Title: Legislating against violence against women: A Handbook
1Legislating against violence against womenA
Handbook
Division for the Advancement of Women Department
of Economic and Social Affairs United Nations
2Violence against womenThe context
- October 2006 Secretary-Generals in-depth study
on all forms of violence against women
(A/61/122/Add.1 and Corr.1) (available online in
all United Nations official languages
http//www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/vaw/v-sg-study.ht
m) - December 2006 General Assembly resolution 61/143
on the intensification of efforts to eliminate
violence against women - March 2008 Launch of the Secretary-Generals
Campaign UNiTE to End Violence against Women,
2008-2015 One of the five key goals of the
Campaign, to be achieved in all countries by
2015, is the adoption of legislation on violence
against women in accordance with international
human rights standards (see http//endviolence.un.
org) - October 2008 General Assembly resolution 63/155
on the intensification of efforts to eliminate
violence against women - March 2009 Launch of the Secretary-Generals
database on violence against women, which
provides the first global one-stop shop for
information on measures undertaken by Member
States of the United Nations to address violence
against women, including legislation (see
http//www.un.org/esa/vawdatabase)
3Background to the Handbook
- Expert group meeting convened by DAW/DESA in
collaboration with UNODC from 26 to 28 May 2008
in Vienna, Austria. - Brought together 15 experts from around the
world, as well as observers, including the Chair
of the CEDAW Committee and representatives of
OHCHR, UNIFEM, IOM, and the IPU, to - Analyze different approaches in the law for
addressing all forms of violence against women
- Assess lessons learned in the implementation of
legislation on violence against women, with
particular attention to effectiveness of
legislation and - Identify good practices in the law and
recommended standards for legislation on violence
against women.
4Purpose of the Handbook
- Purpose
- to serve as a tool for the development, adoption
and amendment of legislation which prevents
violence against women, punishes perpetrators,
and ensures the rights of survivors of violence
against women everywhere - To this end, the Handbook contains
- a summary of the international and legal policy
framework - a model framework for legislation on violence
against women, including recommendations on the
content of legislation on violence against women,
and good practice examples - a checklist of steps to be taken when drafting
legislation
5The international legal and policy framework
- International human rights treaties
- General recommendation no. 19 of the Committee on
the Elimination of Discrimination against Women - Concluding observations of the treaty bodies
- Other international treaties
- Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish
Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and
Children, supplementing the United Nations
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime - Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
- Policy documents
- General Assembly Declaration on the Elimination
of Violence against Women (1993) - Beijing Platform for Action (1995)
- General Assembly resolutions 61/143, 63/155
6Recommended content of legislation
- What should be included/addressed in the law
- Legislative preamble
- Implementation
- Monitoring and evaluation
- Definitions
- Prevention
- Protection, support and assistance to
complainants/survivors - Rights of immigrant women
- Investigation
- Legal proceedings and evidence
- Protection orders
- Sentencing
- Family law cases involving violence against women
- Civil law suits
- Family law
- Asylum law
7Recommendations Scope of legislation
- Legislation should
- acknowledge violence against women as a form of
gender-based discrimination, and that violence
may affect different groups of women differently - be comprehensive, including provisions regarding
prevention of violence against women, protection
and support for the complainant/survivor, and
prosecution and punishment of the perpetrator
8Recommendations Implementation and monitoring
- Legislation should
- be implemented in the context of a comprehensive
national action plan or strategy - provide for a budget to ensure its implementation
- provide for the adoption of rules and
regulations, and the creation of specialized
institutions, including police, prosecutors and
courts - provide for the creation of a specific
institutional mechanism (eg multi-sectoral Task
Force) and the collection of statistical data,
including through involvement of the national
statistical office
9Recommendations Definitions
- The law should contain comprehensive definitions
of - domestic violence including physical, sexual,
psychological, emotional and economic violence,
and an extensive scope of persons - sexual assault, incorporating rape, including
marital rape - sexual harassment
10Recommendations Prevention and protection
- Legislation should
- mandate preventive measures, including
awareness-raising campaigns, educational
curricula, and sensitization of the media in
relation to violence against women - include measures for the protection, assistance
and support of complainants/survivors, including
comprehensive and integrated support services,
and rights to support in her employment and
housing and financial assistance - ensure that immigrant women are not subjected to
punitive actions related to their immigration
status when they report violence, and have the
right to apply for independent residency status
11Recommendations Prosecution and punishment
- Legislation should
- detail the duties of police officers and
prosecutors and provide for the rights of
complainants/survivors during legal proceedings,
including alternatives to giving live testimony,
and the right to be continuously updated
regarding her rights and the status of legal
proceedings - provide for both emergency and final protection
orders, and criminalize the violation of a
protection order - ensure that sentences imposed on perpetrators are
consistent with the gravity of the crime
committed, including by removing exceptions and
reductions in sentencing in cases of violence
against women
12Recommendations Family law civil law suits
asylum law
- Legislation should
- ensure that complainants/survivors of violence
against women do not have negative inferences
drawn against them in family law proceedings and
are entitled, amongst other things, to divorce
and alimony, and to remain in the family dwelling - permit complainants/survivors of violence to
bring civil lawsuits, both against the
perpetrator, and against third parties who have
acted negligently, such as the police - provide that violence against women may
constitute persecution and that
complainants/survivors of such violence should
constitute a particular social group for the
purposes of asylum law.
13Checklist for drafting legislation
- When drafting legislation the following steps
should be taken - Define the legislative goal
- Consult with all relevant stakeholders
- Adopt an evidence-based approach
14Further information
- For further information regarding the work of the
Division for the Advancement of Women/DESA on
violence against women http//www.un.org/womenwat
ch/daw/vaw - Contact
- Division for the Advancement of Women
- Email daw_at_un.org