Search Tips
sorted by
Cards viewTable viewMap view
330 shown of 2501 entities

Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 86

Paragraph text
The Special Rapporteur highlights that, apart from the Committee, a variety of international and regional human rights bodies and independent experts are working on the issue of violence against women. These bodies have all developed a rich jurisprudence, general comments and recommendations relating to the right of women and girls not to be subjected to violence, which in certain circumstances may amount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, denial of the right to health and other human rights. There are regional treaties and treaty bodies looking specifically at gender-based violence in Africa, the Americas and Europe. There are also independent experts in Africa and the Americas. However, these instruments need more incorporation and implementation, including through sustained funding of expert monitoring mechanisms to carry out their work, to facilitate coordination and to share best practices, information and insights. This urgency to support existing good work is even more compelling given the high priority dedicated to the eradication of violence against women in the Sustainable Development Goals.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work 2017, para. 14

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
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Economic Rights
  • Harmful Practices
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 30

Paragraph text
[Reparations for children and the restoration of children’s rights]: Previous experience with reparations for children, either administrative or court-ordered, has been limited. Past and present initiatives provide useful lessons learned and a sense of the challenges ahead. The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, for example, was the first ad hoc and hybrid court mandated to order reparations to victims, albeit only of a collective and symbolic nature. The Special Court for Sierra Leone had no mandate to award reparations. Instead, the Government established an administrative reparations programme on the basis of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Resource limitations, however, have put a significant strain on the implementation of this reparations process. In Colombia, in the framework of the Justice and Peace Act, the Supreme Court ordered reparations to child victims of forced recruitment in the case against Freddy Rendón Herrera, alias “El Alemán”, who was accused of unlawful recruitment. The Court considered the needs and experience of each victim, in particular girls, to be different, and decided to focus on individual rehabilitation measures rather than collective material reparations.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Violence against women: Twenty years of developments to combat violence against women 2014, para. 41

Paragraph text
One of the five priority areas of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) is ending violence against women. The efforts of UN-Women in this regard include standard setting, technical assistance, financial assistance, education, advocacy, data collection and coordination. The entity supports Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programmes and services needed to implement these standards, including in developing and implementing national action plans to end violence against women. UN-Women also participates in a number of joint programmes with partner agencies at the country level and coordinates the Secretary-General's UNiTE campaign and the COMMIT initiative. The Inventory of United Nations activities to prevent and eliminate violence against women describes the efforts of 38 United Nations entities, the International Organization for Migration and six inter-agency partnerships. UN-Women has also developed the Virtual Knowledge Centre to End Violence against Women and Girls, an online resource centre.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Movement
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
  • Women
Year
2014
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Violence against women as a barrier to the effective realization of all human rights 2014, para. 57

Paragraph text
A more recent challenge is the creation of hierarchies of violence against women, especially through political and funding actions. This is particularly evident in the articulation of sexual violence in conflict situations as being different and exceptional, as opposed to its being a continuation of a pattern of discrimination and violence that is exacerbated in times of conflict - as reflected in recent armed conflict situations. The prioritizing of this manifestation of violence has led to numerous concerns, including a shift away from an understanding of violence against women as both gendered and part of a continuum of violence; a shift in resources, in some instances, despite the need to address all manifestations of violence, including at the national level; a shift in focus by some United Nations entities; and the effect of donor-driven priorities in this process. The view of many women's rights defenders is that these shifts have led to focusing on the manifestation of violence against women in conflict situations, to the detriment and ignoring of the low-level "warfare" that women and girls experience in their homes and communities on a daily basis.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2014
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Internally displaced women: progress, challenges and the way ahead 2013, para. 43

Paragraph text
However, opportunities for IDW to participate actively in decision-making processes remain particularly limited. For example, IDW have rarely played an active role in developing, implementing and monitoring national action plans on Security Council resolution 1325 (2000), although IDW in a diverse range of contexts have demonstrated their ability and determination to play leading roles in developing and implementing policies and programmes concerning them. Unfortunately, the participatory approaches used to identify protection gaps of concern to IDW often do not extend to ensuring that they have an active say in the development, implementation and evaluation of responses to these gaps. IDW should therefore be given the opportunity to actively participate in peace processes; in negotiating durable solutions and the planning process for returns, reintegration or resettlement; and in post-conflict reconstruction and rebuilding. Participation of women in humanitarian planning should further reflect the diversity of the population and seek to include adolescent girls, youth and those with disabilities.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
Person(s) affected
  • Adolescents
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
2013
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Rights of indigenous peoples, including their economic, social and cultural rights in the post-2015 development framework 2014, para. 71

Paragraph text
When looking at available socioeconomic data disaggregated by ethnicity and gender, there is no doubt that indigenous women experience particular and interrelated forms of discrimination because of their indigenous identity and their gender. Gender-based discrimination is a sad reality in most countries, and it is also found within some indigenous societies where, for example, women may not traditionally have participated in governance institutions or where girls are not encouraged to study. In short, many indigenous women still face additional gender-based discrimination, which leads to disadvantages, marginalization and, in extreme cases, to violence, physical mutilation, trafficking, prostitution and restricted access to justice. On the other hand, there is ample documentation of the strong and crucial roles played by indigenous women in many areas of life, including food production, biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation, transmission of languages, culture and knowledge, conflict resolution and peacekeeping.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Environment
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Social & Cultural Rights
Person(s) affected
  • Ethnic minorities
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2014
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 52

Paragraph text
Community empowerment initiatives working with poor and marginalized communities have achieved extraordinary health outcomes, for example in the global fight to end HIV/AIDS (target 3.3) (E/HLPF/2016/2, para. 107). Economic and social empowerment, such as the decriminalization of sex work and sex worker mobilization, have improved health and identified critical health gaps (Goals 3 and 5). Community mobilization to attain adequate and stable housing for homeless people living with HIV can have life-saving implications for their health (targets 3.3 and 11.1). Efforts to empower parents in vulnerable situations through participatory parental education initiatives reduce the risk of negative health outcomes for their children (Goal 3 and targets 4.2, 5.2 and 16.2). When young girls have access to education, child mortality rates and girls' long-term health improve (Goals 3, 4 and 5) (A/70/213, para. 9). Investments in such initiatives place the human rights principles of autonomy and participation at the centre of public health policy and are critical components of an open, inclusive and peaceful society.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Families
  • Girls
  • Youth
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 76

Paragraph text
Growing numbers of adolescent girls and boys migrate, either within or outside their country of origin, in search of improved standards of living, education or family reunification. For many, migration offers significant social and economic opportunities. However, it also poses risks, including physical harm, psychological trauma, marginalization, discrimination, xenophobia and sexual and economic exploitation and, when crossing borders, immigration raids and detention. Many adolescent migrants are denied access to education, housing, health, recreation, participation, protection and social security. Even where rights to services are protected by laws and policies, adolescents may face administrative and other obstacles in gaining access to such services, including: demands for identity documents or social security numbers; harmful and inaccurate age-determination procedures; financial and linguistic barriers; and the risk that gaining access to services will result in detention or deportation. The Committee refers States parties to its comprehensive recommendations elaborated in respect of migrant children.
Body
Committee on the Rights of the Child
Document type
General Comment / Recommendation
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Movement
Person(s) affected
  • Adolescents
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 21

Paragraph text
The Committee has identified multiple forms of discrimination, many of which have particular implications in adolescence and necessitate an intersectional analysis and targeted holistic measures. Adolescence itself can be a source of discrimination. During this period, adolescents may be treated as dangerous or hostile, incarcerated, exploited or exposed to violence as a direct consequence of their status. Paradoxically, they are also often treated as incompetent and incapable of making decisions about their lives. The Committee urges States to ensure that all of the rights of every adolescent boy and girl are afforded equal respect and protection and that comprehensive and appropriate affirmative action measures are introduced in order to diminish or eliminate conditions that result in direct or indirect discrimination against any group of adolescents on any grounds. States are reminded that not every differentiation of treatment will constitute discrimination, if the criteria for such differentiation are reasonable and objective and if the aim is to achieve a purpose that is legitimate under the Convention.
Body
Committee on the Rights of the Child
Document type
General Comment / Recommendation
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Governance & Rule of Law
Person(s) affected
  • Adolescents
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2016
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

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

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

The girl child 1998, para. e

Paragraph text
[Actions to be taken by Governments, international organizations and the private sector:] Actively contribute to efforts at the 1998 session of the International Labour Conference to draw up a new international convention to eliminate the most abhorrent forms of child labour;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
1998
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

The girl child 1998, para. g

Paragraph text
[Actions to be taken by Governments, civil society and the United Nations system, as appropriate:] Recognize and protect from discrimination pregnant adolescents and young mothers and support their continued access to information, health care, nutrition, education and training;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Food & Nutrition
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Adolescents
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Infants
  • Youth
Year
1998
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

The girl child 1998, para. a

Paragraph text
[Actions to be taken by Governments, civil society and the United Nations system, as appropriate:] Protect the girl child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse by taking appropriate measures, including, for example, designing and implementing legislation;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
1998
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Women and armed conflict 1998, para. b

Paragraph text
[Actions to be taken by Governments:] Ensure that a gender-sensitive perspective is integrated in the drafting and interpretation of international law and domestic legislation, including for the protection of women and girls in armed conflict;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Humanitarian
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
1998
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Violence against women 1998, para. m

Paragraph text
[Actions to be taken by Governments and civil society, including non-governmental organizations:] Encourage and support men's own initiatives to complement efforts of women's organizations to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Men
  • Women
Year
1998
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Violence against women 1998, para. b

Paragraph text
[Actions to be taken by Governments:] Develop bilateral, subregional, regional and international agreements and protocols to combat all forms of trafficking in women and girls, and assist victims of violence resulting from prostitution and trafficking;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
1998
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention 1999, para. 7. (2) (e)

Paragraph text
[Each Member shall, taking into account the importance of education in eliminating child labour, take effective and time-bound measures to:] (e) take account of the special situation of girls.
Body
International Labour Organization
Document type
International treaty
Topic(s)
  • Economic Rights
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
1999
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 16

Paragraph text
The above-mentioned developments have been relied on by the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council to pass resolutions that focus particular attention on violence against women and girls. For example, both the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council have identified inter-gender inequality and discrimination, including gender-based violence, as violating the human rights of women and girls. Over time, the language of these resolutions has evolved to reflect the heightened risk of gender-based violence to women suffering intersectional discrimination. As analyzed within the United Nations human rights framework, "power imbalances and structural inequality between men and women are among the root causes of violence against women." This makes violence against women a matter of inter-gender inequality between women and men. In addition, various resolutions have acknowledged that discrimination is understood as having multiple forms that combine to heighten the vulnerability of some women and girls to violence. This reflects an understanding that discrimination and violence against women is also a matter of intra-gender inequality among women.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls 2014, para. 42gg

Paragraph text
[The Commission urges Governments, at all levels [...] to take the following actions:] [Realizing women's and girls' full enjoyment of all human rights]: Recognize that caregiving is a critical societal function and therefore emphasize the need to value, reduce and redistribute unpaid care work by prioritizing social protection policies, including accessible and affordable social services, including care services for children, persons with disabilities, older persons and persons living with HIV and AIDS, and all others in need of care; the development of infrastructure, including access to environmentally sound time- and energy-saving technologies; employment policies, including family-friendly policies with maternity and paternity leave and benefits; and the promotion of the equal sharing of responsibilities and chores between men and women in caregiving and domestic work to reduce the domestic work burden of women and girls and to change the attitudes that reinforce the division of labour based on gender;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Gender
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Men
  • Older persons
  • Women
Year
2014
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

The girl child 1998, para. a

Paragraph text
[Actions to be taken by Governments, educational institutions and the United Nations system, as appropriate:] Consider drawing upon the findings and recommendations of the United Nations Expert Group Meeting on Adolescent Girls and their Rights, held in Addis Ababa in October 1997;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Governance & Rule of Law
Person(s) affected
  • Adolescents
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
1998
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2010, para. 32

Paragraph text
[Vulnerabilities and risks faced by children who are internally displaced during armed conflict – addressing their rights]: Children are disproportionately affected by internal displacement not only in terms of the numbers of those affected, but also in the risks that they face. It is important to recall the challenges faced by internally displaced children, as articulated by Graça Machel, in her 1996 landmark report to the General Assembly on the impact of armed conflict on children (A/51/306): “During flight from the dangers of conflict, families and children continue to be exposed to multiple physical dangers. They are threatened by sudden attacks, shelling, snipers and landmines, and must often walk for days with only limited quantities of water and food. Under such circumstances, children become acutely undernourished and prone to illness, and they are the first to die. Girls in flight are even more vulnerable than usual to sexual abuse. Children forced to flee on their own to ensure their survival are also at heightened risk. Many abandon home to avoid forced recruitment, only to find that being in flight still places them at risk of recruitment, especially if they have no documentation and travel without their families.”
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Families
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
Year
2010
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Implementing child rights in early childhood 2006, para. 11b (i)

Paragraph text
[Right to non discrimination. Article 2 ensures rights to every child, without discrimination of any kind. The Committee urges States parties to identify the implications of this principle for realizing rights in early childhood:] [Article 2 also means that particular groups of young children must not be discriminated against. Discrimination may take the form of reduced levels of nutrition; inadequate care and attention; restricted opportunities for play, learning and education; or inhibition of free expression of feelings and views. Discrimination may also be expressed through harsh treatment and unreasonable expectations, which may be exploitative or abusive. For example:] Discrimination against girl children is a serious violation of rights, affecting their survival and all areas of their young lives as well as restricting their capacity to contribute positively to society. They may be victims of selective abortion, genital mutilation, neglect and infanticide, including through inadequate feeding in infancy. They may be expected to undertake excessive family responsibilities and deprived of opportunities to participate in early childhood and primary education;
Body
Committee on the Rights of the Child
Document type
General Comment / Recommendation
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Youth
Year
2006
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 20

Paragraph text
In Asia, children constituted 48 per cent of the 14.8 million refugees by the end of 2015. The ongoing conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic, which had created 2.4 million child refugees in 2015 and more than 2 million internally displaced children by 2016, has led to situations of extreme vulnerability. Indeed, United Nations assessments have revealed cases of child recruitment in 90 per cent of the locations surveyed in that country and cases of child marriage in 85 per cent of them. Similarly, the decades-long conflict in Afghanistan has created 1.3 million child refugees and, by 2016, had displaced more than half a million persons, 56 per cent of whom were children. Those children are at a particularly high risk of being abused and exploited, with a very elevated level of child or forced marriage and domestic abuse. Likewise, the reported rise in the number of child brides among Rohingya children who have fled Myanmar and live in neighbouring countries perpetuates the cycle of violence and poverty experienced by those girls.
Body
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 36

Paragraph text
Girls and young women with disabilities also encounter significant challenges when attempting to access justice, prevention mechanisms and response services for sexual and gender-based violence. Sexual assault is often underreported, and even more so when the individual has a disability. Girls and young women with disabilities face numerous challenges when reporting abuses, such as the risk of being removed from their homes and institutionalized; stigmatization; fears with regard to single parenthood or losing child custody; the absence or inaccessibility of violence prevention programmes and facilities; the fear of the loss of assistive devices and other supports; and the fear of retaliation and further violence by those on whom they are both emotionally and financially dependent (see A/67/227, para. 59). In addition, when, as survivors of sexual violence, they report the abuse or seek assistance or protection from judicial or law enforcement officials, teachers, health professionals, social workers or others, their testimony, especially that of girls and women with intellectual disabilities, is generally not considered credible, and they are therefore disregarded as competent witnesses, resulting in perpetrators avoiding prosecution.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Families
  • Girls
  • Persons with disabilities
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 23

Paragraph text
Many girls and young women with disabilities do not have access to information and education about sexual and reproductive health and rights and related services. Several studies found that youth with disabilities, especially girls and young women with intellectual disabilities, have low levels of sexuality education and sexual and reproductive health and rights knowledge, including information with regard to the prevention and transmission of HIV. The lack of inclusive education prevents girls and young women with disabilities from accessing comprehensive sexuality education, as those programmes are usually not available in special education settings. In addition, comprehensive sexuality education is not always delivered in accessible formats and alternative languages, and very often it does not address disability-specific needs. Stigma and stereotypes about female sexuality can also lead to the exclusion of girls and young women with disabilities from existing comprehensive sexuality education programmes by their parents, guardians and teachers. There is a general lack of guidance for families and teachers on how to talk about sexuality and equality with girls and young women with disabilities.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons with disabilities
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 54

Paragraph text
The regulatory framework must provide a contextual meaning of the social and cultural acceptability of water and sanitation facilities. This cannot be done in a meaningful way without the genuine participation of those who use the services. While water should be of an acceptable colour, odour and taste for each personal or domestic use, these are highly subjective parameters, and perceptions of these characteristics depend on local culture, education and experience. Personal sanitation is a highly sensitive issue across regions and cultures, and differing perspectives about which sanitation solutions are acceptable must be taken into account when designing, positioning, and setting conditions for the use of sanitation facilities (see A/70/203, para. 13). Regulations should stipulate that facilities need to allow for acceptable hygiene practices in specific cultures, such as anal and genital cleansing, and menstrual hygiene (see A/HRC/12/24, para. 80). Acceptability often requires separate facilities for women and men in public spaces, and for girls and boys in schools, which should be reflected in regulatory frameworks. Regulation should play an essential role in ensuring that toilets are constructed in a way that safeguards privacy and dignity.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Social & Cultural Rights
  • Water & Sanitation
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 19

