A/HRC/37/36 Some delegates noted however that male activism in this area was still limited and needed to be fostered. Men and boys needed to be encouraged to act at individual and institutional levels, both as influencers and role models, in reducing gender-based violence against women and girls and promoting gender equality. That was crucial in specific contexts such as post-conflict situations. Delegates also stressed that gender-based violence was not simply a “woman’s concern”, but the concern of all individuals and of society as a whole. 22. Several speakers stressed the responsibility of States to effectively empower women and work to attain gender equality. Comprehensive laws and public policies to promote gender equality needed improvement in many States, including on issues of the financial autonomy and political participation of women. Women were often victims of structural discrimination and States needed to promote and ensure access to justice for women in regard to gender-based violence through impartial legal systems. 23. Many delegates stressed that gender equality benefited both men and women, and was in the interests of society as a whole, whereas rigid gender norms impeded the advancement of all people. Efforts to change the role of women in society necessitated also changing the role of men and empowering men in new ways. Speakers gave examples of efforts to promote paternity leave, which resulted in men having better relationships with their children and contributed to providing new role models of men as caregivers and nurturers, reconceptualizing ideas of masculinity. A more equitable distribution of unpaid family care and domestic work was also critical to reducing intergenerational transmission of violence and transformed gender roles for future generations, while providing space and opportunity for more equal access to and participation in the labour market for women. 24. State education policies should challenge discriminatory gender norms in early childhood and States were urged to ensure that curricula were gender-transformative and gender-sensitive. They should incorporate comprehensive, scientifically-based, ageappropriate comprehensive sexuality education, including on violence, respect and consent. E. Responses and concluding remarks by the panellists 25. The Special Rapporteur on violence against women emphasized the importance of early education for gender equality and positive masculinity. She also recalled that legally binding instruments such as article 10 (c) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women required all States parties to remove and eliminate stereotypical concepts of the roles of men and women at all levels of education. Similarly, article 14 of the Istanbul Convention obliged States to provide education on gender equality. She stressed that stereotypical notions of what it means to be a boy or a girl started to influence children at an early age. The Special Rapporteur also noted the importance of statistical data and awareness-raising activities on the prevalence of gender-based violence and measures to tackle it. She also stressed the particular need to collect and disseminate data on violence against women and on femicides worldwide. The Special Rapporteur concluded by calling on all States to implement the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and regional conventions, such as the Istanbul Convention, fully incorporate their provisions into national legislation and intensify efforts to prevent violence against women. 26. Mr. Das also pointed to the importance of data collection and collation to keep track of where work had started and where change was happening. He cautioned against the tendencies of the public health model to propose common solutions for diverse and complex issues and stressed the importance of understanding local contexts for culturally adapted strategies. He noted that existing egalitarian traditions could be found in a range of cultures and called upon actors to build upon them. Whilst there could be no common solutions, there could be common principles of gender equality. He cautioned against prioritizing working with men, where sufficient efforts had not been made to work with women and asserted that paternity leave should not take away from maternity benefits for women. He concluded by restating the importance of emphasizing how men stood to benefit from gender equality. 6