Violence against women / Italy: UN expert announces first fact-finding mission to the country

12 January 2011

GENEVA / ROME – United Nations Special Rapporteur Rashida Manjoo will visit Italy from 15 to 26 January 2012 to gather information on the issue of violence against women in the country. This will be the first visit to Italy by an independent expert charged by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor violence against women, its causes and consequences.

“Violence against women remains a grave and persistent problem in the world today,” said Ms. Manjoo, who is visiting the country at the invitation of the Government. “This mission provides me with a unique opportunity to discuss and report on the impact of policies and programmes adopted by Italy to fight the problem.”

The Special Rapporteur’s mandate on violence against women, its causes and consequences includes violence in the family, violence within the community, violence perpetrated or condoned by the State, and violence in the transnational sphere, including violence against refugee, asylum seeking and migrant women.

The Special Rapporteur will travel to Rome, Milan, Bologna and Naples where she will hold discussions with government authorities and representatives of civil society. Among her areas of focus will be issues relating to violence against migrant women including Roma and Sinti women. The Special Rapporteur will also visit shelters and detention centers, and will meet with individual victims of gender-based violence.

A press conference on the initial findings of the visit will be held at the Società Italiana per l’Organizzazione Internazionale (SIOI) in Rome on Thursday 26 January 2012 at 13:00pm.

Based on the information obtained during the visit, Ms. Manjoo will present a report with her final findings and recommendations to the 20th session of the Human Rights Council in June 2012.

ENDS

Ms. Rashida Manjoo (South Africa) was appointed Special Rapporteur on Violence against women, its causes and consequences in June 2009 by the UN Human Rights Council, for an initial period of three year. As Special Rapporteur, she is independent from any government or organization and serves in her individual capacity. Ms. Manjoo is also a Professor at the Department of Public Law at the University of Cape Town.

For additional information on the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, please visit:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/women/rapporteur/index.htm

Check the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women:
http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N94/095/05/PDF/N9409505.pdf?OpenElement

OHCHR Country Page – Italy
http://ohchr.org/EN/countries/ENACARegion/Pages/ITIndex.aspx

For press inquiries please contact Fabio Graziosi (Tel: +32 (0)2 788 8469 / email: graziosi@unric.org), Selma Vadala (Tel: +41 (0)79-444-4332 / email: svadala@ohchr.org)

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts:
Xabier Celaya, UN Human Rights Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org)

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