Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women

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Small Flag of the United Nations ZP.svg
UN General Assembly
resolution 48/104
Date: December 20, 1993
Meeting: 85
Identifier: A / RES / 48/104 ( document )
Object: Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women
Result: without voting

The declaration on the elimination of violence against women ( English Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women ) is a resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations , which was passed in the framework of the 48th Assembly on December 20, 1993 as Resolution 48/104. It is an extension of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and is related to the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993, which in its “Vienna Declaration” urged and demanded the elimination of discrimination and gender-based violence against women. The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women is particularly important for its definition of gender-based violence. As a result, the office of a UN special rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences was introduced.

Prehistory and background

After the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which was passed in 1979 and came into force in 1981, it became clear that there was still a need for further action in order to more precisely define and outlaw the various facets of violence against women. In the UN Convention, for example, there was an obligation to report on the situation of women and women's rights in the ratifying states, but not a sanction for violations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights already included the protection of women's rights from discrimination, but the UN Convention went one step further by requiring states to protect women against discrimination that originated from non-state sources. In 1990, the Organization for Islamic Cooperation drafted the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam . This placed human rights on the basis of Sharia law . Men and women are described as " equal in dignity " but not as equal. The Cairo Declaration was the result of criticism by Islamic countries of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which was perceived as too western . In the course of the UN Decade of Women from 1976 to 1985, the influence of the women's rights movement on politics increased. In the final declaration of the 3rd UN World Conference on Women in Nairobi, the recommendation was made to actively involve women in the development and formulation of goals and programs for equality and the protection of women. At the beginning of the 1990s, mass rape and targeted violence against women and girls were used as weapons of war , particularly as a result of the Bosnian War and the civil war in Rwanda . The then UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali condemned this in his speech on International Women's Day in 1993.

“Some countries have seen the use of systematic sexual violence against women as a weapon of war to degrade and humiliate entire populations. Rape is the most despicable crime against women: mass rape is an abomination. It is a symptom of the unrestrained and vicious new form of warfare which is appearing in the wake of the cold war. "

“Some states have seen the systematic use of violence against women as a weapon of war to degrade and terrorize entire populations. Rape is the most despicable crime against women: mass rape is an abomination. This is a symptom of an unbridled and vicious new type of warfare in the aftermath of the Cold War. "

- Boutros Boutros-Ghali : Speech for International Women's Day 1993

As part of the second UN Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993 was the Declaration and Program of Action of Vienna (English Vienna Declaration and Program of Actions ) adopted. This addressed violence against women and called on the United Nations to step up its efforts to protect women's rights. It was stated that "the human rights of women and underage girls [...] are an inalienable, integral and inseparable part of universal human rights". In its closing declaration to the International Conference for the Protection of War Victims of September 1, 1993, the International Red Cross expressed its deep concern about the increase in violence against the civilian population and the targeted sexual violence against women and children.

In a 1986 survey, between 10 and 25% of women said they had experienced sexual violence from their partner or husband. A survey of American women found that 10% had been forced to have sexual intercourse by their partner or husband. The sexual abuse by the partner happened three times as often as that by strange men. Surveys in German women's shelters between 1983 and 1984 showed that up to 50% of the women admitted there were raped by their husbands. The World Bank indicated in its World Development Report on 1993 that girls and between the 15th and 44th years women were more affected by domestic and sexual violence, than it had cancer, traffic accidents, war and malaria.

The explanation

The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women was adopted without a vote as resolution 48/104 on December 20, 1993 at the 48th Assembly of the General Assembly .

In it, the UN General Assembly expressed concern that it had still not been able to curb violence against women. It was found that women in particular, “[...] members of minorities, indigenous people, refugees, migrants, women living in rural or remote communities, destitute women, women in institutions and female prisoners, girls, disabled women, elderly women and women in an armed conflict […] ”could easily become victims of violence. Furthermore, the need for a comprehensive definition of the term violence against women as well as the definition of clear women's rights and the necessary steps to end violence against women was identified. The declared aim of the declaration was to supplement and strengthen the existing Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women .

Content of the declaration

The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women consists of six articles. Articles 1 and 2 define and describe violence against women in its various forms and forms.

Article 3 of the Declaration reaffirms the right of women to freedom, equality, protection from discrimination and violence or torture, the right to life and physical and mental health, the right to just and satisfactory working conditions as well as cultural, civil and other human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Articles 4 and 5 call on states and the United Nations to take measures to protect women from violence and to improve the situation of women.

The final Article 6 allows all the more appropriate provisions already in place to eliminate violence against women to continue to apply.

Definition of violence against women

The definition of violence against women in Articles 1 and 2 of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women is considered comprehensive and pioneering to this day. In particular, female genital mutilation was mentioned for the first time in connection with violence against women . Marital rape and sexual harassment in the workplace as well as all forms of traditional practices harmful to women and girls were also listed.

" Article 1 For
the purposes of this declaration, the term 'violence against women' means any act of violence against women on the basis of their gender, by which physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering is or may be caused to women, including the threat of such acts, which Coercion and the arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether in the public or in the private sector.

