A/HRC/17/23
adopted specific laws against femicide and other forms of violence against women. Several
respondents, including Greece, were in the process of drafting such a specific law.
7.
In Argentina, the law on integral protection to prevent, sanction and eradicate
violence against women stresses the integral and multisectoral treatment of the phenomenon
of gender-based violence. The law was accompanied by a biannual project on the promotion
and generation of the necessary conditions for effective implementation of the law with the
participation of civil society, the United Nations Development Programme and relevant
State institutions and departments.
8.
The existence of laws focusing on domestic or family violence was also emphasized
by many respondents, including in Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Georgia, Guatemala,
Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Panama, the Republic of Korea, Slovenia, Thailand,
Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland. Many of these laws are fairly recent, and the older ones often had been or were
being reviewed and revised for improvements, such as in Panama, where the scope of
domestic violence was widened, and in Malaysia, where expanding the definition of
domestic violence to include emotional, mental and psychological harm is currently being
considered. In Brazil, the “Maria da Penha” law to combat domestic and family violence
established, inter alia, a tribunal for domestic and family violence against women. In
Indonesia, the Law on Elimination of Domestic Violence underlines the obligation of the
central and local governments to effectively address the issue. Contrary to the majority of
the laws and other regulations which have a focus on women as the main victims of
domestic violence, the domestic violence law in Suriname is gender neutral.
9.
Mauritius, the Republic of Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United Kingdom,
among others, referred to specific laws on forms of sexual violence and offences. Slovenia,
for example, has a specific act to prohibit sexual harassment in employment and a decree to
protect workers in the State administration. The Ministry of Human Resources in Malaysia
has developed codes of practice on prevention and guidelines on handling sexual
harassment at the workplace for both the private and public sectors.
10.
Several respondents also emphasized their legislation on human trafficking, such as
Belarus, Cambodia, Guatemala, Mexico, Thailand and Turkmenistan, among others. In
Malaysia, under the Anti-trafficking in Persons Act of 2007, trafficked victims will not be
prosecuted for illegal entry in the country, which should facilitate reporting cases of
violence. The European Union also mentioned its Directive on trafficking in human beings.
Finally, the United Kingdom mentioned its acts against female genital mutilation and forced
marriage.
2.
Specific provisions in general legislation and legislation on gender equality
11.
The common understanding of violence against women as a manifestation of
discrimination against women was clearly reflected in the replies, as legislation relating to
gender equality and/or non-discrimination was also underlined by Georgia, Mauritius,
Mexico and Slovenia, among others, as one of the main tools to prevent violence against
women. Reviews of gender equality and non-discrimination legislation are under way in
several States. In Mexico, there are currently 73 initiatives to reform and harmonize
legislation in the field of discrimination and equality, and a reform of the Constitution is
being considered to revise all discriminatory language. Madagascar has undertaken
legislative reforms to conform national legislation to its international human rights
obligations. A few respondents referred to laws focusing on women in general that include
provisions on violence against women, such as the Law on the Dignity and Integral
Promotion of Women of Guatemala, and Singapore’s Women’s Charter.
5
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