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Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work 2017, para. 14
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Paragraph text
- The Commission strongly condemns violence against women and girls in all its forms in public and private spaces, including harassment in the world of work, including sexual harassment, and sexual and gender-based violence, domestic violence, trafficking in persons and femicide, among others, as well as harmful practices such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation, and recognizes that these forms of violence are major impediments to the achievement of women's economic empowerment and their social and economic development, often resulting in, inter alia, absenteeism, missed promotions and job losses, thereby hampering women's ability to enter, advance and remain in the labour market and make contributions commensurate with their abilities, and also recognizes that such violence can impede economic independence and impose direct and indirect short- and long-term costs on society and individuals including, as relevant, lost economic output and the psychological and physical impact thereof, as well as expenses relating to health care, the legal sector, social welfare and specialized services, and further recognizes that women's economic autonomy can expand their options for leaving abusive relationships.
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2013, para. 26a
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Paragraph text
- [The consultation highlighted the following issues:] The critical role of legislation, which constitutes a core dimension of States' accountability for the protection of children from violence and makes a decisive contribution to the abandonment of harmful practices against girls and boys by communities concerned;
- Body
- SRSG: Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Servile marriage 2012, para. 56
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- Cultural relativism is often given as an excuse for slavery-like violations such as servile marriage and sexual slavery committed against women and girls. Societies that permit servile marriage are based on an overwhelming fear of female sexuality and culturally believe that it should be curtailed and regulated.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Comprehensive prevention strategies against sale and sexual exploitation of children 2013, para. 45
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- A number of social practices are rooted in discrimination against women. Child marriage is entrenched in social and gender norms that significantly affect the well-being of girls.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Comprehensive child protection systems 2011, para. 28c
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- [With regard to prohibition, comprehensive legal frameworks should:] Establish 18 years as the minimum age of marriage for girls and boys, with a prohibition on the procurement, offering, conducting of or forcing into an under-age marriage;
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Effective Implementation of the OPSC 2010, para. 53
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- In some circumstances, early marriage is used as an economic survival strategy by poor families. Girls are given into marriage, often against their will and in exchange for a dowry, in order to settle the family's debts, to acquire land or even to settle disputes between families or clans.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 91
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- Addressing violence cuts across the Sustainable Development Goals and is critical to the realization of the right to health. The Goals envisage "a world free from fear and violence" and include specific commitments to eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres (target 5.2); to eliminate all harmful practices, including child early and forced marriage and genital mutilation (target 5.3); to significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere (target 16.1); and to end all forms of violence against and torture of children (target 16.2). The Goals also include a commitment to build capacities to prevent violence (target 16.a). In addition, several other Goals address risk factors linked to violence, including ending poverty (Goal 1), ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being (Goal 3), ensuring quality education (Goal 4), addressing inequalities (Goal 10) and making cities and settlements safe (Goal 11). As recognized in the Goals, reducing and eliminating violence is critical to transforming the world into a peaceful and inclusive global community.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The girl child 1998, para. e
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Paragraph text
- [Actions to be taken by Governments, local authorities, non-governmental organizations and civil society and the United Nations system, as appropriate:] Eliminate traditional and customary practices that constitute son- preference through awareness-raising campaigns and gender training;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 1998
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 30
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- While United Nations human rights instruments, mechanisms and agencies have recognized that the forced sterilization of persons with disabilities constitutes discrimination, a form of violence, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, the practice is still legal and applied in many countries. Across the globe, many legal systems allow judges, health-care professionals, family members and guardians to consent to sterilization procedures on behalf of persons with disabilities as being in their “best interest”, particularly for girls with disabilities who are under the legal authority of their parents. The practices are often conducted on a purported precautionary basis because of the vulnerability of girls and young women with disabilities to sexual abuse, and under the fallacy that sterilization would enable girls and young women with disabilities who are “deemed unfit for parenthood” to improve their quality of life without the “burden” of a pregnancy. However, sterilization neither protects them against sexual violence or abuse nor removes the State’s obligation to protect them from such abuse. Forced sterilization is an unacceptable practice with lifelong consequences on the physical and mental integrity of girls and young women with disabilities that must be immediately eradicated and criminalized.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 123
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Paragraph text
- In some communities, certain incidents of violence reflect harmful beliefs towards particularly marginalized girls, including those with disabilities or albinism, who may be accused of witchcraft. As a result, those girls endure stigmatization and are the victims of serious acts of violence, neglect, abandonment, mutilation and murder.
