International and regional instruments provide direction to states parties on

how to meet their obligation to develop and implement legislation on violence

against women and girls:

 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) in Article 3 states that

“[e]veryone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.” Article 7
states that “[a]ll are equal before the law and are entitled without any
discrimination to equal protection of the law.” Article 8 declares that
“[e]veryone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent
national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him
by the constitution or by law.”

 The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) (ICCPR) in

Article 2 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, and obligates states
parties to “…ensure that any person whose rights or freedoms as herein
recognized are violated shall have an effective remedy.” Article 26 states:

All persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination
to the equal protection of the law. In this respect, the law shall prohibit any
discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and effective protection
against discrimination on any ground such as race, colour, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or
other status.

The ICCPR created the Human Rights Committee (Article 28), to which States
parties must report upon request. The Committee has issued a number of
General Comments on thematic issues. In General Comment 28,
entitled Equality of rights between men and women, (Art. 3), the Committee
declared that States parties are responsible for ensuring the equal enjoyment
of rights without any discrimination. (Paragraph 4) It noted that states parties
should ensure that traditional, historical, religious or cultural attitudes are not
used to justify violations of women's right to equality before the law and to
equal enjoyment of all Covenant rights. (Paragraph 5) General Comment 28
also provides recommendations and requirements for States parties, including:

State parties should provide information to enable the Committee to ascertain

whether access to justice and the right to a fair trial, provided for in article 14,
are enjoyed by women on equal terms to men. (Paragraph 18)

States parties must provide information to enable the Committee to assess the
effect of any laws or practices that may interfere with women’s right to enjoy
privacy and other rights protected by article 17 on the basis of equality with
men. (Paragraph 20)
  The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (1976) in Article 3 declares that states parties must “…ensure the
equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social
and cultural rights set forth [therein].”

 The Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against

Women (CEDAW) (1979) in Article 1 defines discrimination against
women as:

...any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the
effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise
by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and
women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic,
social, cultural, civil or any other field.

As stated in Article 2, states parties to CEDAW must eliminate this

discrimination by adopting “…appropriate legislative and other measures,
including sanctions where appropriate…” and must agree to “establish legal
protection of the rights of women on an equal basis with men and to ensure
through competent national tribunals and other public institutions the effective
protection of women against any act of discrimination…”

 The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms

of Discrimination against Women (2000) allows individuals to bring
complaints or inquiries to the independent experts of the Committee on
the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, when there has been
an alleged violation of CEDAW. For example, in A.T. v. Hungary, a victim
of severe domestic violence brought a claim to the Committee alleging
that Hungary failed to protect her. In 2005, the Committee found that
although A.T. sought help from Hungarian civil and criminal courts and
child protection authorities, the Hungarian government failed to provide
her with any assistance or protection. The Committee found that
Hungary had violated its obligations under the Convention, and made
recommendations to Hungary that it act to protect the safety of A.T. and
act more generally to effect the rights granted under the Convention.

The Optional Protocol in Article 8 also establishes an inquiry procedure that

allows the Committee to initiate an investigation where it has received reliable
information of grave or systematic violations by a State Party of rights
established in the Convention. This was the basis for the 2005 Report on
Mexico produced by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women under article 8 of the Optional Protocol of the Convention, and
reply from the Government of Mexico, regarding the abduction, rape, and
murder of women in the Ciudad Juárez area of Chihuahua, Mexico.
  The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment (1984) in Article 1 defines torture as severe
mental or physical pain or suffering that is intentionally inflicted either
by a State actor or with the consent or acquiescence of a State actor for
an unlawful purpose. In article 2, states are obligated to prevent torture
that is caused by private actors.

 In General Recommendation 12, the Committee on the Elimination of

Discrimination against Women recommended that in their periodic
reports to the Committee states should include information about
existing laws that protect women against violence, other measures that
have been implemented to eradicate violence against women, and
information about support services for victims. States parties also were
asked to send the Committee statistical data about violence against
women.

 In General Recommendation 19, the Committee on the Elimination of

Discrimination against Women interpreted the term “discrimination”
used in CEDAW to include gender-based violence by stating in para. 6
that it is:

…violence that is directed against a woman because she is a woman or that

affects women disproportionately. It includes acts that inflict physical, mental or
sexual harm or suffering, threats of such acts, coercion and other deprivations of
liberty. Gender-based violence may breach specific provisions of the Convention,
regardless of whether those provisions expressly mention violence .

The Committee also rejected customary or religious justifications for gender-

based violence in para. 11:

Traditional attitudes by which women are regarded as subordinate to men or as

having stereotyped roles perpetuate widespread practices involving violence or
coercion, such as family violence and abuse, forced marriage, dowry deaths, acid
attacks and female circumcision. Such prejudices and practices may justify
gender-based violence as a form of protection or control of women. The effect of
such violence on the physical and mental integrity of women is to deprive them
of the equal enjoyment, exercise and knowledge of human rights and
fundamental freedoms.

The Committee recommended in para. 24(b) that “States parties should ensure
that laws against family violence and abuse, rape, sexual assault and other
gender-based violence give adequate protection to all women and respect
their integrity and dignity…” It also noted in para. 24(t) that “States parties
should take all legal and other measures that are necessary to provide effective
protection of women against gender-based violence,” including legal, criminal,
civil and compensatory measures, preventative measures such as public
information campaigns, and protective measures such as shelters and support
for victims and for those at risk of violence.

 The Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990) (CRC) details the rights
of children to special care and assistance that were first enumerated in
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights(1948), the Geneva
Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1924), the Declaration of the
Rights of the Child, (1959), the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (1976), and the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights (1976). Article 19 of the CRC requires states
parties to take all legislative and administrative measures necessary to
protect children from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury,
abuse, neglect, maltreatment, or exploitation, and states that these
protective measures should include programs for prevention, protection,
and support for child victims.

 The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on

the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (2000) in
Article 3 prohibits the sale, sexual exploitation, and forced labor of
children, among other provisions.

 The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against

Women (DEVAW) (1993) acknowledged that the root cause of violence
against women is the subordinate status of women in society by stating
that:

…violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power

relations between men and women, which have led to domination over and
discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of the full
advancement of women, and that violence against women is one of the crucial
social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position
compared with men…