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Equal recognition before the law 2014, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Article 12 of the Convention affirms that all persons with disabilities have full legal capacity. Legal capacity has been prejudicially denied to many groups throughout history, including women (particularly upon marriage) and ethnic minorities. However, persons with disabilities remain the group whose legal capacity is most commonly denied in legal systems worldwide. The right to equal recognition before the law implies that legal capacity is a universal attribute inherent in all persons by virtue of their humanity and must be upheld for persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others. Legal capacity is indispensable for the exercise of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. It acquires a special significance for persons with disabilities when they have to make fundamental decisions regarding their health, education and work. The denial of legal capacity to persons with disabilities has, in many cases, led to their being deprived of many fundamental rights, including the right to vote, the right to marry and found a family, reproductive rights, parental rights, the right to give consent for intimate relationships and medical treatment, and the right to liberty.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to inclusive education 2016, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- Persons with disabilities, particularly women and girls, can be disproportionately affected by violence and abuse, including physical and humiliating punishments by educational personnel, for example, the use of restraints and seclusion, and bullying by others in and on route to school. Article 16 requires that States parties take all appropriate measures to protect from and prevent all forms of violence and abuse towards persons with disabilities, including sexual violence. Such measures must be age, gender and disability sensitive. The Committee strongly endorses the recommendations of the CRC, the Human Rights Committee and CESCR that States parties must prohibit all forms of corporal punishment, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in all settings, including schools, and ensure effective sanctions against perpetrators. It encourages schools and other educational centers to involve students, including students with disabilities, in the development of policies, including accessible protection mechanisms, to address disciplinary measures and bullying, including cyberbullying, which is increasingly recognized as a growing feature of the lives of students, particularly children.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- The Committee is concerned that early marriage and pregnancy are significant factors in health problems related to sexual and reproductive health, including HIV/AIDS. Both the legal minimum age and actual age of marriage, particularly for girls, are still very low in several States parties. There are also non-health-related concerns: children who marry, especially girls, are often obliged to leave the education system and are marginalized from social activities. Further, in some States parties married children are legally considered adults, even if they are under 18, depriving them of all the special protection measures they are entitled under the Convention. The Committee strongly recommends that States parties review and, where necessary, reform their legislation and practice to increase the minimum age for marriage with and without parental consent to 18 years, for both girls and boys. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has made a similar recommendation (general comment No. 21 of 1994).
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2003
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to sexual and reproductive health (Art. 12) 2016, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- The realization of the right to sexual and reproductive health requires that States parties also meet their obligations under other provisions of the Covenant. For example, the right to sexual and reproductive health, combined with the right to education (articles 13 and 14) and the right to non-discrimination and equality between men and women (articles 2 (2) and 3), entails a right to education on sexuality and reproduction that is comprehensive, non-discriminatory, evidence-based, scientifically accurate and age appropriate. The right to sexual and reproductive health, combined with the right to work (article 6) and just and favourable working conditions (article 7), as well as the right to non discrimination and equality between men and women, also requires States to ensure employment with maternity protection and parental leave for workers, including workers in vulnerable situations, such as migrant workers or women with disabilities, as well as protection from sexual harassment in the workplace and prohibition of discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, parenthood, sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- Women and adolescent girls who have been, or are at risk of being, subjected to harmful practices face significant risks to their sexual and reproductive health, in particular in a context where they already encounter barriers to decision-making on such issues arising from lack of adequate information and services, including adolescent-friendly services. Special attention is therefore needed to ensure that women and adolescents have access to accurate information about sexual and reproductive health and rights and on the impacts of harmful practices, as well as access to adequate and confidential services. Age-appropriate education, which includes science-based information on sexual and reproductive health, contributes to empowering girls and women to make informed decisions and claim their rights. To this end, health-care providers and teachers with adequate knowledge, understanding and skills play a crucial role in conveying the information, preventing harmful practices and identifying and assisting women and girls who are victims of or might be at risk of being subjected to them.