General Assembly

Distr. GENERAL  

20 December 1993

ORIGINAL:
ENGLISH

                                                  A/RES/48/104
                                                  85th plenary meeting
                                                  20 December 1993
 
 
      48/104.  Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women
 
      The General Assembly,
 
      Recognizing the urgent need for the universal application to women of
the rights and principles with regard to equality, security, liberty,
integrity and dignity of all human beings,
 
      Noting that those rights and principles are enshrined in international
instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,
 
      Recognizing that effective implementation of the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women would contribute to
the elimination of violence against women and that the Declaration on the
Elimination of Violence against Women, set forth in the present resolution,
will strengthen and complement that process,
 
      Concerned that violence against women is an obstacle to the achievement
of equality, development and peace, as recognized in the Nairobi
Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, in which a set of
measures to combat violence against women was recommended, and to the full
implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women,
 
      Affirming that violence against women constitutes a violation of the
rights and fundamental freedoms of women and impairs or nullifies their
enjoyment of those rights and  freedoms, and concerned about the long-standing
failure to protect and promote those rights and freedoms in the case of
violence against women,
 
      Recognizing 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,
 
      Concerned that some groups of women, such as women belonging to minority
groups, indigenous women, refugee women, migrant women, women living in rural
or remote communities, destitute women, women in institutions or in detention,
female children, women with disabilities, elderly women and women in
situations of armed conflict, are especially vulnerable to violence,
 
      Recalling the conclusion in paragraph 23 of the annex to Economic and
Social Council resolution 1990/15 of 24 May 1990 that the recognition that
violence against women in the family and society was pervasive and cut across
lines of income, class and culture had to be matched by urgent and effective
steps to eliminate its incidence,
 
      Recalling also Economic and Social Council resolution 1991/18 of 30 May
1991, in which the Council recommended the development of a framework for an
international instrument that would address explicitly the issue of violence
against women,
 
      Welcoming the role that women's movements are playing in drawing
increasing attention to the nature, severity and magnitude of the problem of
violence against women,
 
      Alarmed that opportunities for women to achieve legal, social, political
and economic equality in society are limited, inter alia, by continuing and
endemic violence,
 
      Convinced that in the light of the above there is a need for a clear and
comprehensive definition of violence against women, a clear statement of the
rights to be applied to ensure the elimination of violence against women in
all its forms, a commitment by States in respect of their responsibilities,
and a commitment by the international community at large to the elimination of
violence against women,
 
      Solemnly proclaims the following Declaration on the Elimination of
Violence against Women and urges that every effort be made so that it becomes
generally known and respected:
 
                                   Article 1
 
            For the purposes of this Declaration, the term "violence against
      women" means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is
      likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering
      to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary
      deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.
 
                                   Article 2
 
            Violence against women shall be understood to encompass, but not
      be limited to, the following:
 
            (a)   Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the
      family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the
      household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female genital
      mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal
      violence and violence related to exploitation;
 
            (b)   Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring within
      the general community, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment
      and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere,
      trafficking in women and forced prostitution;
 
            (c)   Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or
      condoned by the State, wherever it occurs.
 
                                   Article 3
 
            Women are entitled to the equal enjoyment and protection of all
      human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic,
      social, cultural, civil or any other field.  These rights include, inter
      alia:
 
            (a)   The right to life;
 
            (b)   The right to equality;
 
            (c)   The right to liberty and security of person;
 
            (d)   The right to equal protection under the law;
 
            (e)   The right to be free from all forms of discrimination;
 
            (f)   The right to the highest standard attainable of physical and
      mental health;
 
            (g)   The right to just and favourable conditions of work;
 
            (h)   The right not to be subjected to torture, or other cruel,
      inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
 
                                   Article 4
 
            States should condemn violence against women and should not invoke
      any custom, tradition or religious consideration to avoid their
      obligations with respect to its elimination.  States should pursue by
      all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating violence
      against women and, to this end, should:
 
            (a)   Consider, where they have not yet done so, ratifying or
      acceding to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
      Discrimination against Women or withdrawing reservations to that
      Convention;
 
            (b)   Refrain from engaging in violence against women;
 
            (c)   Exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and, in
      accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence against
      women, whether those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private
      persons;
 
            (d)   Develop penal, civil, labour and administrative sanctions in
      domestic legislation to punish and redress the wrongs caused to women
      who are subjected to violence; women who are subjected to violence
      should be provided with access to the mechanisms of justice and, as
      provided for by national legislation, to just and effective remedies for
      the harm that they have suffered; States should also inform women of
      their rights in seeking redress through such mechanisms;
 
            (e)   Consider the possibility of developing national plans of
      action to promote the protection of women against any form of violence,
      or to include provisions for that purpose in plans already existing,
      taking into account, as appropriate, such cooperation as can be provided
      by non-governmental organizations, particularly those concerned with the
      issue of violence against women;
 
            (f)   Develop, in a comprehensive way, preventive approaches and
      all those measures of a legal, political, administrative and cultural
      nature that promote the protection of women against any form of
      violence, and ensure that the re-victimization of women does not occur
      because of laws insensitive to gender considerations, enforcement
      practices or other interventions;
 
            (g)   Work to ensure, to the maximum extent feasible in the light
      of their available resources and, where needed, within the framework of
      international cooperation, that women subjected to violence and, where
      appropriate, their children have specialized assistance, such as
      rehabilitation, assistance in child care and maintenance, treatment,
      counselling, and health and social services, facilities and programmes,
      as well as support structures, and should take all other appropriate
      measures to promote their safety and physical and psychological
      rehabilitation;
 
            (h)   Include in government budgets adequate resources for their
      activities related to the elimination of violence against women;
 
            (i)   Take measures to ensure that law enforcement officers and
      public officials responsible for implementing policies to prevent,
      investigate and punish violence against women receive training to
      sensitize them to the needs of women;
 
            (j)   Adopt all appropriate measures, especially in the field of
      education, to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men
      and women and to eliminate prejudices, customary practices and all other
      practices based on the idea of the inferiority or superiority of either
      of the sexes and on stereotyped roles for men and women;
 
            (k)   Promote research, collect data and compile statistics,
      especially concerning domestic violence, relating to the prevalence of
      different forms of violence against women and encourage research on the
      causes, nature, seriousness and consequences of violence against women
      and on the effectiveness of measures implemented to prevent and redress
      violence against women; those statistics and findings of the research
      will be made public;
 
            (l)   Adopt measures directed towards the elimination of violence
      against women who are especially vulnerable to violence;
 
            (m)   Include, in submitting reports as required under relevant
      human rights instruments of the United Nations, information pertaining
      to violence against women and measures taken to implement the present
      Declaration;
 
            (n)   Encourage the development of appropriate guidelines to
      assist in the implementation of the principles set forth in the present
      Declaration;
 
            (o)   Recognize the important role of the women's movement and
      non-governmental organizations world wide in raising awareness and
      alleviating the problem of violence against women;
 
            (p)   Facilitate and enhance the work of the women's movement and
      non-governmental organizations and cooperate with them at local,
      national and regional levels;
 
            (q)   Encourage intergovernmental regional organizations of which
      they are members to include the elimination of violence against women in
      their programmes, as appropriate.
 
                                   Article 5
 
            The organs and specialized agencies of the United Nations system
      should, within their respective fields of competence, contribute to the
      recognition and realization of the rights and the principles set forth
      in the present Declaration and, to this end, should, inter alia:
 
            (a)   Foster international and regional cooperation with a view to
      defining regional strategies for combating violence, exchanging
      experiences and financing programmes relating to the elimination of
      violence against women;
 
            (b)   Promote meetings and seminars with the aim of creating and
      raising awareness among all persons of the issue of the elimination of
      violence against women;
 
            (c)   Foster coordination and exchange within the United Nations
      system between human rights treaty bodies to address the issue of
      violence against women effectively;
 
            (d)   Include in analyses prepared by organizations and bodies of
      the United Nations system of social trends and problems, such as the
      periodic reports on the world social situation, examination of trends in
      violence against women;
 
            (e)   Encourage coordination between organizations and bodies of
      the United Nations system to incorporate the issue of violence against
      women into ongoing programmes, especially with reference to groups of
      women particularly vulnerable to violence;
 
            (f)   Promote the formulation of guidelines or manuals relating to
      violence against women, taking into account the measures referred to in
      the present Declaration;
 
            (g)   Consider the issue of the elimination of violence against
      women, as appropriate, in fulfilling their mandates with respect to the
      implementation of human rights instruments;
 
            (h)   Cooperate with non-governmental organizations in addressing
      the issue of violence against women.
 
                                   Article 6
 
            Nothing in the present Declaration shall affect any provision that
      is more conducive to the elimination of violence against women that may
      be contained in the legislation of a State or in any international
      convention, treaty or other instrument in force in a State.