A/HRC/38/24 women’s participation in economic and public life resulted in increased women’s income, as well as in greater participation of men in childcare and in a reduction in couples’ conflicts.52 D. Promoting gender equality in health 26. Violations of the right to health, in particular sexual and reproductive health and rights, undermine the enjoyment of a wide range of human rights by women and girls and thus exacerbate gender inequality. Certain of these violations are also forms of genderbased violence, such as forced sterilization, forced abortion, forced pregnancy, criminalization of abortion, denial or delay of safe abortion and/or post-abortion care, forced continuation of pregnancy, and abuse and mistreatment of women and girls seeking sexual and reproductive health information, goods and services. 53 In addition, lack of enjoyment of sexual and reproductive health and rights has implications for the enjoyment of other human rights, such as education and work, the deprivation of which can also contribute to the heightened risk of women and girls to violence. Engaging men and boys is particularly relevant in the context of sexual and reproductive health and rights, in which gender norms play a powerful role in dictating the terms under which couples choose to engage in sexual intercourse, whether they do so safely, whether they seek to have children and how they communicate about their health status. 27. The World Health Organization has documented the positive impact of engaging men and boys in interventions that are relevant to women’s health.54 The evidence reviewed confirmed that men and boys had changed their behaviour and attitudes as a result of programme interventions focused on sexual and reproductive health, HIV prevention, maternal and newborn health, fatherhood and/or gender-based violence, with positive results for men, their partners, their children and their families.55 28. Several submissions reported initiatives focused on engaging men and boys in the area of sexual and reproductive health. 56 For example, Colombia has established a National Intersectoral Commission for the Promotion and Guarantee of Sexual Rights and Reproductive Rights, which promotes strategies for the transformation of gender roles and gender inequality.57 The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in collaboration with civil society organizations, has produced a number of studies, tools and guidance over the years on engaging men and boys in gender equality, in particular in the areas of sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence against women.58 E. Breaking the cycle of violence 29. Studies show that those who are exposed to or experience violence, ranging from corporal punishment, bullying, child abuse and exploitation, intimate partner violence and street violence to armed conflict, are at increased risk of becoming perpetrators of violence against women and girls during later stages of their lives. 59 As the majority of perpetrators 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 10 See https://promundoglobal.org/programs/journeys-of-transformation. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, general recommendation No. 35, para. 16. Gary Barker, Christine Ricardo and Marcos Nascimento, Engaging Men and Boys in Changing Gender-based Inequity in Health: Evidence from Programme Interventions (Geneva, World Health Organization, 2007). Available at www.who.int/gender/documents/Engaging_men_boys.pdf. Ibid., pp. 27–29. E.g. submissions by Austria, Family Planning New South Wales, the MenEngage Alliance, Plan International and Promundo United States. Submission by Colombia. See https://www.unfpa.org/engaging-men-boys. See Human Rights Council resolution 35/10, preamble.