- Body
- SRSG: Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 120
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Paragraph text
- In 1995, data from many countries showed that girls experienced discrimination from the earliest stages of life, through their childhood and into adulthood. Owing to violence, sexual abuse and exploitation, harmful attitudes and practices, such as female genital mutilation, son preference and child marriage, many girls do not survive into adulthood. They are neglected and their self-esteem undermined, with the risk of initiating a lifelong downward spiral of deprivation and exclusion.
- Body
- SRSG: Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2012, para. 70
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Paragraph text
- Less than 30 per cent of respondents indicate 18 as the minimum age for marriage, with younger ages and different thresholds for boys and girls prevalent in a large number of countries. This is an area to which the Special Representative has paid special attention, including through the consultation on children's protection from harmful practices (see paras. 17-20 above).
- Body
- SRSG: Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 78
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- Female infanticide has been practiced throughout history, on all continents, and by persons from all backgrounds. It remains a critical concern in a number of countries today. It is closely linked to the phenomenon of sex-selective abortion, which targets female foetuses. Female infanticide has been known to take such forms as the induced death of infants by suffocation, drowning, neglect and exposure to danger or other means.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Infants
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 36
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- The killing of women accused of sorcery/witchcraft has been reported as a significant phenomenon in countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands. The pattern of violations includes violent murders, physical mutilation, displacement, kidnapping and disappearances of girls and women. In many countries where women are accused of sorcery/witchcraft, they are also subjected to exorcism ceremonies involving public beating and abuse by shamans or village elders.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Continuum of violence against women from the home to the transnational sphere: the challenges of effective redress 2011, para. 30
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- Closely tied to domestic violence, practices that are harmful and degrading undermine the rights and status of women and girls and continue without systematic monitoring or punishment, despite the increasing existence of legal prohibitions. In some countries, early and forced marriage, polygamy and unregistered marriages continue to be of concern. The mandate considers these practices "aggravated factors" that increase vulnerability of women to violence. In Kyrgyzstan, the Special Rapporteur found correlation between early marriages (12.2 per cent of women) and unregistered marriages, on the one hand, and rising unemployment and feminization of poverty and the resurfacing of patriarchal traditions and religious conservatism, on the other. Early marriage contributes to high maternal mortality rates due to prolonged labour and other complications. Similarly, women living in unregistered marriages in Algeria experienced heightened vulnerability to violence and abuse and were reported to have difficulties in ending abusive relationships due to lack of support, alternative housing and legal protection. Despite legal restrictions in regard to polygamy, the Special Rapporteur heard accounts from women who were subjected to violence or threats of violence by husbands who wished to obtain consent to a polygamous marriage.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Servile marriage 2012, para. 40
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- According to the Special Rapporteur on traditional practices affecting the health of women and the girl child, the practice of forced marriage deserved the close scrutiny of the international community, as it would not be eradicated until women were considered full and equal participants in the social, economic, cultural and political life of their communities (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/36, para. 82).
