ending all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere, is also extremely relevant for violence against women in the light of the intrinsic connection between it and structural discrimination and inequality.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur on violence against women has raised concerns about the phenomenon of self-immolation, reported in Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran, whereby women and girls attempt suicide by setting themselves on fire because they feel they are "dishonouring" the family.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Another key aspect was secondary protection for women and girls after violence had taken place to avoid further violence and secondary victimization. In that regard, there should be accessible shelters and durable housing solutions, especially for indigenous women and women in rural areas. In addition, the reception of refugee and migrant women needed to be in facilities which were safe (where they would not be mixed with men and therefore in danger).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Modalities for the establishment of femicides/gender-related killings watch 2016, para. 78
- Paragraph text
- The third level of responsibility is to empower women and girls by taking measures to ensure the full development and advancement of all women, in particular in the political, economic and cultural fields.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Modalities for the establishment of femicides/gender-related killings watch 2016, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur notes that other categories with regard to the victim that would be valuable to track for such initiatives would be whether she was a woman human rights defender, whether she was homeless, her sexual orientation, whether she was an indigenous woman or girl and the mental health of the perpetrator (e.g., depression or threats to commit suicide).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women: Twenty years of developments to combat violence against women 2014, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- The Commission extended the mandate for an additional three years in its resolution 1997/44, recalling the provisions of resolution 1994/45, and requesting all Governments to respond to the Special Rapporteur's visits and communications. The Commission also encouraged the Special Rapporteur to examine and compile information relating to the issue of trafficking of women and girls.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women: Twenty years of developments to combat violence against women 2014, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- The 1998 and 2013 conclusions also place greater emphasis on the collection of data so as to inform the development, revision and implementation of laws, policies and strategies. The 2013 conclusions address the critical area of improving the evidence base, through multidisciplinary research and analysis on the structural and underlying causes of, the cost of and risk factors for, violence against women and girls.
- 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
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women: Twenty years of developments to combat violence against women 2014, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- The CSW has focused on the issue of violence against women and/or girls as a priority theme on three occasions: the theme of gender-based persecution was the focus of its forty-second session, in 1998; the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child was addressed at its fifty-first session, in 2007; and the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls was considered at its fifty-seventh session, in 2013.
- 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
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 82
- Paragraph text
- As regards the trafficking of women and girls with disabilities, two provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities can be considered applicable, although they do not directly refer to the issue. Article 16 and article 27, on work and employment, can be interpreted to apply to situations of trafficking. Article 6 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women addresses the suppression of trafficking and exploitation of women in general.
- 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
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 89
- Paragraph text
- Equal access to education, gender-sensitive curricula and a safe environment as women and girls pursue their education, are all critical aspects regarding education. The right to an education covers more than attending school: it includes the right to travel safely to and from school, as well as to ensure protection from harm while on school grounds.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Modalities for the establishment of femicides/gender-related killings watch 2016, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur also recalls General Assembly resolutions 68/191 and 70/176 on taking action against gender-related killing of women and girls. In the latter resolution, the Assembly encouraged Member States to collect, disaggregate, analyse and report data on the gender-related killing of women and girls and to ensure that appropriate punishments for perpetrators of the gender-related killing of women and girls are in place and are proportionate to the gravity of the offence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Modalities for the establishment of femicides/gender-related killings watch 2016, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- The Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN-Women powerfully said at the time of the adoption of the 2030 Agenda: Data on their own will not change lives, but we will not change lives without them. With the right metrics and illuminating information, we can inform policies, check on progress and hold leaders accountable if they fall behind on their commitments. We need 2030 to be the point when the lives of girls and women have been changed irreversibly, sustainably and substantively for the better.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- 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. 19
- Paragraph text
- The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child makes reference to aspects of violence against girls, including early and forced marriages, child labour, abuse, torture, harmful social and cultural practices, the situation of children in armed conflict, sexual exploitation, and trafficking and abduction. While embracing African tradition and values, the Charter prohibits traditional practices and customs that are harmful to the child.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- 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. 63
- Paragraph text
- The limitations of the international system, including the lack of a legally binding specific instrument on violence against women, serves to weaken the aspiration of the Human Rights Council that regional arrangements should reinforce universal human rights standards, as contained in international human rights instruments (see Council resolution 12/15). The current norms and standards within the United Nations system emanate from soft law developments and are of persuasive value, but are not legally binding. The normative gap under international human rights law raises crucial questions about the State responsibility to act with due diligence and the responsibility of the State as the ultimate duty bearer to protect women and girls from violence, its causes and consequences. In her 2014 reports to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/26/38) and to the General Assembly (A/69/368), the Special Rapporteur recommended that the international community examine the normative gaps within the existing international binding legal frameworks, and address more specifically the legal gaps in protection, prevention and accountability in respect of violence against women. Given the systemic, widespread and pervasive nature of this human rights violation, which is experienced largely by women because they are women, a different set of normative and practical measures to respond to, prevent and ultimately eliminate such violence is crucial.