Paragraph text
Long-standing and well-established principles of detention are also being sidelined and overlooked in the context of armed conflict. For example, in many situations children are being held together with adults, and boys are also being held together with girls. Detaining children in this way exposes them to a range of risks to their physical integrity and can have harmful consequences for their psychological development. The nomenclature regarding detention is also a serious concern, as in some instances, the use of terminology such as a "reintegration", "rehabilitation" or "deradicalization" centre has been used to circumvent the applicability of safeguards and to deny the rights of those deprived of their liberty. In this regard, the Special Representative reminds concerned Member States of the importance of adhering to the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (Beijing Rules) in all instances of the deprivation of liberty of children. In all situations, priority must also be given to maintaining family ties for children in detention, and children should also have access to educational programmes, medical care and psychological support. These provisions will aid a child's reintegration into society once he or she is released.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Humanitarian
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2016, para. 13

Paragraph text
There is no time for complacency. Around the world, millions of girls and boys of all ages continue to be exposed to appalling levels of violence, in their neighbourhoods, in their schools, in institutions aimed at their care and protection and within the home.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Girls
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 55

Paragraph text
Adolescent boys are at high risk of homicide because they are more prone to participating in activities such as street fighting, street crime, gang membership and possession of weapons. For girls, the greatest risk is violence from intimate partners.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Adolescents
  • Boys
  • Girls
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 128

Paragraph text
Either as victims, witnesses or alleged offenders, those girls are in desperate need of care, treatment and protection, and gender-sensitive approaches to promote their social reintegration. Sadly, many of them may be at risk of ill-treatment and re-victimization by the justice system itself.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Health
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 126

Paragraph text
In many parts of the world, there is a lack of alternative non-custodial measures and community-based programmes tailored to girls' developmental needs. Restorative justice approaches are rare and there is a lack of investment in programmes that promote girls' health and education and long-lasting reintegration.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 124

Paragraph text
Driven by fear and superstition, incidents of violence are seldom reported or followed by investigation or prosecution. Girls may conceal them too, fearing further harassment and reprisals. Overall there is a pervasive culture of impunity.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 15

Paragraph text
Gender discrimination and stereotyped gender roles increase the risk of violence against girls, including rape, forced marriage and crimes in the name of honour. Those misperceptions may lead to punitive approaches in legislation, policy and implementation.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2014, para. 42

Paragraph text
In this regard, the High-level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda recommended the inclusion in the future agenda of dimensions such as eliminating all forms of violence against children and in particular against girls, and ending child marriage.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2014
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2013, para. 25

Paragraph text
Particularly worrisome is the fact that child trafficking has been on the increase: between 2007 and 2010, 27 per cent of detected victims were children. Of every three child victims, two are girls and one is a boy and, in some regions, children's exposure to this form of violence is particularly high.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2013
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2013, para. 26a

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
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Harmful Practices
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2013
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2010, para. 31

Paragraph text
WHO was an active supporter of the development of the United Nations study and remains a critical partner in the process of follow-up. The organization's contribution to the initiative to prevent sexual violence against girls, mentioned above, is a meaningful illustration of such steady commitment.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
Year
2010
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 63

Paragraph text
In 2011, 22 incidents were reported of children being used by armed groups to carry out suicide attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan, including one 8-year-old girl and one 9-year-old girl. Some of those children were victim bombers, unknowingly carrying explosive packages.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2010, para. 40

Paragraph text
It should be noted that the focus of international criminal justice and mixed tribunals specifically on crimes against children has also raised the stakes in the fight against impunity. The Special Court for Sierra Leone paved the way for sanctioning individuals for child-specific violations by including such crimes in the indictments of all the individuals charged by the Court. This includes former President of Liberia Charles Taylor on counts of recruitment and use of children. In addition, despite the challenges in the trial of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo by the International Criminal Court for recruiting and using children, that case has symbolized the will of the international community to act for children and as such has sent a powerful message to perpetrators. As this is the first case before the International Criminal Court on the issue of children and armed conflict, and having filed an amicus curiae, the Special Representative gave testimony before the Court on the need to adopt a case-by-case method in deciding on what constitutes enlistment and conscription in terms of the statute. The Special Representative urged an interpretation that would not exclude girl children, who play multiple roles in many groups, not only as combatants but as wives and domestic aides.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Humanitarian
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2010
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 52

Paragraph text
Adequate water and sanitation services, including menstrual hygiene facilities, must be accessible in the workplace, without hindrance, for all employees, in a manner that corresponds with their gender identity. The Special Rapporteur has noted that there is an urgent need to recognize and address the currently neglected lack of facilities that allow for adequate sanitation and menstrual hygiene management for women and girls in the workplace. Women and girls risk their health or miss out on workdays when such facilities are lacking. For example, 60 per cent of all women working in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia work in the agriculture sector and their workplace often does not include facilities that would allow them to manage their sanitation and menstruation, or those facilities are located far away from the place of work. Regulations often do not apply to women working in the informal sector, and women working in public spaces such as markets often have no access to facilities altogether. In the manufacturing industry and in dense urban areas, women and girls sometimes work in overcrowded spaces where privacy is limited and sanitation facilities and spaces are inadequate to manage their menstruation.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Social & Cultural Rights
  • Water & Sanitation
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Vision-setting report 2016, para. 38

Paragraph text
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development comprises 17 transformative Sustainable Development Goals aimed at the realization of the human rights of all, including the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. Goal 5, and in particular its targets 5.2, focuses on the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation, while target 5.3 focuses on the elimination of all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation While it is remarkable that, For the first time, the elimination of violence against women is included as a target for the achievement of sustainable goals, violence against women is also an issue addressed in Goal 11, on safe spaces, and Goal 16, relating to peace and security. It is also a barrier to achieving other gender-related goals, such as those on health, education, reducing poverty in all its forms, and sustainable growth. For the first time, a global gendered framework for development has been adopted that is inclusive and builds upon human rights instruments, all relevant world conferences, such as the four World Conferences on Women. The implementation of all 17 goals also requires systematic gender mainstreaming in all targets and indicators.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Existing legal standards and practices regarding violence against women in three regional human rights systems and activities being undertaken by civil society regarding the normative gap in international human rights law 2015, para. 66

Paragraph text
The concerns raised more than 20 years ago and further highlighted by the Special Rapporteur in her reports reinforce the view that it is time to consider the development and adoption of a binding international instrument on violence against women and girls. Such an instrument should ensure that States are held accountable to standards that are legally binding, provide a clear normative framework for the protection of women and girls globally and have a specific monitoring body to substantively provide in-depth analysis of both general and country-level developments. With a legally binding instrument, a protective, preventive and educative framework could be established to reaffirm the commitment of the international community to its articulation that women's rights are human rights and that violence against women is a human rights violation in and of itself.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Violence against women: Twenty years of developments to combat violence against women 2014, para. 66

Paragraph text
A more recent challenge is the creation of hierarchies of violence against women, especially through political and funding actions. This is particularly evident in the articulation of sexual violence in conflict situations as being different and exceptional, as opposed to it being a continuation of a pattern of discrimination and violence that is exacerbated in times of conflict - as reflected in recent armed conflict situations. The prioritizing of this manifestation of violence has led to numerous concerns, including a shift away from an understanding of violence against women as both gendered and as part of a continuum of violence; a shift in resources, in some instances, despite the need to address all manifestations of violence, including at the national level; a shift in focus by some United Nations entities; and the effect of donor-driven priorities in this process. The views of many women's rights defenders is that these shifts have led to "privileging" the manifestation of violence against women in conflict situations, to the detriment and ignoring of the low-level "warfare" that women and girls experience in their homes and communities on a daily basis.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2014
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Violence against women: Twenty years of developments to combat violence against women 2014, para. 30

Paragraph text
Several General Assembly resolutions on women address the issue of violence against women migrant workers; trafficking; traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls; crimes committed against women in the name of honour; rape and other forms of sexual violence, including in conflict and related situations; women, disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control; female genital mutilation; gender-related killings of women; and protection for human rights defenders. These resolutions reiterate normative developments relating to the recognition of violence against women as a human rights violation; States' due diligence obligation to end impunity; and the introduction of the concepts of intersectionality and a multisectoral approach to violence against women. Other resolutions on women concern, inter alia, the designation of 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women; crime prevention and criminal justice measures to eliminate violence against women; and the annual reporting obligation of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, which includes the requirement to submit a written report annually to the Assembly.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
  • Women
Year
2014
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Pathways to, conditions and consequences of incarceration for women 2013, para. 12

Paragraph text
Women and girls who are coerced and become victims of sex trafficking have also been incarcerated in numerous countries for crimes such as prostitution. They are frequently prosecuted because States have inadequate or no formal procedures for identifying such victims.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2013
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 51

Paragraph text
During armed conflict, women experience all forms of physical, sexual and psychological violence, perpetrated by both State and non-State actors, including unlawful killings. Such violence is often used as a weapon of war, to punish or dehumanize women and girls, and to persecute the community to which they belong.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 86

Paragraph text
In addition, the Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur on the right to education dedicated his 2007 thematic report to the issue of the right of persons with disabilities to inclusive education (A/HRC/4/29, paras. 8 and 76). He found that literacy rates for women and girls with disabilities were significantly lower than for men and boys, and that women and girls were generally subjected to more discrimination. Similarly, in his 2005 thematic report, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, focused on the right to health of persons with mental disabilities (E/CN.4/2005/51, paras. 12 and 49) and found that women with intellectual disabilities were especially vulnerable to forced sterilization and sexual violence. He advocated for measures to protect them from violence and other right to health-related abuses, whether occurring in private health-care or support services. Finally, the Special Rapporteur to monitor the implementation of the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities reports annually to the Commission for Social Development and has mainstreamed the issue of women and disabilities in his reports (see E/CN.5/2011/9).
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Girls
  • Persons with disabilities
  • Women
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Continuum of violence against women from the home to the transnational sphere: the challenges of effective redress 2011, para. 35

Paragraph text
Sexual harassment at school and at the workplace is acknowledged as a pervasive manifestation of violence. In El Salvador, the Special Rapporteur heard testimonies of the working conditions of young women working in the maquila plants, where they were subjected to verbal and physical abuse by supervisors, sexual harassment, and mandatory pregnancy tests. Sexual harassment in educational and training institutions in Algeria was pervasive and underreported at the time of the visit of the Special Rapporteur, despite commendable steps by the authorities to criminalize sexual harassment based on abuse of authority. The visit to the United States revealed the particular vulnerability of undocumented immigrant women to violence, including sexual harassment and abuse, in the workplace. Sexual and physical violence against girls in educational establishments perpetrated by male school staff and school boys remains problematic, as reported during the visit of the Special Rapporteur in Zambia. Long distances from home to school also increased risk of harassment, with girls reportedly having sexual relationships with minibus and taxi drivers as a way of coping with transportation costs.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Girls
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Continuum of violence against women from the home to the transnational sphere: the challenges of effective redress 2011, para. 86

Paragraph text
A one-size-fits-all programmatic approach is insufficient for combating gender-based violence. Violence results from a complex interplay of individual, family, community and social factors - and, even though all women are at risk for violence in every society in the world, not all women are equally vulnerable to acts and structures of violence. A holistic approach for the elimination of all forms of violence against all women requires addressing systematic discrimination and marginalization through the adoption of measures that address inequality and discrimination among women, and between women and men. The United Nations human rights treaties, declarations and mechanisms provide the institutional framework within which Governments, non-State actors, and local activists can promote a holistic response to identifying, preventing, and ultimately ending, all forms of violence against women. The fight for the human rights of women remains a collective endeavour in which we should jointly take action to ensure their full enjoyment by every woman and girl worldwide.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 32

Paragraph text
Conflict-related sexual violence takes many forms. Women and girls seeking to survive in conflict zones are often compelled to exchange sexual services and even to "marry" for food, shelter, protection or safe passage. UNHCR has affirmed that women in conflict situations are vulnerable to a range of discriminatory practices that exacerbate their dependence (for example, receiving smaller food rations or not having ration cards or other identity documents in their own name) and are disproportionately exposed to sexual violence. For women and girls abducted into military service, sexual assault is often a feature of their experience. Rape has been used as a tactic of war to humiliate and weaken the morale of the enemy, ethnically cleanse the population, destabilize communities and force civilians to flee. Widespread or systematic sexual assault by government and/or opposition or rebel forces has been documented in multiple modern conflicts, including in the reports of the Secretary-General on conflict-related sexual violence, issued annually since 2009, in which he has identified incidents and patterns of sexual violence in conflict-affected countries employed by parties to armed conflict, primarily against women and girls but also against boys and men (see S/2015/203).
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. B.

Paragraph text
[Recommendations to Member States:] Remove any forms of discrimination that negatively impact on the rights of certain groups, including girls, indigenous peoples and migrant children, to an education.
Body
Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Equality & Inclusion
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Ethnic minorities
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 24

Paragraph text
A number of sources have reported that children are subjected to contemporary slavery in Ghanaian fisheries by "fisher-entrepreneurs" or middlemen who take them far from their homes to work in fisheries. Recruiters reportedly deceive families with promises of educational opportunities in exchange for a few hours of work each day. Children are also often promised cash or in-kind payments for their labour, such as a cow for boys or a sewing machine for girls. Parents may be offered an advance for their child's work, thus placing the child in a situation of debt bondage. Lake Volta is a popular destination for child slaves, as fishery resources have been depleted and children are considered cheap sources of labour. Tasks in the fishing sector are gendered: boys paddle canoes, pull in nets and carry fish; girls sort, pack and transport fish; and both boys and girls are often tasked with deep-water diving to clear entangled nets. Children usually work six to seven days a week, at least 12 hours a day, and fishing expeditions can last for many days. These children are exposed to dangerous working conditions, long hours, sexual and physical abuse, and even death due to drowning, snake bites or physical abuse at the hands of boat or equipment owners.
Body
Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Economic Rights
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Families
  • Girls
Year
2013
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Servile marriage 2012, para. 82

Paragraph text
Girls are taken out of school and forced into servile marriage. The lack of education or limited education seriously harms their opportunities and choices, making them economically dependent on their husbands and vulnerable to poverty if their husbands die or abandon or divorce them. Societies in which servile marriage takes place often value boys more than girls.
Body
Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Economic Rights
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Girls
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Servile marriage 2012, para. 56

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 Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Harmful Practices
  • Social & Cultural Rights
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Servile marriage 2012, para. 48

Paragraph text
Reports also indicate that relentless pressure and emotional blackmail are used by parents and families to force young girls into unwanted marriages. More extreme forms of pressure can involve threatening behaviour, abduction, imprisonment, physical violence, rape and, in some cases, murder.
Body
Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Families
  • Girls
  • Youth
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Child slavery in the artisanal mining and quarrying sector 2011, para. 70

Paragraph text
The boys are mainly found in underground and underwater extraction. They face the dangers of working inside the mines. Most of the girls are found above ground, breaking down the rocks and processing the minerals.
Body
Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Environment
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Girls
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Child slavery in the artisanal mining and quarrying sector 2011, para. 43

Paragraph text
Some parents take out loans against their children's labour. Other parents sell their children and, upon their arrival in the mines, the children are charged exorbitant prices for their transportation to the mines, food and tools by the employer or middleman. In both these instances, the children are often unable to leave the mines or quarries until they have paid off the debt owed to the middleman or employer. In majority of the cases, children become bonded as a result of their parents' debt. Bonded labour is prohibited under the 1956 Supplementary Convention. Many children report not being able to save or even earn enough money to send back home. This results in them being unable to leave their situation until their debt is paid. In 2010, the Special Rapporteur received information that Bangladeshi and Nepali children were being purchased by middlemen or abducted and sold by gangs to mining employers in India. The price of the child varied from 50-75 USD. According to the information received, the children are forced to work to pay off their debt. The middlemen bring both boys and girls to work in the mines. The girls living and working in the mines are often sexually abused by adult mine workers and employers.
Body
Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Economic Rights
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Families
  • Girls
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Manifestations and causes of domestic servitude 2010, para. 91

Paragraph text
The work at the expert and regional levels has only led to limited recognition of the problems by intergovernmental United Nations bodies with a human rights or human rights-related mandate. The Commission on the Status of Women has called on member States to develop measures to prevent the labour and economic exploitation and sexual abuse of girls employed as domestic workers and ensure that they have access to education and vocational training, health services, food, shelter and recreation. The Programme of Action of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance urges States to pay special attention to protecting people engaged in domestic work (contained in A/CONF.189/12, para. 67). As part of the universal periodic review, a number of States have made recommendations to their peers to improve the protection of domestic workers. Such references to a serious, widespread and global human rights concern are far and between. There is nothing similar to the General Assembly's Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (resolution 48/104), which opened another socially constructed "private sphere" filled with human rights violations to the persistent scrutiny of the international community.
Body
Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2010
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Manifestations and causes of domestic servitude 2010, para. 11

Paragraph text
In the shadow of global domestic work industry, large numbers of people - in the majority, women and girls - find their dignity denied. They suffer invisibly in domestic servitude, contrary to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (art. 4) and human rights treaty law.
Body
Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2010
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Sale of children for the purpose of forced labour 2016, para. 48

Paragraph text
Various recent and ongoing events have shed light on the relevance of the issue in current conflicts. After the kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, Nigeria, in 2014 by Boko Haram, the armed group announced it would "sell" them.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Comprehensive prevention strategies against sale and sexual exploitation of children 2013, para. 92b

Paragraph text
[Specific activities to promote child participation in order to prevent sale and exploitation include:] Awareness-raising with parents to address possible discrimination against girls and to promote the child's right to be heard;
Body
Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Families
  • Girls
Year
2013
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Comprehensive prevention strategies against sale and sexual exploitation of children 2013, para. 45

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 Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
Document type
Special Procedures' report
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. 48c

Paragraph text
[Preventive measures should address critical socio-economic factors by:] Providing single mothers (particularly adolescent girls) with support through social welfare systems that offer a full range of alternative care services and assistance within child protection systems;
Body
Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Social & Cultural Rights
Person(s) affected
  • Adolescents
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Comprehensive child protection systems 2011, para. 28c

