A/HRC/7/6
page 31
• Ensuring equal access to all women residents, including recent migrants37
• The proportion of residential facilities, including those for the disabled, prisons,
children’s homes, that have policies on violence against women
• The proportion of schools, public services, workplaces and private sector organizations
with polices on the prevention of sexual harassment
• Protection and supports to enable victims to give their best evidence in court
114. Specialization is considered good practice in State agencies offering more potential for
justice and reparation. The availability of the following could be documented: specialist police to
take complaints and investigate; specialist forensic examination and evidence gathering;
specialist prosecutors; specially trained judges and magistrates; specialist courts; and specialist
victim support and advocacy linked to justice systems and processes. Whether the provision
applies to one or many forms of violence needs to be addressed, as does whether these provisions
can be shown to have an impact on access to justice.
115. The medico-legal system has specific responsibilities that have often been overlooked and
underdeveloped in provision of services in the aftermath of violence. At the national level, there
should be assessment of:
• Access to treatment for immediate injuries
• Use of routine enquiry to identify violence early
• Trained forensic examiners
• Access to emergency contraception, prophylaxis for sexually transmitted infections/HIV
and, if wanted, safe abortion
• Recognition of violence against women as an underlying cause of mental health
problems
• Safe out- and in-patient provisions for victim-survivors with mental health problems
IV. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
116. These proposals for violence against women and State response indicators are rooted
in the human rights obligations of States, understanding of indicators and the necessity of
beginning from an evidence base. There is considerable work to be done to move from
proposals to implementation, not least developing technical guidance, piloting and
capacity-building. Once established, however, there are many entry points for
37
This would include not limiting access to welfare rights for those recently arrived for
marriage, and not setting differential ages for marriage.
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