- 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
- Girls
- 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. 20
- Paragraph text
- The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child makes reference to aspects of violence against girls, including early and forced marriages; child labour; abuse; torture; harmful social and cultural practices; the situation of children in armed conflict; sexual exploitation; and trafficking and abduction. While embracing African tradition and values, the Charter prohibits traditional practices and customs that are harmful to the child.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women: Twenty years of developments to combat violence against women 2014, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- Inter-agency efforts to combat violence against women include activities by the Inter-agency Network on Women and Gender Equality, United Nations Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict, the Inter-agency Task Force on Women, Peace and Security, the Inter-agency Task Force on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, the Inter-agency Task Force on Adolescent Girls and the Inter-agency Working Group of the Secretary-General's campaign, UNiTE to End Violence against Women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- The term femicide has been used in the context of killings of women in the private and public spheres. In some European contexts, such killings are described as "crimes of passion". In South Asia the term femicide has been adopted to encompass cultural practices in the region such as female infanticide, preadolescent mortality of girls and dowry-related deaths. The phenomena of so-called "honour killings" in the Middle East are rarely specifically labelled as acts of femicide, but some scholars have highlighted the femicidal nature of such acts and the impunity that accompanies such killings.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- As regards violence against women with disabilities in the transnational sphere, women and girls with disabilities are at risk of being trafficked and forced into prostitution. The four major risk factors for susceptibility to trafficking are poverty, ignorance, minority status and being female. Women and girls with disabilities may fit into one or more of these high-risk categories. Further, because of the misguided belief that sex with a virgin will cure HIV/AIDS, and the stereotype that women with disabilities are virgins, they can be targeted for trafficking as sex workers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- 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. 74
- Paragraph text
- Prevention must be at the centre of States' and other stakeholders' efforts to eradicate violence against women. Prevention must address the underlying causes of violence by addressing States' fundamental human rights obligations of protecting, respecting and fulfilling all human rights of all women and girls. While strategies need to respond to local specificities, they must all target the tacit social acceptance surrounding violence against women that contributes to its prevalence and be directed towards the empowerment and equal status of women in society.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Reparations to women who have been subjected to violence 2010, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- The administrative arena also enables a proactive approach to reaching victims and may provide a satisfactory platform for focusing on information about victims including their number, socio-economic profile, age, gender breakdown, family structures, the violations they have suffered or an account of the effects of the violations on their lives. This information is all relevant to understanding the structural component of the violations, the share of State responsibility by either action or omission and the gender-specific impact of the violence on women's and girls' lives.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 96h
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur makes the following specific recommendations:] States should establish a “femicide watch” to collect, analyse and review data on gender-based violence at the national, regional and global levels and collect and publish annual data on the number of femicides. Each femicide should be carefully examined to identify any failure of protection, with a view to improving and further developing preventive measures. States should also increase their efforts to use all available global and regional women’s human rights instruments and expert mechanisms to put in place effective systems to prevent and end femicide and gender-based violence against women and girls.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 96d
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur makes the following specific recommendations:] States should prioritize implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 5 (gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls), including by developing indicators on target 5.2 (elimination of violence against women) on femicide, shelters and protection orders, and support national plans to implement all of the Goals in a gender-responsive manner. The Sustainable Development Goal process must not, however, derogate from the obligation of States to respect, protect and fulfil women’s human rights in all fields of life, in accordance with existing international human rights law in customary law and treaty obligations. An independent monitoring mechanism should be integrated into this process;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- The submissions received from civil society organizations on the adequacy of the existing legal framework represent a great diversity of responses. These views, together with those of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and regional mechanisms, have been an extremely enriching contribution to the debate on the adequacy of the legal framework on violence against women. Almost all submissions emphasized the role of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women as a dynamic, living instrument that encompasses violence against women as a form of discrimination against women and the progressive interpretation of the Convention through the adoption of successive general recommendations on violence against women by the Committee, as well as other related subjects, such as the core obligations on States to implement the Convention, access to justice (general recommendation No. 33 (2015) on women’s access to justice) and the rights of women and girls in conflict and post-conflict situations (general recommendation No. 30 (2013) on women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations), along with all the other general recommendations. A significant number of submissions pointed out that the lack of a specific global treaty on gender-based violence against women had important symbolic value and further indicated that a new treaty could have an important role in galvanizing implementation at the State level. That symbolic value and potential to act as a catalyst for change was particularly compelling in the broader Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions, which were the only ones that did not have a specific regional treaty on violence against women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- In that regard, civil society organizations stressed the importance of having a document that was legally binding and that clearly delineated the responsibilities of the sovereign bodies with regard to providing reparation for and preventing gender-based violence. In particular, prevention of gender-based violence must be promoted to a jus cogens principle in order to build momentum around efforts related to protecting women and girls from violence. Such a document needed to address gender stereotypes and stigma attached to victims, and violence against women ought to be addressed by challenging its root causes, such as poverty, disability and vulnerability.
- 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
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision-setting report 2016, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- Discriminatory laws, in particular discriminatory provisions in constitutions, family laws, nationality laws and penal codes, perpetuate the lower status of women and their oppression in society, thereby fuelling violence against women and girls, given that there is little to deter perpetrators from committing these crimes. or because recourse for victims is inadequate. It is against this backdrop that the prevalent and multiple grave forms of violence by fundamentalist and extremist actors committed in recent times are built. The Special Rapporteur intends to explore the link between these discriminatory laws and violence against women and girls, and to make recommendations for law reforms, in particular with regard to family and penal laws, and other national laws and practices that regulate family relationships and the private sphere, with a view to curtailing violence against women and girls.
- 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
Vision-setting report 2016, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur regards the prevention of violence against women as an aspect of the mandate that focuses on the elimination of the root causes of violence against women, and its consequences. To that end, she has identified the main components that should be further elaborated, including States' obligations to take positive measures to change harmful stereotypes relating to gender roles conducive to violence and, at the same time, to undertake activities to empower women and reduce their vulnerability to violence; the meaningful inclusion of men and boys to contribute actively to the prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls; and awareness-raising campaigns to fight violence against women on a regular basis and at all levels, in cooperation with national human rights institutions, civil society and non-governmental organizations.
- 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