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 Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Harmful Practices
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Girls
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Effective Implementation of the OPSC 2010, para. 85

Paragraph text
Once on the street, children are vulnerable to all forms of exploitation and abuse. Girls who belong to gangs are subject to violence and sexual exploitation by male gang members.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Economic Rights
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2010
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Effective Implementation of the OPSC 2010, para. 55

Paragraph text
The rape and sexual exploitation of young girls and women have been used as veritable weapons of war during conflict. The physical and psychological consequences are significant for the victims, who often find themselves stigmatized and marginalized and hence more vulnerable.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
2010
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Effective Implementation of the OPSC 2010, para. 53

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 Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Economic Rights
  • Harmful Practices
  • Social & Cultural Rights
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Families
  • Girls
Year
2010
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Effective Implementation of the OPSC 2010, para. 45

Paragraph text
Therefore, a pubescent child who becomes a victim of sexual exploitation (especially a girl) is not necessarily seen as a victim, but rather as guilty of behaving or dressing provocatively or of a poor upbringing.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Health
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2010
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Effective Implementation of the OPSC 2010, para. 40

Paragraph text
[Poverty takes an especially heavy toll on children, as evidenced by the following figures cited by UNICEF:] 101 million children are not attending primary school, with more girls than boys missing out.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Poverty
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2010
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Effective Implementation of the OPSC 2010, para. 22

Paragraph text
Other practices such as forced marriage that are in effect in certain parts of the world can be considered "sale for purposes of sexual exploitation". One manifestation of this, among others, is that young girls are given as wives to men - often older men - in exchange for money.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Economic Rights
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Men
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
2010
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Effective Implementation of the OPSC 2010, para. 16

Paragraph text
[Thanks to these efforts, more data are now available on long-term trends and specific aspects of some types of sale and sexual exploitation of children, including:] The practice of sexual exploitation of boys and girls of all ages, and from all backgrounds, in all States and regions;
Body
Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2010
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 65

Paragraph text
In order to ensure that women's rights are fully respected, social protection programmes must be accompanied by gender-sensitive social services, including sexual and reproductive health care. This requires investment in public services, without which social protection programmes will not be effective. Women and girls, for example, may be prevented from meeting conditionalities imposed by a programme if social services are far away and transportation costs are too high, or if they fear being sexually assaulted while making the trip required. Girls may not attend school if there are no separate sanitation facilities for them or if they are harassed by teachers or other students. Mothers may not bring their children to the hospital owing to discriminatory practices on the part of health-care providers (for example, requesting the consent of the husband) or communication difficulties (for example, women might be expected to demonstrate some form of literacy or might not be able to communicate in their minority language). In the same vein, women may choose not to use clinics for child delivery because of a lack of skilled birth attendants or culturally appropriate birthing methods.
Body
Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Social & Cultural Rights
  • Water & Sanitation
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2010
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 76

Paragraph text
Owing to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, specific challenges face minority women and girls affected by humanitarian crises. According to the General Recommendation on women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations of the Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (see CEDAW/C/GC/30, para. 36), during and after conflict specific groups of women, including, inter alia, internally displaced and refugee women, women of diverse caste, ethnic, national or religious identities, or of other minorities, are at a particular risk of violence, especially sexual violence. These groups of women "are often attacked as symbolic representatives of their community". The Committee has further noted that stateless women and girls face heightened risk of abuse during conflict, owing to, among other factors, their minority status (ibid, para. 60). Minority women may be particularly at risk of sexual and gender-based violence and other forms of violence, including slavery and trafficking. The Special Rapporteur was deeply troubled and saddened when she listened to the testimonies of Yezidi women in Iraq of sexual and gender-based violence committed against them by Daesh, which acts must be fully investigated and their perpetrators prosecuted.
Body
Special Rapporteur on minority issues
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Ethnic minorities
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Priorities for the work of the Independent Expert and the twentieth anniversary of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities 2012, para. 70

Paragraph text
The issues and concerns of minority women frequently receive a lower priority than the efforts made to ensure minority rights for the group in general. Women belonging to minority groups often struggle within their communities to advocate for their rights, which can be set aside as a result of the prioritization of the general concerns of the group. Barriers to the empowerment of some minority women, including lack of social or economic contact, networks or minority women's support groups, and scarcity of female minority role models have an important impact on the enjoyment by minority women and girls of their human rights. Minority women may hesitate to voice their gender-specific grievances even within their groups, let alone outside them. Minority women's rights could also benefit from increased attention by the broader movement for women's rights. In turn, the women's rights movement would also benefit from the specific experiences of minority women in their overall struggle for equality.
Body
Special Rapporteur on minority issues
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Social & Cultural Rights
Person(s) affected
  • Ethnic minorities
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 91

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 Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Harmful Practices
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Right to health in conflict situations 2013, para. 45

Paragraph text
Mass displacement, breakdown of community and family networks, and institutional collapse may create a vacuum in which women and young girls are vulnerable to sexual violence. They face a heightened risk of sexual exploitation and trafficking, as well as increased domestic violence and abuse from family members. Health facilities that lack qualified health professionals, patient referral mechanisms and psychological counselling may be unable to identify and respond to these forms of conflict-related sexual violence. This is especially true when health services are restricted to sexual violence perpetrated by armed groups. The stigma associated with sexual violence and HIV and the absence of adequate protection mechanisms may also contribute to negative physical and mental health outcomes. Stigma, abandonment by families and communities, and retribution from perpetrators create an atmosphere that perpetuates gender-based violence and leads to the exclusion and disempowerment of survivors. The failure to provide services that promote the safety and respect the confidentiality of survivors undermines their full participation in society, particularly in post-conflict reconstruction efforts.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Families
  • Girls
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
2013
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 53

Paragraph text
Other laws restricting access to family planning and contraception include a city-wide de facto ban on so-called "artificial" contraception in one jurisdiction, which created significant difficulty for women in accessing reliable forms of birth control (see A/HRC/14/20/Add.1). A total of 70 per cent of the affected population, a majority of whom were poor and marginalized, depended on Government providers for services including female sterilization, oral pills, intrauterine devices and injectables (ibid.). The ban resulted in the absolute deprivation of access to family planning services and contraception for many women and men. In other instances, States require women to obtain their husband's consent and adolescents to obtain parental consent before acquiring various forms of contraception. Other jurisdictions allow pharmacists, and in some cases pharmacies, to refuse to dispense emergency contraception, which is otherwise legally available. These laws directly infringe upon the right of women and girls to make free and informed choices about their sexual and reproductive health and reflect discriminatory notions of women's roles in the family and society.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Adolescents
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 36

Paragraph text
The criminalization of abortion also has a severe impact on mental health. The need to seek illegal health services and the intense stigmatization of both the abortion procedure and women who seek such procedures can have deleterious effects on women's mental health. In some cases, women have committed suicide because of accumulated pressures and stigma related to abortion. In jurisdictions where rape is not a ground for termination of pregnancy, women and girls who are pregnant as a result of rape but who do not wish to continue their pregnancy are either forced to carry the pregnancy to term or seek an illegal abortion. Both options can cause enormous anguish. In electing to pursue either option, the overarching threat of being investigated, prosecuted and punished within the criminal justice system has significant negative impacts on the emotional health and well-being of both those who seek abortions and those who do not. Moreover, while the psychological impact of seeking an illegal abortion or carrying an unwanted pregnancy to term is well documented, no corresponding evidence supports the existence of long-term mental health sequelae resulting from elective abortion.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 17

Paragraph text
The causal relationship between the gender stereotyping, discrimination and marginalization of women and girls and their enjoyment of their right to sexual and reproductive health is well documented (see E/CN.4/2002/83 and E/CN.4/2004/49). Criminalization generates and perpetuates stigma; restricts their ability to make full use of available sexual and reproductive health-care goods, services and information; denies their full participation in society; and distorts perceptions among health-care professionals which, as a consequence, can hinder their access to health-care services. Criminal laws and other legal restrictions disempower women, who may be deterred from taking steps to protect their health, in order to avoid liability and out of fear of stigmatization. By restricting access to sexual and reproductive health-care goods, services and information these laws can also have a discriminatory effect, in that they disproportionately affect those in need of such resources, namely women. As a result, women and girls are punished both when they abide by these laws, and are thus subjected to poor physical and mental health outcomes, and when they do not, and thus face incarceration.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 61

Paragraph text
Studies have shown that while few young people have accurate knowledge about HIV/AIDS, women are generally even less well informed than men. In a UNAIDS study of 147 countries, whereas more than 70 per cent of young men were found to recognize that condoms can protect against HIV, only 55 per cent of young women identified condoms as an effective strategy for HIV prevention. Women and girls are disproportionally impacted by legal restrictions to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education and information, which both reinforces and exacerbates the gender inequalities that the figures demonstrate. The existence of legal restrictions on access to sexual and reproductive health information and education lead to the provision of inaccurate information through informal sources that are often inaccurate and may reinforce negative gender stereotypes. As a result, young women are less prepared for their sexual and reproductive lives, leaving them vulnerable to coercion, abuse and exploitation, as well as to an increased risk of unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortion, maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 30

Paragraph text
Many States use the criminal justice system as a substitute for weak or non-existent child protection systems, leading to the criminalization and incarceration of disadvantaged girls who pose no risk to society and are instead in need of care and protection by the State. The Special Rapporteur recalls that the deprivation of liberty of children is inextricably linked with ill-treatment and must be a measure of last resort, used for the shortest possible time, only when it is in the best interest of the child and limited to exceptional cases (A/HRC/28/68). Accordingly, the lack of gender-centred juvenile justice policies directly contributes to the perpetration of torture and ill-treatment of girls. There is an urgent need for policies that promote the use of such alternative measures as diversion and restorative justice, incorporate broad prevention programmes, build a protective environment and address the root causes of violence against girls. Failure to support girls in detention with adequate and complete information about their rights in a comprehensible manner and to provide assistance with reporting complaints in a safe, supportive and confidential manner further aggravates mistreatment.
Body
Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) 2012, para. 27

Paragraph text
Other international human rights treaties further emphasize the obligation to promote technical and vocational education and training. States have obligations to promote equal opportunities for women and men in education, training and lifelong learning under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. As outlined by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, human rights-based technical and vocational education and training also implies that in tackling tacit discrimination owing to obsolete traditional gender roles, women and girls should be encouraged to choose non-traditional fields of education and careers, such as intensive technical and vocational education and training in traditionally male-dominated areas. That could contribute to eliminating barriers and facilitating professional reinsertion of girls who dropped out of school. States have the obligation to elaborate policies aimed at promoting the access of girls and women to technical and vocational education and training, with proactive measures, including temporary special measures, to encourage and facilitate their participation and to contribute to the elimination of discrimination.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the right to education
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Equality & Inclusion
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 32

Paragraph text
Discriminatory laws and practices have contributed to a deplorable global situation with respect to women's health and safety which calls for urgent, immediate and effective actions. According to WHO, an estimated 225 million women are deprived of access to essential modern contraception. Pregnancy and childbirth-related complications resulted in the deaths of almost 300,000 women worldwide in 2013. About 22 million unsafe abortions take place annually and an estimated 47,000 women die from complications resulting from unsafe abortion each year. Breast and cervical cancer remain the leading cancers among women aged 20-59 years, resulting in 1 million deaths, the majority in low- and middle-income countries where screening, prevention and treatment are almost non-existent. Young women bear the brunt of new HIV infections. One in three women under 50 has experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner or family member. At least 200 million women and girls have been subjected to female genital mutilation.
Body
Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
  • Youth
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. 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

Rights of rural women 2016, para. 43i

Paragraph text
[States parties should protect the right of rural girls and women to education, and ensure that:] Adult literacy programmes are provided for women in rural areas;
Body
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
Document type
General Comment / Recommendation
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Gender
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
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

General Conclusion On International Protection 2008, para. (o)

Paragraph text
Welcomes the progress that has been achieved in increasing the number of States offering opportunities for resettlement and the number of refugees resettled, in particular of women and girls at heightened risk;
Body
Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Document type
ExCom Conclusion
Topic(s)
  • Movement
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
  • Women
Year
2008
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Conclusion On Women And Girls At Risk 2006, para. (q)

Paragraph text
Efforts to ensure the progressive implementation of the above-mentioned mechanisms and standards can benefit greatly from partnerships and the development of relevant public policies, supported as appropriate by the international community.
Body
Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Document type
ExCom Conclusion
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Humanitarian
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2006
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Conclusion On Women And Girls At Risk 2006, para. (p) iii

Paragraph text
[Recommended longer-term responses and solutions include partnerships and actions to:] consider using special evacuation programmes for internally displaced women and girls at risk, if necessary, given that resettlement is very rarely available to them;
Body
Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Document type
ExCom Conclusion
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Movement
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
  • Women
Year
2006
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Conclusion On Women And Girls At Risk 2006, para. (o) i

Paragraph text
[Developing medium-term responses for individuals includes partnerships and actions to:] monitor on an ongoing basis initiatives taken with regard to individual safety, well-being and needs and ensure accountability for actions taken;
Body
Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Document type
ExCom Conclusion
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Humanitarian
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2006
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Conclusion On Women And Girls At Risk 2006, para. (m)

Paragraph text
Recommended actions by States, UNHCR, other relevant agencies and partners to respond to the situation of individual women and girls at risk are listed non-exhaustively below.
Body
Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Document type
ExCom Conclusion
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2006
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Conclusion On Women And Girls At Risk 2006, para. (j) v

Paragraph text
[Secure environments are to be established and strengthened, including by partnerships and actions to:] strengthen justice systems to uphold the rights of women and girls and bring perpetrators of SGBV to justice, combat trafficking and protect victims; and
Body
Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Document type
ExCom Conclusion
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2006
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Conclusion On Women And Girls At Risk 2006, para. (j) ii

Paragraph text
[Secure environments are to be established and strengthened, including by partnerships and actions to:] maintain the civilian and humanitarian character of asylum, which is a primary responsibility of host States;
Body
Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Document type
ExCom Conclusion
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Humanitarian
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
  • Women
Year
2006
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Conclusion On Women And Girls At Risk 2006, para. (h)

Paragraph text
Recommended preventive strategies to be adopted by States, UNHCR, other relevant agencies and partners may include the identification, assessment and monitoring of risks.
Body
Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Document type
ExCom Conclusion
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2006
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Refugee Women and International Protection 1985, para. (c)

Paragraph text
Noted that refugee women and girls constitute the majority of the world refugee population and that many of them are exposed to special problems in the international protection field;
Body
Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Document type
ExCom Conclusion
Topic(s)
  • Movement
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
  • Women
Year
1985
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls 2014, para. 42tt

Paragraph text
[The Commission urges Governments, at all levels [...] to take the following actions:] [Strengthening the enabling environment for gender equality and the empowerment of women]: Promote the integration of a gender perspective in environmental and climate change policies and strengthen mechanisms and provide adequate resources to ensure women's full and equal participation in decision-making at all levels on environmental issues, in particular on strategies and policies related to the impacts of climate change, such as extreme weather events and slow onset impacts, including drought, ocean acidification, sea-level rise and loss of biodiversity on the lives of women and girls, and ensure a comprehensive approach to address the hardships faced by women and girls by integrating their specific needs into humanitarian responses to natural disasters and into the planning, delivery and monitoring of disaster risk reduction policies to address natural disasters and climate change, and ensuring sustainable natural resources management;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Environment
  • Gender
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2014
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls 2014, para. 42ss

Paragraph text
[The Commission urges Governments, at all levels [...] to take the following actions:] [Strengthening the enabling environment for gender equality and the empowerment of women]: Adopt measures to implement and monitor the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls in armed conflict and post-conflict situations and women and girls affected by violent extremism, and ensure women's effective participation at all levels and at all stages and in peace processes and mediation efforts, conflict prevention and resolution, peacekeeping, peacebuilding and recovery, as laid out in relevant Security Council resolutions on women, peace and security, and in this regard support the involvement of women's organizations and civil society organizations. End impunity by ensuring accountability and punishing perpetrators of the most serious crimes against women and girls under national and international law, and ensure that the alleged perpetrators of those crimes are held accountable under national justice or, where applicable, international justice;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Humanitarian
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2014
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls 2014, para. 42kk

Paragraph text
[The Commission urges Governments, at all levels [...] to take the following actions:] [Strengthening the enabling environment for gender equality and the empowerment of women]: Underline commitments to strengthen national efforts, including with the support of international cooperation, aimed at addressing the rights and needs of women and girls affected by natural disasters, armed conflicts, other complex humanitarian emergencies, trafficking in persons and terrorism, within the context of actions geared to the realization of the internationally agreed goals and commitments related to gender equality and the empowerment of women, including the Millennium Development Goals, recognizing the challenges they face, and also underline the need to take concerted actions, in conformity with international law, to remove the obstacles to the full realization of the rights of women and girls living under foreign occupation, so as to ensure the achievement of the above-mentioned goals and commitments, recognizing the challenges they face;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Humanitarian
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2014
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls 2014, para. 42x

Paragraph text
[The Commission urges Governments, at all levels [...] to take the following actions:] [Realizing women's and girls' full enjoyment of all human rights]: Develop and implement educational programmes and teaching materials, including comprehensive evidence-based education for human sexuality, based on full and accurate information, for all adolescents and youth, in a manner consistent with their evolving capacities, with the appropriate direction and guidance from parents and legal guardians, with the involvement of children, adolescents, youth and communities and in coordination with women's, youth and specialized non-governmental organizations, in order to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women of all ages, to eliminate prejudices and to promote and build informed decision-making, communication and risk reduction skills for the development of respectful relationships and based on gender equality and human rights, as well as teacher education and training programmes for both formal and non-formal education;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
Person(s) affected
  • Adolescents
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Men
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
2014
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Access and participation of women and girls in education, training and science and technology, including for the promotion of women's equal access to full employment and decent work 2011, para. 22gg

