PHA-Exch> UN Independent Experts call on states to strengthen the protection of women from violence

[Marcy Bloom]

 *** Learn more about the International Day for the Elimination of Violence
Against Women, 25 November 2007:
http://www.hrea.org/feature-events/vaw-day.php  




UNITED NATIONS Press release
23 November 2007

On the occasion of the International Day on the Elimination of Violence
against Women (25 November), the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations
Human Rights Council on violence against women, its causes and consequences,
Yakin Ertürk, and the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights
Council on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment, Manfred Nowak, issued the following press statement: 

Over the years there has been considerable progress in making the scale of
violence against women widely known and in developing legal and practical
instruments to strengthen the protection of women from violence. Yet
significant gaps in protection remain. Many countries fail to recognize some
forms of violence against women as crimes. Cultural or religious paradigms
are still invoked to condone female genital mutilation, the execution and
murder of women, marital rape and other forms of violence. On the other
hand, the application of international instruments and the development of
strategies to condemn and punish torture have been slow to take into account
gender-based aspects of torture, such as sexual violence, and have treated
severe pain or suffering inflicted on women in the private sphere as a
"domestic affair". Consequently, avenues for redress have been limited and
women have not been adequately protected from all forms of violence against
them. 

In recent years, there have been an increased and explicit recognition of
some forms of violence against women in international and national courts as
amounting to torture and ill-treatment, the best known examples being rape
by private or public actors in conflict or in custodial settings. Other
forms of violence against women, such as physical or sexual violence in an
intimate relationship or female genital mutilation, if committed with the
acquiescence of the State, may qualify as torture or cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment as well. 

The term "torture" carries a strong protection potential since it brings
with it a considerable stigma and triggers well-established international
legal obligations for the State, derived notably from the Convention against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. These
include obligations to criminalize acts of torture, prosecute perpetrators
and provide reparation to victims. 

International standards to combat violence against women, including the UN
Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, contain an
obligation to condemn and prevent all forms of violence against women,
independently of whether acts are perpetrated by the State or a private
person, and give specific guidance on how obstacles to gender based violence
can be overcome. 

These sets of instruments and standards should be used more systematically
to inform and strengthen one another. If taken together they will
considerably reinforce women's protection from violence and render it more
effective, as well as contribute towards transforming unequal patriarchal
values and structures that underlie acts of violence and discrimination
against women. 

In our capacities of Special Rapporteurs on Violence against Women and
Torture, we appeal to the international community, to States, and civil
society to make full use of all existing instruments and mechanisms in a
comprehensive fashion, in order to ensure women the full protection from all
forms of violence against them and their access to all available remedies. 

--
HREA - www.hrea.org

Human Rights Education Associates (HREA) is an international
non-governmental organisation that supports human rights learning; the
training of activists and professionals; the development of educational
materials and programming; and community-building through on-line
technologies.

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