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision-setting report 2016, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- The challenges that women and girls migrants face include the risk of certain forms of violence, including sexual violence, by smugglers, criminal groups and individuals in countries of origin, transit and destination. Their journey could also turn into trafficking, slavery and slavery-like practices. They may also face greater risks of sexual violence and harassment while in transit in camps or shelters owing to, among others, shared accommodation and common sanitation facilities, which make them vulnerable to violence and abuse. They may lack access to gender-specific services, while frequently the reluctance of victims to report cases of sexual violence results in underreporting. Besides being a key reason behind many women's decisions to migrate, gender-based violence is a common feature throughout their journeys and in countries of destination.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision-setting report 2016, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- While the collection of data is widely recognized under the international human rights framework, the establishment of a global "femicide watch" would bring a special emphasis to the analysis of these statistics and data as a catalyst for prevention and change. Given the shortcomings of certain national protection systems, the lack of proper risk assessment and the lack of quantitative and qualitative data, which are major barriers to effective prevention of gender-related killing of women, it would contribute to the prevention of preventable deaths of women. Where the situation in which femicides are committed is highlighted, it can stimulate more work across existing obligations, particularly with regard to addressing social attitudes that accept or normalize violence against women and its most extreme forms resulting in killing. Bringing a name and a face to statistics also highlights the horrendous nature of the crime, the reality of patriarchal violence and the extreme pain and suffering inflicted on women and girls because of their gender.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision-setting report 2016, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- The implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provides a fresh opportunity to accelerate progress in achieving gender equality and empowerment of women and girls, and in eliminating violence against women. Indeed, the formulation of Goal 5 on gender equality provides a women's perspective to the entire Agenda, which also provides that substantive gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls should be achieved by the elimination of all forms of discriminations and violence against women and girls in the public and private spheres. The Special Rapporteur stands ready not only to monitor progress but also to give guidance to States and other stakeholders in implementing Goal 5.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Modalities for the establishment of femicides/gender-related killings watch 2016, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- The implementation of the 2030 Agenda provides a new opportunity to accelerate progress in achieving gender equality, the empowerment of women and girls and the elimination of violence against women through, among other things, improving the collection of data on violence against women in general and femicide in particular. The collection of reliable and comparable data is needed to prevent such violence. Data requirements to effectively monitor the Goals for women and girls will be substantial and significant investments and capacity-building will have to be made to fill the data gaps that have been identified.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Modalities for the establishment of femicides/gender-related killings watch 2016, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- Violence against women is specifically addressed in target 5.2 on the elimination of all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation. Two indicators are key: the proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by form of violence and by age group (5.2.1) and the proportion of women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to sexual violence by persons other than an intimate partner, in the previous 12 months, by age group and place of occurrence (5.2.2). Another directly relevant target is 5.3 on the elimination of all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation. Two indicators are key for this target: the percentage of women aged 20-24 who were married or in a union before age 15 and before age 18 (5.3.1) and the percentage of girls and women aged 15-49 who have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting, by age group (5.3.2).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Modalities for the establishment of femicides/gender-related killings watch 2016, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- In September 2015, the General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1), which sets out 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets to be achieved within the coming 15 years. Sustainable Development Goal 5 is to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. What is remarkable is that gender equality and women's empowerment are recognized as "a crucial contribution to progress across all the Goals and targets". Goal 5 has nine specific, interrelated and mutually supportive targets that address many important barriers to advancing women's rights and are accompanied by gender-specific targets and indicators across other Goals.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Modalities for the establishment of femicides/gender-related killings watch 2016, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- In 2015, the Secretary-General submitted a report to the General Assembly on action against the gender-related killing of women and girls (A/70/93), in which he reiterated the recommendations made at the expert group meeting. In a second resolution, also initiated by the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and adopted by the General Assembly (resolution 70/176), on taking action against the gender-related killing of women and girls, the Assembly reiterated its call for action by Member States with the support of the United Nations. It noted that one of the every two women victims of homicide was killed by her intimate partner or a family member. The Assembly called upon Member States to strengthen criminal justice responses to the gender-related killing of women and girls; enhance international cooperation and the exchange of good practices in criminal matters related to gender-based violence; promote integrated and comprehensive strategies to prevent the gender-related killing of women and girls, which included early and continuous educational programmes, community mobilization and awareness-raising, in order to counter attitudes and social factors that fostered, justified or tolerated any violence against women and girls; adopt integrated and comprehensive responses to violence against women in order to reduce risks of gender-related killing through a number of listed measures; address impunity and punish perpetrators; provide support for victims; and collect, disaggregate, analyse and report data on the gender-related killing of women and girls, according to the International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes endorsed by the Statistical Commission and, where appropriate, to the extent possible, involve civil society, academia, victims' representatives and relevant international organizations. Resolution 70/176 contains stronger language in relation to data collection. In it, the Assembly requested UNODC to prepare an analytical study on the gender-related killing of women and girls at the global level, containing disaggregated data, including from relevant stakeholders, on the phenomenon to illustrate its different forms and patterns.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- 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. 67
- Paragraph text
- Closing the normative gap requires the international legalization of women's right to be free of all forms of violence, whether public or private. An international human rights law that explicitly articulates legal obligations in the protection of dignity, freedom, safety, security and equality rights for women will result in legal obligations, thereby providing for international scrutiny and accountability through a dedicated monitoring body. This will lead to positive consequences in domestic human rights practices in respect of protection, prevention and accountability for all manifestations of violence against women and girls.
- 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
- Girls
- 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. 5
- Paragraph text
- The present section provides an overview of the norms and standards, implementing mechanisms and relevant jurisprudence regarding violence against women in the African, European and inter-American regional human rights systems. The Special Rapporteur attempts to provide guidance that may be helpful for the international human rights system to consider when addressing the normative gap. She also reinforces the view, articulated in previous reports by the Special Rapporteur, that in order for the regional systems to reinforce universal human rights standards, as contained in international human rights instruments, it is essential that the United Nations system adopt a legally binding framework on violence against women and girls.
- 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
- Girls
- 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. 6
- Paragraph text
- In the present section the Special Rapporteur provides an overview of the norms and standards, implementing mechanisms and relevant jurisprudence regarding violence against women in the African, European and Inter-American regional human rights systems. She attempts to provide guidance that may be helpful for the international human rights system to consider when addressing the normative gap. She also reinforces the view, articulated in previous reports by the Special Rapporteur, that in order for the regional systems to reinforce universal human rights standards, as contained in international human rights instruments, it is essential that the United Nations system adopts a legally binding framework on violence against women and girls.
- 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
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women: Twenty years of developments to combat violence against women 2014, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- One strategy associated with the engagement of men and boys is to appeal to the idea that women deserve respect as mothers, sisters, wives and so on. Emphasizing personal relationships is said to make it easier to understand the consequences of violence against women. This is also seen as an effective strategy in overtly patriarchal societies, in which calls to consider women as rights-bearing individuals, irrespective of their marital status, are considered too radical to attract support, even among women themselves. This implicit suggestion thus distorts the issue of women as autonomous individuals deserving of respect, and renders regard for the rights of women contingent on their status in the private sphere, which further reinforces the public/private dichotomy.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women: Twenty years of developments to combat violence against women 2014, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- The Human Rights Council renewed the mandate for the sixth time in 2011 in its resolution 16/7 and invited relevant entities to give consideration to the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls in their respective work, and to cooperate with and assist the Special Rapporteur in the fulfilment of the mandate. The Council requested the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue to provide the Special Rapporteur with all assistance necessary for the effective fulfilment of the mandate, in particular staff and resources.
- 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
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women: Twenty years of developments to combat violence against women 2014, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- In 2007, the mandate of the Special Rapporteur was renewed by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 7/24, in which the Council welcomed the initiatives, the increasing efforts and the important contributions at the local, national, regional and international levels to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls, and encouraged, as a contribution to the effective implementation of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, the continued efforts of States, United Nations bodies and entities and other relevant stakeholders, to build upon and support, including through the allocation of adequate resources, these successful initiatives, and to support and participate in regional consultations in that area. In this resolution, the Council requested the Secretary-General to ensure that the reports of the Special Rapporteur were brought to the attention of the General Assembly, and that the Special Rapporteur present an oral report annually to CSW and the Assembly.