Paragraph text
[The Commission urges Governments, at all levels [...] to take the following actions, as appropriate:] [Supporting the transition from education to full employment and decent work]: Promote the reconciliation of work and family responsibilities for women and men, as well as the equal sharing of employment and family responsibilities between women and men, including by: designing, implementing and promoting family-friendly legislation, policies and services, such as affordable, accessible and quality care services for children and other dependent persons, and parental and other leave schemes; undertaking campaigns to sensitize public opinion and other relevant actors to these issues; and promoting measures that reconcile care and professional life and emphasize men's equal responsibilities with respect to household work;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Families
  • Girls
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Access and participation of women and girls in education, training and science and technology, including for the promotion of women's equal access to full employment and decent work 2011, para. 22x

Paragraph text
[The Commission urges Governments, at all levels [...] to take the following actions, as appropriate:] [Strengthening gender-sensitive quality education and training, including in the field of science and technology]: Ensure women's and girls' right to education at all levels as well as access to life skills and sex education based on full and accurate information and, with respect to girls and boys, in a manner consistent with their evolving capacities, and with appropriate direction and guidance from parents and legal guardians, in order to help women and girls, men and boys, to develop knowledge to enable them to make informed and responsible decisions to reduce early childbearing and maternal mortality, to promote access to pre- and post-natal care and to combat sexual harassment and gender-based violence;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Gender
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Girls
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Access and participation of women and girls in education, training and science and technology, including for the promotion of women's equal access to full employment and decent work 2011, para. 22o

Paragraph text
[The Commission urges Governments, at all levels [...] to take the following actions, as appropriate:] [Expanding access and participation in education]: Increase enrolment and retention rates of girls in education, inter alia, by: allocating appropriate and adequate budgetary resources; enlisting the support of parents and the community, including through campaigns and flexible school schedules; providing financial and other incentives targeted at families, including access to free education at the primary level, and at other levels where possible, and scholarships; and providing teaching, learning and hygiene and health supplies, as well as nutritional and academic support, in order to minimize the costs of education, in particular to families, and to facilitate parents' ability to choose education for their children;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Gender
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Families
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Access and participation of women and girls in education, training and science and technology, including for the promotion of women's equal access to full employment and decent work 2011, para. 22h

Paragraph text
[The Commission urges Governments, at all levels [...] to take the following actions, as appropriate:] [Strengthening national legislation, policies and programmes]: Urge developed countries that have not yet done so, in accordance with their commitments, to make concrete efforts towards meeting the target of 0.7 per cent of their gross national product for official development assistance to developing countries and the target of 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of their gross national product for official development assistance to least developed countries, and encourage developing countries to build on the progress achieved in ensuring that official development assistance is used effectively to help meet development goals and targets and help them, inter alia, to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Enhanced participation of women in development: an enabling environment for achieving gender equality and the advancement of women, taking into account, inter alia, the fields of education, health and work 2006, para. 2

Paragraph text
The Commission reaffirmed also that the full and effective implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was an essential contribution to achieving the internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration, and that the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women was of fundamental importance in sustainable development, achieving sustained economic growth, eradicating poverty and hunger and combating diseases, and that investing in the development of women and girls had a multiplier effect, in particular on productivity, efficiency and sustained economic growth, in all sectors of the economy, especially in key areas such as agriculture, industry and services.
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Economic Rights
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2006
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

The girl child 1998, para. c

Paragraph text
[Actions to be taken by Governments, international organizations and the private sector:] Pay special attention to girls in the informal sector, such as domestic workers, and develop measures to protect their human rights and fundamental freedoms and prevent their economic exploitation, ill-treatment and sexual abuse;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Economic Rights
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
1998
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

The girl child 1998, para. a

Paragraph text
[Actions to be taken by Governments, international organizations and civil society:] Collect information and raise public awareness on the issue of trafficking, physical and psychological abuse, and sexual exploitation of girls in order to better design and improve preventative programmes;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
1998
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

The girl child 1998, para. b

Paragraph text
[Actions to be taken by the United Nations and Governments:] Encourage girls and other individuals and communities to play a key role in reporting violations of rights of girls in armed conflict to the appropriate authorities and ensure adequate, accessible and gender-sensitive support services and counselling;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Humanitarian
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
1998
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

The girl child 1998, para. i

Paragraph text
[Actions to be taken by Governments, civil society and the United Nations system, as appropriate:] Enact laws concerning the minimum age for marriage and raise the minimum age for marriage when necessary in order to ensure respect for the rights of the child, as stipulated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
1998
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

The girl child 1998, para. f

Paragraph text
[Actions to be taken by Governments, civil society and the United Nations system, as appropriate:] Improve the health care for adolescent girls by health personnel and provide the latter with appropriate training, and encourage health- care personnel to work with girls to understand their special needs;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Adolescents
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
1998
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

The girl child 1998, para. e

Paragraph text
[Actions to be taken by Governments, educational institutions and the United Nations system, as appropriate:] Provide gender-sensitive training for school administrators, parents and all members of the school community, such as local administrators, staff, teachers, school boards and students;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Families
  • Girls
Year
1998
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

The girl child 1998, para. d

Paragraph text
[Actions to be taken by Governments, educational institutions and the United Nations system, as appropriate:] Encourage all levels of society, including parents, Governments and non-governmental organizations, to support the implementation of educational policies to enhance gender awareness in the community;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Families
  • Girls
Year
1998
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

The girl child 1998, para. c

Paragraph text
[Actions to be taken by Governments, educational institutions and the United Nations system, as appropriate:] Ensure universal enrolment and retention of girls in school and ensure the continued education of pregnant adolescents and young mothers in order to guarantee basic education to the girl child;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Education
Person(s) affected
  • Adolescents
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
1998
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

The girl child 1998, para. e

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
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Harmful Practices
  • Social & Cultural Rights
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
1998
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Violence against women 1998, para. k

Paragraph text
[Actions to be taken by Governments and civil society, including non-governmental organizations:] Recognize that women and girls with disabilities, women migrants and refugee women and girls could be particularly affected by violence, and encourage the development of programmes for their support;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
  • Persons with disabilities
  • Women
Year
1998
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Violence against women 1998, para. a

Paragraph text
[Actions to be taken by Governments:] Promote coordinated research on violence against women to ensure that it is multidisciplinary and addresses the root factors, including external factors, that encourage trafficking in women and girls for prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
1998
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Violence against women 1998, para. d

Paragraph text
[Actions to be taken by Governments:] Strengthen the implementation of all relevant human rights instruments in order to eliminate organized and other forms of trafficking in women and girls, including trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and of pornography;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
1998
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Violence against women 1998, para. c

Paragraph text
[Actions to be taken by Governments:] Improve international information exchange on trafficking in women and girls by recommending the setting up of a data-collection centre within Interpol, regional law enforcement agencies and national police forces, as appropriate;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
1998
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Violence against women 1998, para. j

Paragraph text
[Actions to be taken by Governments, non-governmental organizations and the public and private sector, as appropriate:] Provide resources for the strengthening of legal mechanisms for prosecuting those who commit acts of violence against women and girls, and for the rehabilitation of victims;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
1998
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Violence against women 1998, para. c

Paragraph text
[Actions to be taken by Governments and the international community:] Strengthen effective partnerships with non-governmental organizations and all relevant agencies to promote an integrated and holistic approach to the elimination of violence against women and girls;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
1998
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Education and training of women 1997, para. 20

Paragraph text
The bodies and specialized agencies of the United Nations system, within their existing mandates, should compile and disseminate information on best practices or strategies for retaining women and girls at all levels of education.
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Governance & Rule of Law
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
1997
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Education and training of women 1997, para. 18

Paragraph text
Governments and all actors should recognize the need for and provide gender-sensitive early childhood education, especially to those groups under difficult circumstances, and should assure the lifelong learning of quality education for the girl child.
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
1997
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Women in power and decision-making 1997, para. 14

Paragraph text
Governments should promote educational programmes in which the girl child will be prepared to participate in decision-making within the community as a way to promote her future decision-making capacity in all spheres of life.
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Education
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
1997
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Women and the environment 1997, para. 20

Paragraph text
All relevant actors should be encouraged to work in partnership with adolescent girls and boys, utilizing both formal and non-formal educational training activities, inter alia, through sustainable consumption patterns and responsible use of natural resources.
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Environment
Person(s) affected
  • Adolescents
  • Boys
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
1997
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance 2007, para. 1

Paragraph text
State Parties shall endeavour to provide free and compulsory basic education to all, especially girls, rural inhabitants, minorities, people with disabilities and other marginalized social groups.
Body
African Union
Document type
Regional treaty
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Equality & Inclusion
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons with disabilities
Year
2007
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 66

Paragraph text
The Secretary-General could be asked to convene a high-level panel on intensifying efforts to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence, especially violence and discrimination against indigenous women and girls. States could increase regional monitoring and interregional cooperation; the Great Lakes treaty processes have been praised in that regard.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Ethnic minorities
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 50

Paragraph text
As previously highlighted, many civil society organizations stated that particular importance should also be given to improving implementation strategies and monitoring regimes: there should be a monitoring of State practice in implementing the principles on violence against women as a human rights issue (prevention, prosecution, protection and policy). This monitoring could be carried out by independent organizations engaging with an international treaty body. A treaty could also require States parties to create or nominate a national independent monitoring body on violence against women, which would include frameworks for respective responsibilities in federal States with sufficient resources and the ability to adjudicate cases of violence against women and girls. The treaty could establish a new global gender observatory or international watch centre. It should include a requirement for States to accept more country visits as part of monitoring, as well as ensure consultation with survivors as part of the reporting process and monitoring. Furthermore, more importance should be given to ensuring improved data collection and including a requirement for States to disseminate reports. According to some civil society organizations, any new treaty body should have the power to make general recommendations.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 19

Paragraph text
At the regional and national levels, children on the move are also vulnerable to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation. There are also reports of missing children, some of whom fall into the hands of criminals to continue their journey to reach relatives or acquaintances in another country. In Africa, nearly 3 million children were refugees by the end of 2015. As of mid-2016, 390,000 Nigerian children had been displaced to the neighbouring countries of Cameroon, Chad and the Niger, and a further 1.1 million children had been internally displaced owing to the conflict in the Lake Chad basin. Children have been subjected to abhorrent abuses, mainly at the hands of Boko Haram, which has reportedly recruited and used more than 8,000 children since 2009, abducted at least 4,000 girls, boys and young women, and inflicted sexual violence on more than 7,000 girls and women, often leading to pregnancies. Since the beginning of the conflict in South Sudan, in 2013, children have constituted 66 per cent of the 1.3 million refugees, and the majority of the 1.9 million internally displaced persons. A direct consequence of the war has been the recruitment and use of more than 17,000 children, with a further 3,090 children abducted and 1,130 children sexually assaulted by armed forces and armed groups, among others.
Body
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of c ... 2017, para. 41

Paragraph text
It is essential that States take all necessary measures to prevent and combat the illicit transfer and non-return of children as well as the worst forms of child labour, including all forms of slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, the use of children for illicit activities, including begging, and hazardous work, and protect them from violence and economic exploitation. The Committees recognize that children face gender-specific risks and vulnerabilities which should be identified and specifically addressed. In many contexts, girls may be even more vulnerable to trafficking, especially for purposes of sexual exploitation. Additional measures should be taken to address the particular vulnerability of girls and boys, including those who might have a disability, as well as children who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex persons, to trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation and abuse.
Body
Committee on the Rights of the Child
Document type
General Comment / Recommendation
Topic(s)
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
  • LGBTQI+
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of c ... 2017, para. 26

Paragraph text
States should strengthen measures to grant nationality to children born in their territory in situations where they would otherwise be stateless. When the law of a mother’s country of nationality does not recognize a woman’s right to confer nationality on her children and/or spouse, children may face the risk of statelessness. Likewise, where nationality laws do not guarantee women’s autonomous right to acquire, change or retain their nationality in marriage, girls in the situation of international migration who married under the age of 18 years may face the risk of being stateless, or be confined in abusive marriages out of fear of being stateless. States should take immediate steps to reform nationality laws that discriminate against women by granting equal rights to men and women to confer nationality on their children and spouses and regarding the acquisition, change or retention of their nationality.
Body
Committee on the Rights of the Child
Document type
General Comment / Recommendation
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Movement
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of c ... 2017, para. 41

Paragraph text
It is essential that States take all necessary measures to prevent and combat the illicit transfer and non-return of children as well as the worst forms of child labour, including all forms of slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, the use of children for illicit activities, including begging, and hazardous work, and protect them from violence and economic exploitation. The Committees recognize that children face gender-specific risks and vulnerabilities which should be identified and specifically addressed. In many contexts, girls may be even more vulnerable to trafficking, especially for purposes of sexual exploitation. Additional measures should be taken to address the particular vulnerability of girls and boys, including those who might have a disability, as well as children who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex persons, to trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation and abuse.
Body
Committee on Migrant Workers
Document type
General Comment / Recommendation
Topic(s)
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
  • LGBTQI+
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of c ... 2017, para. 26

Paragraph text
States should strengthen measures to grant nationality to children born in their territory in situations where they would otherwise be stateless. When the law of a mother’s country of nationality does not recognize a woman’s right to confer nationality on her children and/or spouse, children may face the risk of statelessness. Likewise, where nationality laws do not guarantee women’s autonomous right to acquire, change or retain their nationality in marriage, girls in the situation of international migration who married under the age of 18 years may face the risk of being stateless, or be confined in abusive marriages out of fear of being stateless. States should take immediate steps to reform nationality laws that discriminate against women by granting equal rights to men and women to confer nationality on their children and spouses and regarding the acquisition, change or retention of their nationality.
Body
Committee on Migrant Workers
Document type
General Comment / Recommendation
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Movement
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 63

Paragraph text
The Special Rapporteur recommends that the United Nations, including all its programmes, funds and specialized agencies, adequately consider the sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities in all its work, including when assisting States in the implementation of mainstream policies and programmes.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons with disabilities
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 62m

Paragraph text
[The Special Rapporteur makes the following recommendations to States:] Mobilize resources within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals and invest in inclusive programmes that increase the access of girls and young women with disabilities to sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons with disabilities
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 62l

Paragraph text
[The Special Rapporteur makes the following recommendations to States:] Collect information, including statistical and research data, on the sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities, including with regard to harmful practices and all forms of violence, disaggregated by sex, age and disability;
Body
Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons with disabilities
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 62j

Paragraph text
[The Special Rapporteur makes the following recommendations to States:] Support families, including through the provision of information, education and services, in strengthening their ability to understand and address the sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities, free from stigma and stereotypes;
Body
Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Families
  • Girls
  • Persons with disabilities
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 62i

Paragraph text
[The Special Rapporteur makes the following recommendations to States:] Implement awareness-raising programmes designed to change the societal perception of the sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities and end all forms of violence against them, including forced sterilization, forced abortion and forced contraception;
Body
Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Health
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons with disabilities
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 62g

Paragraph text
[The Special Rapporteur makes the following recommendations to States:] Provide adequate training to law enforcement officials, prosecutors and judges on how to protect girls and young women with disabilities from violence;
Body
Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons with disabilities
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 62f

Paragraph text
[The Special Rapporteur makes the following recommendations to States:] Ensure that services and programmes aimed at protecting women and girls from violence, including police stations, shelters and courts, are inclusive of and accessible to girls and young women with disabilities;
Body
Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons with disabilities
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 62

Paragraph text
[The Special Rapporteur makes the following recommendations to States:] Design and implement comprehensive inclusive and accessible sexuality education programmes and materials for girls and young women with disabilities within and outside the school system;
Body
Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons with disabilities
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 62d

Paragraph text
[The Special Rapporteur makes the following recommendations to States:] Ensure that sexual and reproductive health services are respectful of the rights of girls and young women with disabilities, including their right to non-discrimination, informed consent prior to being subjected to any medical treatment, privacy and freedom from torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment;
Body
Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons with disabilities
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 62c

Paragraph text
[The Special Rapporteur makes the following recommendations to States:] Mainstream the rights of girls and young women with disabilities in all sexual and reproductive health and rights strategies and action plans to ensure that all sexual and reproductive health information, goods and services are accessible and age-, gender- and disability-sensitive;
Body
Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons with disabilities
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 32

Paragraph text
There is a worrisome and growing number of cases of surgical procedures and hormonal treatments intended to inhibit the growth of girls and young women with severe impairments. Hysterectomy, for example, is regarded as an effective way to avoid menstruation management,42 and it is justified on the discriminatory presumption that girls and young women with disabilities cannot handle the pain, discomfort and trauma of menstruation — an argument not applicable to girls and women without disabilities. Oestrogen treatment is also being increasingly administered for “growth-attenuation therapy”, aiming to inhibit girls’ entry into puberty and reduce their final height and weight in order to facilitate care. Those practices constitute gross human rights violations that go well beyond patronizing and infantilizing; they prioritize the interests of caregivers to the detriment and denial of a person’s dignity and integrity. As the Committee on the Rights of the Child has emphasized, the interpretation of a child’s best interests cannot be used to justify practices that conflict with the child’s human dignity and right to physical integrity. Stunting a girl’s growth does not represent, by any means, an appropriate response to the lack of support that families may encounter in providing assistance to their girls with disabilities.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Persons with disabilities
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 30

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 Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
Document type
Special Procedures' report
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

Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 19

Paragraph text
Stereotypes based on gender and disability often lead to structural or systemic discrimination against women with disabilities, in particular when exercising their sexual and reproductive health and rights. Stigma and misconceptions about disability and sexuality can have a profound negative impact on their lives and can lead to their disempowerment and infantilization. The nature of the prejudice experienced affects their self-esteem, making them feel insecure and socially isolated. Girls and young women with disabilities are neither seen to be in need of information about their sexual and reproductive health and rights and available services, nor seen as competent to make decisions about their sexual and reproductive lives. Moreover, as many girls and young women with more severe impairments live at home or in institutions, often completely dependent on or controlled by others, they are denied the full exercise of their autonomy and privacy, whether that is intentional or not. Consequently, many girls and young women with disabilities lack the basic knowledge and support required to protect themselves from sexual abuse, unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, and are not equipped to make informed decisions about their own bodies, health and lives.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons with disabilities
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 8

Paragraph text
Furthermore, girls and young women with disabilities are, almost without exception, prevented from making autonomous decisions with regard to their reproductive and sexual health, which can result in highly discriminatory and harmful practices, as discussed in section III below. Many of those practices occur in institutions, as girls and young women with disabilities are more likely to be institutionalized.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons with disabilities
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
2017
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

State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 9

Paragraph text
Certain segments of the population face a greater risk of suffering intersectional and multiple discrimination. For instance, investment-linked evictions and displacements often result in physical and sexual violence against, and inadequate compensation and additional burdens related to resettlement for, women and girls. In the course of such investment-linked evictions and displacements, indigenous women and girls face discrimination both due to their gender and because they identify as indigenous people. In addition, women are overrepresented in the informal economy and are less likely to enjoy labour-related and social security protections. Furthermore, despite some improvement, women continue to be underrepresented in corporate decision-making processes worldwide. The Committee therefore recommends that States parties address the specific impacts of business activities on women and girls, including indigenous women and girls, and incorporate a gender perspective into all measures to regulate business activities that may adversely affect economic, social and cultural rights, including by consulting the Guidance on National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights. States parties should also take appropriate steps, including through temporary special measures, to improve women’s representation in the labour market, including at the upper echelons of the corporate hierarchy.
Body
Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
Document type
General Comment / Recommendation
Topic(s)
  • Economic Rights
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Movement
  • Social & Cultural Rights
Person(s) affected
  • Ethnic minorities
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19 2017, para. 30b (ii)

Paragraph text
[The Committee recommends that States parties implement the following preventive measures:] Develop and implement effective measures, with the active participation of all relevant stakeholders, such as representatives of women’s organizations and of marginalized groups of women and girls, to address and eradicate the stereotypes, prejudices, customs and practices set out in article 5 of the Convention, which condone or promote gender-based violence against women and underpin the structural inequality of women with men. Such measures should include the following: Awareness-raising programmes that promote an understanding of gender-based violence against women as unacceptable and harmful, provide information about available legal recourses against it and encourage the reporting of such violence and the intervention of bystanders; address the stigma experienced by victims/survivors of such violence; and dismantle the commonly held victim-blaming beliefs under which women are responsible for their own safety and for the violence that they suffer. The programmes should target women and men at all levels of society; education, health, social services and law enforcement personnel and other professionals and agencies, including at the local level, involved in prevention and protection responses; traditional and religious leaders; and perpetrators of any form of gender-based violence, so as to prevent repeat offending;
Body
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
Document type
General Comment / Recommendation
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19 2017, para. 26a

Paragraph text
[Legislative level] According to articles 2 (b), (c), (e), (f) and (g) and 5 (a), States are required to adopt legislation prohibiting all forms of gender-based violence against women and girls, harmonizing national law with the Convention. In the legislation, women who are victims/survivors of such violence should be considered to be right holders. It should contain age-sensitive and gender-sensitive provisions and effective legal protection, including sanctions on perpetrators and reparations to victims/survivors. The Convention provides that any existing norms of religious, customary, indigenous and community justice systems are to be harmonized with its standards and that all laws that constitute discrimination against women, including those which cause, promote or justify gender-based violence or perpetuate impunity for such acts, are to be repealed. Such norms may be part of statutory, customary, religious, indigenous or common law, constitutional, civil, family, criminal or administrative law or evidentiary and procedural law, such as provisions based on discriminatory or stereotypical attitudes or practices that allow for gender-based violence against women or mitigate sentences in that context;
Body
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
Document type
General Comment / Recommendation
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Ethnic minorities
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19 2017, para. 14

Paragraph text
Gender-based violence affects women throughout their life cycle and, accordingly, references to women in the present document include girls. Such violence takes multiple forms, including acts or omissions intended or likely to cause or result in death or physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm or suffering to women, threats of such acts, harassment, coercion and arbitrary deprivation of liberty. Gender-based violence against women is affected and often exacerbated by cultural, economic, ideological, technological, political, religious, social and environmental factors, as evidenced, among other things, in the contexts of displacement, migration, the increased globalization of economic activities, including global supply chains, the extractive and offshoring industry, militarization, foreign occupation, armed conflict, violent extremism and terrorism. Gender-based violence against women is also affected by political, economic and social crises, civil unrest, humanitarian emergencies, natural disasters and the destruction or degradation of natural resources. Harmful practices and crimes against women human rights defenders, politicians, activists or journalists are also forms of gender-based violence against women affected by such cultural, ideological and political factors.
Body
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
Document type
General Comment / Recommendation
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Humanitarian
  • Movement
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 67

Paragraph text
In 2011, a social worker who founded a local shelter for girl survivors of sexual violence and an international human rights lawyer initiated a coalition with local, regional and international civil society organizations, feminist lawyers and the national human rights commission to file a case seeking to hold the police accountable for failure to address rampant sexual violence against girls. The 160 Girls case was brought to the High Court in 2012. With the support of the shelter, 11 applicants were chosen from more than 160 victims of child rape who had been denied access to justice. The remaining victims were represented by the twelfth applicant, which was the rape shelter itself. It was the first case brought to the High Court under the equality provisions laid out in the 2010 Constitution. The decision was instrumental in establishing the failure of the police to meet national and international standards to conduct prompt, effective, proper and professional investigations into complaints, thereby preventing access to justice. With the use of relevant international human rights instruments and progressive interpretation of constitutional rights and State obligation, the jurisprudence was precedent-setting. The seminal contribution of the decision lay in establishing the rights of the child and the delineation of the scope of State obligation in protecting children from violence, and the duty to investigate and apply existing rape laws.
Body
Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Report of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent on its nineteenth and twentieth sessions 2017, para. 76

Paragraph text
The Working Group urges States to eradicate multiple forms of discrimination and oppression faced by women and girls of African descent in accordance with the concept of intersectionality in all areas of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Body
Working Group of experts on people of African descent
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Diversity in humanity, humanity in diversity 2017, para. 39

Paragraph text
Violence and discrimination often appear not as singular events but as part of a prolonged vicious circle. They are multiple and multiplied — inextricably linked emotionally, psychologically, physically and structurally. They intersect in a variety of ways, and most clearly where the victim is not only attacked or discriminated against for having a different sexual orientation and gender identity but also on grounds of race, ethnic origin, age, gender, or membership of a minority or indigenous community. The person might also be a child, a young girl, an intersex person, a refugee, an internally displaced person, a migrant worker, a person with a disability, and more. This intersectionality involves a conglomeration of incidents, actors, perpetrators, and victims — the latter being revictimized an infinite number of times, possibly in different phases of life. The situation becomes aggravated precisely because of the convoluted nature of the phenomenon, where crimes are replicated against the same victims and where impunity prevails subsequently, from the home to the school, to the community, to the nation State and to the international spectrum. In today’s cyber world and social media, incitement to hatred and violence driven by hate speech relating to sexual orientation and gender identity has an exponential reach, spinning the web of violations in real time and into the future.
Body
Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Ethnic minorities
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
  • Youth
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 60

Paragraph text
The Special Representative encourages all actors to renew their efforts to address the impact of conflict on girls. In this regard, the Special Representative calls upon Member States to ensure that appropriate services are in place to reintegrate girls associated with parties to conflict as well as supporting communities for the return of those who have been forcibly married and/or have suffered sexual violence and/or have borne children.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. 16b

Paragraph text
[The agenda of the Special Representative has been guided by four strategic priorities: consolidating progress and mainstreaming implementation of the recommendations of the United Nations study; ensuring that violence against children is given prominence on the global agenda; reinforcing regional processes to enhance the protection of children from violence; and addressing emerging concerns. Significant results have been achieved, including:] Enhancing awareness and consolidating knowledge to prevent and respond to violence against children through international expert consultations, the development of research and the release of strategic thematic studies. As noted above, in 2016, two major studies Protecting Children Affected by Armed Violence in the Community and Ending the Torment: Tackling Bullying from the Schoolyard to Cyberspace were released. Previous studies by the Special Representative have addressed violence in schools and in the justice system; restorative justice for children; the rights of girls in the criminal justice system; child-sensitive counselling, and reporting and complaint mechanisms; protection of children from harmful practices; and the opportunities and risks for children associated with information and communications technologies. Child-friendly materials were also produced to inform and empower children concerning their right to freedom from violence, most recently issued in Braille;
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. 8

Paragraph text
Trafficking in persons continues to increase, and in some regions more than 60 per cent of victims are children. Countless millions of children are involved in exploitative work and slavery-like practices. In developing countries, one in every three girls is married before age 18 and one in nine is married before age 15, and children below 15 years represent 8 per cent of victims of homicides globally.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Economic Rights
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2016, para. 18

Paragraph text
The violence-related targets in the 2030 Agenda are achievable, but measuring progress will need to be supported by sound data and stronger national statistical capacity. Along with the consolidation of knowledge and data on children's exposure to sexual, physical and emotional violence, it is crucial to develop enhanced tools and methodologies that can capture the full magnitude and incidence of all forms of violence against all girls and boys under 18 years of age.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 90

Paragraph text
State policies need to address the root causes of armed violence, including deprivation and social exclusion; undertake gender-sensitive approaches to secure boys' and girls' safety and protection, and the recovery and reintegration of victims; and fight impunity. Special protection measures are also needed for children and young people who try to leave gangs and organized criminal structures, to counter the risks they face and promote long-term options for their reintegration.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Social & Cultural Rights
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Youth
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 134

Paragraph text
Secondly, the establishment of widely available and easily accessible, safe and confidential mechanisms to support girls to overcome the fear of reporting cases of violence. They need to be supported by child- and gender-sensitive standards to ensure the effective participation of girls in relevant judicial and administrative proceedings, and to safeguard their safety, privacy and dignity at all stages.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 130

Paragraph text
Seeking redress through the criminal justice system can also be very intimidating, as girls fear that their credibility may be questioned, or that they may be blamed, rather than protected as victims. In countries where discrimination and stigma against sexual violence is high, it is particularly hard for girls to approach police stations or courts, for fear of verbal intimidation and harassment, and of seeing their testimony dismissed.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 129

Paragraph text
Those girls face overwhelming challenges at all stages, including significant barriers to seeking justice. Many are unaware of their rights and even fewer have access to safe, effective and child-sensitive counselling, reporting and complaints mechanisms. Furthermore, perpetrators are often people they know and trust, or on whom they depend for their survival and protection, raising additional challenges to reporting incidents and preventing the risk of reprisals.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 127

Paragraph text
As a result, countless girls end up deprived of their liberty, far away from home and family visits, and placed in units together with adult women. They may find themselves in harsh conditions, in overcrowded cells or in solitary confinement. They may be exposed to sexual violence, harassment, invasive body searches and humiliating treatment by staff in detention centres. In some countries, girls may face inhuman sentencing, including flogging, stoning and capital punishment.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 125

Paragraph text
Girls may also be criminalized for status offences or on the grounds of "immoral character" or "perverse conduct". Those who are victims of trafficking may end up being arrested and incarcerated as a result of their exploitation by prostitution rings. Girls may also be forced by boyfriends and family members or manipulated by criminal groups to commit offences, such as selling drugs.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Economic Rights
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Families
  • Girls
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 123

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
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
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

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
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Harmful Practices
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 119

Paragraph text
As the international community reviews progress in the implementation over the past twenty years of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, including the protection of girls from discrimination and violence, it is crucial to prevent and address the challenges they face when involved with the criminal justice system, as victims and witnesses of violence, and when deprived of their liberty. That is a concern the Special Representative will continue to pursue.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 118

Paragraph text
According to UNICEF, one in three adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 worldwide have been the victims of emotional, physical or sexual violence committed by their husbands or partners at some point in their lives. Taking place behind closed doors, incidents of violence are often associated with a culture of silence that inhibits girls from speaking out, from seeking help, accessing justice and bringing perpetrators to justice.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Adolescents
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 117

Paragraph text
Children are particularly vulnerable to those intertwined forms of violence, both as victims and witnesses. While adolescent boys may be at risk of physical aggression and homicide owing to their participation in street fighting, gang membership, possession of arms and manipulation by organized crime networks, girls are more likely to endure violence in the private sphere, in particular sexual violence, which is often associated with shame, fear and distrust.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Adolescents
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 65

Paragraph text
There are also indications that boys enjoy more and better quality access to the Internet than girls. That pattern is likely to exist in other regions, especially in contexts where girls may experience discrimination in society. At the same time, ICTs may also provide important tools for those girls to obtain information, participate in social and cultural life, and overcome isolation in their communities.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Girls
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 64

Paragraph text
Gender differences also influence how children use ICTs and perceive and respond to online risks. In Europe, boys appear more bothered by online violence than girls, while girls are more concerned with contact-related risks. Teenage girls are slightly more likely to receive nasty or hurtful messages online than teenage boys.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Adolescents
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2014, para. 41e

Paragraph text
[In some countries, important legislative initiatives have addressed violence against children with albinism and those accused of witchcraft, criminalizing harmful practices and issuing protective measures to secure children's safety and protection. Legislation is, however, insufficient to change superstition and deeply rooted beliefs. To ensure the protection of these children, the Special Representative has called for a comprehensive strategy highlighting, the following measures:] Enacting a clear legal ban against all forms of violence. In many countries, criminal legislation prohibits serious crimes, such as murder and torture. However, owing to the stigma and superstitious beliefs surrounding children with albinism or accused of witchcraft, additional legislative measures are needed to secure their effective protection. National legislation needs to include a clear and comprehensive prohibition of all forms of violence and harmful practices to protect these marginalized girls and boys, and to provide for means of redress and accountability. Clear provisions on reporting, investigation and prosecution of incidents of violence are essential to fight impunity. Information campaigns and awareness-raising initiatives, and capacity-building of relevant professionals, are equally needed to make the provisions of the law known and effectively enforced, and to overcome deep-rooted social conventions condoning violence.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2014
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2014, para. 19

Paragraph text
Secondly, to prevent girls and boys from being targeted by violence or instrumentalized in criminal activities, the Model Strategies call for a strong and cohesive national child protection system, and recognize the need to address the root causes of child social exclusion and promote children's universal access to basic social services of quality (see paras. 12-17).
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Social & Cultural Rights
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2014
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2014, para. 14

Paragraph text
Countless children involved with the criminal justice system as victims, witnesses or alleged offenders have a history of exposure to violence. At times, the criminal justice system is used as a substitute for weak or non-existent child protection systems that lead to the stigmatization and criminalization of girls and boys at risk, including those who are homeless and poor, those living or working on the street, and those who have fled home as a result of violence.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Social & Cultural Rights
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2014
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2014, para. 82

Paragraph text
The United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules) provide an important reference in this regard as they address gender-based discrimination in the criminal justice system and call for gender-specific options for diversionary measures and the development of pretrial and sentencing alternatives for girls and women (rule 57).
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Governance & Rule of Law
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2014
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2014, para. 81

Paragraph text
Girls constitute a particularly vulnerable group, and their offending is often closely related to various forms of discrimination and deprivation: girls living in poverty may be easy targets and manipulated by criminal networks for sexual exploitation and drug dealing. Girls are also at risk of being arrested for prostitution or rounded up on the assumption that they are sex workers.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Poverty
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
Year
2014
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2014, para. 38

Paragraph text
Firstly, it is crucial to mobilize the voice and support of leaders in all areas. In this spirit, on 20 November 2013, the International Day of the Child, the Special Representative together with other United Nations child rights experts issued a call to all Governments to include the protection from violence of all girls and boys, including the most vulnerable and marginalized, as a priority in the post-2015 agenda, and to back this commitment with firm funding.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2014
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2014, para. 35

Paragraph text
During the period covered by the present report, important global thematic consultations were held to inform the future development agenda. In Helsinki, Monrovia and Panama City, the consultations devoted to violence and citizen security gave prominent attention to human rights and the elimination of all forms of violence. During the Panama consultation, participants specifically called for the inclusion of distinct goals to safeguard the protection of boys and girls from violence.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Girls
Year
2014
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2014, para. 22

Paragraph text
The most vulnerable children are at the greatest risk of violence, including girls, children with disabilities, children who migrate, children who are confined to institutions, and children whose poverty and social exclusion expose them to deprivation, to neglect and, at times, to the inherent dangers of life on the streets.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Poverty
  • Social & Cultural Rights
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Persons with disabilities
Year
2014
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2014, para. 17

Paragraph text
As the twenty-fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child draws closer and discussions on the post-2015 global development agenda intensify, the report on the global survey provides strategic insight into how far the international community has come towards ensuring children's protection from violence and, crucially, what still needs to be done to give every girl and boy the opportunity of enjoying a childhood free from violence.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2014
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2013, para. 56

Paragraph text
Adolescent boys are at high risk of homicide as a result of participation in violence-prone activities, such as street fighting, street crime, gang membership and possession of weapons. For girls, the incidence of inter-partner violence is particularly high, and in many nations, family-related homicide is the major cause of female deaths.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Adolescents
  • Boys
  • Families
  • Girls
Year
2013
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2013, para. 29