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- The Convention is a significant tool in international efforts to prevent and reduce statelessness because it particularly affects women and girls with regard to nationality rights. The Convention requires full protection of women's equality in nationality matters. Nationality is the legal bond between a person and a State and is critical to ensuring full participation in society. Nationality is also essential to guaranteeing the exercise and enjoyment of other rights, including the right to enter and reside permanently in the territory of a State and to return to that State from abroad. Article 9 of the Convention is therefore essential to the enjoyment of the full range of human rights by women. While human rights are to be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of nationality status, in practice nationality is frequently a prerequisite for the enjoyment of basic human rights. Without nationality, girls and women are subject to compounded discrimination as women and as non-nationals or stateless persons.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- The Committee acknowledges that, as a matter of international law, the authorities of the country of origin are primarily responsible for providing protection to the citizens, including ensuring that women enjoy their rights under the Convention, and that it is only when such protection is not available that international protection is invoked to protect the basic human rights that are seriously at risk. However, the Committee notes that the fact that a woman asylum seeker has not sought the protection of the State or made a complaint to the authorities before her departure from her country of origin should not prejudice her asylum claim, especially where violence against women is tolerated or there is a pattern of failure in responding to women's complaints of abuse. It would not be realistic to require her to have sought protection in advance of her flight. She may also lack confidence in the justice system and access to justice or fear abuse, harassment or retaliation for making such complaints.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration are part of the broader security sector reform framework and among the first security initiatives put in place in post-conflict and transition periods. This notwithstanding, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes are rarely developed or implemented in coordination with security sector reform initiatives. This lack of coordination often undermines women's rights, such as when amnesties are granted in order to facilitate the reintegration into security sector positions of ex-combatants who have committed gender-based violations. Women are also excluded from positions within newly formed security sector institutions owing to a lack of planning and coordination in security sector reform and disarmament, demobilization and reintegration initiatives. Inadequate vetting processes further impede gender-sensitive security sector reform, which is key to developing non-discriminatory, gender-responsive security sector institutions that address the security needs of women and girls, including disadvantaged groups.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Amending article 20 of the Convention 1995, para. N/A
- Paragraph text
- Considering that the articles of the Convention address the fundamental human rights of women in all aspects of their daily lives and in all areas of society and the State,
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Article 3: The equality of rights between men and women - replaces GC No. 4 2000, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- To fulfil their obligations under article 23, paragraph 4, States parties must ensure that the matrimonial regime contains equal rights and obligations for both spouses with regard to the custody and care of children, the children's religious and moral education, the capacity to transmit to children the parent's nationality, and the ownership or administration of property, whether common property or property in the sole ownership of either spouse. States parties should review their legislation to ensure that married women have equal rights in regard to the ownership and administration of such property, where necessary. Also, States parties should ensure that no sex-based discrimination occurs in respect of the acquisition or loss of nationality by reason of marriage, of residence rights, and of the right of each spouse to retain the use of his or her original family name or to participate on an equal basis in the choice of a new family name. Equality during marriage implies that husband and wife should participate equally in responsibility and authority within the family.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2000
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and health 1999, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Women have the right to be fully informed, by properly trained personnel, of their options in agreeing to treatment or research, including likely benefits and potential adverse effects of proposed procedures and available alternatives.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 1999
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 88
- Paragraph text
- States parties should widely disseminate the present joint general recommendation/general comment to parliaments, Governments and the judiciary, nationally and locally. It should also be made known to children and women and all relevant professionals and stakeholders, including those working for and with children (i.e. judges, lawyers, police officers and other law enforcement officials, teachers, guardians, social workers, staff of public or private welfare institutions and shelters and health-care providers) and civil society at large. It should be translated into relevant languages and child-friendly/appropriate versions and formats accessible to persons with disabilities should be made available. Conferences, seminars, workshops and other events should be held to share good practice on how best to implement it. It should also be incorporated into the formal pre-service and in-service training of all relevant professionals and technical staff and should be made available to all national human rights institutions, women's organizations and other human rights non-governmental organizations.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Equality in marriage and family relations 1994, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- Migrant women who live and work temporarily in another country should be permitted the same rights as men to have their spouses, partners and children join them.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Men