- 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
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women: Twenty years of developments to combat violence against women 2014, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- Numerous human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, refer to the issue of violence against women, in broad terms, and in some instances the girl child. This section will focus on the issue with regard to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
- 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
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women: Twenty years of developments to combat violence against women 2014, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- The CSW session in 2013 was challenging, with strong pressure from some States to prevent the inclusion of language referring to sexual orientation, gender identity or intimate partner violence, and contestation over a wider interpretation of the "family". Nevertheless, new themes did emerge in the conclusions, including the need to support and protect women human rights defenders who work on gender-based violence; the need for governments to promote and protect the human rights of all women, including their right to have control over, and decide freely and responsibly, on matters relating to their sexuality, including sexual and reproductive health, free of coercion, discrimination and violence; specific commitments on the part of governments to ensure the safety of girls in public and private spaces; commitment to end early and forced marriage; and to prevent, investigate and punish acts of violence against women and girls, committed by people in positions of authority, such as teachers, religious leaders, political leaders and law enforcement officials.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women: Twenty years of developments to combat violence against women 2014, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- The 2013 conclusions highlight the prevention of and response to all forms of violence against women and girls, including sexual and gender-based violence, in armed conflict and post-conflict situations, including through investigation, prosecution and punishment of perpetrators to end impunity; removal of barriers to women's access to justice; the establishment of complaint and reporting mechanisms; the provision of support to victims and survivors; affordable and accessible health-care services; reintegration measures; and steps to increase women's participation in conflict resolution and peacebuilding processes and post-conflict decision-making.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women: Twenty years of developments to combat violence against women 2014, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- The agreed conclusions adopted by the CSW at its 1998, 2007 and 2013 sessions share several commonalities. With regard to the provision of services, the 2013 conclusions call for comprehensive, coordinated, interdisciplinary, accessible and sustained multisectoral services and programmes and responses at all levels for all victims and survivors of all forms of violence against women and girls. The 1998 conclusions are more specific with regard to the steps that governments should take to address violence against women, whereas the 2007 and 2013 agreed conclusions are much more general. There is a greater emphasis on the intersection between economic, social and cultural rights and violence against women in the 2007 and 2013 conclusions.
- 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
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women as a barrier to the effective realization of all human rights 2014, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- One strategy associated with the engagement of men and boys is to appeal to the idea that women deserve respect as mothers, sisters, wives and so on. Emphasizing personal relationships is said to make it easier to understand the consequences of violence against women. This is also seen as an effective strategy in overtly patriarchal societies, in which calls to consider women as rights-bearing individuals, irrespective of their marital status, are considered too radical to attract support, even among women themselves. This implicit suggestion thus distorts the issue of women as autonomous individuals deserving respect and renders regard for the rights of women contingent on their status in the private sphere, which further reinforces the public-private dichotomy.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women as a barrier to the effective realization of all human rights 2014, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- Preventable maternal mortality in turn leads to additional negative development outcomes as it fuels economic and social inequalities. Generally, preventing and combating illness among women and girls leads to a healthier and more productive population, whereas ill-health diminishes people's personal capacity and ability to contribute to their households, resulting in lost incomes and lower productivity. Furthermore, investing in the health of the largest generation ever of young people, particularly adolescent girls, means investing in the future and sustainable development. Gender-based violence, however, impoverishes women and their families, saps public resources and lowers economic productivity. Therefore, when women and girls experience violence, they are denied access to fundamental human rights, such as education and health, which significantly undercuts their capacity to participate meaningfully in the sustainable development of their communities.
- 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
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women as a barrier to the effective realization of all human rights 2014, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- A number of human rights instruments have recognized that violence against women is an obstacle to the achievement of the objectives of equality, development and peace as in all societies, to a greater or lesser degree, women and girls are subjected to physical, sexual and psychological abuse that cuts across lines of income, class and culture. The low social and economic status of women is both a cause and a consequence of violence against women. The right to development adopts a holistic approach, particularly in including women's participation in culture, health, education and work, and consequently all manifestations of violence have a negative impact on the rights to equality, development and peace.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women as a barrier to the effective realization of all human rights 2014, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- The right to education is affected by violence, including family violence and abuse, sexual violence at school, early and forced marriage, human trafficking and harmful traditional practices - which all prevent women and girls from realizing their right to education. Sexual harassment at school has negative physical and emotional effects and also results in decreased productivity, absenteeism from school, difficulty concentrating, declining academic performance or dropping out from school, often after becoming pregnant. As recognized by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 24/23, child, early and forced marriage prevents individuals from living their lives free from all forms of violence and has adverse consequences on the enjoyment of human rights, such as the right to education (see also A/HRC/21/41, para. 74). Girls who enter into early marriage often leave school to assume the responsibilities of caring for their spouse and home and to raise a family. This, in turn, limits young women's economic opportunities and independence and places them at greater risk of domestic violence than married women who are older and more educated.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women as a barrier to the effective realization of all human rights 2014, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Violence against women impairs and nullifies the right of women and girls to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. Gender-based violence, such as intimate partner violence, sexual violence, female genital mutilation or other harmful traditional practices, forced and child marriage or cohabitation, gender-related killings, trafficking, infanticide and deliberate neglect of girls, have a severe impact on women's and girls' physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health. As stated by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, violence against women puts women's health and lives at risk. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights notes that the right to health includes both freedoms and entitlements, including the right to control one's health and body, inclusive of sexual and reproductive freedom, and the right to be free from interference, such as the right to be free from non-consensual medical treatment and experimentation (E/C.12/2000/4, para. 8).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women as a barrier to the effective realization of all human rights 2014, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Violence against women is also manifested in ways that violate women's right to voluntary and equal marriage. Forced marriages, whether coerced through kidnapping or physical or sexual violence, is a means of forcing women into unwanted and unequal marriages. As the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and its consequences, has noted, physical and sexual violence against women is used to force women and girls into servile marriages, where women are treated as commodities purchased from their families, over which any or all the powers of ownership are exercised (A/HRC/24/43, para. 10).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women as a barrier to the effective realization of all human rights 2014, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Viewing violence against women through a citizenship lens achieves three critical objectives. First, the citizenship framework emphasizes women's participation and agency, highlighting the importance of women participating as full citizens in their communities. Second, it exposes the role that gender-based violence plays in impeding women's realization of a broad range of human rights that are essential to the exercise of full participatory citizenship. Finally, it emphasizes the need for States to fulfil their responsibilities for preventing and responding to violence against women and girls, in both the public and private spheres.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
State responsibility for eliminating violence against women 2013, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- The campaign of the Secretary-General entitled "UNiTE to End Violence against Women" brings together a host of United Nations agencies and other partners to galvanize action across the United Nations system to respond to and prevent violence against women. UNiTE calls on governments, civil society, women's organizations, young people, the private sector, the media and the entire United Nations system to join forces in addressing the global pandemic of violence against women and girls. UNiTE aims to achieve, by 2015, the following five goals in all countries: adopt and enforce national laws to address and punish all forms of violence against women and girls; adopt and implement multisectoral national action plans; strengthen data collection on the prevalence of violence against women and girls; increase public awareness and social mobilization; and address sexual violence in conflict.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
State responsibility for eliminating violence against women 2013, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- In his 2006 study (A/61/122/Add.1 and Corr.1), the Secretary-General recalled that violence against women is a form of discrimination and a violation of human rights. He endorsed the principle of State responsibility to act with due diligence in the context of violence against women. In addition, resolutions on violence against women emanating from the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly have called upon States to exercise due diligence to prevent and investigate acts of violence against women and girls and punish the perpetrators. These resolutions broadly call upon the State to put in place civil and criminal measures to address offender accountability, to ensure victim safety and, importantly, to provide redress and justice measures that victims can access effectively. States are also urged to adopt laws, policies and programmes that recognize the consequences of multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination which lead to increased vulnerability for some categories of women.
