A/HRC/37/36 that required mutilation of a girl was not initiation but degradation; marriage that required sexual dignity for a man alone was not a marital contract, but oppression. The Deputy High Commissioner noted that gender-based violence could be prevented and human rights for all upheld, but that this would require the political will to dismantle and transform harmful social norms. There should be no exclusion by neglect or by design if the Sustainable Development Goals were to be achieved. 6. The Deputy High Commissioner stressed the need for new thinking to challenge the common but narrow conceptualizations of men and masculinity. Masculinity and femininity were not the primary state, humanity was. She stressed that any identity walled in by the rigidities of bigotry, about either the self or the other, confined human possibility, restricted human potential and undermined diversity. She underlined the need to release gender and other intersecting identities to flow into and fill out the fullest contours of human potential. Access to justice and services for victims was fundamental to breaking the cycle of violence and enabling women and girls to claim their rights. The Deputy High Commissioner highlighted the overdue need to situate men and boys in the call for gender equality. She stressed the necessity of claiming and better centring a place for men and boys in the struggle against gender-based violence and inequality. Governments as duty bearers must make the engagement of men and boys a central aspect of their national policies and programmes to eliminate gender violence and gender inequality in a way that such engagement would not undermine the empowerment of women. She acknowledged the role of men and expressed solidarity for those men who struggled to transform masculinity. However, she warned against the risk of allowing compassion at the expense of justice and the engagement of men as an excuse for impunity. She concluded that there could be no compassion without justice, no inclusion with impunity, no engagement unless there was also accountability and finally no hope without human rights. B. Keynote speech by the Minister for Equal Opportunities and Nordic Cooperation, Denmark 7. The Minister for Equal Opportunities and Nordic Cooperation of Denmark stressed that violence against women was a violation of human rights that was pervasive in all its forms. Such violence prevented women and girls worldwide from exercising the full enjoyment of all human rights. While admitting that there was no simple answer on how to prevent and eliminate violence against women, she stressed that such violence could not be eliminated if half the world population was excluded from the struggle against it. Engaging men and boys meant sensitizing them to realizing the consequences of violence, whether it was their own or the actions of others. Without the engagement of men and boys, the root causes of such violence, such as stereotypes and negative, patriarchal notions of masculinity and the harmful social norms underpinning such violence would not be challenged. 8. The Minister noted that despite declining rates of violence against women in Denmark, owing to awareness-raising efforts and public policies, the practice had not yet been eliminated. Denmark was among the countries in Europe where victims and witnesses openly shared their experiences and claimed their rights, and the taboo was slowly being broken. She presented a range of activities initiated in Denmark to create partnerships, alliances and cooperation between several actors to break the cycle of violence from childhood into adulthood. They included events at schools on domestic and dating violence, annual school competitions to counter violence and promote respect and balanced gender roles within the family; a comprehensive nationwide campaign to raise awareness of the causes and consequences of intimate partner violence; and counselling services for victims and families. 9. The Minister highlighted the positive effects of men taking an increased role in parenting and housekeeping. She stated that it allowed women to participate more in the labour market and created role models of men as caring fathers. Providing that alternative role model was necessary in combating all forms of violence against women. The Government of Denmark promoted this by working with companies and organizations to persuade fathers to take their share of parental leave. She concluded by emphasizing that 3