Legislating against violence against women: A Handbook - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

About This Presentation
Title:

Legislating against violence against women: A Handbook

Description:

Legislating against violence against women: A Handbook Division for the Advancement of Women Department of Economic and Social Affairs United Nations – PowerPoint PPT presentation

Number of Views:175
Avg rating:3.0/5.0
Slides: 15
Provided by: unOrgwome
Learn more at: https://www.un.org
Category:

less

Transcript and Presenter's Notes

Title: Legislating against violence against women: A Handbook


1
Legislating against violence against womenA
Handbook
Division for the Advancement of Women Department
of Economic and Social Affairs United Nations
2
Violence 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)

3
Background 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.

4
Purpose 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

5
The 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

6
Recommended 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

7
Recommendations 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

8
Recommendations 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

9
Recommendations 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

10
Recommendations 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

11
Recommendations 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

12
Recommendations 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.

13
Checklist 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

14
Further 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
Write a Comment
User Comments (0)
About PowerShow.com