- 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
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Pathways to, conditions and consequences of incarceration for women 2013, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- Preparing children who have remained with their mothers in prison for integration back into society is a crucial step towards their ability to adjust to life outside, particularly for those who were born in prison or have no memory of life before prison. One report on India states that Many children born in prison have never experienced normal family life up to the age of four-five years. The socialization pattern of children gets severely affected due to their stay in prison. Their only image of a male authority figure is that of the police and prison officials. They are unaware of the concept of a "home". Boys sometimes talk in the female gender, having grown up only among women in the female ward. Sights like animals on roads frighten these children because of lack of exposure to the outside world.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Pathways to, conditions and consequences of incarceration for women 2013, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- Psychological violence, including solitary confinement of women and girls, can be another form of abuse, particularly when applied for an extended period of time or used as punishment, during pretrial detention. It is argued that in prison settings, solitary confinement is sometimes used as a way to separate girls from the adult population, but is also often used punitively against women and girls. In contrast, solitary confinement is used primarily for safety reasons with male prisoners. There is a perception that there may also be a correlation between solitary confinement and high suicide rates and attempted suicide among women prisoners.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Pathways to, conditions and consequences of incarceration for women 2013, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- A recent study uncovered cases of rape of female political prisoners in the Islamic Republic of Iran throughout the 1980s, including the rape of young virgin girls before execution, forced marriages and other forms of sexual violence, some of which continues today. In July 2011, a female prisoner committed suicide after violent beatings, including with electronic batons. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran states that a prisoner alleged that prison guards tortured her by subjecting her to sleep and toilet deprivation, keeping her in a standing position for hours, burning her with cigarettes, exposing her to extreme temperatures for extended periods of time and punching, kicking and striking her with batons (A/67/369, para. 27).
- 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
- Girls
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 89
- Paragraph text
- In 2000, the Human Rights Committee adopted general comment 28 on the equality of rights between men and women, in which it stated that honour crimes which remained unpunished constituted a serious violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Moreover, laws which imposed more severe penalties on women than on men for adultery or other offences also violated the requirement of equal treatment. In 2004, the General Assembly passed a resolution on the elimination of crimes against women and girls committed in the name of honour. It stressed the need to treat such crimes as criminal offences punishable by law. It emphasized that such crimes are incompatible with all religious and cultural values, and called upon all States to continue to intensify efforts to prevent and eliminate crimes against women and girls committed in the name of honour, by using legislative, administrative and programmatic measures.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- The rights of women and girls to be informed about and provided with access to the mechanisms of justice and effective remedies are also contained within international human rights law. As noted by the Special Rapporteur: "the obligation to provide adequate reparations involves ensuring the rights of women to access both criminal and civil remedies and the establishment of effective protection, support and rehabilitation services for survivors of violence". The General Assembly has repeatedly urged Member States to take action towards this end by means of a more systematic, comprehensive, multisectoral and sustained approach, adequately supported and facilitated by strong institutional mechanisms and financing, through national action plans; and to ensure that all human rights and fundamental freedoms are respected and protected.
- 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
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- A significant component of the international human rights framework is the duty placed on States to prevent, investigate, punish and provide compensation for all acts of violence. The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women spells out the obligation of States to exercise due diligence when gender-based violence occurs, whether perpetrated by the State or by private persons. In numerous resolutions relating to the intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women, the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly have also urged States to act with due diligence to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish the perpetrators of violence against women and girls and to provide protection to the victims.
- 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
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- Female infanticide in China goes back as far 2000 B.C. Girls were the main victims of infanticide, especially so in times of poverty and famine. A study suggested that the estimated number of missing girls in the twentieth century in China between 1900 and 2000 is 35.59 million, representing 4.65 per cent of its population. An analysis of the most recent data from China shows that while the sex ratio at birth is more skewed in rural areas, the ratios in large cities increased in 2005 compared to 2000. These findings suggest that son preference is still a strong influence, and is increasingly being acted upon by those living in cities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 80
- Paragraph text
- In the case of India, international attention has been drawn to the vast divergence in the country's natural gender ratio, with estimates that in 2003 100 million women were "missing" from its population. It is estimated that one million selective female foetal abortions occur annually in India. There is no official statistical data available on female infanticide, but in the state of Kerala, it is estimated that about 25,000 female newborns are killed every year. The preadolescent mortality rate of girls under 5 years old was 21 per cent higher than for boys of the same age in India. Violence, as well as nutritional and deliberate medical neglect by girls' parents, was cited as the main causes of death.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Infants
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- Until 1985 Canada had many discriminatory laws against aboriginal women and children; this has had an intergenerational impact, and has contributed to a legacy of violence, abuse and impunity. Today, a young aboriginal woman is five times more likely than other Canadian women of the same age to die of violence. According to a 2010 report, of 582 cases of violence against aboriginal women, 20 per cent involved missing women and girls, 67 per cent involved women or girls who died as a result of homicide or negligence, and 4 per cent fell under the category of suspicious death (usually declared natural or accidental by the police). Between 2000 and 2008, 153 cases of murders of women and girls were reported, and in 115 of these cases, the bodies are still missing. Aboriginal women and girls are more likely to be killed by a stranger than are non-aboriginal women. Approximately 50 per cent of such murders remain unsolved. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has expressed its concern that "hundreds of cases involving aboriginal women who have gone missing or been murdered in the past two decades have neither been fully investigated nor attracted priority attention, with the perpetrators remaining unpunished".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- In Australia, violence against aboriginal women is egregious due to the use of weapons and the licensing of firearms. Incidents of weapon-inflicted violence, involving hammers, knives, sticks, stones, guns and pickets, have resulted in a number of homicides of aboriginal women. Recent reports indicate that aboriginal women are at far greater risk of being the victims of homicide, rape and other assaults than non-aboriginal women. However, aboriginal women have been reluctant to expose these acts of violence, due to the risk of further denigration of their communities from the dominant white society. As noted by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, "indigenous women and girls face the highest levels of violence, especially at home where indigenous women are 35 times as likely to be hospitalized as a result of family violence-related assaults as non-indigenous females".