Paragraph text
In the same publication, ILO expresses special concern at the largely hidden nature of domestic work and its strong association with incidents of violence. Name-calling, threats, shouting and screaming, beating, kicking, whipping, scalding, overwork and denial of food, and sexual harassment and abuse are some of the incidents acknowledged in the report. If they become pregnant, girls may be dismissed and find themselves on the streets, afraid to return home.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2013
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2013, para. 105

Paragraph text
An estimated 526,000 people die violently every year; in the large majority of cases, in non-conflict settings. Young males are at high risk of homicide owing to their participation in street fighting, street crime, gang membership, possession of arms and other violence-prone activities. Women and girls are predominantly targeted by intimate and gender-based violence and in many nations family related homicide is the major cause of female deaths.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Families
  • Girls
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
2013
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2013, para. 33d

Paragraph text
[The meeting called for a multidimensional strategy and:] Data and research on violence in schools to capture the hidden face of violence and address its root causes; assess perceptions and attitudes, including among girls and boys of different ages and social backgrounds; identify children at greater risk; and assess the economic cost of violence and the social return that may be achieved with investment in prevention;
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2013
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2012, para. 93

Paragraph text
An estimated 526,000 people die violently every year; in the large majority of cases, in non-conflict settings. Young males are at high risk of becoming the victims of homicide owing to their participation in street fighting, street crime, gang membership, possession of arms and other violence-prone activities. Women and girls are predominantly targeted by intimate and gender-based violence and in many nations family-related homicide is the major cause of female deaths.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Families
  • Girls
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2012, para. 70

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
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Harmful Practices
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2012, para. 56

Paragraph text
Urgent efforts remain essential, including to capture the hidden face of violence and address its root causes; to understand perceptions and attitudes, including amongst girls and boys of different ages and social backgrounds; to help identify children at greater risk and effectively support them; and to assess the economic cost of violence and the social return that may be achieved with investment in prevention.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2012, para. 53

Paragraph text
For vulnerable groups of children, including girls, children with disabilities, children belonging to minorities or indigenous groups, or affected by HIV, these efforts need to be redoubled. They face particular challenges in gaining access to schooling and in remaining in school. They are more likely to be subjected to violence, or disregarded when they seek advice or report incidents of violence. As a result, they may end up choosing not to report violence for fear of drawing attention.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Ethnic minorities
  • Girls
  • Persons with disabilities
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2011, para. 52

Paragraph text
Violence has a negative and often long-term impact on child victims. Beyond those directly affected, however, it creates fear and insecurity among students, hampering their learning opportunities and well-being. This in turn gives rise to anxiety and concerns in the family, sometimes fuelling pressure to keep children, particularly girls, out of school or to encourage school abandonment as a means of avoiding further violence.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Families
  • Girls
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2011, para. 51

Paragraph text
Unfortunately, this unique potential is in marked contrast to the daily reality of millions of children. Within and around educational settings, both girls and boys continue to be exposed to violence, including verbal abuse, intimidation, physical aggression and, in some cases, sexual abuse. At times they are also victims of gang violence and assault.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2011, para. 94

Paragraph text
Violence not only has a negative impact on child victims; beyond those directly affected, it also generates fear and insecurity among students, hampering their learning opportunities and overall well-being. This situation raises families' anxiety and concerns, at times fuelling pressure to keep children, particularly girls, away from school and encouraging dropping out of school as a means of preventing further violence and harm.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Families
  • Girls
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2011, para. 93

Paragraph text
Unfortunately, however, this unique potential stands in stark contrast with the daily reality of millions of children. Within and around educational settings, both girls and boys continue to be exposed to violence, including verbal abuse, intimidation, physical aggression and, in some cases, sexual abuse. At times, they are also victims of gang violence and assault.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2011, para. 89

Paragraph text
As noted in the United Nations study, and confirmed during the Special Representative's missions to all regions, violence against children knows no geographic, cultural or economic bounds; it affects boys and girls of all ages, and occurs in all settings, including where children are expected to benefit from special care and protection.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2011, para. 64

Paragraph text
In November 2010, the Special Representative met the Vice President of the European Commission, Viviane Reding. The meeting was a strategic opportunity to address areas of shared concern, including the inclusion of children's protection from violence in the above-mentioned strategy on the rights of the child, the consolidation of legislation and other actions for the protection of girls from harmful practices, and the safeguard of the rights of child victims of incidents of violence.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work 2017, para. 41

Paragraph text
The Commission recognizes its primary role for the follow-up to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, in which its work is grounded, and stresses that it is critical to address and integrate gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls throughout national, regional and global reviews of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and to ensure synergies between the follow-up to the Beijing Platform for Action and the gender-responsive follow-up to the 2030 Agenda.
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Governance & Rule of Law
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work 2017, para. 40 (uu)

Paragraph text
Ensure that women in armed conflict and post-conflict situations, women affected by natural disasters and other humanitarian emergencies and internally displaced women are empowered to effectively and meaningfully participate in leadership and decision-making processes and that the human rights of all women and girls are fully respected and protected in response and recovery strategies;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Humanitarian
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work 2017, para. 40 (ss)

Paragraph text
Strengthen science and technology education policies and curricula, so that they are relevant to the needs of and benefit women and girls, encourage investment and research in sustainable technology, particularly to strengthen the capacities of developing countries, so as to enable women to leverage science and technology for entrepreneurship and economic empowerment in the changing world of work;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Economic Rights
  • Education
  • Gender
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work 2017, para. 40 (jj)

Paragraph text
Promote gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by reaffirming the commitments made in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, pursuing policy coherence and an enabling environment for sustainable development at all levels and by all actors and reinvigorating the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Gender
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work 2017, para. 40 (p)

Paragraph text
Take concrete steps towards eliminating the practice of gender-based price differentiation, also known as the "pink tax", whereby goods and services intended for or marketed to women and girls cost more than similar goods and services intended for or marketed to men and boys;
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Social & Cultural Rights
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Girls
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work 2017, para. 37

Paragraph text
The Commission recalls the need to address the special situation and vulnerability of migrant women and girls. It is concerned that many migrant women, particularly those who are employed in the informal economy and in less skilled work, are especially vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, underlining in this regard the obligation of States to protect the human rights of migrants so as to prevent and address abuse and exploitation.
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Movement
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work 2017, para. 36

Paragraph text
The Commission recognizes the positive contribution of migrant women and girls, in particular women migrant workers, to sustainable development in countries of origin, transit and destination. It underlines the value and dignity of migrant women's labour in all sectors, including the labour of domestic and care workers.
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Movement
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work 2017, para. 33

Paragraph text
The Commission recognizes the important role and contribution of rural women and girls to poverty eradication, sustainable development and food security and nutrition, especially in poor and vulnerable households. The Commission also recognizes the importance of the empowerment of rural women and their full, equal and effective participation at all levels of decision-making.
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Food & Nutrition
  • Poverty
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work 2017, para. 32

Paragraph text
The Commission recalls its multi-year programme of work for the period 2017-2019, according to which it considered the empowerment of indigenous women as the focus area at its sixty-first session and will consider challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls as the priority theme at its sixty-second session.
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
Person(s) affected
  • Ethnic minorities
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work 2017, para. 31

Paragraph text
The Commission recognizes that the full realization of the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health is vital for women's and girls' lives and well-being and for their ability to participate in public and private life, and is crucial for gender equality and the empowerment of women, including their economic empowerment and full and equal participation and leadership in the economy.
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work 2017, para. 23

Paragraph text
The Commission recognizes that globalization presents both challenges and opportunities for women's economic empowerment. It also recognizes that there is a need to make broad and sustained efforts to create a shared future, based upon our common humanity, to ensure globalization is fully inclusive and equitable for all, including women and girls, and becomes an increasingly positive force for women's economic empowerment.
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work 2017, para. 12

Paragraph text
The Commission recognizes the importance of fully engaging men and boys, as agents and beneficiaries of change, for the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. It stresses the role of men as allies in the realization of women's economic empowerment in the changing world of work and in the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls.
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Girls
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work 2017, para. 8

Paragraph text
The Commission acknowledges the important role played by regional conventions, instruments and initiatives in their respective regions and countries in the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, including for women's economic empowerment and their right to work and rights at work, and for the promotion of full and productive employment and decent work.
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work 2017, para. 5

Paragraph text
The Commission reaffirms the commitments to gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls made at relevant United Nations summits and conferences, including the International Conference on Population and Development and its Programme of Action and the outcome documents of its reviews.
Body
Commission on the Status of Women
Document type
CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Governance & Rule of Law
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2017
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2016, para. 77

Paragraph text
Recalling that the issue of the reintegration of children is crucial to ensure the long-term sustainability of peace and security, the Special Representative encourages the Member States concerned to take appropriate measures to reintegrate those children, giving special attention to the needs of girls. She also calls on all Member States to provide the necessary political, technical and financial support to reintegration programmes.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Movement
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2015, para. 66

Paragraph text
Recalling that the issue of the reintegration of children is crucial to ensure the long-term sustainability of peace and security, the Special Representative encourages the Member States concerned to take appropriate measures to reintegrate those children, giving special attention to the needs of girls. She also calls on all Member States to provide the necessary political, technical and financial support to reintegration programmes.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Movement
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2015, para. 31

Paragraph text
Attacks on schools and hospitals are becoming an all-too familiar aspect of conflict, depriving millions of children of their right to education and health. The Special Representative remained deeply concerned by the increasing number of attacks on schools and hospitals, despite their protected status under international law. In almost every situation relating to the children and armed conflict agenda, the right to education and health was gravely affected by attacks on and the widespread military use of schools and hospitals as well as by attacks and threats of attacks against teachers and doctors. In many situations, such as in Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Israel and the State of Palestine and the Syrian Arab Republic, parties to conflict destroyed schools and hospitals by indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas or in targeted attacks against education facilities, teachers, school children, health workers and clinics. In 2014, we witnessed attacks on schools and ideological opposition to standard school curricula in places as varied as Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, southern Thailand, Somalia and the Syrian Arab Republic. Attempts by certain groups to radicalize teachings or exclude girls or minorities from education pose an even greater risk to the fundamental right of all children to an education. Health centres and health workers were also targeted, leading to the resurgence of preventable diseases, such as polio.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Humanitarian
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2014, para. 83

Paragraph text
The Special Representative calls upon Member States and civil society to ensure that particular attention is paid to the plight of girls and boys and to promote specific provisions for children in global efforts to end, prevent and respond to sexual violence in conflict.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2014
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2013, para. 21

Paragraph text
A growing body of reporting also contributes to an enhanced understanding of the multiple indirect adverse effects of drone strikes on children. Boys and girls have been the victims of drone strikes on schools, funeral processions and other community gatherings. Drone attacks have also led to weakening of the social fabric and of community protection mechanisms.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2013
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2011, para. 21

Paragraph text
Of growing concern is the use of children — sometimes unbeknownst to them — to carry or wear explosives. The reporting period has seen a steady increase in the number of girls and boys being used by armed groups for such purposes. These children, sometimes as young as eight, are often unaware of the actions or consequences of the acts they are instigated to commit. Such acts often lead to their own death and the killing of civilians, including other children.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2010, para. 21

Paragraph text
Girls remain the main victims of sexual violence in armed conflict. However, there are increasing reports of sexual abuse committed against boys. This phenomenon is still not adequately understood, and is yet to be comprehensively addressed in advocacy, monitoring, reporting and response. Knowledge about sexual violence against boys continues to be thin, in part because boys are more reluctant to speak out about sexual violence and there is inherently a bias against questioning boys about such abuse.
Body
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
Document type
SRSG report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Girls
Year
2010
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 54

Paragraph text
Participation is not only a right in itself, but also imperative for fulfilling other rights. Participation encompasses women's power to influence decisions, to voice their needs, to make individual choices and to control their own lives. The lack of water, sanitation and hygiene facilities that meet women's and girls' needs can be largely attributed to the absence of women's participation in decision-making and planning.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Social & Cultural Rights
  • Water & Sanitation
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 49

Paragraph text
The sanitation and menstrual hygiene needs of homeless women and girls are almost universally unmet and the needs of that group are rarely reflected in water and sanitation policies. Human rights law demands that States place a particular focus on the needs of the most marginalized; hence, States should ensure that homeless women and girls have access to facilities.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Social & Cultural Rights
  • Water & Sanitation
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 44

Paragraph text
Where it is not yet possible to have access to services on site, it is important to scale up the construction of safe and nearby community toilets. As mentioned above, there is a multitude of psychosocial stress factors that women face owing to unsafe, inadequate or absent sanitation facilities. To reduce the risk of women and girls experiencing violence, building codes for community water and sanitation facilities should include gender considerations such as sex-segregated cubicles, closeness to the house and lighted pathways to and at facilities. The location should also make it possible for a concierge to be present and monitor the surroundings. It is important to note, however, that building safer latrines in or close to households does not eliminate the risk of gender-based violence, as the measure does not address the root causes of violence. As outlined by the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council, adequate sanitation without attention to gendered relations of power puts the burden of safety on women and does not address gender-based patterns of violence against women, which require a far more structural approach. Building safer facilities may sometimes, however, take away a burden for women and girls to visit public toilets that provide for privacy and safety. In this context, WaterAid has developed a toolkit for practitioners.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Water & Sanitation
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 41

Paragraph text
While taxes are a key source of financing for such gender responsive initiatives, they can have detrimental effects on the poorest women. Governments must therefore carefully screen the effects of different tax mechanisms. For example, while value-added taxes may appear gender-neutral, they may disproportionately affect those living in poverty. Certainly, applying value-added tax to menstrual hygiene products disproportionately affects women and girls.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Economic Rights
  • Gender
  • Poverty
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 39

Paragraph text
Women and girls need to have materials to manage their menstruation, which can be a particular burden for those living in poverty. The human rights to water and sanitation include the right of all to affordable, safe and hygienic menstruation materials, which should be subsidized or provided free of charge when necessary.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Health
  • Poverty
  • Water & Sanitation
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 32

Paragraph text
Levels of access to water and sanitation services affect men and women unequally. Because of their domestic roles and responsibilities, women are in greatest physical contact with contaminated water and human waste. Women and girls who hold their urine for long periods of time have a higher risk of bladder and kidney infections. In addition, they tend to avoid consuming liquids to prevent having to use the toilet, as a result of which many become dehydrated.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Health
  • Water & Sanitation
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 26

Paragraph text
Gender-based violence can be defined as acts that "inflict physical, mental or sexual harm or suffering, threats of such acts, coercion and other deprivations of liberty". It is a widespread issue rooted in power differences and structural inequality between men and women, although men and boys can also suffer gender-based violence. As the Secretary-General has pointed out: "Violence against women and girls makes its hideous imprint on every continent, country and culture".
Body
Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Girls
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 12

Paragraph text
Although women - at every economic level, all over the world - may suffer disproportionate disadvantages and discrimination, they cannot be seen as a homogenous group. Different women are situated differently and face different challenges and barriers in relationship to water, sanitation and hygiene. Gender-based inequalities are exacerbated when they are coupled with other grounds for discrimination and disadvantages. Examples include when women and girls lack adequate access to water and sanitation and at the same time suffer from poverty, live with a disability, suffer from incontinence, live in remote areas, lack security of tenure, are imprisoned or are homeless. In these cases, they will be more likely to lack access to adequate facilities, to face exclusion or to experience vulnerability and additional health risks. The effects of social factors such as caste, age, marital status, profession, sexual orientation and gender identity are compounded when they intersect with other grounds for discrimination. In some States, women sanitation workers are particularly vulnerable, as they are exposed to an extremely dirty environment and contamination, which have a far greater impact during pregnancy and menstruation. Women belonging to certain minorities, including indigenous peoples and ethnic and religious groups, may face exclusion and disadvantages on multiple grounds. Those factors are not exhaustive and may change over time.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Health
  • Poverty
  • Social & Cultural Rights
  • Water & Sanitation
Person(s) affected
  • Ethnic minorities
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 9

Paragraph text
Many legal constituencies, however, have laws in place that hinder the equal enjoyment of the rights to water and sanitation. In many countries, land ownership, which is a precondition for gaining access to water, is often denied to women by family laws that also make it difficult for women to inherit land. Some countries criminalize open defecation while at the same time closing down public sanitation facilities. Public urination and defecation is often criminalized and laws that aim to keep cities clean may discriminate against homeless persons who have no other option but to relieve themselves in the open. Among them are many women and girls in desperate need of an adequate facility that offers privacy. Some States allow individuals to use toilets in a manner consistent with that person's chosen gender identity while other States oblige persons to use only those toilets that correspond with the biological sex listed on their birth certificate. Restrictive gender recognition laws not only severely undermine transgender peoples' ability to enjoy their rights to basic services, it also prevents them from living safely, free from violence and discrimination. Water and sanitation facilities must be safe, available, accessible, affordable, socially and culturally acceptable, provide privacy and ensure dignity for all individuals, including those who are transgender and gender non-conforming.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Social & Cultural Rights
  • Water & Sanitation
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • LGBTQI+
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 77m

Paragraph text
[In line with the above, the Special Rapporteur recommends that States:] Ensure that comprehensive data is collected on access to water, sanitation and hygiene management in respect of women and girls belonging to marginalized groups and living in marginalized areas, and support civil society in collecting data and in analysing, interpreting and monitoring results;
Body
Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Water & Sanitation
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 77d

Paragraph text
[In line with the above, the Special Rapporteur recommends that States:] Create an enabling environment for women and girls to safely use water and sanitation facilities. Discrimination and violence based on gender identity must be prevented, investigated and remedied, and those responsible must be prosecuted;
Body
Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Water & Sanitation
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 61