Article 2
Violence against women includes, but is not limited to, the following acts:

a) Domestic physical, sexual and psychological violence, including physical abuse, sexual abuse of girls in the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female circumcision and other traditional practices harmful to women, violence outside of marriage and violence related to exploitation;
b) Physical, sexual and psychological violence in the community environment, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation in the workplace, in educational establishments and elsewhere, trafficking in women and forced prostitution;
c) state or state-tolerated physical, sexual and psychological violence, regardless of where it occurs. "

State measures

Article 4 of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women lists measures which the state should take to protect women and to eliminate violence against women. In particular, states should condemn all violence against women and should not allow any customs, traditions or religious justifications to apply. The states are called upon to ratify the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Violence against women should be sanctioned under criminal, civil, labor and administrative law. States should work to ensure that violence against women, both privately and by the state, is avoided and prevented. Women who have been victims of violence should have easier access to justice and redress. National action plans are to be drawn up and measures taken to prevent violence against women, in particular by women who are particularly likely to be victims of violence. Appropriate funding should be made available for this in the state budgets. States will continue to be encouraged to conduct research and statistical surveys on domestic violence and various forms of violence against women. As part of annual reports to the United Nations, information should also be provided on this and the countermeasures taken. For female victims of violence and their children, structures are to be created that enable access to specialists and rehabilitation. Police officers and those involved in the care of female victims of violence should receive special training in order to be made aware of their needs. In addition, socially and culturally determined stereotypical role and behavior patterns in the education system are to be eliminated. In particular, states are encouraged to recognize the role of the women's rights movement and non-governmental organizations dealing with women's rights and to promote their work.

Action from international and intergovernmental side

Article 4 requires states to also address the elimination of violence against women in other intergovernmental organizations to which they belong. Article 5 of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women calls on the United Nations to promote and coordinate international and regional programs to combat violence against women and to develop funding concepts. The coordination of the fight against violence against women by the organs and organizations of the United Nations is to be improved and the development of guidelines and manuals on the subject promoted. The United Nations should promote meetings and seminars dealing with violence against women and work with non-governmental organizations. In the reports and analyzes on social and economic trends and problems that the United Nations periodically compiles, aspects of violence against women are to be included and taken into account.

Reception and consequences

  • Marital rape is illegal
  • Marital rape is illegal after a breakup
  • Marital rape is domestic violence without impunity
  • Marital rape is not illegal

    • The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women is particularly pioneering in its definition of violence against women. In addition, female genital mutilation was mentioned for the first time as a form of violence against women. As a result, in 1994 resolution 1994/45 introduced the office of a UN special rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences. This is intended to collect and evaluate data from governments, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and other sources. It should make recommendations at international, national and regional level and seek cooperation with other UN special rapporteurs, special representatives, working groups and independent experts from the Commission on Human Rights. The definition of violence against women was adopted in the declaration and platform for action of the 4th UN World Conference on Women in Beijing. In 1999, resolution 54/134 made November 25 the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women .

    In 1997, the amendment to Section 177 of the German Criminal Code made marital rape a criminal offense.

    The situation of women has only partially improved since the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women. A representative survey carried out on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs in 2004 came to the result that 40% of all women had experienced either physical or sexual violence, 25% of them by their partner or spouse. In South Africa it is estimated that there are up to 600,000 rapes annually. Around a quarter of the men said in surveys that they had raped a woman before.

    Web links

    Individual evidence

    1. ^ Rita Schäfer: Resolution of the UN Security Council on women, peace and security (2000). In: Sources on the history of human rights. Working Group Human Rights in the 20th Century, October 2017, accessed on November 2, 2017 .
    2. ↑ Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam ( Online PDF 47.7 kB) (German)
    3. ↑ Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies 1985 ( Online Text 263.7 kB) (English)
    4. ^ Speech by Boutros Boutros-Ghali on International Women's Day 1993 (March 8, 1993) (English)
    5. ^ Anna-Margarete Brassel: Equal human rights for all. Documents for the United Nations World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna 1993. United Nations - UNO-Verlag, 1994 ( Online ( Memento of the original from August 10, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and Archive link according to instructions and then remove this note. PDF 8.2 MB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wienplus20.de
    6. ↑ Final declaration of the International Conference for the Protection of War Victims ( Online ) (English)
    7. ^ Emnid-Institut: Ehe und Familie 1986, an investigation on the subject of violence against women in marriage ; Federal Ministry of Justice (Ed.), Bonn, 1986
    8. ↑ Jörg Rudolph: Rape in Marriage. Diploma thesis in the social work department of the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, WS 96/97 ( online )
    9. ^ Gregor Maria Hanisch: Rape in marriage. A contribution to the current discussion of an amendment to Art. 177 StGB, taking into account criminal liability de lege lata and empirical aspects. Brockmeyer 1988 in: Jörg Rudolph: Rape in marriage. Diploma thesis in the field of social work at the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, WS 96/97
    10. ↑ Violence against Women ( Memento of the original from October 2, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on UN Women Singapore (accessed September 30, 2013)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / unwomen-nc.org.sg
    11. ↑ Violence against Women ( Memento of the original from October 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the UNFPA website (accessed September 30, 2013)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / web.unfpa.org
    12. ^ World Development Report 1993. Investing in Health. World Bank and Oxford University Press, 1993, ISBN 978-0-19-520890-0 ; doi: 10.1596 / 978-0-19-520890-0 ( online ) (English)
    13. ↑ a b c d Declaration on the elimination of violence against women ( Online  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. PDF 1, 27 MB) (German)@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.saida-international.de  
    14. ↑ a b Janna Graf: Female genital mutilation from the perspective of medical ethics: Background - medical experience - practice in Germany. V&R unipress, 2013 Online
    15. ^ Resolution of the fourth World Conference on Women adopted at the 16th plenary session on September 15, 1995: "Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action" ( online ) (German)
    16. ↑ Finally: Marital rape is now a crime . Margrit Gerste in Die Zeit from May 16, 1997 (accessed on September 23, 2013)
    17. ^ " Living situation, safety and health of women in Germany - A representative study on violence against women in Germany " on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs 2004 ( online ) (PDF 7.87MB)
    18. ^ " After death from rape - outcry in South Africa " in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of February 8, 2013 (accessed on September 25, 2013)