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- In Guatemala, the current experience of massive and violent killings of indigenous women has a legacy stemming back to colonial times, further increasing during the 36-year armed conflict. Indigenous Maya women constituted 88 per cent of victims of sexual and systematic attacks, with such attacks being publicly and intentionally perpetrated, mainly by military and paramilitary personnel. After the 1996 Peace Accord, no efforts were made to seek justice for and provide reparations to the victims and their families. In fact, article 200 of the Penal Code (repealed in 2006) afforded immunity to perpetrators of sexual violence and kidnapping of women and girls over 12 years old, where the perpetrator subsequently married the victim. Thus a State-endorsed impunity was established, condoning all forms of violence, particularly against indigenous women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- The intersection of different layers of discrimination based on race, ethnic identity, sex, class, education and political views further disenfranchises indigenous and aboriginal women, reproducing a multi-level oppression that culminates in violence. In cases of killings of aboriginal and indigenous women, the main failings by the authorities are the failure of police to protect aboriginal women and girls from violence and to investigate promptly and thoroughly when they are missing or murdered, and the disadvantaged social and economic conditions in which aboriginal women and girls live, which make them vulnerable to such violence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- Aboriginal and indigenous women and girls experience extremely high levels of violence. The social, cultural, economic and political marginalization of aboriginal and indigenous women globally, along with a negative legacy of colonialism, historic racist government policies and the consequences of economic policies, has driven an alarming number of these women into extremely vulnerable situations. For example, the effect of certain economic policies imposed on the Central America region has exacerbated the vulnerability of indigenous women, and has forced them to migrate both internally and regionally. They have been pressed into low-skilled and low-paid jobs, mainly in maquila factories, domestic service, the sex trade and prostitution, under precarious and exploitative conditions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- In Afghanistan, women's rights defenders continue to be regularly threatened and intimidated, and high-profile women, mainly political activists, have been assassinated, and their killers have not been brought to justice. The Taliban's interpretation of sharia law is used to justify harsher punishments for women seen to be mixing with men outside their immediate families. A common means of intimidation and control of local communities, mainly women, is the use of night letters. These are threatening letters, usually hand-delivered, or pasted onto a door or in a mosque, by insurgent groups. The content of these letters varies, but the main message is a threat of harm to women and girls (or their parents) if they go to school or to work, leave their homes, speak to non-family men, or call radio stations with music requests.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Women and girls suffer from operations randomly or strategically targeting and terrorizing the civilian population, but also from summary and extrajudicial executions, imprisonment, torture, rape and sexual mutilations for fighting in resistance movements, for engaging in the search for and defence of their loved ones or for coming from communities suspected of collaboration. Gender inequality becomes more pronounced in conflict and crisis situations, as competing masculine discourses place contradictory demands on women, and conflict is instrumentalized as a pretext to further entrench patriarchal control.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- Honour killings take many forms, including direct murder; stoning; women and young girls being forced to commit suicide after public denunciations of their behaviour; and women being disfigured by acid burns, leading to death. Honour crimes are also linked to other forms of family violence, and are usually committed by male family members as a means of controlling women's sexual choices and limiting their freedom of movement. Punishment usually has a collective dimension, with the family as a whole believing it to be injured by a woman's actual or perceived behaviour, and is often public in character. The visibility of the issue and the punishment also serves a social objective, namely, influencing the conduct of other women.
- 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
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- With the alarming escalation of extreme forms of violence against women and girls in the 1990s, including in Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala, there was a pressing need to create and adopt new concepts and strategies to address the phenomenon. The disproportionate impact of economic, political and social factors in which the killings of women and girls were occurring, as well as the patriarchal nature of the societies that subordinated them, had to be taken into account. This violence has included torture, sexual abuse, deprivation of liberty, post mortem dismembering and the abandoning of bodies in public spaces by perpetrators (individual or groups), known or unknown to the victim. It is in this specific context that the concept of femicide scenarios was developed to determine the existence of a femicide crime, despite the difficulties of identifying motive, intention and perpetrators.
- 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
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- The killings can be active or direct, with defined perpetrators, but they can also be passive or indirect. The direct category includes: killings as a result of intimate-partner violence; sorcery/witchcraft-related killings; honour-related killings; armed conflict-related killings; dowry-related killings; gender identity- and sexual orientation-related killings; and ethnic- and indigenous identity-related killings. The indirect category includes: deaths due to poorly conducted or clandestine abortions; maternal mortality; deaths from harmful practices; deaths linked to human trafficking, drug dealing, organized crime and gang-related activities; the death of girls or women from simple neglect, through starvation or ill-treatment; and deliberate acts or omissions by the State.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 87
- Paragraph text
- The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (Banjul Charter) has broad provisions that provide for equality of all, including women. Article 18 of the Banjul Charter addresses States obligations to eliminate discrimination and to ensure the protection of rights of women and girls. Article 28 places a duty on individuals to respect others without discrimination. The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa was adopted in 2003 and entered into force in 2005. Article 23 specifically protects women with disabilities, provides them the right to freedom from violence and discrimination and imposes a duty on the State, inter alia, to treat women with disabilities with dignity.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- In some contexts, because of stereotypical views of the value of disabled female children and the lack of support available to parents with children with disabilities, parents may see trafficking of their disabled daughter as their only economic option. United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reports indicate that in certain countries in the Asia-Pacific region proprietors of brothels have specifically sought out deaf girl children and adolescents, with the idea that such young people will be less able to communicate their distress or find their way back to their homes. One report notes that the proportion of child prostitutes who had mild developmental disabilities was six times greater than what might be expected from the incidence in the general population.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 94
- Paragraph text
- The violence continuum helps to make explicit the different types of violence that can adversely affect women and girls, and how this facilitates the deprivation of citizenship, as well as civil, labour and political engagement rights. This violence is committed with the assistance of physical and ideological restrictions that prevent women from having the full capacity to exercise their rights. This is particularly true in societies in which women are either not defined as actors within civil, political or economic life, or are assigned a gendered position in these areas of public identity and engagement that are unequal to the positions held by male actors. By making violence against women a part of the analysis, a determination can be made of the extent to which women can enjoy their civil and political rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 92
- Paragraph text
- Women also have the right to freely participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits. International law has recognized a woman and girl child's right to benefit from artistic and literary endeavours, and to pursue interests in science or other forms of creative expression. Additionally, all women have a right to fully participate in the cultural life of their communities and States. Any group or individual that denies a woman or girl child the right to cultural expression is denying her right to participate fully in a meaningful cultural life. Similarly, if any act of abuse is perpetrated against a woman or girl child in the name of culture, this individual or group is perverting the basic fundamental right to culture as found in international law, and is perpetuating a static and narrow conception of culture.
