Background and objectives

At the invitation of the Government of Poland, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences, Ms. Reem Alsalem, will conduct an official visit to the country from 27 February to 9 March 2023.

Country visits are undertaken following an invitation by the Government and are prepared and conducted in the spirit of cooperation and dialogue with the State concerned. The objective of the country visit is for the Special Rapporteur to gain a first-hand understanding of issues related to her mandate, and in particular in relation to measures taken to prevent, combat and eliminate violence against women and girls, and to provide redress for victims.

Following a country visit, the Special Rapporteur presents a report to the UN Human Rights Council outlining her findings, conclusions and recommendations to the State concerned. The conclusions and recommendations provided by the Special Rapporteur are a useful tool to guide States and other stakeholders working on ending gender-based violence in the country when adopting measures to prevent and eliminate violence against women.

The visit of the Special Rapporteur will commence in Warsaw, and she will also undertake field visits, to both urban and rural areas in different provinces, in order to gain a first-hand understanding of the issues related to violence against women and girls as experienced by various segments of the population. During her visit, and as a means of gathering information from all relevant stakeholders, the Special Rapporteur intends to convene meetings with Government officials and other relevant authorities; representatives from civil society organizations; women’s organisations; community and religious leaders (where relevant); different groups of women and girls; relevant UN agencies; EU representations, and international development and donor agencies working towards the elimination of violence against women and girls in Poland.

At the end of the visit on 9 March 2023, the Special Rapporteur will debrief relevant Government officials on her preliminary findings, and in line with established practice, she will also hold a press conference to share the preliminary findings with the broader public. Additional information on the venue and time of the press conference will be shared prior to the visit.

Key questions and types of input sought

In preparation for the visit, the Special Rapporteur invites all interested individuals and organizations, including civil society organizations, women’s and girls’ rights activists, and academics to provide inputs on:

1. Issues related to violence against all women and girls, based on intersecting grounds and including its different manifestations;
2. Information on groups of women and girls particularly at risk of being exposed to gender based violence;
3. Policies and legislation in place or being considered with a view to preventing and combating violence against women and girls.

While all submissions are welcome, the Special Rapporteur is particularly interested in receiving information on the following issues (the list is not exhaustive):

• Legal, institutional and policy frameworks related to violence against women and girls in all their diversity, including on domestic violence; and the extent to which international and regional human rights frameworks on women’s rights and the elimination of violence against women and girls are adhered to, in accordance with Poland’s human rights obligations;
• Efforts to prevent femicide, or gender-related killings, particularly with respect to relevant legislation, protection measures, data collection and prevention strategies, including those related to gender-based killings of women and girls by family members;
• Frameworks and policies in place to promote the rights of women and girls and protect them from all forms of gender-based violence;
• Coordination structures for the delivery of essential services and protection and assistance support, for women victims of violence or those at risk of violence, including shelters, one-stop service centres, protection orders and other integrated services for victims of gender-based violence against women and girls;
• Manifestations of violence, offline and online, against women who are active in the public sphere, such as women journalists, women politicians, women activists, particularly women human rights defenders and environmental activists – amongst others
• Manifestations of violence, including sexual violence, against women and girls, who may be nationals of Poland, members of ethnic minorities, stateless persons, refugees, asylum seekers and other migrant women and girls in Poland;
• Manifestations of violence against women and girls who are deprived of liberty, i.e. who are in detention and/or in prisons;
• Women’s enjoyment of their sexual and reproductive health and rights and access to sexual and reproductive health care;
• Manifestations of violence against women and girls of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity or expression;
• Sexual exploitation and trafficking of Polish and foreign women and girls, including access by victims to essential services;
• Gender stereotyping and biases in judicial processes, including in sexual violence and child custody/guardianship cases.