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Issue 2: Gender Based Violence
FWCW, Beijing,
1995
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Para 112.
Violence against women is an obstacle to the achievement of the
objectives of equality, development and peace. Violence against
women both violates and impairs or nullifies the enjoyment by
women of their human rights and fundamental freedoms. The
long-standing failure to protect and promote those rights and
freedoms in the case of violence against women is a matter of
concern to all States and should be addressed. Knowledge about
its causes and consequences, as well as its incidence and
measures to combat it, have been greatly expanded since the
Nairobi Conference. In all societies, to a greater or lesser
degree, women and girls are subjected to physical, sexual and
psychological abuse that cuts across lines of income, class and
culture. The low social and economic status of women can be both
a cause and a consequence of violence against women.
ICPD POA, Cairo,
1994
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4.9
Countries should take full measures to eliminate all forms of
exploitation, abuse, harassment and violence against women,
adolescents and children. This implies both preventive actions
and rehabilitation of victims. Countries should prohibit
degrading practices, such as trafficking in women, adolescents
and children and exploitation through prostitution, and pay
special attention to protecting the rights and safety of those
who suffer from these crimes and those in potentially
exploitable situations, such as migrant women, women in domestic
service and schoolgirls. In this regard, international
safeguards and mechanisms for cooperation should be put in place
to ensure that these measures are implemented.
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7.39 Active
and open discussion of the need to protect women, youth and
children from any abuse, including sexual abuse, exploitation,
trafficking and violence, must be encouraged and supported by
educational programmes at both national and community levels.
Governments should set the necessary conditions and procedures
to encourage victims to report violations of their rights. Laws
addressing those concerns should be enacted where they do not
exist, made explicit, strengthened and enforced, and appropriate
rehabilitation services provided.
ICPD + 5
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48.
Governments should give priority to developing programmes and
policies that foster norms and attitudes of zero tolerance for
harmful and discriminatory attitudes, including son preference,
which can result in harmful and unethical practices such as
prenatal sex selection, discrimination and violence against the
girl child and all forms of violence against women, including
female genital mutilation, rape, incest, trafficking, sexual
violence and exploitation. This entails developing an integrated
approach that addresses the need for widespread social, cultural
and economic change, in addition to legal reforms.
FWCW, Beijing,
1995
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99. Sexual
and gender-based violence, including physical and psychological
abuse, trafficking in women and girls, and other forms of abuse
and sexual exploitation place girls and women at high risk of
physical and mental trauma, disease and unwanted pregnancy. Such
situations often deter women from using health and other
services.
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113. The
term "violence against women" means any act of gender-based
violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical,
sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including
threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of
liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.
Accordingly, violence against women encompasses but is not
limited to the following:
(a) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the
family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children in
the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female
genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to
women, non-spousal violence and violence related to
exploitation;
(b) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring within
the general community, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual
harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions
and elsewhere, trafficking in women and forced prostitution;
(c) Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or
condoned by the State, wherever it occurs.
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118.
Violence against women is a manifestation of the historically
unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to
domination over and discrimination against women by men and to
the prevention of women's full advancement. Violence against
women throughout the life cycle derives essentially from
cultural patterns, in particular the harmful effects of certain
traditional or customary practices and all acts of extremism
linked to race, sex, language or religion that perpetuate the
lower status accorded to women in the family, the workplace, the
community and society. Violence against women is exacerbated by
social pressures, notably the shame of denouncing certain acts
that have been perpetrated against women; women's lack of access
to legal information, aid or protection; the lack of laws that
effectively prohibit violence against women; failure to reform
existing laws; inadequate efforts on the part of public
authorities to promote awareness of and enforce existing laws;
and the absence of educational and other means to address the
causes and consequences of violence. Images in the media of
violence against women, in particular those that depict rape or
sexual slavery as well as the use of women and girls as sex
objects, including pornography, are factors contributing to the
continued prevalence of such violence, adversely influencing the
community at large, in particular children and young people.
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Strategic
Objective D.1. Take integrated measures to prevent and
eliminate violence against women (Copy all recommendations here
or include a sample?)
Beijing +5
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14.
Obstacles. Women continue to be victims of various forms of
violence. Inadequate understanding of the root causes of all
forms of violence against women and girls hinders efforts to
eliminate violence against women and girls. There is a lack of
comprehensive programmes dealing with the perpetrators,
including programmes, where appropriate, which would enable them
to solve problems without violence. Inadequate data on violence
further impedes informed policy-making and analysis.
Sociocultural attitudes which are discriminatory and economic
inequalities reinforce women’s subordinate place in society.
This makes women and girls vulnerable to many forms of violence,
such as physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in
the family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children
in the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female
genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to
women, non-spousal violence and violence related to
exploitation. In many countries, a coordinated multidisciplinary
approach to responding to violence which includes the health
system, workplaces, the media, the education system, as well as
the justice system, is still limited. Domestic violence,
including sexual violence in marriage, is still treated as a
private matter in some countries. Insufficient awareness of the
consequences of domestic violence, how to prevent it and the
rights of victims still exists. Although improving, the legal
and legislative measures, especially in the criminal justice
area, to eliminate different forms of violence against women and
children, including domestic violence and child pornography, are
weak in many countries. Prevention strategies also remain
fragmented and reactive and there is a lack of programmes on
these issues…
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69. (a) As
a matter of priority, review and revise legislation, were
appropriate, with a view to introducing effective legislation,
including on violence against women, and take other necessary
measures to ensure that all women and girls are protected
against all forms of physical, psychological and sexual
violence, and are provided recourse to justice;
(b) Prosecute the perpetrators of all forms of violence against
women and girls and sentence them appropriately, and introduce
actions aimed at helping and motivating perpetrators to break
the cycle of violence and take measures to provide avenues for
redress to victims;
(c) Treat all forms of violence against women and girls of all
ages as a criminal offence punishable by law, including violence
based on all forms of discrimination;
(d) Establish legislation and/or strengthen appropriate
mechanisms to handle criminal matters relating to all forms of
domestic violence, including marital rape and sexual abuse of
women and girls, and ensure that such cases are brought to
justice swiftly;
World Summit for
Social Development, 1995
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Commitment 5
(h) Take effective measures, including through the enactment
and enforcement of laws, and implement policies to combat and
eliminate all forms of discrimination, exploitation, abuse and
violence against women and girl children, in accordance with
relevant international instruments and declarations;
World Summit for
Social Development +5
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Commitment 4
Para 61. Ensure continued and intensified action to combat
all forms of gender-based violence, and recognize that violence
against women, whether in private or public life, both violates
and impairs or nullifies the enjoyment by women of their human
rights and fundamental freedoms.
World Conference
on Human Rights, Vienna, 1993
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18. …
Gender-based violence and all forms of sexual harassment and
exploitation, including those resulting from cultural prejudice
and international trafficking, are incompatible with the dignity
and worth of the human person, and must be eliminated. This can
be achieved by legal measures and through national action and
international cooperation in such fields as economic and social
development, education, safe maternity and health care, and
social support…
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38. In
particular, the World Conference on Human Rights stresses the
importance of working towards the elimination of violence
against women in public and private life…
Millennium
Declaration, 2000
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