- 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
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 77
- Paragraph text
- Pregnancy and childbearing are part of the material reality of women and girls which requires a gendered analysis. This entails explicitly accounting for the fact that maternal mortality and morbidity are manifestations of rights violations for which there are no parallel violations directly experienced by men. The general risk of maternal mortality and morbidity faced by all women is significantly altered by factors such as quality, affordable and accessible maternal health care. The absence of this type of health care contributes to deaths that are preventable and that occur at disproportionately higher rates for pregnant women and adolescent girls who live in the poorest regions of the world.
- 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
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- For example, the ability to obtain a high quality education is exponentially difficult for poor, rural and/or disabled people. Furthermore, the world's women and girls continue to receive inadequate education when compared to the men and boys from their communities. Due to inadequate education, employment and financial security are more difficult for women and girls to attain. According to UNESCO, "of the "796 million adults worldwide (15 years and older) who reported not being able to read and write in 2008… two-thirds of them (64%) were women." Being illiterate isolates women, exacerbates poverty, and creates a context ripe for violence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- The United Nations discourse regarding violence against women hinges on three principles: first, violence against women and girls is addressed as a matter of equality and non-discrimination between women and men; second, multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination are recognized as increasing the risk that some women will experience targeted, compounded or structural discrimination; and third, the interdependence of human rights is reflected in efforts such as those that seek to address the causes of violence against women related to the civil, cultural, economic, political and social spheres.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- 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. 61
- Paragraph text
- In Vertido v. Philippines, which concerned the sexual assault of a woman and the subsequent acquittal of the perpetrator based on gender-based myths and misconceptions about rape, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women found the State party in violation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The Committee noted the obligations of States parties to the Convention to take appropriate measures to modify or abolish not only existing laws and regulations, but also customs and practices that constitute discrimination against women. In this regard, the Committee stressed that stereotyping affects women's right to a fair and just trial and underlined that the judiciary must take caution not to create inflexible standards of what women or girls should be or what they should have done when confronted with a situation of rape, based merely on preconceived notions of what defines a rape victim or a victim of gender-based violence, in general.
- 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
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- 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. 44
- Paragraph text
- Defilement, rape, early marriages and survival sex continue to be major problems affecting women asylum-seekers and refugees, both in camps as well as women residing in urban areas. During conflicts, women are often trafficked across borders to provide sexual services to combatants in armed conflict. Armed conflict increases the risk of women and girls being abducted and forced into sexual slavery and/or forced prostitution. Although most conflicts are now internal, women and girls may be transported across international borders to camps of armed groups located in the territory of a neighbouring State. Abuses against women and girls have also been committed by international personnel deployed in United Nations peace operations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- 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. 38
- Paragraph text
- The follow-up visit by the Special Rapporteur to El Salvador in 2010 revealed an alarming increase in extremely violent murders of women and girls in the country. The pattern of these murders was similar to femicides reported on by the former Special Rapporteur during visits to El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico: victims aged 10 to 29 are kidnapped and found murdered in parks or wasteland, often carrying signs of sexual abuse, sometimes mutilation, torture and decapitation. Extreme socio-economic inequalities, a machista culture and high criminality levels are underlying factors that sustain violence against women and discrimination in these societies. As referred to in the report of the Special Rapporteur on her visit to the United States, the murder of women, as well as rape and battering, can also be connected to stalking, which tends to target women at higher rates than men.
- 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
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- 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. 20
- Paragraph text
- Currently, the United Nations discourse regarding violence against women hinges on three principles: first, violence against women and girls is addressed as a matter of equality and non-discrimination between women and men; second, multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination are recognized as increasing the risk that some women will experience targeted, compounded or structural discrimination; and third, the interdependence of human rights is reflected in efforts such as those that seek to address the causes of violence against women related to the civil, cultural, economic, political and social spheres.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- 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. 18
- Paragraph text
- These developments led the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council and the Security Council to pass resolutions that focus particularly on violence against women and girls. The General Assembly and the Human Rights Council have, for example, increasingly identified inequality and discrimination, including gender-based violence, as violations of human rights of women and girls. Resolutions adopted by these organs have increasingly referred to the heightened risk of gender-based violence for women who suffer multiple forms of discrimination and have identified "power imbalances and structural inequality between men and women" as root causes of violence against women. In the context of peace and security, the Security Council, through resolutions 1325 (2000) and 1820 (2008), has called for special measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence in situations of armed conflict.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- 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. 17
- Paragraph text
- The twenty-third special session of the General Assembly on the five-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action clearly demonstrated that violence against women had become a priority issue on the agenda of many Member States. The outcome document of the session went a step further in calling on States to "treat all forms of violence against women and girls of all ages as a criminal offence punishable by law, including violence based on all forms of discrimination". In 2010, at the Beijing + 15 review, Member States recognized that implementation of the Beijing Declaration and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was mutually reinforcing in the quest to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and emphasized the interdependency between the implementation of these commitments and achieving the internationally agreed development goals.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- 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. 16
- Paragraph text
- The 1993 World Conference on Human Rights adopted the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action that recognized that "the human rights of women and of the girl child are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights". The World Conference called upon the General Assembly to adopt the draft declaration on violence against women and urged States to combat violence against women in accordance with its provisions. In 1993, the General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, which provides a more comprehensive framework on violence against women in terms of definition, scope, obligations of the State, and the role of the United Nations. Pursuant to a decision of the Commission on Human Rights the same year in which it considered the appointment of a special rapporteur on violence against women, the mandate was established by resolution 1994/45 on the integration of the rights of women into the human rights mechanisms of the United Nations and the elimination of violence against women.
- 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
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Reparations to women who have been subjected to violence 2010, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- The limits of ordinary and extraordinary judicial proceedings to achieve the full and comprehensive realization of women's right to reparations are also examined in the report. Against this backdrop, it is argued that gender-responsive administrative reparations schemes can obviate some of the difficulties and costs associated with litigation. The administrative arena also enables a more proactive approach to the involvement of a larger group of people, including victims, at all levels - from conceptualization of reparation schemes, to reaching victims, to understanding the structural component of the violations - including the share of State responsibility by either action or omission, and the gender-specific impact of the violence on women's and girls' lives.
