Statement by Ms Dubravka Šimonović, Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences at the Human Rights Council, Thirty-second session

17 June 2016
Geneva

Mr. President, distinguished delegates, representatives of the United Nations and the NGO community,

It is a great honour for me and a great responsibility to address the 32nd session of the Human Rights Council for the first time in my capacity as Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, since my appointment in June last year.

I look forward to building on the legacy of my three remarkable predecessors, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, Ms. Yakin Ertürk and Ms. Rashida Manjoo.

The first report that I am presenting before you outlines the vision for this mandate and the thematic priorities I intend to focus on in the period ahead.

Thematic Report

My thematic report this year examines the general context and main trends and challenges posed by violence against women. I note in this report that the legal and policy landscape around my mandate has changed owing to developments in international and regional frameworks and mechanisms on violence against women while at the same time violence against women is still at pandemic levels, widespread and persistent. These developments have led me to reshape the focus of this mandate on prevention, implementation challenges and collaboration with all other relevant global and regional mechanisms in order to accelerate, I repeat, accelerate the elimination of violence against women, its causes and consequences.

As an immediate priority for the mandate, I intend to focus on the use of data on violence against women as a tool for its prevention. As you might be aware, last year, on 25 November 2015, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, I called upon all States to establish a “femicide watch” or a “gender-related killing of women watch” and publish data on the number of femicides, disaggregated by age and ethnicity of victims, and the sex of the perpetrators, and very importantly indicating the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim. Information concerning the prosecution and punishment of perpetrators should also be collected and published. Each case of femicide should be analysed by national bodies established for this purpose in order to determine the shortcomings of national prevention systems. This mechanism would provide crucial information related to such violence and will point out on effective measures and strategies needed to prevent femicides. I also believe that such model of watch could be extended to other forms of violence against women, such as rape, sexual violence, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.

My current work on femicides also fits into the broader context of the gathering and analysing of data on violence against women in the framework of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.  This Agenda, with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, including the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women, has a real transformative potential. Goal n°5, and in particular its targets 5.1 on the elimination of all forms of discrimination and 5.2 on the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls in the public and private spheres, as well as target 5.3 that focuses on the elimination of all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation. The goal on achieving gender equality and empowerment of women should be seen and used as the bridge between this Sustainable Development Agenda and the United Nations human rights framework for the realization of all human rights for all while the Special procedures and treaty bodies should be used as already established accountability mechanisms for implementation of the SDG goals and targets falling under their respective mandates. I stand ready not only to assist to monitor progress but also to give guidance to States and other stakeholders in the implementation of Goal n°5 and other goals in line with my mandate.

Other thematic priorities I intend to take up during my tenure include the protection of and services for women survivors of violence; the possibility of formulating a global code of conduct for security and police forces in carrying out their key role of prevention of violence against women; prosecution of perpetrators and protection of women survivors of violence; violence against women in the context of forced displacement and refugee flows;  the examination of the connections between fundamentalism or extremism and gender-based violence against women and its root causes;  the building of capacity for legal profession and law enforcement officials dealing with violence against women;  new challenges posed by online violence against women and lastly, the prevention and elimination of discriminatory laws and their negative impact in perpetuating or contributing to violence against women.

I also have a great interest in strengthening my collaboration with international and regional human rights mechanisms and in joint work on actions necessary to improve the acceptance, incorporation, implementation and updating of the current women human rights framework in order to accelerate the elimination of all forms of violence against women.

In carrying out my mandate, I intend to continue cooperating with other special procedures of the Human Rights Council and treaty bodies addressing women’s rights and violence against women, and in particular the CEDAW Committee. For example, I am glad that I was invited and have already been able to contribute to the current ongoing work of the CEDAW Committee on an update of its General Recommendation n°19 dealing with violence against women.

I am convinced that my mandate has an important role to play in promoting synergies among existing international and regional instruments and systems on violence against women, with the purpose of using synergies between them, as well as accelerating and achieving their full implementation.

In relation to communications, I sent, jointly with other mandate holders, a total of 31 communications in relation to issued falling within the mandate. These communications concerned issues relating to, among others, discriminatory provisions in the law, violence against women human rights defenders, women with albinism, sexual and reproductive health and rights, violence against indigenous women andsexual violence against migrant women. I also issued a statement on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against and called all the States to establish a ‘Femicide Watch’ or “Gender-related Killing of Women Watch’, and joined several statements, such as on the fiftieth anniversary of the International Covenants on Human Rights and the protection of sexual and reproductive health and rights on the occasion of the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

2015 Report to the General Assembly

Mr. President, in October last year, I addressed the General Assembly for the first time in my capacity as Special Rapporteur and based on the reports my predecessor, Ms. Rashida Manjoo, presented to the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council last year, I have decided to continue with the debate on the adequacy of the international, regional and national legal frameworks to prevent and combat violence against women.

