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Servile marriage 2012, para. 50

Document type
Special Procedures' report
Paragraph text
It is important to note that the payment of a dowry or bride price does not mean that a woman ends up in a servile marriage. In this context, it is the non-consensual nature of the marriage that is the abuse, not the payment. In some countries, however, a bride price does in fact translate into men feeling that they own their wives.
Body
Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
Topic(s)
  • Harmful Practices
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 49

Document type
Special Procedures' report
Paragraph text
Some States that apply religious or customary law to regulate personal status have reinforced the traditional prohibitions on adultery by criminalizing it. Adultery, which is defined as any sexual relation outside marriage, is severely punished and may even result in a sentence of death by stoning in some States that apply Islamic law. The sanctions are generally imposed on the women rather than the men. Interventions by foreign Governments, civil society and special procedures mandate holders have sometimes led to judgements that imposed stoning to be overturned. In some states in the United States of America, adultery between married persons is a crime, but these provisions have not been implemented in the last thirty years. The Working Group issued a statement calling for the decriminalization of adultery and wishes to recall that criminalization of sexual relations between consenting adults is a violation of their right to privacy and an infringement of article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Body
Special Procedures: Working Group on discrimination against women and girls
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Harmful Practices
Person(s) affected
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 37

Document type
Special Procedures' report
Paragraph text
Although in the majority of the cases younger women are at higher risk of sorcery/witchcraft violence, a study has found that in some parts of Africa, older women are more vulnerable to sorcery-related femicide due to their economic dependence on others, or the property rights that they hold-and which younger members of the family want to inherit. Also, if women are perceived as dangerous and a threat to men, their labelling as witches, and consequently their destruction, is then seen as justified.
Body
Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences
Topic(s)
  • Harmful Practices
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Men
  • Older persons
  • Women
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 21

Document type
Special Procedures' report
Paragraph text
Femicide was first defined as "the murders of women by men motivated by hatred, contempt, pleasure or a sense of ownership of women". Subsequently, it was defined as "the misogynist killing of women by men". The definition was expanded to go beyond that of misogynist killings, to all forms of sexist killings, including those killings by men motivated by the socially constructed right to do so, their superiority over females, pleasure or sadistic desires towards women, or the assumption of ownership over women.
Body
Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Harmful Practices
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Servile marriage 2012, para. 67

Document type
Special Procedures' report
Paragraph text
The sale of wives also manifests itself in the form of mail-order marriages and paper marriages. In the case of mail-order marriages, women from developing countries in East and South Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America advertise themselves in newspapers, magazines and on the Internet for marriage outside their countries of origin, usually to men in developed countries. In many instances, the women are economically vulnerable and advertise themselves in the hope of improving their economic situation.
Body
Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
Topic(s)
  • Economic Rights
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Harmful Practices
Person(s) affected
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Servile marriage 2012, para. 57

Document type
Special Procedures' report
Paragraph text
In Sindh, a province of Pakistan, the custom of swara is practised, by which women are used as commodities to settle disputes between clans and tribes. They are either forced to marry the men from the receiving tribe or used by them as sex slaves. This form of servile marriage continues to occur even in the face of legislation prohibiting this practice and the upholding of that legislation by the Supreme Court of Pakistan (see EGM/GPLHP/2009/EP.14).
Body
Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
Topic(s)
  • Harmful Practices
Person(s) affected
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 27

Document type
Special Procedures' report
Paragraph text
Women fear violence by men in public toilets and open defecation sites, and along the routes leading to both. Some women and girls looking for a place to defecate have reportedly been exposed to rude remarks, brick-throwing, stabbing and rape. Gender-based violence also occurs at places to collect water, bathe and wash clothes. Abuse of boys is reportedly a common and underrecognized phenomenon, and one that receives even less attention, as shame and cultural restrictions or taboos concerning homosexuality deters boys from reporting such abuse.
Body
Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Harmful Practices
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Girls
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 21

Document type
Special Procedures' report
Paragraph text
In many cultures, girls are considered adults after their first menstruation and may drop out of school, marry and start having children. Increased knowledge of menstruation by both men and women, combined with strategies to lift social taboos on menstruation, may prevent girls from being considered as adults ready for marriage but, rather, as young adolescents going through a normal phase of their development.
Body
Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Topic(s)
  • Harmful Practices
Person(s) affected
  • Adolescents
  • Girls
  • Men
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 64

Document type
Special Procedures' report
Paragraph text
In patriarchal cultures, the preference for sons leads to the prioritization of boys' and men's health before that of women and girls, resulting in discriminatory practices such as female infanticide. This is evident in cultural customs relating to food which cause girls and women, including pregnant and nursing women, to suffer disproportionately from malnutrition.
Body
Special Procedures: Working Group on discrimination against women and girls
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Food & Nutrition
  • Harmful Practices
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Girls
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 25

Document type
Special Procedures' report
Paragraph text
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has recommended using innovative measures targeting the media to enhance positive and non-stereotypical portrayals of women. Several attempts have been made to "break the silence" on menstruation through the use of various forms of social media. A recent Newsweek story highlighted the everyday struggle that women experience because of their menstrual cycle by showing a photograph of a tampon on the cover. A letter to the chief executive officer of Facebook from a student in New Delhi asking him to introduce a "on my period" button on the world's largest social network has received significant online attention. Awareness-raising campaigns to inform and change the mindsets and attitudes of both men and women should be designed using all available means, including the media, at the community level and in schools, with the participation of civil society.
Body
Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Harmful Practices
Person(s) affected
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 20

Document type
Special Procedures' report
Paragraph text
Practices and beliefs are different in every culture, but generally menstruation is considered to be something unclean or impure and contact between men and women during menstruation is viewed as something that should be avoided. Girls and women are sometimes not allowed to use the same toilets as men or are barred from certain locations. Girls all over the world grow up with the idea that menstruation is something they should hide and not speak about - an embarrassing event associated with shame. This powerful stigma and taboo surrounding menstruation translates into fear of leaking or staining clothes. Worldwide, women and girls prefer to hide the fact that they are menstruating. Data collected in Senegal shows that, owing to shame, menstrual material, once washed, is mainly dried in secluded, private and dark locations, such as tiled rooms or even under pillows, instead of in direct sunlight, which would reduce the risk of infection by ensuring that pathogens do not grow.
Body
Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Harmful Practices
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Violence against women: Twenty years of developments to combat violence against women 2014, para. 74

Document type
Special Procedures' report
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 Procedures: Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences
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. 65

Document type
Special Procedures' report
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 Procedures: Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Harmful Practices
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Girls
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2014
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 41

Document type
Special Procedures' report
Paragraph text
Those who torture or kill are almost exclusively men, and are often related socially or biologically to the victim. Some accusations of sorcery are economically motivated, for the purpose of taking over land or possessions of those accused, or because payments have been made by third parties to name alleged sorcerers. According to expert reports, "increasingly, there is a perception that accusations of sorcery are a convenient disguise for premeditated killings based more on a person's dislike for another, jealousy, envy, greed, rivalry or revenge and targeting women from the tribes or communities".
Body
Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences
Topic(s)
  • Harmful Practices
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 68

Document type
Special Procedures' report
Paragraph text
The inter-gender hierarchy between men and women inherent to patriarchy, together with the intra-gender hierarchy according to which women are constructed and valued, gives rise to the competing impulses of protecting valued women and attacking devalued women. In many cases, a cultural belief of, and value attached to, patriarchal authority, contributes to the gender stratification that exacerbates forms of violence against women. Many traditions promote the notion that the man is the natural head of the household, and when violence occurs in such contexts it can be very difficult for a woman to recognize her abuse as a violation of her rights. Even in cases where she suspects that she has a right not to be abused, there may be little or no community support for her to leave a household where violence is occurring.
Body
Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Harmful Practices
  • Social & Cultural Rights
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Servile marriage 2012, para. 46

Document type
Special Procedures' report
Paragraph text
Family status depends on honour. In patriarchal and patrilineal societies, maintaining the honour of the family is a woman's responsibility. The concept of women as commodities and not as human beings endowed with dignity and rights equal to those of men is deeply embedded in these societies. Women are seen as the property of men and must be obedient and passive, rather than assertive and active. Any assertive behaviour is considered to be an element that would result in an imbalance of power relations within the parameters of the family unit (E/CN.4/2002/83, para. 27). UNICEF reports that in some countries, early marriages are regarded by families as a means of protecting girls from premarital sex that would undermine their honour and that of their families.
Body
Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Harmful Practices
  • Social & Cultural Rights
Person(s) affected
  • Families
  • Girls
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Servile marriage 2012, para. 34

Document type
Special Procedures' report
Paragraph text
In 2005, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted resolution 1468 on forced marriages and child marriage. The Assembly defined forced marriage as "the union of two persons at least one of whom has not given their full consent to the marriage". It defined child marriage as "the union of two persons at least one of whom is under 18 years of age". Among other things, it urged the national parliaments of the Council of Europe member States to fix at or raise to 18 years the minimum statutory age of marriage for women and men, to make it compulsory for every marriage to be declared and entered by the competent authority in an official register, and to consider the possibility of dealing with acts of forced marriage as an independent criminal offence.
Body
Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Harmful Practices
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Servile marriage 2012, para. 15

Document type
Special Procedures' report
Paragraph text
The violations that occur within servile marriage cannot be viewed only as acts of violence against women and girls because, although the overwhelming majority of those in servile marriage are girls and women, boys and men are also victims. Owing to gender prejudices, it is often easier for boys and men to leave forced marriages, live as divorcees, remarry and regain control of their lives, in particular because they are usually more educated and can be financially independent. Girls and women are more vulnerable and more likely to be sexually and physically abused. The Special Rapporteur focuses herein on girls and women in servile marriage for those reasons and also because, whether by design, error or omission, there is scant information available about the impact of servile marriage on boys and men.
Body
Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
Topic(s)
  • Harmful Practices
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Girls
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Integrating a gender perspective in the right to food 2016, para. 24

Document type
Special Procedures' report
Paragraph text
Inheritance is often the main avenue for women's land acquisition, yet women are still less likely to inherit land than men. Inheritance is often determined through marriage practices. Through patri-linearism, which is the most common societal system, sons, rather than daughters, inherit land from their fathers. Even where bilateral inheritance practices exist, communities may favor customary patrilineal practices. This is so in the case of the Mossi community in Burkina Faso "where despite the fact that the majority of families are Muslim, meaning that in theory daughters inherit land, this practice is not observed."
Body
Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the right to food
Topic(s)
  • Harmful Practices
  • Social & Cultural Rights
Person(s) affected
  • Families
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

19 shown of 19 entities

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