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 beings,
Noting that those rights and principles are enshrined
in international instruments, including the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, 1/ the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights, 2/ the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 2/
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women 3/ and the Convention against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,
4/
Recognizing that 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, set forth in 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, 5/ in which a set of measures to
combat violence against women was recommended, and to the full
implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination against Women,
Affirming that violence against women constitutes a
violation of the rights and fundamental freedoms of women and
impairs or nullifies their enjoyment of those rights and freedoms,
and concerned about the long-standing failure to protect and
promote those rights and freedoms in the case of 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 the full advancement of
women, 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 the conclusion in paragraph 23 of the annex
to Economic and Social Council resolution 1990/15 of 24 May
1990 that the recognition that violence against women in the
family and society was pervasive and cut across lines of income,
class and culture had to be matched by urgent and effective
steps to eliminate its incidence,
Recalling also 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 are playing
in drawing increasing attention to the nature, severity and
magnitude of the problem of violence against women,
Alarmed that opportunities for women 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 to
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 in 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; 6/
(b) The right to equality; 7/
(c) The right to liberty and security of person; 8/
(d) The right to equal protection under the law; 7/
(e) The right to be free from all forms of discrimination;
7/
(f) The right to the highest standard attainable of physical
and mental health; 9/
(g) The right to just and favourable conditions of work; 10/
(h) The right not to be subjected to torture, or other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 11/
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 that purpose in plans
already existing, taking into account, as appropriate, such
cooperation as can be provided by non-governmental organizations,
particularly those concerned with the issue of violence against
women;
(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 laws insensitive to gender considerations,
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, and 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; those statistics
and findings of the research will be made public;
(l) Adopt measures directed towards 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 t 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 world wide 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 awareness among all persons 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 address the issue
of violence against women effectively;
(d) Include in analyses prepared by organizations and bodies
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 organizations and bodies
of the United Nations system to incorporate the issue of violence
against women into ongoing programmes, especially 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
referred to in the present Declaration;
(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
the issue of 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.
___________
1/ Resolution 217 A (III).
2/ See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.
3/ Resolution 34/180, annex.
4/ Resolution 39/46, annex.
5/ Report of the World Conference to Review and Appraise the
Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality,
Development and Peace, Nairobi, 15-26 July 1985 (United Nations
publication, Sales No. E.85.IV.10), chap. I, sect. A.
6/ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 3; and International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, article 6.
7/ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, article
26.
8/ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 3; and International
Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights, article 9.
9/ International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,
article 12.
10/ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 23; and International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, articles 6
and 7.
11/ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 5; International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, article 7; and Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment.