Based on work already done in presenting an overview of the legal standards on violence against women, I have invited global and regional human rights mechanism that monitor the implementation of international and regional instruments on women’s rights and violence against women to send their views and inputs on adequacy of international legal framework on violence against women and to respond to the following 5 questions:

1. Do you consider that there is a need for a separate legally binding treaty on violence against women with its separate monitoring body?
2. Do you consider that there is an incorporation gap of the international or regional human rights norms and standards?
3. Do you believe that there is a lack of implementation of the international and regional legislation into the domestic law?
4. Do you think that there is a fragmentation of policies and legislation to address gender-based violence?
5. Could you also provide your views on measures needed to address any normative and/or implementation gap and to accelerate prevention and elimination of violence against women?

I would also like to collect views and responses from Member States and other stakeholders. Today I am calling all interested stakeholders, including States, NGOs, other Special Procedures mandate holders and treaty bodies, as well as National Human Rights Institutions and members of academia to send me their views and inputs on those questions annexed to this statement. I have a call for submission in that regard on my official web page.  I hope that the collection of such information will enable all of us to decide on the measures needed to accelerate the eradication of violence against women and girls in public and private life.

2016 participation in the Commission on the Status of Women

In March this year, I orally reported to the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and contributed to the discussions of the Commission on its priority theme, women's empowerment and its links with sustainable development goals and to the follow up of the review theme on the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls.

2016 participation in the Commission on the Commission for Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice

Last month, I delivered at the invitation of the UNODC Director a statement at the opening of the 25th session of the CCPCJ and was particularly glad to be able to engage for the first time as Special Rapporteur with the Commission which, as the principal policymaking body of the United Nations in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice, has carried out an important body of work in the field of violence against women.

I hope that this will be the start of a fruitful cooperation between my mandate and this Commission.

Country Visits

Mr. President,

I inform you with great pleasure that the Government of Argentina, to which I send a visit request, has pledged it would accept my visit before the end of this year. I also plan to visit Australia and Bulgaria next year, as they have accepted a visit by the mandate.

I would now like to present an overview of the findings from the country visits conducted during the reporting period. I thank the Governments of the Sudan for inviting my predecessor to conduct such visit and I thank the Government of South Africa and Georgia for inviting me to conduct these visits and look forward to a fruitful and continued dialogue on the implementation of the recommendations contained in the reports.

Sudan

The report that is before you is based on a visit conducted to the Sudan by my predecessor from 13 to 24 May 2015. I very much look forward to continued dialogue with the Government and other stakeholders on the implementation of the mandate’s recommendations.

South Africa

I would now like to present a brief overview of the findings from my visit to South Africa from 4 to 11 December 2015.  Allow me to seize this opportunity to thank the Government of South Africa for hosting me and for its cooperation throughout the visit. I am pleased to report the open and frank dialogue at both governmental and non-governmental levels during the visit, and I look forward to work jointly with the Government and other stakeholders on the implementation of the recommendations. I am pleased to see here today Ms. Susan Shabangu, Minister in the presidency responsible for Women and I look forward to continued dialogue on the implementation of the report recommendations.  

In my report, I recognized that South Africa as a young democracy has accomplished a  lot in the past 22 years of democracy and the country’s legal framework on human rights and  violence against women, as evidenced by its progressive and inclusive Constitution and progressive laws such as the Domestic Violence Act and the Sexual Offences and Related Matters Act. I note that despite this legal and policy arsenal, and commitments expressed through the ratification of CEDAW, commendably without reservations, and of its optional protocol and of regional instrument like the Maputo Protocol, violence against women and girls continue to be widespread.  There is in practice an implementation gap between the proclaimed Constitutional principles of gender equality and non-discrimination and their practical realization. To close this gap I have recommended to the Government to consider renewing efforts to implement the CEDAW recommendations on adoption of laws on Gender Equality and on unified family through amendments to other laws, including the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act  that would establish an enabling legislation for the implementation of the constitutional and Convention’s principle of equality and non-discrimination in matters relating to marriage and family relationship.

 In the area of prevention, I have noticed some flaws in relation to data collection and societal and institutional barriers which discourage victims to report gender-based violence. Gender-based violence is also still very much considered a private matter. In the area of services provisions for victims of violence against women, the quality of health care and forensic examination could be further improved and the funding for services delivery increased. Lack of shelters and of second-stage housing is also noted in my report as major concerns. Other concerns relates to some shortcomings in the criminal justice system’s response. I have noted positive measures taken to remedy these shortcomings, for example the establishment in police stations of victims friendly rooms, the re-establishment of Sexual Offenses Courts and the Thuthuzela Centres, which  are one-stop facilities and have been hailed at the international level as good practice. Those have proven, when available, to contribute to the reduction of secondary victimization, an increase in conviction rates and a reduction in the length of time taken to finalize cases.

But still too often, women seeking protection are turned down and told to go back to their abusive partner or communities. Gender biases still prevail in the handling of victims by police, in particular for groups of women at heightened risk of gender-based violence, and victims run an increased risk of re-victimization. I have also identified specific gaps in the implementation of two key pieces of legislation on violence against women, the Domestic Violence Act and the Sexual Offences Act.   

On that basis, I made a number of action-orientated recommendations to the Government, including on Law and policy reform, in the area of investigation, prosecution, support services and protective measures, on national mechanism a collection of data and prevention of violence against women. In that regard, I note that the Government of South Africa has indicated that it would consider establishing a “femicide watch” and I stand ready to provide any assistance that may be required.
      
I am pleased to learn that the Government has since my visit taken a number of steps to more robustly tackle the issue of violence against women in South Africa. In the area of sexual violence against girls in schools, in response to some accountability gaps, I have been informed  of the development of a  Protocol for dealing with sexual violence in schools which would better equip them to handle such cases.  I am also glad that national guidelines are being developed with respect to protection orders, which are commendably valid for life once issued in South Africa. I was informed that these guidelines would address some of the operational gaps identified in the report.

Georgia

From 15 to 19 February 2016, I conducted a country visit to Georgia, during which the Government demonstrated its willingness to improve women’s situation in general and to address domestic violence in particular. My visit happened during a promising time, during which the Parliament was considering the ratification of the Istanbul Convention.

I welcome the Government’s recognition of shortcomings of the current legal framework on violence against women and envisaged important legislative amendments to improve it by harmonizing 17 specific laws with the Istanbul Convention, including the law on violence against women and domestic violence. I look forward to the speedy adoption of the amendments and ratification of the Istanbul convention. I commend the initiative of the Public Defender which has taken on some work in relation to the monitoring of femicides.

Despite the efforts of the Government, I noted that domestic violence is still considered as a private matter and not a public concern in some parts of the country and that the incidence of domestic violence is still underreported and when it is reported, in some cases, the victims of domestic violence have to report cases of violence several times to the police before receiving a restraining order. This practice is used by some police officers in rural areas that still issue ‘warning letters’, devoid of any legal value, through which perpetrators commit not to exercise violence against their partner. These letters do not ensure victim’s protection and cannot hold a person responsible for past acts of violence committed. While welcoming the efforts made by the Government to address domestic violence, I am also concerned that so far, the ‘status of victims’ only recognizes victims of trafficking and of domestic violence as recognized by the Law on Domestic Violence, Protection and Support to its Victims and that other women victims of violence remain out of the scope of the law and protection, which does not allow them to seek refuge in one of the four State-run shelters.

I also express concern about the high number of cases of child and forced marriages throughout the country and the high number of girls who drop out of school as a consequence of their marriage. . During my visit, I also noted that specific groups of women, including women belonging to ethnic minorities, women living in rural areas, internally displaced women, refugees, LGTB persons or older women tend to suffer multiple forms of discrimination, which render them more vulnerable to specific forms of violence.

In relation to violence against women in general, I strongly encourage the Government of Georgia to remove the restrictive legal and administrative determination of status of victim of domestic violence in order to ensure the immediate availability of all protective measures and services to victims of violence, including restraining and protective orders and access to shelters.

I was also informed that different foreign agencies have offered surrogate motherhood contracts to young women and that the whole procedure of medically assisted procreation is not legally regulated, which could lead to violence and exploitation of women entering such contracts that are not based on clear legal regulation. In this regard, I recommend that the Government adopt a law on medically assisted procreation and regulate surrogacy in order to avoid possible exploitation and violence against women and girls entering such contract .

Other activities

During the reporting period I have participated in a number of conferences, workshops, side-events on diverse topics related to my mandate. I have also convened earlier this month an Expert Group Meeting on the modalities and good practices for the establishment of a  Femicide watch or a gender-related killing of women watch, with the support of the Centre for Women, Peace and Security at the London Schools of Economics.

I hope that based on my thematic vision-setting report, other States and members of academia or NGOs could support this mandate with the organization of workshops and/or seminars research roundtables on topics that I have referred to in this thematic report or any others falling within my mandate.

Conclusion

Mr. President,

I am very much looking forward to work and engage with the Human Rights Council and its members to accelerate the prevention, protection punishment of all forms of violence against women, in compliance with States’ international human rights obligations and I stand ready to assist States and other stakeholders and victims of violence against women in this endeavour that should secure the right of women to live life free from violence.

I thank you for your attention and look forward to a fruitful dialogue with the distinguished members of this Council and the NGOs.

______________