Paragraph text
Marginalized women and girls (including those with disabilities, those who are elderly, uneducated or impoverished, and sex workers) face additional barriers to participation. It is therefore important to consider who participates, since participation is often extended only to certain women, in other words the wealthiest, more educated and those who are relatively privileged owing to their caste or religion.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Economic Rights
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Social & Cultural Rights
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons with disabilities
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 24

Paragraph text
Although sometimes monetized in economic analyses, interventions provide some intangible benefits related to time saved, dignity gained and diseases and deaths prevented. The particularly positive impact for women and girls of investing in water and sanitation is crucial for achieving gender equality. Environmental benefits are also significant, given that improving water and sanitation services helps combat contamination and environmental degradation.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Environment
  • Gender
  • Water & Sanitation
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 18

Paragraph text
In addition to material costs of service provision, the time spent on collecting water and accessing sanitation facilities outside the home must also be valued. As women and girls are largely responsible for collecting water, maintaining and cleaning sanitation facilities, and for ensuring the hygienic management of the household, these time costs have an important gender equality dimension.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Social & Cultural Rights
  • Water & Sanitation
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 31

Paragraph text
People must be able to voice their concerns freely. Those who are otherwise discriminated against or stigmatized may have particular difficulties in making their opinion heard as concerns the types of service that are acceptable to them. They must also be given the chance to present their opinions and influence decision-making. For decisions on types of services, women and girls' participation is essential.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Civil & Political Rights
  • Equality & Inclusion
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Participation in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 77

Paragraph text
Responding to emergencies poses particular challenges for participation. There is often a concern that States and humanitarian actors need to be able to act quickly and that participatory processes would slow down responses. However, many decisions on disaster response are taken beforehand, and participation is essential at the planning stage. Moreover, in many instances emergency responses develop into more long-term programmes. In relation to menstrual hygiene management during an emergency, for instance, a solution might be to include a standard response for distributing sanitary kits to make sure that immediate needs are met on the basis of cultural preferences as far as they are known, or assumed. This response should be monitored subsequently to assess whether it meets women's and girls' needs, and then adjusted accordingly. The need for a rapid response should not be used as an excuse to pre-empt participation. What is needed instead, in particular given the wide range of actors involved in this context, is a broader discussion on how participation can be ensured in cases of emergencies and provision of humanitarian assistance through participatory planning in advance, as well as in monitoring and adjusting emergency responses. The standards contained in The Sphere Handbook recognize that participation by people affected by disaster is integral to humanitarian response.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Humanitarian
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2014
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 76c (vii)

Paragraph text
[Against this background, the Special Rapporteur recommends the following:] Recommendations regarding data sources and methodology: Targets and indicators should be crafted to ensure that women and adolescent girls can manage menstruation hygienically and with dignity, including by specific questions in relevant household surveys about adequate menstrual hygiene management.
Body
Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Adolescents
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 76b (iii) f.

Paragraph text
[Against this background, the Special Rapporteur recommends the following:] Recommendations regarding goals, targets and indicators for water, sanitation and hygiene: Future goals, targets and indicators on water, sanitation and hygiene must: Address the need for adequate menstrual hygiene management for women and girls;
Body
Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Water & Sanitation
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

The MDGs and the human rights to water and sanitation 2010, para. 6e

Paragraph text
[While target 7.C itself is of critical importance, it is also indispensable for achieving the other Millennium Development Goals:] For many women and girls inadequate sanitation implies a loss of dignity and represents a source of insecurity. Water collection responsibilities and the time spent caring for relatives afflicted by water-related diseases diminish women's opportunity to engage in productive activities (Goal 3);
Body
Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Water & Sanitation
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2010
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Vision-setting report 2016, para. 58

Paragraph text
At the Special General Assembly of the Kigali International Conference Declaration, on the role of security organs in ending violence against women and girls (see para. 19 above), 12 Member States signed the Declaration following the high-level international conference on the same topic, which was held in Kigali in 2010. Since then, 43 States have taken part in activities to implement the Declaration, which includes a commitment "to recruit and promote more women officers at all echelons of the security organs".
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Vision-setting report 2016, para. 48

Paragraph text
The Special Rapporteur recalls General Assembly resolution 70/176 on action against gender-related killing of women and girls, in which the Assembly encouraged Member States to collect, disaggregate, analyse and report data on gender-related killing of women and girls and to ensure that appropriate punishment for perpetrators of gender-related killings of women and girls are in place and are proportionate to the gravity of the offence.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Vision-setting report 2016, para. 47

Paragraph text
In her report on gender-related killing of women and girls: promising practices, challenges and practical recommendations (A/HRC/20/16), the previous mandate holder noted different manifestations of gender-related killings of women, including as a result of intimate-partner violence, following accusations of sorcery or witchcraft, in the name of "honour", in the context of armed conflict, dowry-related killings of women, and killings of aboriginal and indigenous women, among others.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Ethnic minorities
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Vision-setting report 2016, para. 44

Paragraph text
The mandate holder considers that the universal and full acceptance and incorporation by States of both international and regional instruments are crucial for the establishment and improvement of existing national legal frameworks on the elimination of violence against women, including by the elimination of discriminatory family laws and penal laws, also with regard to harmful practices that hinder the enjoyment by women and girls of their rights.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Families
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Vision-setting report 2016, para. 32

Paragraph text
At the sixtieth session of the Commission on the Status of Women, the Special Rapporteur called upon all Members States and other stakeholders to send her their views and proposals on any actions needed to improve the current framework addressing violence against women and girls, and also to consider the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and its call for the development of specific guidelines for its more effective implementation.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Vision-setting report 2016, para. 30

Paragraph text
In 2003, the Committee, pursuant to article 8 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention, undertook an inquiry into the abduction, rape and murder of women in and around Ciudad Juarez, State of Chihuahua, Mexico, and recommended that the Government investigate thoroughly and punish the negligence and complicity of public authorities in, the disappearances and murders of women. In 2012, the Committee conducted an inquiry with regard to the Philippines on the implementation of an order issued by the Mayor of the City of Manila on 29 February 2000, on the provision of sexual and reproductive health rights, services and commodities in the City of Manila. The Committee recommended that the State party ensure the immediate implementation of the Reproductive Health Act (adopted on 21 December 2012) and its Implementing Rules and Regulations, including provisions that guaranteed universal access to the full range of reproductive health services and information for women (CEDAW/C/OP.8/PHL/1, para. 51 (b)). In 2013, the Committee conducted an inquiry on Canada, based on allegations of severe of violence, including disappearances and murder, suffered by aboriginal women and girls. The Committee recommended that the State ensure that all cases of missing and murdered women were duly investigated and prosecuted (CEDAW/C/OP.8/CAN/1, para. 217 (a)). These examples show how jurisprudence can be an important tool for transformative change.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Health
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Ethnic minorities
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Modalities for the establishment of femicides/gender-related killings watch 2016, para. 33

Paragraph text
In 2013, the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice initiated a resolution on the gender-related killing of women that was adopted by the General Assembly (resolution 68/191). For the first time, this issue was placed at the highest level of the international political agenda. It its resolution, the Assembly expressed its deep concern for the alarming proportion of different manifestations of the gender-related killing of women and girls and for their high level of impunity and called for renewed action. It urged Member States to exercise due diligence to prevent and investigate acts of violence against women and eliminate impunity. Recognizing the key role of the criminal justice system in preventing and responding to the gender-related killing of women and girls, the Assembly also invited Member States to strengthen their criminal justice response. Furthermore, it requested the Secretary-General to convene an open-ended intergovernmental expert group meeting to discuss ways and means to more effectively prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish the gender-related killing of women and girls, with a view to making practical recommendations, drawing on current best practices. That expert group meeting, held in Bangkok in November 2014, resulted in a set of recommendations on practical steps against the gender-related killing of women (see UNODC/CCPCJ/EG.8/2014/2), to which the Special Rapporteur provided input.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Existing legal standards and practices regarding violence against women in three regional human rights systems and activities being undertaken by civil society regarding the normative gap in international human rights law 2015, para. 14

Paragraph text
The Protocol includes provisions on violence against women, based largely on the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, but with additions that are both context-specific and progressive. Article 1 of the Protocol provides a broad definition of violence against women, which includes explicit reference to the deprivation of fundamental freedoms in private or public life, and defines harmful practices as all behaviour, attitudes and/or practices which negatively affect the fundamental rights of women and girls, such as their right to life, health, dignity, education and physical integrity. Article 4 is comprehensive with regard to the legal and non-legal measures to be taken by member States in addressing violence against women, including the enactment of specific legislation; the imposition of appropriate sanctions/punishment when violence occurs; the provision of adequate budgetary resources; the adoption of public education and awareness-raising measures, including to address negative elements in attitudes, traditions and culture in order to eliminate harmful cultural and traditional practices; and the provision of relevant services, including justice, health care and shelters.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Social & Cultural Rights
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Closing the gap in international human rights law: lessons from three regional human rights systems on legal standards and practices regarding violence against women 2015, para. 64

Paragraph text
The concerns raised more than 20 years ago, prior to the development and adoption of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, and highlighted by the mandate of the Special Rapporteur over the past 20 years, reinforce the view that it is time to consider the development and adoption of a United Nations binding international instrument on violence against women and girls, with its own dedicated monitoring body. Such an instrument should ensure that States are held accountable to standards that are legally binding, it should provide a clear normative framework for the protection of women and girls globally and should have a specific monitoring body to substantively provide in-depth analysis of both general and country-level developments. With a legally binding instrument, a protective, preventive and educative framework could be established to reaffirm the commitment of the international community to its articulation that women's rights are human rights, and that violence against women is a human rights violation, in and of itself.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Closing the gap in international human rights law: lessons from three regional human rights systems on legal standards and practices regarding violence against women 2015, para. 15

Paragraph text
The Protocol includes provisions on violence against women, based largely on the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, but with additions that are both context specific and progressive. Article 1 of the Protocol provides a broad definition of violence against women, which includes explicit reference to the deprivation of fundamental freedoms in private or public life, and defines harmful practices as all behaviour, attitudes and/or practices which negatively affect the fundamental rights of women and girls, such as their right to life, health, dignity, education and physical integrity. Article 4 is comprehensive with regard to the legal and non-legal measures to be taken by member States in addressing violence against women, including the enactment of specific legislation; the imposition of appropriate sanctions/punishment when violence occurs; the provision of adequate budgetary resources; the adoption of public education and awareness-raising measures, including to address negative elements in attitudes, traditions and culture in order to eliminate harmful cultural and traditional practices; and the provision of relevant services, including justice, health care and shelters.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Social & Cultural Rights
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Violence against women: Twenty years of developments to combat violence against women 2014, para. 26

Paragraph text
In their resolutions on violence against women, several United Nations bodies call upon States to exercise due diligence to prevent and investigate acts of violence against women and girls and to punish the perpetrators. States are broadly called upon to develop civil and criminal measures to address offender accountability; to ensure victim safety; and to provide redress and justice measures that victims can access effectively.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2014
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Violence against women: Twenty years of developments to combat violence against women 2014, para. 7

Paragraph text
The United Nations explicitly recognized violence against women as a human rights violation at the World Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna in 1993. The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted by the Conference, noted that "the human rights of women and of the girl-child are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights". Emphasizing that the elimination of violence against women in all areas of life, both public and private, was central to the attainment of women's human rights, the Conference called on governments and the United Nations to take the steps necessary for the realization of this goal, including by integrating the human rights of women "into the mainstream of United Nations system-wide activity", through the activities of the treaty bodies and relevant mechanisms, including the promotion of how to make effective use of existing procedures, and the adoption of new procedures to "strengthen implementation of the commitment to women's equality and the human rights of women." Furthermore, in 1993, the General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (resolution 48/104), as recommended by the Economic and Social Council, and in 1994, the Commission on Human Rights adopted resolution 1994/45, establishing the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2014
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Violence against women as a barrier to the effective realization of all human rights 2014, para. 71

Paragraph text
The concerns raised prior to the development and adoption of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, and subsequently reinforced by the work of the mandate holder over the past 20 years, give rise to the view that it is time for the international community to consider the adoption of a binding international convention or protocol on violence against women and girls, which should include a separate monitoring body. An international convention on the elimination of violence against women or an optional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women would ensure that States are held accountable to standards that are legally binding and that provide a clear normative framework for the protection of women and girls globally, one which would have a specific monitoring body to substantively provide in-depth analysis of both general and country-level developments. A legally binding international instrument would provide a function that is protective and preventative, as well as educative. Recognition that women's rights are human rights and that violence against women is a human rights violation demands this measure of commitment.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2014
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

State responsibility for eliminating violence against women 2013, para. 33

Paragraph text
In 2010, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (now integrated into the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women)) produced the National Accountability Framework to End Violence against Women and Girls as a tool to assist Member States in their national-level efforts at monitoring laws, policies and programmes. This framework draws on and expands on many of the issues raised in the 1999 report of the first Special Rapporteur on violence against women. It includes a checklist of key elements for promoting national accountability to end violence against women. The 10 broad questions are: (a) Are various forms of violence against women and girls addressed? (b) Are data collection, analysis and dissemination systems in place? (c) Do policies and programmes reflect a holistic, multisectoral approach? (d) Are emergency "Frontline Services" available and accessible? (e) Is national legislation adequate and aligned with human rights standards? (f) Do decrees, regulations and protocols establish responsibilities and standards? (g) Is there a National Action Plan and are key policies in place and under way? (h) Are sufficient resources regularly provided to enforce laws and implement programmes? (i) Are efforts focused on women's empowerment and community mobilization? (j) Are monitoring and accountability systems functional and participatory?
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Governance & Rule of Law
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2013
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

State responsibility for eliminating violence against women 2013, para. 20

Paragraph text
The previous mandate holder also highlighted the lack of State accountability for social structural deficiencies, such as ongoing gender discrimination, that create environments that are conducive to acts of violence against women. This theme was addressed in more detail by the current mandate holder in the 2011 report on multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination that contribute to and exacerbate violence against women (A/HRC/17/26). In that report the Special Rapporteur argues that while laws, policies and resources are crucial to address effectively violence against women and girls, efforts must be coupled with renewed will and actions to combat the structural and systemic challenges which are a cause and consequence of such violence. Also, in order to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls, such violence has to be understood as an element which affects women through their life cycle and is underpinned by a complex interplay of individual, family, community, economic and social factors. This requires recognizing that State responsibility to act with due diligence is both a systemic-level responsibility, i.e. the responsibility of States to create good and effective systems and structures that address the root causes and consequences of violence against women; and also an individual-level responsibility, i.e., the responsibility of States to provide each victim with effective measures of prevention, protection, punishment and reparation.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2013
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 78

Paragraph text
Female infanticide has been practiced throughout history, on all continents, and by persons from all backgrounds. It remains a critical concern in a number of countries today. It is closely linked to the phenomenon of sex-selective abortion, which targets female foetuses. Female infanticide has been known to take such forms as the induced death of infants by suffocation, drowning, neglect and exposure to danger or other means.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Harmful Practices
  • Health
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Infants
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 36

Paragraph text
The killing of women accused of sorcery/witchcraft has been reported as a significant phenomenon in countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands. The pattern of violations includes violent murders, physical mutilation, displacement, kidnapping and disappearances of girls and women. In many countries where women are accused of sorcery/witchcraft, they are also subjected to exorcism ceremonies involving public beating and abuse by shamans or village elders.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Harmful Practices
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 15

Paragraph text
In its resolution 17/11, the Human Rights Council requested OHCHR to prepare a thematic analytical study on the issue of violence against women and girls and disability in consultation, inter alia, with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences. The resulting report (A/HRC/20/5 and Corr.1) was based on the submissions received from Member States, United Nations agencies and programmes, national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2012
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 91

Paragraph text
The right to an education also includes the right to a quality education. The substance of the education is as crucial as access to it. Low quality education, which disproportionately affects the world's women and girls, does not seek to uplift women and girls, but rather further entrenches them in disadvantaged situations. Quality education should include anti-violence and anti-gender stereotyping as part of the curriculum.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 90

Paragraph text
Women have been disproportionately impacted by a lack of educational opportunities. Having a basic education and being literate improves a woman's opportunities for preventing and removing violence from her life, and this is especially true for women who experience multiple forms of discrimination. When women and girls are able to exercise their right to an education and livelihood, they will enjoy a high level of security in their social lives and financial well-being.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Education
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 85

Paragraph text
In order to flee violent situations, women and girls must have the right to adequate housing enforced. Adequate housing refers not only to sufficient housing options, but also to secure ones. Lack of access to and availability of housing options for women seeking security puts women's lives at risk. Furthermore, housing in areas where violence is rampant jeopardizes the lives of women and their families.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 84

Paragraph text
Starvation in a world in which food is plentiful is a form of violence inflicted on the body - both physically and mentally. Many studies recognize the discrimination inherent in starvation, which affects the world's women and girls at a disproportionately higher level than men and boys. The human right to food still faces important challenges, as starvation continues to exist throughout the world.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Food & Nutrition
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Girls
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 14

Paragraph text
Building on the Vienna Declaration and its framework, both the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing (1995) and the Third World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in Durban (2001) addressed the multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination that cause intra-gender and intra-racial inequalities respectively. The Fourth World Conference on Women recognized the particular vulnerability to violence of "women belonging to minority groups, indigenous women, refugee women, women migrants, including women migrant workers, women in poverty living in rural or remote communities, destitute women, women in institutions or in detention, female children, women with disabilities, elderly women, displaced women, repatriated women, women living in poverty and women in situations of armed conflict, foreign occupation, wars of aggression, civil wars, terrorism, including hostage-taking." The World Conference against Racism included gender and racial discrimination among its five areas of focus. The Durban Declaration expressed the view "that racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance reveal themselves in a differentiated manner for women and girls, and can be among the factors leading to a deterioration in their living conditions, poverty, violence, multiple forms of discrimination, and the limitation or denial of their human rights."
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Humanitarian
  • Poverty
Person(s) affected
  • Ethnic minorities
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
  • Women
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Continuum of violence against women from the home to the transnational sphere: the challenges of effective redress 2011, para. 66

Paragraph text
The lack of sufficient specialized shelters for women and girls victims of violence contributes to their invisibility and silencing. Even when government-run shelters are available, the Special Rapporteur has noted in most of her country missions the crucial role played by non-governmental organizations in managing shelter facilities and offering psychological, medical and legal assistance to women victims of violence. Whether privately funded or receiving governmental grants, these centres are usually insufficient in number, lack human and material resources, and are commonly concentrated in areas that are not accessible to all women. While commending the work of civil society organizations, the Special Rapporteur has noted that the due diligence obligation to protect women from violence rests primarily upon the State and its agents. It is therefore the responsibility of States to ensure accessibility and availability of effective protection and support services to victims of domestic violence. Further, the Special Rapporteur has raised concern at the lack of policy guidelines across health, psychosocial and legal sectors ensuring coordinated, prompt and supportive services to victims.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Health
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Continuum of violence against women from the home to the transnational sphere: the challenges of effective redress 2011, para. 45

Paragraph text
The Special Rapporteur's visits to El Salvador, Kyrgyzstan and Zambia - all three source, transit and destination countries for human trafficking - indicated strong commonalities with regard to trafficking of women and children. In Kyrgyzstan, trafficking of women and children became increasingly common during the country's transition period and continues to be a problem. While there are no reliable statistical data with respect to the prevalence of trafficking, a Government report noted that 98 per cent of trafficking victims are women and girls between 15 and 30 years of age. Offers of false employment in urban areas lure young women and girls from rural areas to move to cities, or abroad, where they are forced into sexual exploitation. One young woman interviewed during the visit, who had come to Bishkek to seek employment, was lured to a house in the outskirts of the city where she was locked up for months and forced to have sex with clients. Due to fear of retaliation, she had not reported the case to the police and was even afraid to walk the streets. Similarly, in El Salvador the Special Rapporteur found that the majority of victims of trafficking were women and girls transferred from rural to urban areas in the country. Insufficient measures to ensure victim and witness protection, lack of support services and ineffective responses by law enforcement officials contributed to underreporting of the phenomenon.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Women
  • Youth
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Continuum of violence against women from the home to the transnational sphere: the challenges of effective redress 2011, para. 30

Paragraph text
Closely tied to domestic violence, practices that are harmful and degrading undermine the rights and status of women and girls and continue without systematic monitoring or punishment, despite the increasing existence of legal prohibitions. In some countries, early and forced marriage, polygamy and unregistered marriages continue to be of concern. The mandate considers these practices "aggravated factors" that increase vulnerability of women to violence. In Kyrgyzstan, the Special Rapporteur found correlation between early marriages (12.2 per cent of women) and unregistered marriages, on the one hand, and rising unemployment and feminization of poverty and the resurfacing of patriarchal traditions and religious conservatism, on the other. Early marriage contributes to high maternal mortality rates due to prolonged labour and other complications. Similarly, women living in unregistered marriages in Algeria experienced heightened vulnerability to violence and abuse and were reported to have difficulties in ending abusive relationships due to lack of support, alternative housing and legal protection. Despite legal restrictions in regard to polygamy, the Special Rapporteur heard accounts from women who were subjected to violence or threats of violence by husbands who wished to obtain consent to a polygamous marriage.
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Harmful Practices
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2011
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 73

Paragraph text
The media should be adequately sensitized on the linkage between trafficking in persons, especially women and children, and conflict and be aware of its gender dimension, in order to be able to report correctly about incidents of trafficking affecting girls, boys, women and men occurring in such circumstances.
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 68e

Paragraph text
[All States, whether a source, transit or destination country of women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation in conflict and-post conflict areas, should:] Address the root causes of trafficking in persons on the basis of a gender-sensitive approach, in cooperation with civil society organizations, United Nations agencies and programmes and international organizations;
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 68d

Paragraph text
[All States, whether a source, transit or destination country of women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation in conflict and-post conflict areas, should:] Identify, protect and assist victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation and sexual slavery;
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 68c

Paragraph text
[All States, whether a source, transit or destination country of women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation in conflict and-post conflict areas, should:] Prevent and prosecute all forms of trafficking of women and girls for temporary, forced and/or servile marriages;
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 68b

Paragraph text
[All States, whether a source, transit or destination country of women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation in conflict and-post conflict areas, should:] Prevent early marriages, whether in refugee/internally displaced persons camps or in the society of the host country;
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Movement
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 68a

Paragraph text
[All States, whether a source, transit or destination country of women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation in conflict and-post conflict areas, should:] Recognize and address the vulnerability of women and girls fleeing conflict to trafficking for sexual exploitation, whether in refugee/internally displaced persons camps or at the hands of the military, extremist groups or family members;
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Movement
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 66c

Paragraph text
[States hosting, among persons fleeing conflict, children who may have been or are at risk of being victims of trafficking in persons should:] Recognize the specific vulnerability of trafficked girls or potential victims of trafficking for sexual and labour exploitation in conflict and post-conflict situations and take measure to reduce the vulnerabilities;
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 32

Paragraph text
The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation, including sexual slavery, forced marriage, forced prostitution and forced pregnancy, features within the broader picture of sexual violence perpetrated against the civilian population during and in the wake of conflicts. The nexus between trafficking in persons and sexual violence is further affirmed in a statement by the President of the Security Council (S/PRST/2015/25) in which the President underscored the urgency of efforts to deter, detect and disrupt trafficking in persons, including by terrorist and violent extremist groups. Recently, an egregious pattern of abductions from their homes or schools of women and girls who are subsequently forced to marry and/or serve as sex slaves has been reported in conflict-affected settings, though some forms of this phenomenon have also been a feature of armed conflicts in the past. Such exploitation, which in some cases involves trafficking for forced marriage and sexual enslavement by extremist groups such as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, Boko Haram and their affiliates, is believed to be a strategy to generate revenue as well as to recruit, reward and retain fighters. In order to prevent such abductions, families are reported to be confining women and girls and removing girls from school (see S/2015/203, para. 61).
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Families
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 31

Paragraph text
Conflict-related sexual violence takes many forms. Women and girls seeking to survive in conflict zones are often compelled to exchange sexual services and even to "marry" for food, shelter, protection or safe passage. UNHCR has affirmed that women in conflict situations are vulnerable to a range of discriminatory practices that exacerbate their dependence (for example, receiving smaller food rations or not having rations cards or other identity documents in their own name) and are disproportionately exposed to sexual violence. For women and girls abducted into military service, sexual assault is often a feature of their experience. Rape has been used as a tactic of war to humiliate and weaken the morale of the enemy, ethnically cleanse the population, destabilize communities and force civilians to flee. Widespread or systematic sexual assault by government and/or opposition or rebel forces has been documented in multiple modern conflicts, including successive annual reports of the Secretary-General on conflict and related sexual violence since 2009 in which he has identified incidents and patterns of sexual violence in conflict-affected countries employed by parties to armed conflict, primarily against women and girls but also against boys and men (see, for example, S/2015/203).
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 26

Paragraph text
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates that some 300,000 boys and girls under the age of 18 are involved in more than 30 conflicts worldwide. Children can be trafficked into military service by government armed forces, paramilitary groups and rebel groups. Hostilities and widespread displacement, as well as a general lack of security, increases children's vulnerability to being trafficked by armed groups.
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 78

Paragraph text
The media should be adequately sensitized about the linkage between trafficking in persons, especially women and children, and conflict, and should be aware of its gender dimension, in order to be able to report correctly about incidents of trafficking affecting girls, boys, women and men living in such circumstances.
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Humanitarian
  • Movement
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 73e

Paragraph text
[All States, whether source, transit or destination countries of women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation in conflict and post-conflict areas, should:] Address the root causes of trafficking in persons on the basis of a gender-sensitive approach, in cooperation with civil society organizations, United Nations agencies and programmes and international organizations;
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 73d

Paragraph text
[All States, whether source, transit or destination countries of women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation in conflict and post-conflict areas, should:] Identify, protect and assist victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation and sexual slavery;
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 73c

Paragraph text
[All States, whether source, transit or destination countries of women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation in conflict and post-conflict areas, should:] Prevent and prosecute all forms of trafficking of women and girls for temporary, forced and/or servile marriages;
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 73b

Paragraph text
[All States, whether source, transit or destination countries of women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation in conflict and post-conflict areas, should:] Prevent early marriages, whether in refugee/internally displaced persons camps or in the host country;
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Movement
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 73a

Paragraph text
[All States, whether source, transit or destination countries of women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation in conflict and post-conflict areas, should:] Recognize and address the vulnerability of women and girls fleeing conflict to the risk of trafficking for sexual exploitation, whether in refugee/internally displaced persons camps or at the hands of the military, extremist groups or family members;
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Movement
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 71c

Paragraph text
[States hosting, among persons fleeing conflict, children who may have been or are at risk of being victims of trafficking in persons should:] Recognize the specific vulnerability of trafficked girls or potential victims of trafficking for sexual and labour exploitation in conflict and post-conflict situations and take measures to reduce their vulnerabilities;
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 65

Paragraph text
These and other factors do not just create the conditions under which trafficking can occur, they also exacerbate the vulnerability of those who may already be susceptible to being trafficked, including migrants, asylum seekers, refugees, women and girls and children travelling alone.
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Movement
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 33

Paragraph text
The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation, including sexual slavery, forced marriage, forced prostitution and forced pregnancy, features within the broader picture of sexual violence perpetrated against the civilian population during and in the wake of conflicts. The nexus between trafficking in persons and sexual violence is further affirmed in the statement of the President of the Security Council of 16 December 2015 (S/PRST/2015/25), which underscores the urgency of efforts to deter, detect and disrupt trafficking in persons, including by terrorist and violent extremist groups. Although some form of abduction has been a feature of armed conflicts in the past, recently there has been an egregious pattern of abducting women and girls from their homes or schools in conflict-affected settings. These women and girls may subsequently be forced to marry and/or serve as sex slaves. Such exploitation, which in some cases also involves trafficking for forced marriage and sexual enslavement by extremist groups such as ISIS, Boko Haram and their affiliates, is believed to be a strategy to generate revenue as well as to recruit, reward and retain fighters. For instance, it is reported that Yazidi women and girls are being trafficked for sexual enslavement by ISIS between Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic (A/HRC/32/CRP.2, paras. 127 and 174). In order to prevent such abductions, families are reported to be confining women and girls and removing girls from school (S/2015/203, para. 61).
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 19

Paragraph text
Conflict-related violence, such as sexual violence, can itself be a driver of forced internal displacement, which in turn increases vulnerability to further exploitation, including through trafficking. For instance, in Colombia, sexual violence by armed groups has forced ethnic minority women and girls in remote rural areas away from their communities and placed them at greater risk of trafficking within the country as well as overseas. Additionally in Myanmar, worsening security situations and overcrowded camps with inadequate basic services cause some internally displaced persons along the border between Kachin State and China to risk crossing borders into China in an irregular manner in search of employment, putting themselves at high risk of exploitation because of their lack of legal status. Military attacks on camps further worsen displacement and cause undocumented internally displaced persons, including women and unaccompanied children, to flee their camps, exposing them to the risk of being exploited or trafficked. In contexts such as South Sudan, the Sudan and the Syrian Arab Republic, parties to conflict took advantage of the vulnerability of displaced and refugee populations to recruit children and commit crimes, including sexual violence and abduction. Security forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo have trafficked displaced persons as forced labourers in mines.
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Humanitarian
  • Movement
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Persons on the move
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Agenda setting of the work of the Special Rapporteur 2015, para. 22

Paragraph text
Women are significantly involved in trafficking in persons, both as victims and offenders. Data regarding women are among the most interesting findings in the UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2014, which confirms that women and girls are disproportionately exploited not only for the purposes of sexual but also labour exploitation. In some regions, such as in South and East Asia, in Africa and the Middle East, women are even the majority of people exploited as forced labour.
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Agenda setting of the work of the Special Rapporteur 2015, para. 18

Paragraph text
Trafficking of children is on the increase globally, with girls being affected the most. The recently released Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2014 also notes significant regional differences concerning child trafficking, with children comprising a majority of detected victims of trafficking in Africa and the Middle East.
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Integration of a human rights-based approach in measures to discourage the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation of persons, especially women and children, and which leads to human trafficking 2013, para. 30

Paragraph text
Several provisions are also included in the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. For instance, its article 6 provides that: To discourage the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation of persons, especially women and children, that leads to trafficking, each Party shall adopt or strengthen legislative, administrative, educational, social, cultural or other measures including: a research on best practices, methods and strategies; b raising awareness of the responsibility and important role of media and civil society in identifying the demand as one of the root causes of trafficking in human beings; c target information campaigns involving, as appropriate, inter alia, public authorities and policy makers; d preventive measures, including educational programmes for boys and girls during their schooling, which stress the unacceptable nature of discrimination based on sex, and its disastrous consequences, the importance of gender equality and the dignity and integrity of every human being.
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Education
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2013
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Regional and subregional cooperation in promoting a human rights-based approach to combatting trafficking in persons 2010, para. 100

Paragraph text
In this context, regional organizations have a key role to play in promoting the elimination of gender-based misconceptions that prevent authorities from providing appropriate protection and assistance to all victims of trafficking, women and men, girls and boys.
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Girls
  • Men
  • Women
Year
2010
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Prevention of trafficking in persons 2010, para. 41

Paragraph text
In addition, it is reported that initiatives to intercept potential victims of trafficking at borders are often misguided and abusive, amounting to a violation of their freedom of movement and stigmatization of the intercepted persons in some cases. For example, girls who were intercepted at the border between Nepal and India were stigmatized upon their return to their communities because the organizations carrying out the interception were known to be involved in anti prostitution work and the girls were thus suspected of having been involved in prostitution. By the same token, some communities have established a community-level vigilance or surveillance committee to prevent trafficking in persons, particularly children. However, evidence suggests that the committees often failed to distinguish between trafficked children and other children leaving their homes to earn money elsewhere, with the result that even adolescents were stopped from migrating from extremely poor villages to seek work in other towns. Destination countries also exercise restrictive immigration control purportedly to prevent potential cases of trafficking. For example, it has been reported that many Brazilian women have been repeatedly denied entry to European Union member States because they looked like prostitutes and thus were suspected to be victims of trafficking.
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Movement
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Adolescents
  • Children
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2010
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Prevention of trafficking in persons 2010, para. 33

Paragraph text
With globalization and changes in demographic trends in developed countries, there is an increased demand for cheap, low-skilled or semi-skilled labour in a wide range of industries, including agriculture, food processing, construction, manufacturing, domestic work and home health care. Those jobs are often dirty, degrading and dangerous and are often not performed by national workers. This gives rise to a significant demand for migrant workers, although this has not been acknowledged or reflected in immigration laws and policies in most developed countries. Furthermore, it is necessary to be cognizant of the gender-specific nature of demand exacerbated by the current economic crisis and globalization, which have caused changes in the international division of labour and labour market demand. As has been observed, the greater demand for trafficked women and girls compared to men and boys has occurred largely in response to this demand-driven reality. Again, the feminization of the labour market results in women being predominantly engaged in the informal sector, characterized by low wages, casual jobs, hazardous working conditions and an absence of collective bargaining mechanisms. It has been argued, consequently, that women are preferred in this sector because they are viewed as submissive, well-suited to simple repetitive tasks, abundant, needy, cheap and pliable.
Body
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Movement
Person(s) affected
  • Boys
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2010
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 73c

Paragraph text
[With regard to domestic and private-actor violence against women, girls, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, the Special Rapporteur calls upon States to:] Provide community support programmes and services, including shelters, to victims and their dependents;
Body
Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • LGBTQI+
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 73a

Paragraph text
[With regard to domestic and private-actor violence against women, girls, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, the Special Rapporteur calls upon States to:] Repeal or reform civil laws that restrict women's access to divorce, property and inheritance rights and that subjugate women and limit their ability to escape situations of domestic and other gender-based violence;
Body
Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • LGBTQI+
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 72g

Paragraph text
[With regard to abuses in health-care settings, the Special Rapporteur calls upon States to:] Undertake appropriate training sessions and community-level gender-sensitization campaigns to combat discriminatory gender stereotypes underlying discrimination and abuses in the provision of health-care services to women, girls, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons;
Body
Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • LGBTQI+
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 72a

Paragraph text
[With regard to abuses in health-care settings, the Special Rapporteur calls upon States to:] Take concrete measures to establish legal and policy frameworks that effectively enable women and girls to assert their right to access reproductive health services;
Body
Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 70v

Paragraph text
[With regard to women, girls, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons in detention, the Special Rapporteur calls on all States to:] Ensure the physical and mental integrity of detainees at all times and prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish all acts of violence, harassment and abuse by staff members or other prisoners, at all times;
Body
Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Civil & Political Rights
  • Gender
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Girls
  • LGBTQI+
  • Women
Year
2016
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph

Children deprived of their liberty from the perspective of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2015, para. 86g

Paragraph text
[With regard to conditions during detention, the Special Rapporteur calls upon all States:] To respond to the specific needs of groups of children that are even more vulnerable to ill-treatment or torture, such as girls, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children, and children with disabilities;
Body
Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Topic(s)
  • Equality & Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Health
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Girls
  • LGBTQI+
  • Persons with disabilities
Year
2015
Date added
Aug 19, 2019
</