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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
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
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
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- The increased role and impact of private actors in traditionally public sectors, such as the health or education sector, pose new challenges for States parties in complying with their obligations under the Covenant. Privatization is not per se prohibited by the Covenant, even in areas such as the provision of water or electricity, education or health care where the role of the public sector has traditionally been strong. Private providers should, however, be subject to strict regulations that impose on them so-called “public service obligations”: in the provision of water or electricity, this may include requirements concerning universality of coverage and continuity of service, pricing policies, quality requirements, and user participation. Similarly, private health-care providers should be prohibited from denying access to affordable and adequate services, treatments or information. For instance, where health practitioners are allowed to invoke conscientious objection to refuse to provide certain sexual and reproductive health services, including abortion, they should refer the women or girls seeking such services to another practitioner within reasonable geographical reach who is willing to provide such services.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health 2013, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- Taking into account that boys and men are crucial to planning and ensuring healthy pregnancies and deliveries, States should integrate education, awareness and dialogue opportunities for boys and men into their policies and plans for sexual, reproductive and children's health services.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- Attitudinal barriers by health care staff and related personnel may result in refusal of access of women with disabilities to healthcare practitioners and/or services, especially women with psychosocial or intellectual impairments, deaf and deafblind women, and women that are still institutionalized .
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
HIV/AIDS and the rights of the children 2003, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Education plays a critical role in providing children with relevant and appropriate information on HIV/AIDS, which can contribute to increased awareness and better understanding of this pandemic and prevent negative attitudes towards victims of HIV/AIDS (see also the Committee's General Comment No. 1 on the aims of education). Furthermore, education can and should empower children to protect themselves from the risk of HIV infection. In this regard, the Committee wishes to remind States parties of their obligation to ensure that primary education is available to all children, whether infected, orphaned or otherwise affected by HIV/AIDS. In many communities where HIV has spread widely, children from affected families, in particular girls, are facing serious difficulties staying in school and the number of teachers and other school employees lost to AIDS is limiting and threatening to destroy the ability of children to access education. States parties must make adequate provision to ensure that children affected by HIV/AIDS can stay in school and ensure the qualified replacement of sick teachers so that children's regular attendance at schools is not affected, and that the right to education (art. 28) of all children living within these communities is fully protected.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2003
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
HIV/AIDS and the rights of the children 2003, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- Dialogue with community, family and peer counsellors, and the provision of "life skills" education within schools, including skills in communicating on sexuality and healthy living, have been found to be useful approaches to delivering HIV prevention messages to both girls and boys, but different approaches may be necessary to reach different groups of children. States parties must make efforts to address gender differences as they may impact on the access children have to prevention messages, and ensure that children are reached with appropriate prevention messages even if they face constraints due to language, religion, disability or other factors of discrimination. Particular attention must be paid to raising awareness among hard to reach populations. In this respect, the role of the mass media and/or oral tradition in ensuring that children have access to information and material, as recognized in article 17 of the Convention, is crucial both to providing appropriate information and to reducing stigmatization and discrimination. States parties should support the regular monitoring and evaluation of HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns to ascertain their effectiveness in providing information, reducing ignorance, stigmatization and discrimination, as well as addressing fear and misperceptions concerning HIV and its transmission among children, including adolescents.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2003
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- The Committee notes that contributions from its half day of general discussion on women and girls with disabilities which took place during its 9th session in April 2013, highlighted a range of topics and identified three main subjects of concern with respect to the protection of their human rights: (1) violence, (2) sexual and reproductive health and rights and (3) discrimination. Furthermore, concluding observations issued by this Committee to date on women with disabilities express concern about: the prevalence of multiple discrimination and intersectional discrimination against women with disabilities , on account of their gender, disability and other factors which are not sufficiently addressed in legislation and policies ; the right to life , equal recognition before the law , the persistence of violence against women and girls with disabilities , including sexual violence and abuse , forced sterilization , female genital mutilation , sexual and economic exploitation ; institutionalization , the lack of or insufficient participation of women with disabilities in decision-making processes in public and political life ; the lack of inclusion of a gender perspective in disability policies , the lack of a disability rights perspective in gender policies ; and the lack of or insufficient specific measures to promote the education and employment of women with disabilities .
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- 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. 31
- Paragraph text
- Adolescent girls should have access to information on the harm that early marriage and early pregnancy can cause, and those who become pregnant should have access to health services that are sensitive to their rights and particular needs. States parties should take measures to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality in adolescent girls, particularly caused by early pregnancy and unsafe abortion practices, and to support adolescent parents. Young mothers, especially where support is lacking, may be prone to depression and anxiety, compromising their ability to care for their child. The Committee urges States parties (a) to develop and implement programmes that provide access to sexual and reproductive health services, including family planning, contraception and safe abortion services where abortion is not against the law, adequate and comprehensive obstetric care and counselling; (b) to foster positive and supportive attitudes towards adolescent parenthood for their mothers and fathers; and (c) to develop policies that will allow adolescent mothers to continue their education.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2003
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to the highest attainable standard of health (Art. 12) 2000, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Article 12.2 (a) outlines the need to take measures to reduce infant mortality and promote the healthy development of infants and children. Subsequent international human rights instruments recognize that children and adolescents have the right to the enjoyment of the highest standard of health and access to facilities for the treatment of illness. The Convention on the Rights of the Child directs States to ensure access to essential health services for the child and his or her family, including pre- and post-natal care for mothers. The Convention links these goals with ensuring access to child-friendly information about preventive and health-promoting behaviour and support to families and communities in implementing these practices. Implementation of the principle of non-discrimination requires that girls, as well as boys, have equal access to adequate nutrition, safe environments, and physical as well as mental health services. There is a need to adopt effective and appropriate measures to abolish harmful traditional practices affecting the health of children, particularly girls, including early marriage, female genital mutilation, preferential feeding and care of male children. Children with disabilities should be given the opportunity to enjoy a fulfilling and decent life and to participate within their community.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2000
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 83
- Paragraph text
- In the absence of toilets or latrines, rural women and girls must also walk long distances in search of privacy. The lack of adequate sanitation also increases their risk of ill health. To remedy this situation, rural women and girls must have physical and economic access to sanitation that is safe, hygienic, secure and socially and culturally acceptable.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and health 1999, para. 15d
- Paragraph text
- [The obligation to protect rights relating to women's health requires States parties, their agents and officials to take action to prevent and impose sanctions for violations of rights by private persons and organizations. Since gender-based violence is a critical health issue for women, States parties should ensure:] The enactment and effective enforcement of laws that prohibit female genital mutilation and marriage of girl children.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1999
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
HIV/AIDS and the rights of the children 2003, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- Girls and boys who are deprived of the means of survival and development, particularly children orphaned by AIDS, may be subjected to sexual and economic exploitation in a variety of ways, including the exchange of sexual services or hazardous work for money to survive, support their sick or dying parents and younger siblings, or to pay for school fees. Children who are infected or directly affected by HIV/AIDS may find themselves at a double disadvantage - experiencing discrimination on the basis of both their social and economic marginalization and their, or their parents', HIV status. Consistent with the right of children under articles 32, 34, 35 and 36 of the Convention, and in order to reduce children's vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, States parties are under obligation to protect children from all forms of economic and sexual exploitation, including ensuring they do not fall prey to prostitution networks, and that they are protected from performing any work likely to be prejudicial to, or to interfere with, their education, health, or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development. States parties must take bold action to protect children from sexual and economic exploitation, trafficking and sale and, consistent with the rights under article 39, create opportunities for those who have been subjected to such treatment to benefit from the support and caring services of the State and non governmental entities engaged in these issues.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2003
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19 2017, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Violations of women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, such as forced sterilization, forced abortion, forced pregnancy, criminalization of abortion, denial or delay of safe abortion and/or post-abortion care, forced continuation of pregnancy, and abuse and mistreatment of women and girls seeking sexual and reproductive health information, goods and services, are forms of gender-based violence that, depending on the circumstances, may amount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The rights of children with disabilities 2007, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- The Committee is deeply concerned about the prevailing practice of forced sterilisation of children with disabilities, particularly girls with disabilities. This practice, which still exists, seriously violates the right of the child to her or his physical integrity and results in adverse life-long physical and mental health effects. Therefore, the Committee urges States parties to prohibit by law the forced sterilisation of children on grounds of disability.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2007
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- In States parties in which the prevalence of harmful practices is primarily limited to immigrant communities, health-care providers, teachers and childcare professionals, social workers, police officers, migration officials and the justice sector must be sensitized and trained in how to identify girls and women who have been, or are at risk of being, subjected to harmful practices and which steps can and should be taken to protect them.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 17d
- Paragraph text