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 1994
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Women with disabilities are exposed to compounded stereotypes that can be particularly harmful. Disability and gender stereotypes applying to women with disabilities include, but are not limited to: being burdensome to others (that they must be cared for, are a cause of hardship, an affliction, a responsibility, require protection), vulnerable (defenceless, unsafe, dependent, reliant, unsafe) and/or victims (suffering, passive, helpless), inferior (inability, inadequacy, weak, worthless); have a sexual abnormality (for example, women with disabilities are stereotyped as asexual, inactive, overactive, incapable, sexually perverse), being mystical or sinister (stereotyped as cursed, possessed by spirits, practitioners of witchcraft, as being good or bad luck, harmful). Gender and/or disability stereotyping is the practice of ascribing to a specific individual a stereotypical belief, and it is wrongful when it results in a violation or violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms. An example of this is the failure of the justice system to hold the perpetrator of sexual violence against a woman with disability accountable based on stereotypical views about her sexuality or on her credibility as a witness.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 17e
- Paragraph text
- Structural or systemic discrimination are hidden or overt patterns of discriminatory institutional behaviour, discriminatory cultural traditions, social norms and/or rules. Harmful gender and disability stereotyping can lead to such discrimination, inextricably linked to a lack of policies, regulation and service provision specifically for women with disabilities. For example, due to stereotyping based on the intersection of gender and disability, women with disabilities may face barriers when reporting violence, such as disbelief and dismissal by police, prosecutors and courts. Likewise, harmful practices are strongly connected to and reinforce socially constructed gender roles and power relations that can reflect negative perceptions of, or discriminatory beliefs regarding women with disabilities, such as the belief that men with HIV/AIDS can be cured by engaging in sexual intercourse with women with disabilities . The lack of awareness training and policies to prevent harmful stereotyping of women with disabilities by public officials, be it teachers, health service providers, police officers, prosecutors, judges,. and the public at large can often lead to individual instances of violations of rights.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to inclusive education 2016, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- Article 8 calls for measures to raise awareness and challenge stereotypes, prejudices and harmful practices regarding persons with disabilities, particularly targeting those affecting women and girls with disabilities and persons with intellectual disabilities and intensive support requirements. These barriers impede both access to, and effective learning within the education system. The Committee notes the practice of some parents of children without disabilities removing their children from inclusive schools, based on lack of awareness and understanding of the nature of disability. States parties must adopt measures to build a culture of diversity, participation and involvement into community life and to highlight inclusive education as a means to achieve a quality education for all students, with and without disabilities, parents, teachers and school administrations, as well as the community and society. States parties must ensure that mechanisms are in place to foster, at all levels of the education system, and among parents and the wider public, an attitude of respect for the rights of persons with disabilities. Civil society, in particular OPDs, should be involved in all awareness raising activities.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence 2011, para. 72b
- Paragraph text
- [Elements to be mainstreamed into national coordinating frameworks. The following elements need to be mainstreamed across the measures (legislative, administrative, social and educational) and stages of intervention (from prevention through to recovery and reintegration):] The gender dimensions of violence against children. States parties should ensure that policies and measures take into account the different risks facing girls and boys in respect of various forms of violence in various settings. States should address all forms of gender discrimination as part of a comprehensive violence-prevention strategy. This includes addressing gender-based stereotypes, power imbalances, inequalities and discrimination which support and perpetuate the use of violence and coercion in the home, in school and educational settings, in communities, in the workplace, in institutions and in society more broadly. Men and boys must be actively encouraged as strategic partners and allies, and along with women and girls, must be provided with opportunities to increase their respect for one another and their understanding of how to stop gender discrimination and its violent manifestations;
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 89
- Paragraph text