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Servile marriage 2012, para. 19
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- Reaffirming forced and early marriages as slavery-like practices is important as it provides an understanding of the violations that victims endure and the kind of interventions required to prevent, monitor and prosecute servile marriage. Victim protection programmes can also be specifically tailored better to support victims of servile marriage. It moves the discussion from being about the rights of women and girls to being about abolishing slavery within communities.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism 2013, para. 32
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- In some cases this phenomenon may be veiled in a "culturally acceptable" practice through, for instance, child marriage. In countries where early marriage is still a common practice, money can be offered to families to marry young girls, despite the marriage only lasting for the length of the stay. Visitors may also take the minor back to their country, where the child will be subjected to continual sexual exploitation.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 58
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- Harmful practices are persistent practices and forms of behaviour grounded in discrimination on the basis of, inter alia, sex, gender and age, in addition to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination that often involve violence and cause physical or psychological harm or suffering, including immediate or long-term consequences for the victim's dignity, physical and psychosocial integrity and development, health, education and socioeconomic status. Women and girls are disproportionately impacted by harmful practices. Typically justified on the basis of social norms and cultural beliefs, tradition or religion, harmful practices are motivated in part by stereotypes about sex and gender-based roles and rooted in attempts to control individuals' bodies and sexuality. Female genital mutilation, child and forced marriage and honour-based violence are acknowledged as forms of gender-based violence that constitute ill-treatment and torture. Victims seeking justice for violations of their rights as a result of harmful practices often face stigmatization and risk revictimization, harassment and retribution. States must ensure that the rights of women and girls are guaranteed and protected at all stages of the legal processes, inter alia through legal aid, support programmes and witness protection.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- 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. 26
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- However, not all forms of marriage deserve recognition. The Working Group calls for the non-recognition of those forms that discriminate against women and/or fail to ensure equality and justice for women, whatever the legal system, religion, custom or tradition. This refers to, among others, early and/or forced marriage, temporary marriage and polygamy. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Human Rights Committee have recommended that States should prohibit polygamy on the grounds that it contravenes women's right to equality with men and can have serious emotional and financial consequences for women and their dependants. However, there are national civil codes that legalize polygamous marriage, early and/or forced marriage and temporary marriage. The Working Group advocates the repeal of these codes. Among the countries that deem such marriages to discriminate against women and girls, some consider them void and others merely voidable. In all cases, the legal solution must protect the rights of women and girls, who remain the victims of these harmful marriages. Their rights to subsistence, to property, including land and inheritance, to a place of residence, to custody of children and to remarry must be guaranteed.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Working Group on discrimination against women and girls
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence 2011, para. 29d
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Paragraph text
- [Harmful practices. These include, but are not limited to:] Violent and degrading initiation rites; force-feeding of girls; fattening; virginity testing (inspecting girls' genitalia);
- Body
- Treaty bodies: CRC - Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 83
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Paragraph text
- National protection systems or, in their absence, traditional structures should be mandated to be child friendly and gender sensitive and adequately resourced to provide all necessary protection services to women and girls who face a high risk of being subjected to violence, including girls running away to avoid being subjected to female genital mutilation, forced marriage or crimes committed in the name of so-called honour. Consideration should be given to the establishment of an easy-to-remember, free, around-the-clock helpline that is available and known nationwide. Appropriate safety and security measures for victims must be available, including specifically designed temporary shelters or specialized services within shelters for victims of violence. Given that perpetrators of harmful practices are often the spouse of the victim, a family member or a member of the victim's community, protective services should seek to relocate victims outside their immediate community if there is reason to believe that they may be unsafe. Unsupervised visits must be avoided, especially when the issue may be considered one of so-called honour. Psychosocial support must also be available to treat the immediate and long-term psychological trauma of victims, which may include post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression.
- Body
- Treaty bodies: CRC - Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 24
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Paragraph text
- The payment of dowries and bride prices, which varies among practising communities, may increase the vulnerability of women and girls to violence and to other harmful practices. The husband or his family members may engage in acts of physical or psychological violence, including murder, burning and acid attacks, for failure to fulfil expectations regarding the payment of a dowry or its size. In some cases, families will agree to the temporary "marriage" of their daughter in exchange for financial gains, also referred to as a contractual marriage, which is a form of trafficking in human beings. States parties to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography have explicit obligations with regard to child and/or forced marriages that include dowry payments or bride prices because they could constitute a sale of children as defined in article 2 (a) of the Protocol. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has repeatedly stressed that allowing marriage to be arranged by such payment or preferment violates the right to freely choose a spouse and has in its general recommendation No. 29 outlined that such practice should not be required for a marriage to be valid and that such agreements should not be recognized by a State party as enforceable.
- Body
- Treaty bodies: CRC - Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 6
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Paragraph text
- The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on the Rights of the Child consistently note that harmful practices are deeply rooted in social attitudes according to which women and girls are regarded as inferior to men and boys based on stereotyped roles. They also highlight the gender dimension of violence and indicate that sex- and gender-based attitudes and stereotypes, power imbalances, inequalities and discrimination perpetuate the widespread existence of practices that often involve violence or coercion. It is also important to recall that the Committees are concerned that the practices are also used to justify gender-based violence as a form of "protection" or control of women and children in the home or community, at school or in other educational settings and institutions and in wider society. Moreover, the Committees draw States parties' attention to the fact that sex- and gender-based discrimination intersects with other factors that affect women and girls, in particular those who belong to, or are perceived as belonging to, disadvantaged groups, and who are therefore at a higher risk of becoming victims of harmful practices.