- 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
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Reparations to women who have been subjected to violence 2010, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- Another instance of discriminatory practices, resulting in historical injustices, is that of assimilation policies instituted in countries, which led to many aboriginal or indigenous children being taken away from their families, communities and cultures and placed in foster care or residential schools. There have been some initiatives to provide compensation to survivors, including monetary compensation, truth-telling, therapeutic services and acts of commemoration and reconciliation. However, gender differences have generally not been taken into account and, as a consequence, there has not been special recognition of or compensation for girls for consequences of sexual abuse, such as pregnancy resulting from rape or forced abortion.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Reparations to women who have been subjected to violence 2010, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- A form of collective harm that deserves particular attention is group-based harm as a result of group-based affiliation. Collective measures of redress may be thought of as particularly apposite to address the legacy of violence on the identity or status of groups such as indigenous peoples. Women or children, however, are rarely thought of in collective terms, even though gender-specific and age-specific forms of violence happen to women and children precisely because they are women and children. Women and girls should not be rendered invisible under the notion of the collective and should be consulted at all stages of discussions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Reparations to women who have been subjected to violence 2010, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- An increasing number of countries have adopted a variety of traditional religious or community-based approaches for symbolic reparation and community reconciliation. They typically include community-level ceremonies and processes that "reconcile" or "cleanse" the perpetrator and victim and endeavour to restore collective harmony and rebuild broken relationships. These proceedings also often include some form of redress that the perpetrator agrees to give to the victim. However, there is a need to guard against assumptions about the inherent value of such procedures as, despite often being more accessible, they carry the risk of recreating the structures of control and prejudice that women, girls and other exploited groups are struggling to eliminate.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Reparations to women who have been subjected to violence 2010, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- Who apologizes, what for, where and how can all be relevant considerations in assessing whether women will get adequate symbolic redress. Given women's predisposition to focus on the pain of their loved ones, it would be interesting to devise ways to duly recognize the individual dimension of such suffering and resilience. Personal letters of apology can be the best way of recognizing women when accompanied by public gestures of recognition. However, it is important not to forget that women and girls who carry the stigma of their victimization, such as victims of sexual violence, might have much to lose from public recognition of their victimization if they are named.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Reparations to women who have been subjected to violence 2010, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- Since women and girls who are subjected to gender violence, including sexual violence and forced unions, are often re-victimized in their families and communities, restitution of identity, family life and citizenship for them may require measures that target their wider communities - including attempts to subvert cultural understandings around the value of women's purity and sexuality. Although some of the intangible assets that are often taken from victims of sexual violence, such as virginity or social standing, cannot be returned, all the tangible assets of which victims of sexual violence are commonly stripped should be borne in mind. Communal and family ostracism, abandonment by spouses and partners and becoming unmarriageable or sick are all too commonly synonyms of material destitution, and the costs of ongoing medical treatment, pregnancy, abortions, and raising children resulting from rape, are all too real to deny. To date, no reparations programme has succeeded in fully reflecting the economic impact of raising children born of rape.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Reparations to women who have been subjected to violence 2010, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- The inclusion of gross violations against women in the list of wrongdoings that will trigger reparations has to be underpinned by the notion that the same violations may entail different harms for men and women, but also for women and girls from cultural minorities. For instance, harms emanating from sexual violence - including the contraction of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, undesired pregnancies, complications due to often unsafe abortions, unwanted children, loss of reproductive capacity, fistulas and vaginal injuries, and multiple psychological disorders - are always compounded with social stigmatization and ostracism by the family and/or community, subsequent emotional distress, loss of status and the possibility to marry or have a male protector, and access communal resources. None of the reparations programmes in the post-conflict or post-authoritarian scenario has explicitly referred to forms of reproductive violence (such as forced impregnation, forced abortion or forced sterilization) as separate categories. Explicit recognition and visibility of various forms of violence and the ensuing harm is required for responsive reparation programmes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Reparations to women who have been subjected to violence 2010, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- Women-centred processes of reparations require participation of women in the process of shaping, implementing, monitoring and evaluating reparations programmes; design of a reparations procedure that renders it accessible to all women and girls; investigation of facts to determine whether certain violations of rights have taken place and making sure that those violations that target women and girls have been duly included; determination of harms, including those which are gender-specific or have a differential impact on women and girls; identification of responsibility for the violation, including by omission, and by those perpetrators that target women and girls; and determination of measures of redress aimed at returning the victim to where she was before the violation took place, except for when those measures may in themselves be discriminatory or fail to address the structural roots underlying the violence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Reparations to women who have been subjected to violence 2010, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- With this scheme in mind and thinking about women as potential beneficiaries of reparations, the first hurdle relates to the fact that much of the violence that women and girls experience predates the conflict and only continues to aggravate the discrimination to which they are subjected in the post-conflict scenario. Even in non-conflict scenarios, acts of violence against women are part of a larger system of gender hierarchy that can only be fully grasped when seen in the broader structural context. Therefore, adequate reparations for women cannot simply be about returning them to where they were before the individual instance of violence, but instead should strive to have a transformative potential. Reparations should aspire, to the extent possible, to subvert, instead of reinforce, pre-existing structural inequality that may be at the root causes of the violence the women experience before, during and after the conflict.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Reparations to women who have been subjected to violence 2010, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- The importance of women's participation in reparations discussions and processes cannot be overestimated. Without the participation of women and girls from different contexts, initiatives are more likely to reflect men's experience of violence and their concerns, priorities and needs regarding redress. Additionally, without such participation, an opportunity is missed for victims to gain a sense of agency that may in itself be an important form of rehabilitation, especially when victims come to perceive themselves as actors of social change. Finally, such participation is important for women and society in general to draw the links between past and present forms of violence and seize the opportunity provided by reparations discussions to press for more structural reforms.
- 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
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Reparations to women who have been subjected to violence 2010, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Academic reflection and civil society activism have certainly contributed to placing the question of gender-sensitive reparations on the national and international agenda. In the last few years, the first monographic volumes addressing reparations for women have been seen. Furthermore, feminist transnational movements working on fighting impunity against gender violence in armed conflict are now leading the debate on women and reparations. The Nairobi Declaration on Women's and Girls' Right to a Remedy and Reparation adopted in 2007 by women's rights advocates and activists and survivors of sexual violence in situations of conflict is the best expression of this transnational growing concern to provide women and girls with adequate reparations. Mobilization concerning reparations at the national level by victims' groups, human rights groups and women's associations has also increased.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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