- For example, many migrant women workers in developed countries are employed in agriculture and often face serious violations of their human rights, including violence, exploitation and denial of access to services, including health care. In addition, the move to industrial farming in many developed countries has tended to marginalize small farmers, having a disproportionate impact on rural women. There is therefore a need to facilitate and support alternative and gender responsive agricultural development programmes that enable small-scale women producers to participate in and benefit from agriculture and rural development. In addition, while rural communities in developed countries may often be well connected to social services and have access to transportation infrastructure, water, sanitation, technology, education and health-care systems, among others, the situation is not equal across all rural communities. In many places, such access is noticeably lacking, and women living within those rural communities experience not only the deprivation of such rights but also an increased burden of care work as a result. This holds particularly true in peripheral or remote rural communities, including indigenous ones, which are isolated and tend to have higher levels of poverty.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Poverty
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- The rights of rural women and girls to water and sanitation are not only essential rights in themselves but also key to the realization of a wide range of other rights, including rights to health, food, education and participation.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Article 14 is the only provision in an international human rights treaty that specifically pertains to rural women. However, all rights under the Convention apply to rural women, and article 14 must be interpreted in the context of the Convention as a whole. When reporting, States parties should address all articles that have bearing on the enjoyment of rights by rural women and girls. Accordingly, the present general recommendation explores the links between article 14 and other Convention provisions. As many of the Sustainable Development Goals address the situation of rural women and provide an important opportunity to advance both process and outcome indicators, the specific intent of the present general recommendation is to provide guidance to States parties on the implementation of their obligations with respect to rural women. While general recommendation No. 34 focuses on rural women in developing countries, some of its components also pertain to the situation of rural women in developed countries. It is recognized that rural women, even in developed countries, suffer discrimination and challenges in various areas, including economic empowerment, participation in political and public life, access to services and the labour exploitation of rural migrant women workers.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women’s access to justice 2015, para. 65d
- Paragraph text
- [Many countries have made reservations to:] Article 16, which indicates that States parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Articles 1-3, 5 (a) and 15 establish an obligation on States parties to ensure that women are not discriminated against during the entire asylum process, beginning from the moment of arrival at the borders. Women asylum seekers are entitled to have their rights under the Convention respected; they are entitled to be treated in a non-discriminatory manner and with respect and dignity at all times during the asylum procedure and thereafter, including through the process of finding durable solutions once asylum status has been recognized by the receiving State. The receiving State has a responsibility towards women granted asylum status when it comes to helping them to, among other things, find proper accommodation, training and/or job opportunities, providing legal, medical, psychosocial support for victims of trauma and offering language classes and other measures facilitating their integration. In addition, women asylum seekers whose asylum applications are denied should be granted dignified and non-discriminatory return processes.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- The Committee further considers that, under article 2 (d) of the Convention, States parties undertake to refrain from engaging in any act or practice of discrimination against women and to ensure that public authorities and institutions act in conformity with that obligation. That duty encompasses the obligation of States parties to protect women from being exposed to a real, personal and foreseeable risk of serious forms of discrimination against women, including gender-based violence, irrespective of whether such consequences would take place outside the territorial boundaries of the sending State party: if a State party takes a decision relating to a person within its jurisdiction, and the necessary and foreseeable consequence is that the person's basic rights under the Convention will be seriously at risk in another jurisdiction, the State party itself may be in violation of the Convention. The foreseeability of the consequence would mean that there was a present violation by the State party, even though the consequence would not occur until later.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- When conflict comes to an end, society is confronted with the complex task of dealing with the past, which involves the need to hold human rights violators accountable for their actions, putting an end to impunity, restoring the rule of law and addressing all the needs of survivors through the provision of justice accompanied by reparations. Challenges relating to access to justice are especially aggravated and acute in conflict and post-conflict situations because formal justice systems may no longer exist or function with any level of efficiency or effectiveness. Existing justice systems may often be more likely to violate women's rights than to protect them, which can deter victims from seeking justice. All barriers faced by women in gaining access to justice before the national courts prior to the conflict, such as legal, procedural, institutional, social and practical barriers, in addition to entrenched gender discrimination, are exacerbated during conflict, persist during the post-conflict period and operate alongside the breakdown of the police and judicial structures to deny or hinder women's access to justice.