- Body
- Treaty bodies: CRC - Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 10
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- 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
- Treaty bodies: CRPD - Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- 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
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 83
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Paragraph text
- National protection systems or, in their absence, traditional structures should be mandated to be child friendly and gender sensitive and adequately resourced to provide all necessary protection services to women and girls who face a high risk of being subjected to violence, including girls running away to avoid being subjected to female genital mutilation, forced marriage or crimes committed in the name of so-called honour. Consideration should be given to the establishment of an easy-to-remember, free, around-the-clock helpline that is available and known nationwide. Appropriate safety and security measures for victims must be available, including specifically designed temporary shelters or specialized services within shelters for victims of violence. Given that perpetrators of harmful practices are often the spouse of the victim, a family member or a member of the victim's community, protective services should seek to relocate victims outside their immediate community if there is reason to believe that they may be unsafe. Unsupervised visits must be avoided, especially when the issue may be considered one of so-called honour. Psychosocial support must also be available to treat the immediate and long-term psychological trauma of victims, which may include post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression.
- Body
- Treaty bodies: CEDAW - Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 24
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Paragraph text
- The payment of dowries and bride prices, which varies among practising communities, may increase the vulnerability of women and girls to violence and to other harmful practices. The husband or his family members may engage in acts of physical or psychological violence, including murder, burning and acid attacks, for failure to fulfil expectations regarding the payment of a dowry or its size. In some cases, families will agree to the temporary "marriage" of their daughter in exchange for financial gains, also referred to as a contractual marriage, which is a form of trafficking in human beings. States parties to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography have explicit obligations with regard to child and/or forced marriages that include dowry payments or bride prices because they could constitute a sale of children as defined in article 2 (a) of the Protocol. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has repeatedly stressed that allowing marriage to be arranged by such payment or preferment violates the right to freely choose a spouse and has in its general recommendation No. 29 outlined that such practice should not be required for a marriage to be valid and that such agreements should not be recognized by a State party as enforceable.
- Body
- Treaty bodies: CEDAW - Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 6
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Paragraph text
- The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on the Rights of the Child consistently note that harmful practices are deeply rooted in social attitudes according to which women and girls are regarded as inferior to men and boys based on stereotyped roles. They also highlight the gender dimension of violence and indicate that sex- and gender-based attitudes and stereotypes, power imbalances, inequalities and discrimination perpetuate the widespread existence of practices that often involve violence or coercion. It is also important to recall that the Committees are concerned that the practices are also used to justify gender-based violence as a form of "protection" or control of women and children in the home or community, at school or in other educational settings and institutions and in wider society. Moreover, the Committees draw States parties' attention to the fact that sex- and gender-based discrimination intersects with other factors that affect women and girls, in particular those who belong to, or are perceived as belonging to, disadvantaged groups, and who are therefore at a higher risk of becoming victims of harmful practices.
- Body
- Treaty bodies: CEDAW - Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and health 1999, para. 15d
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- 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
- Treaty bodies: CEDAW - Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1999
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Equality in marriage and family relations 1994, para. 36
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Paragraph text
- In the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights, held at Vienna from 14 to 25 June 1993, States are urged to repeal existing laws and regulations and to remove customs and practices which discriminate against and cause harm to the girl child. Article 16 (2) and the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child preclude States parties from permitting or giving validity to a marriage between persons who have not attained their majority. In the context of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, "a child means every human being below the age of 18 years unless, under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier". Notwithstanding this definition, and bearing in mind the provisions of the Vienna Declaration, the Committee considers that the minimum age for marriage should be 18 years for both man and woman. When men and women marry, they assume important responsibilities. Consequently, marriage should not be permitted before they have attained full maturity and capacity to act. According to the World Health Organization, when minors, particularly girls, marry and have children, their health can be adversely affected and their education is impeded. As a result their economic autonomy is restricted.
- Body
- Treaty bodies: CEDAW - Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1994
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph