The United Nations
Fourth World Conference on Women
Beijing, China - September 1995
Action for Equality, Development and Peace
FWCW Platform for Action
Violence against women
Violence
against Women Diagnosis
Strategic
objective D.1. Take integrated measures to prevent and
eliminate violence against women. Actions to
be taken.
Strategic objective D.2. Study the causes and
consequences of violence against women and the effectiveness of preventive measures.
Actions to be taken.
Strategic objective D.3. Eliminate trafficking in women
and assist victims of violence due to prostitution and trafficking.
Actions to be taken.
D.
Violence against Women
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.
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.
114.Other acts of violence
against women include violation of the human rights of women in
situations of armed conflict,
in particular murder, systematic rape, sexual slavery and forced
pregnancy.
115.Acts of violence
against women also include forced sterilization and forced abortion,
coercive/forced use of contraceptives,
female infanticide and prenatal sex selection.
116.Some groups of women,
such as 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, are also particularly vulnerable
to violence.
117.Acts or threats of
violence, whether occurring within the home or in the community, or
perpetrated or condoned by
the State, instil fear and insecurity in women's lives and are obstacles
to the achievement of equality and for development
and peace. The fear of violence, including harassment, is a permanent
constraint on the mobility of women
and limits their access to resources and basic activities. High social,
health and economic costs to the individual
and society are associated with violence against women. Violence against
women is one of the crucial social
mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position
compared with men. In many cases, violence
against women and girls occurs in the family or within the home, where
violence is often tolerated. The neglect,
physical and sexual abuse, and rape of girl children and women by family
members and other members of
the household, as well as incidences of spousal and non-spousal abuse,
often go unreported and are thus difficult
to detect. Even when such violence is reported, there is often a failure
to protect victims or punish perpetrators.
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.
119.Developing a holistic
and multidisciplinary approach to the challenging task of promoting
families, communities and
States that are free of violence against women is necessary and
achievable. Equality, partnership between women
and men and respect for human dignity must permeate all stages of the
socialization process. Educational
systems should promote self-respect, mutual respect, and cooperation
between women and men.
120.The absence of adequate
gender-disaggregated data and statistics on the incidence of violence
makes the elaboration of
programmes and monitoring of changes difficult. Lack of or inadequate
documentation and research
on domestic violence, sexual harassment and violence against women and
girls in private and in public, including
the workplace, impede efforts to design specific intervention
strategies. Experience in a number of countries
shows that women and men can be mobilized to overcome violence in all
its forms and that effective public
measures can be taken to address both the causes and the consequences of
violence. Men's groups mobilizing
against gender violence are necessary allies for change.
121.Women may be vulnerable
to violence perpetrated by persons in positions of authority in both
conflict and non-conflict
situations. Training of all officials in humanitarian and human rights
law and the punishment of perpetrators
of violent acts against women would help to ensure that such violence
does not take place at the hands
of public officials in whom women should be able to place trust,
including police and prison officials and security
forces.
122.The effective
suppression of trafficking in women and girls for the sex trade is a
matter of pressing international concern.
Implementation of the 1949 Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic
in Persons and of the Exploitation
of the Prostitution of Others, [20] as well as other relevant
instruments, needs to be reviewed and strengthened.
The use of women in international prostitution and trafficking networks
has become a major focus of
international organized crime. The Special Rapporteur of the Commission
on Human Rights on violence against
women, who has explored these acts as an additional cause of the
violation of the human rights and fundamental
freedoms of women and girls, is invited to address, within her mandate
and as a matter of urgency, the
issue of international trafficking for the purposes of the sex trade, as
well as the issues of forced prostitution, rape,
sexual abuse and sex tourism. Women and girls who are victims of this
international trade are at an increased
risk of further violence, as well as unwanted pregnancy and sexually
transmitted infection, including infection
with HIV/AIDS.
123.In addressing violence
against women, Governments and other actors should promote an active and
visible policy of
mainstreaming a gender perspective in all policies and programmes so
that before decisions are taken an
analysis may be made of their effects on women and men, respectively.
Strategic objective D.1.
Take integrated measures to prevent and eliminate violence
against women
Actions to be taken
124. By Governments:
a.Condemn violence against
women and refrain from invoking any custom, tradition or religious consideration
to avoid their obligations with respect to its elimination as set out in
the Declaration on the Elimination
of Violence against Women;
b.Refrain from engaging in
violence against women and exercise due diligence to prevent,
investigate and, in accordance
with national legislation, punish acts of violence against women,
whether those acts are perpetrated
by the State or by private persons;
c.Enact and/or reinforce
penal, civil, labour and administrative sanctions in domestic
legislation to punish and
redress the wrongs done to women and girls who are subjected to any form
of violence, whether in the
home, the workplace, the community or society;
d.Adopt and/or implement
and periodically review and analyse legislation to ensure its
effectiveness in eliminating
violence against women, emphasizing the prevention of violence and the
prosecution of offenders;
take measures to ensure the protection of women subjected to violence,
access to just and effective
remedies, including compensation and indemnification and healing of
victims, and rehabilitation of
perpetrators;
e.Work actively to ratify
and/or implement international human rights norms and instruments as
they relate to violence
against women, including those contained in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, [21] the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, [13] the
International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights, [13]and the Convention against Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment; [22]
f.Implement the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, taking
into account general
recommendation 19, adopted by the Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women at its eleventh session; [23]
g.Promote an active and
visible policy of mainstreaming a gender perspective in all policies and
programmes related to
violence against women; actively encourage, support and implement
measures and programmes aimed at increasing the knowledge and
understanding of the causes, consequences and mechanisms
of violence against women among those responsible for implementing these
policies, such as law
enforcement officers, police personnel and judicial, medical and social
workers, as well as those who deal
with minority, migration and refugee issues, and develop strategies to
ensure that the revictimization of
women victims of violence does not occur because of gender-insensitive
laws or judicial or enforcement practices;
h.Provide women who are
subjected to violence with access to the mechanisms of justice and, as
provided for by national
legislation, to just and effective remedies for the harm they have
suffered and inform women
of their rights in seeking redress through such mechanisms;
i.Enact and enforce
legislation against the perpetrators of practices and acts of violence
against women, such as
female genital mutilation, female infanticide, prenatal sex selection
and dowry- related violence, and
give vigorous support to the efforts of non-governmental and community
organizations to eliminate such
practices;
j.Formulate and implement,
at all appropriate levels, plans of action to eliminate violence against
women;
k.Adopt all appropriate
measures, especially in the field of education, to modify the social and
cultural patterns of
conduct of men and women, and to eliminate prejudices, customary
practices and all other practices
based on the idea of the inferiority or superiority of either of the
sexes and on stereotyped roles for
men and women;
l.Create or strengthen
institutional mechanisms so that women and girls can report acts of
violence against them in a
safe and confidential environment, free from the fear of penalties or
retaliation, and file charges;
m.Ensure that women with
disabilities have access to information and services in the field of
violence against women;
n.Create, improve or
develop as appropriate, and fund the training programmes for judicial,
legal, medical, social,
educational and police and immigrant personnel, in order to avoid the
abuse of power leading to violence
against women and sensitize such personnel to the nature of gender-based
acts and threats of violence
so that fair treatment of female victims can be assured;
o.Adopt laws, where
necessary, and reinforce existing laws that punish police, security
forces or any other agents
of the State who engage in acts of violence against women in the course
of the performance of their
duties; review existing legislation and take effective measures against
the perpetrators of such violence;
p.Allocate adequate
resources within the government budget and mobilize community resources
for activities related to
the elimination of violence against women, including resources for the
implementation of plans of
action at all appropriate levels;
q.Include in reports
submitted in accordance with the provisions of relevant United Nations
human rights instruments,
information pertaining to violence against women and measures taken to
implement the Declaration
on the Elimination of Violence against Women;
r.Cooperate with and assist
the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on violence against
women in the performance of her mandate and furnish all information
requested; cooperate also with
other competent mechanisms, such as the Special Rapporteur of the
Commission on Human Rights on torture and the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on
Human Rights on summary, extrajudiciary and
arbitrary executions, in relation to violence against women;
s.Recommend that the
Commission on Human Rights renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur
on violence against women
when her term ends in 1997 and, if warranted, to update and strengthen
it.
125.By Governments,
including local governments, community organizations, non-governmental
organizations, educational
institutions, the public and private sectors, particularly enterprises,
and the mass media, as appropriate:
a.Provide well-funded
shelters and relief support for girls and women subjected to violence,
as well as medical,
psychological and other counselling services and free or low-cost legal
aid, where it is needed, as
well as appropriate assistance to enable them to find a means of
subsistence;
b.Establish linguistically
and culturally accessible services for migrant women and girls,
including women migrant
workers, who are victims of gender-based violence;
c.Recognize the
vulnerability to violence and other forms of abuse of women migrants,
including women migrant
workers, whose legal status in the host country depends on employers who
may exploit their situation;
d.Support initiatives of
women's organizations and non-governmental organizations all over the
world to raise awareness on
the issue of violence against women and to contribute to its
elimination;
e.Organize, support and
fund community-based education and training campaigns to raise awareness
about violence against
women as a violation of women's enjoyment of their human rights and
mobilize local communities
to use appropriate gender-sensitive traditional and innovative methods
of conflict resolution;
f.Recognize, support and
promote the fundamental role of intermediate institutions, such as
primary health-care
centres, family-planning centres, existing school health services,
mother and baby protection services,
centres for migrant families and so forth in the field of information
and education related to abuse;
g.Organize and fund
information campaigns and educational and training programmes in order
to sensitize girls and boys
and women and men to the personal and social detrimental effects of
violence in the family, community
and society; teach them how to communicate without violence and promote
training for victims and
potential victims so that they can protect themselves and others against
such violence;
h.Disseminate information
on the assistance available to women and families who are victims of
violence;
i.Provide, fund and
encourage counselling and rehabilitation programmes for the perpetrators
of violence and promote
research to further efforts concerning such counselling and
rehabilitation so as to prevent the recurrence
of such violence;
j.Raise awareness of the
responsibility of the media in promoting non-stereotyped images of women
and men, as well as in
eliminating patterns of media presentation that generate violence, and
encourage those responsible
for media content to establish professional guidelines and codes of
conduct; also raise awareness
of the important role of the media in informing and educating people
about the causes and effects
of violence against women and in stimulating public debate on the topic.
126.By
Governments, employers, trade unions, community and youth organizations
and non-governmental organizations,
as appropriate:
a.Develop programmes and
procedures to eliminate sexual harassment and other forms of violence
against women in all
educational institutions, workplaces and elsewhere;
b.Develop programmes and
procedures to educate and raise awareness of acts of violence against
women that constitute a
crime and a violation of the human rights of women;
c.Develop counselling,
healing and support programmes for girls, adolescents and young women
who have been or are
involved in abusive relationships, particularly those who live in homes
or institutions where abuse
occurs;
d.Take special measures to
eliminate violence against women, particularly those in vulnerable
situations, such as young
women, refugee, displaced and internally displaced women, women with
disabilities and women
migrant workers, including enforcing any existing legislation and
developing, as appropriate, new legislation
for women migrant workers in both sending and receiving countries.
127.By the
Secretary-General of the United Nations:
Provide the Special
Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on violence against women
with all necessary
assistance, in particular the staff and resources required to perform
all mandated functions, especially
in carrying out and following up on missions undertaken either
separately or jointly with other special
rapporteurs and working groups, and adequate assistance for periodic
consultations with the Committee
on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and all treaty
bodies.
128.By Governments,
international organizations and non-governmental organizations:
Encourage the dissemination
and implementation of the UNHCR Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women
and the UNHCR Guidelines on the Prevention of and Response to Sexual
Violence against Refugees.
Strategic objective D.2. Study
the causes and consequences of violence against women and the
effectiveness of preventive measures
Actions
to be taken
129.By Governments,
regional organizations, the United Nations, other international
organizations, research institutions,
women's and youth organizations and non-governmental organizations, as
appropriate:
a.Promote research, collect
data and compile statistics, especially concerning domestic violence
relating to the prevalence
of different forms of violence against women, and encourage research
into the causes, nature,
seriousness and consequences of violence against women and the
effectiveness of measures implemented
to prevent and redress violence against women;
b.Disseminate findings of
research and studies widely;
c.Support and initiate
research on the impact of violence, such as rape, on women and girl
children, and make the
resulting information and statistics available to the public;
d.Encourage the media to
examine the impact of gender role stereotypes, including those
perpetuated by commercial
advertisements which foster gender-based violence and inequalities, and
how they are transmitted
during the life cycle, and take measures to eliminate these negative
images with a view to promoting
a violence-free society.
Strategic
objective D.3.
Eliminate trafficking in women and assist victims of violence due
to prostitution and trafficking
Actions to be taken
130.By
Governments of countries of origin, transit and destination, regional
and international organizations, as appropriate:
a.Consider the ratification
and enforcement of international conventions on trafficking in persons
and on slavery;
b.Take appropriate measures
to address the root factors, including external factors, that encourage trafficking
in women and girls for prostitution and other forms of commercialized
sex, forced marriages and
forced labour in order to eliminate trafficking in women, including by
strengthening existing legislation with
a view to providing better protection of the rights of women and girls
and to punishing the perpetrators, through both criminal and civil measures;
c.Step up cooperation and
concerted action by all relevant law enforcement authorities and
institutions with a view to
dismantling national, regional and international networks in
trafficking;
d.Allocate resources to
provide comprehensive programmes designed to heal and rehabilitate into
society victims of
trafficking, including through job training, legal assistance and
confidential health care, and take measures
to cooperate with non-governmental organizations to provide for the
social, medical and psychological care of the victims of trafficking;
e.Develop educational and
training programmes and policies and consider enacting legislation aimed
at preventing sex tourism
and trafficking, giving special emphasis to the protection of young
women and children.
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