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- Electoral reform and constitution-drafting processes in post-conflict contexts pose a set of unique challenges to ensuring women's participation and promoting gender equality, given that the designs of electoral systems are not always gender-neutral. The electoral rules and procedures that determine which interest groups are represented on constitution-building bodies and other electoral bodies in the post-conflict era are critical in guaranteeing the role of women in public and political life. Decisions on the choice of electoral systems are important to overcome the traditional gender bias that undermines women's participation. Substantive progress towards the equal participation of women as candidates and voters, in addition to the holding of free and fair elections, will not be possible unless appropriate measures are taken, including the creation of a gender-responsive electoral system and the adoption of temporary special measures to enhance women's participation as candidates and ensure a proper voter's registration system and that women voters and female political candidates are not subject to violence by State or private actors.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- In conflict-affected areas, access to essential services such as health care, including sexual and reproductive health services, is disrupted owing to inadequate infrastructure and a lack of professional medical care workers, basic medicines and health-care supplies. Consequently, women and girls are at a greater risk of unplanned pregnancy, severe sexual and reproductive injuries and contracting sexually transmitted infections, including HIV and AIDS, as a result of conflict-related sexual violence. The breakdown or destruction of health services, combined with restrictions on women's mobility and freedom of movement, further undermines women's equal access to health care, as guaranteed by article 12 (1). Power imbalances and harmful gender norms make girls and women disproportionately more vulnerable to HIV infection and these factors become more pronounced in conflict and post-conflict settings. HIV-related stigma and discrimination is also pervasive and has profound implications for HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, especially when combined with the stigma associated with gender-based violence.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Women's rights in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict processes are affected by various actors, including States acting individually (for example, as the State within whose borders the conflict arises, neighbouring States involved in the regional dimensions of the conflict or States involved in unilateral cross-border military manoeuvres), States acting as members of international or intergovernmental organizations (for example, by contributing to international peacekeeping forces or as donors giving money through international financial institutions to support peace processes) and coalitions and non-State actors, such as armed groups, paramilitaries, corporations, private military contractors, organized criminal groups and vigilantes. In conflict and post-conflict contexts, State institutions are often weakened or certain government functions may be performed by other Governments, intergovernmental organizations or even non-State groups. The Committee stresses that, in such cases, there may be simultaneous and complementary sets of obligations under the Convention for a range of involved actors.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- The constitutions or legal frameworks of a number of States parties still provide that personal status laws (relating to marriage, divorce, distribution of marital property, inheritance, guardianship, adoption and other such matters) are exempt from constitutional provisions prohibiting discrimination or reserve matters of personal status to the ethnic and religious communities within the State party to determine. In such cases, constitutional equal protection provisions and anti-discrimination provisions do not protect women from the discriminatory effects of marriage under customary practices and religious laws. Some States parties have adopted constitutions that include equal protection and non discrimination provisions but have not revised or adopted legislation to eliminate the discriminatory aspects of their family law regimes, whether they are regulated by civil code, religious law, ethnic custom or any combination of laws and practices. All these constitutional and legal frameworks are discriminatory, in violation of article 2 in conjunction with articles 5, 15 and 16 of the Convention.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- The economic consequences for women of marriage, divorce, separation and death have been of growing concern to the Committee. Research conducted in some countries has found that while men usually experience smaller, if not minimal, income losses after divorce and/or separation, many women experience a substantial decline in household income and increased dependence on social welfare, where it is available. Throughout the world, female-headed households are the most likely to be poor. Their status is inevitably affected by global developments such as the market economy and its crises; women's increasing entry into the paid workforce and their concentration in low-paying jobs; persistent income inequality within and between States; growth in divorce rates and in de facto unions; the reform of social security systems or the launching of new ones; and, above all, the persistence of women's poverty. Despite women's contributions to the economic well-being of the family, their economic inferiority permeates all stages of family relationships, often owing to their responsibility for dependants.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Older women and protection of their human rights 2010, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- Older women are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, including economic abuse, when their legal capacity is deferred to lawyers or family members, without their consent.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph