Human Rights Standards on Gender-Based Violence

Gender-based violence is any harmful act that is perpetrated against a person’s will and is based on socially ascribed differences between biological sexes – that is, on gender differences. It includes acts that inflict physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering, threats of such acts, coercion and other deprivations of liberty.

Gender-based violence is a human rights violation and a form of discrimination that can be committed against any person as a result of their actual or perceived sex, sex characteristics, or socially constr ...

Gender-based violence is any harmful act that is perpetrated against a person’s will and is based on socially ascribed differences between biological sexes – that is, on gender differences. It includes acts that inflict physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering, threats of such acts, coercion and other deprivations of liberty.

Gender-based violence is a human rights violation and a form of discrimination that can be committed against any person as a result of their actual or perceived sex, sex characteristics, or socially constructed gender roles. It most often targets women, girls, and people of actual or perceived diverse SOGIESC. Cisgendered and gender-conforming men and boys can also be victims of gender-based violence, including sexual violence stemming from socially determined roles and expectations.

Approaching gender-based violence from a human rights perspective brings about an important conceptual shift: this kind of violence does not occur by happenstance or because of an inborn vulnerability. It is the result of structural, deep-rooted discrimination and social and gendered stereotypes, which states have a legal obligation to address.

Gender-based violence against women and girls, including those who are same-sex attracted, transgender, or gender nonconforming, is persistent and pervasive. WHO estimates that across their lifetime, one in three women are subjected to physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner or sexual violence from a non-partner. This number has remained largely unchanged for over a decade. Women often begin to experience gender-based violence before they reach their mid-twenties.

States must ensure that perpetrators of gender-based violence are held accountable, across all spheres of human interaction. Under the due diligence principle of human rights law, states have positive obligations regarding gender-based violence, even when committed by private actors. States are responsible should they fail to take all appropriate measures to prevent—and investigate, prosecute, punish, and provide reparations for—acts or omissions that result in gender-based violence, including those by nonstate actors. This obligation includes ensuring effective protection against violence and investigating reports of violence on the basis of actual or perceived SOGIESC.

Forms of gender-based violence include femicide; rape; murder; sexual, physical, and psychological violence; harmful practices like female genital mutilation and child marriage; forced sterilization; the criminalization of abortion; the denial or delay of safe abortion; the forced continuation of pregnancy; and the mistreatment of women and girls seeking sexual and reproductive health services. Gender-based violence is associated with increased risk of injuries, depression, anxiety disorders, unplanned pregnancies, STIs, and many other health problems.

Breaking the cycle of gender-based violence requires tackling its underlying causes, by addressing systemic economic and social inequalities, ensuring access to education and safe work, and changing discriminatory gender norms and institutions. To meet their obligation to address sexual and gender-based violence, states must ensure that essential services are available and accessible to survivors, challenge discriminatory gender stereotypes, address stigma, reform discriminatory laws, and strengthen legal responses, among other measures. The CEDAW Committee has highlighted legislative and other preventive measures including education, awareness-raising programs involving the media, capacity building for the judiciary, and making public spaces safe and accessible to all women and girls.