- Denial of reasonable accommodation is discrimination if necessary and appropriate modification and adjustments (that do not impose a disproportionate or undue burden) are denied and are needed to ensure women with disabilities enjoy equal exercise of a human right or fundamental freedom . For example, a woman with a disability may be denied reasonable accommodation if she cannot undergo a mammogram at a health centre due to the physical inaccessibility of the built environment.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- In States parties in which the prevalence of harmful practices is primarily limited to immigrant communities, health-care providers, teachers and childcare professionals, social workers, police officers, migration officials and the justice sector must be sensitized and trained in how to identify girls and women who have been, or are at risk of being, subjected to harmful practices and which steps can and should be taken to protect them.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence 2011, para. 23a
- Paragraph text
- [Children with disabilities may be subject to particular forms of physical violence such as:] Forced sterilization, particularly girls;
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Accessibility 2014, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- Health care and social protection would remain unattainable for persons with disabilities without access to the premises where those services are provided. Even if the buildings where the health-care and social protection services are provided are themselves accessible, without accessible transportation, persons with disabilities are unable to travel to the places where the services are being provided. All information and communication pertaining to the provision of health care should be accessible through sign language, Braille, accessible electronic formats, alternative script, and augmentative and alternative modes, means and formats of communication. It is especially important to take into account the gender dimension of accessibility when providing health care, particularly reproductive health care for women and girls with disabilities, including gynaecological and obstetric services.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- Adolescents are the only age group in which death due to AIDS is increasing. Adolescents may face challenges in gaining access to antiretroviral treatment and remaining in treatment; the need to gain the consent of guardians in order to access HIV-related services, disclosure and stigma are some barriers. Adolescent girls are disproportionately affected, representing two thirds of new infections. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adolescents, adolescents who exchange sex for money, goods or favours and adolescents who inject drugs are also at a higher risk of HIV infection.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- There should be no barriers to commodities, information and counselling on sexual and reproductive health and rights, such as requirements for third-party consent or authorization. In addition, particular efforts need to be made to overcome barriers of stigma and fear experienced by, for example, adolescent girls, girls with disabilities and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex adolescents, in gaining access to such services. The Committee urges States to decriminalize abortion to ensure that girls have access to safe abortion and post-abortion services, review legislation with a view to guaranteeing the best interests of pregnant adolescents and ensure that their views are always heard and respected in abortion-related decisions.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- The Committee urges States to adopt comprehensive gender and sexuality-sensitive sexual and reproductive health policies for adolescents, emphasizing that unequal access by adolescents to such information, commodities and services amounts to discrimination. Lack of access to such services contributes to adolescent girls being the group most at risk of dying or suffering serious or lifelong injuries in pregnancy and childbirth. All adolescents should have access to free, confidential, adolescent-responsive and non-discriminatory sexual and reproductive health services, information and education, available both online and in person, including on family planning, contraception, including emergency contraception, prevention, care and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, counselling, pre-conception care, maternal health services and menstrual hygiene.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Healthcare facilities and equipment, including mammogram machines and gynaecological examination beds, are often physically inaccessible for women with disabilities . Safe transport for women with disabilities to attend healthcare facilities or screening programmes may be unavailable, unaffordable or inaccessible.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 28b
- Paragraph text
- [The cross-cutting nature of article 6 inextricably links it to all other substantive provisions of the Convention. In addition to the articles that have an explicit reference to sex and/or gender, the rights of women with disabilities under article 6 are particularly interrelated with the following provisions:] Sexual and reproductive health and rights, including respect for home and the family (art. 25 and 23);
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 17b
- Paragraph text
- Indirect discrimination means that law, policies or practices appear neutral at face value, but have a disproportionate negative impact on women with disabilities. For example, healthcare facilities may appear neutral, but do not include accessible examination beds for gynaecological screening.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 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 Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Female genital mutilation, female circumcision or female genital cutting is the practice of partially or wholly removing the external female genitalia or otherwise injuring the female genital organs for non-medical or non-health reasons. In the context of the present joint general recommendation/general comment, it is referred to as female genital mutilation. Female genital mutilation is performed in every region and, within some cultures, is a requirement for marriage and believed to be an effective method of controlling the sexuality of women and girls. It may have various immediate and/or long-term health consequences, including severe pain, shock, infections and complications during childbirth (affecting both the mother and the child), long-term gynaecological problems such as fistula, psychological effects and death. The World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund estimate that between 100 million and 140 million girls and women worldwide have been subjected to a type of female genital mutilation.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health 2013, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Sexual and reproductive health education should include self-awareness and knowledge about the body, including anatomical, physiological and emotional aspects, and should be accessible to all children, girls and boys. It should include content related to sexual health and well-being, such as information about body changes and maturation processes, and designed in a manner through which children are able to gain knowledge regarding reproductive health and the prevention of gender-based violence, and adopt responsible sexual behaviour.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph