Economic and Social Council

 
43rd plenary meeting
                                                                      27 July 1993

 1993/10. Draft declaration on the elimination of violence against women     

The Economic and Social Council,

     Recalling its previous resolutions on the elimination of violence against
women, especially its resolutions 1991/18 of 30 May 1991 and 1992/18 of
30 July 1992 related to the elaboration of a United Nations declaration on the
subject,

     Bearing in mind that the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the
Advancement of Women identify violence as a major obstacle to the achievement
of the objectives of the United Nations Decade for Women:  Equality, Development
and Peace,

     Recognizing that the elimination of violence against women is essential to
the achievement of equality for women and is a requirement for the full respect
of human rights,

     Convinced that a United Nations declaration on the elimination of violence
against women would make a positive contribution to the achievement of full
equality for women,

     Recognizing that the effective implementation of the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,  would
contribute to the elimination of violence against women and that the declaration
would strengthen and complement that process,

     1.   Expresses its appreciation to the experts, Member States and
United Nations organizations that contributed to the elaboration of the
draft declaration on the elimination of violence against women by the Expert
Group Meeting on Violence against Women held at Vienna from 11 to
15 November 1991,  and the Working Group on Violence against Women, held
at Vienna from 3l August to 4 September 1992;

     2.   Urges the General Assembly to adopt the draft resolution on the
declaration on the elimination of violence against women contained in the annex
to the present resolution;

     3.   Urges Member States to adopt, strengthen and enforce legislation
prohibiting violence against women and to take all appropriate administrative,
social and educational measures to protect women from all forms of physical,
sexual and psychological violence, whether occurring in public or private life,
in accordance with the measures contained in the draft declaration;

     4.   Calls on States parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women to continue to prepare their reports in
accordance with general recommendation 19 on violence against women, adopted by
the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women at its eleventh
session;

     5.   Invites United Nations entities, as well as intergovernmental and
non-governmental organizations, to take all possible steps to implement the
declaration, once adopted, to disseminate information on it and to promote its
understanding;

     6.   Requests the Secretary-General to provide all facilities and
assistance necessary, within existing resources, for the dissemination of
information on the declaration, once adopted;

     7.   Also requests the Secretary-General to report, in consultation with
Member States, to the Commission on the Status of Women at its thirty-ninth
session, in 1995, and to the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-second
session, in 1996, on the implementation of the declaration, once adopted;

     8.   Urges Governments to include an evaluation of the impact of the
declaration, once adopted, in their preparations for the Fourth World Conference
on Women:  Action for Equality, Development and Peace, to be held at Beijing
from 4 to 15 September 1995.

                                                              43rd plenary meeting
                                                                      27 July 1993


                                       Annex

                         DECLARATION ON THE ELIMINATION OF
                              VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

     The General Assembly,

     Recognizing the urgent need for the universal application to women of the
rights and principles with regard to equality, security, liberty, integrity and
dignity of all human persons,

     Noting that these rights and principles are enshrined in international
instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,  the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,  the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment,

     Recognizing that the effective implementation of the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women would contribute to the
elimination of violence against women and that the Declaration on the
Elimination of Violence against Women, annexed to the present resolution, will
strengthen and complement that process,

     Concerned that violence against women is an obstacle to the achievement of
equality, development and peace, as recognized in the Nairobi Forward-looking
Strategies for the Advancement of Women, which recommend a set of measures to
combat violence against women, and to the full implementation of the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,

     Affirming that violence against women both violates and impairs or
nullifies the enjoyment by women of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and
concerned about the long-standing failure to protect and promote these rights
and freedoms in relation to violence against women,

     Recognizing that violence against women is a manifestation of 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 their full
advancement, and that violence against women is one of the crucial social
mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position compared with
men,

     Concerned that some groups of women, such as women belonging to minority
groups, indigenous women, refugee women, migrant women, women living in rural or
remote communities, destitute women, women in institutions or in detention,
female children, women with disabilities, elderly women and women in situations
of armed conflict, are especially vulnerable to violence,

     Recalling Economic and Social Council resolution 1990/15 of 24 May 1990, in
the annex to which it was recognized that violence against women in the family
and society was pervasive and cut across lines of income, class and culture, and
had to be matched by urgent and effective steps to eliminate its incidence,

     Recalling further Economic and Social Council resolution 1991/18 of
30 May 1991, in which the Council recommended the development of a framework for
an international instrument that would address explicitly the issue of violence
against women,

     Welcoming the role that women's movements have played in drawing increasing
attention to the nature, severity and magnitude of the problem of violence
against women,

     Alarmed that women's opportunities to achieve legal, social, political and
economic equality in society are limited, inter alia, by continuing and endemic
violence,

     Convinced that in the light of the above there is a need for a clear and
comprehensive definition of violence against women, a clear statement of the
rights to be applied to ensure the elimination of violence against women in all
its forms, a commitment by States in respect of their responsibilities, and a
commitment by the international community at large towards the elimination of
violence against women,

     Solemnly proclaims the following Declaration on the Elimination of Violence
against Women and urges that every effort be made so that it becomes generally
known and respected:


                                     Article 1

          For the purposes of this Declaration, 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.


                                     Article 2

          Violence against women shall be understood to encompass, but not be
     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.


                                     Article 3

          Women are entitled to the equal enjoyment and protection of all human
     rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social,
     cultural, civil or any other field.  These rights include, inter alia:

          (a)  The right to life;

          (b)  The right to equality;

          (c)  The right to liberty and security of person;

          (d)  The right to equal protection under the law;

          (e)  The right to be free from all forms of discrimination;

          (f)  The right to the highest standard attainable of physical and
     mental health;

          (g)  The right to just and favourable conditions of work;

          (h)  The right not to be subjected to torture, or other cruel, inhuman
     or degrading treatment or punishment.


                                     Article 4

          States should condemn violence against women and should not invoke any
     custom, tradition or religious consideration to avoid their obligations
     with respect to its elimination.  States should pursue by all appropriate
     means and without delay a policy of eliminating violence against women and,
     to this end should:

          (a)  Consider, where they have not yet done so, ratifying or acceding
     to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
     Women or withdrawing reservations to that Convention;

          (b)  Refrain from engaging in violence against women;

          (c)  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;

          (d)  Develop penal, civil, labour and administrative sanctions in
     domestic legislation to punish and redress the wrongs caused to women who
     are subjected to violence; women who are subjected to violence should be
     provided with access to the mechanisms of justice and, as provided for by
     national legislation, to just and effective remedies for the harm that they
     have suffered; States should also inform women of their rights in seeking
     redress through such mechanisms;

          (e)  Consider the possibility of developing national plans of action
     to promote the protection of women against any form of violence, or to
     include provisions for this purpose in plans already existing, taking into
     account, as appropriate, such cooperation as can be provided by
     non-governmental organizations, particularly those concerned with this
     subject;

          (f)  Develop, in a comprehensive way, preventive approaches and all
     those measures of a legal, political, administrative and cultural nature
     that promote the protection of women against any form of violence, and
     ensure that the re-victimization of women does not occur because of
     gender-insensitive laws, enforcement practices or other interventions;

          (g)  Work to ensure, to the maximum extent feasible in the light of
     their available resources and, where needed, within the framework of
     international cooperation, that women subjected to violence and, where
     appropriate, their children have specialized assistance, such as
     rehabilitation, assistance in child care and maintenance, treatment,
     counselling, health and social services, facilities and programmes, as well
     as support structures, and should take all other appropriate measures to
     promote their safety and physical and psychological rehabilitation;

          (h)  Include in government budgets adequate resources for their
     activities related to the elimination of violence against women;

          (i)  Take measures to ensure that law enforcement officers and public
     officials responsible for implementing policies to prevent, investigate and
     punish violence against women receive training to sensitize them to the
     needs of women;

          (j)  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;

          (k)  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 on the causes, nature,
     seriousness and consequences of violence against women and on the
     effectiveness of measures implemented to prevent and redress violence
     against women; these statistics and findings of the research will be made
     public;

          (l)  Adopt measures directed to the elimination of violence against
     women who are especially vulnerable to violence;

          (m)  Include, in submitting reports as required under relevant human
     rights instruments of the United Nations, information pertaining to
     violence against women and measures taken to implement the present
     Declaration;

          (n)  Encourage the development of appropriate guidelines to assist in
     the implementation of the principles set forth in the present Declaration;

          (o)  Recognize the important role of the women's movement and
     non-governmental organizations worldwide in raising awareness and
     alleviating the problem of violence against women;

          (p)  Facilitate and enhance the work of the women's movement and
     non-governmental organizations and cooperate with them at local, national
     and regional levels;

          (q)  Encourage intergovernmental regional organizations of which they
     are members to include the elimination of violence against women in their
     programmes, as appropriate.


                                     Article 5

          The organs and specialized agencies of the United Nations system
     should, within their respective fields of competence, contribute to the
     recognition and realization of the rights and the principles set forth in
     the present Declaration, and to this end should, inter alia:

          (a)  Foster international and regional cooperation with a view to
     defining regional strategies for combating violence, exchanging experiences
     and financing programmes relating to the elimination of violence against
     women;

          (b)  Promote meetings and seminars with the aim of creating and
     raising the awareness among all persons in respect of the issue of the
     elimination of violence against women;

          (c)  Foster coordination and exchange within the United Nations system
     between human rights treaty bodies to effectively address the matter;

          (d)  Include in analyses prepared by bodies and agencies of the United
     Nations system of social trends and problems, such as the periodic reports
     on the world social situation, examination of trends in violence against
     women;

          (e)  Encourage coordination between bodies and agencies of the United
     Nations system to incorporate the issue of violence against women into
     ongoing programmes, particularly with reference to groups of women
     particularly vulnerable to violence;

          (f)  Promote the formulation of guidelines or manuals relating to
     violence against women, taking into account the measures mentioned herein;

          (g)  Consider the issue of the elimination of violence against women,
     as appropriate, in fulfilling their mandates with respect to the
     implementation of human rights instruments;

          (h)  Cooperate with non-governmental organizations in addressing
     violence against women.


                                     Article 6

          Nothing in the present Declaration shall affect any provision that is
     more conducive to the elimination of violence against women that may be
     contained in the legislation of a State or in any international convention,
     treaty or other instrument in force in a State.