A/HRC/45/14/Add.1 disabilities. Older persons belonging to these groups as well as religious minorities and those living in rural areas continue to experience multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, which affect the full enjoyment and exercise of their human rights, including access to health. 21 Moreover, deep-rooted stereotypes regarding the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family and society in China continue to persist. 22 26. Indirect or direct age-based discrimination, or ageism, is a global key societal concern, and although China possesses various mechanisms that generally prohibit discrimination, far more awareness and appreciation of this problem is essential. Furthermore, both the concept of ageism and the term itself, which was coined in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler to describe discrimination against older persons, have no semantic and linguistic equivalent in the very many languages and dialects of China. Combating ageism, which refers to stereotyping and/or discrimination against individuals or groups on the basis of their age, requires a notional translation and its dissemination. This would, in turn, be useful in the development of policies and a law specifically targeting ageism. 23 B. Violence, neglect, maltreatment and abuse 27. Reported limited data suggest the prevalence of various forms of violence and abuse of older persons in China, including abuse of older persons through neglect, followed by economic exploitation and psychological and physical abuse. According to the United Nations Population Fund, for instance, 9.4 per cent of rural and 5 per cent of urban older women suffer from family violence.24 Underreporting, as in many countries, may be due to insufficient awareness, reluctance to reveal the case in order to maintain family harmony and honour, and the perception that the abuse of older persons is a private family matter. 28. Article 49 of the Constitution specifically prohibits the abuse of older persons. Moreover, the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Older Persons is of particular importance in combating violence, abuse, ill-treatment and neglect of older persons. 29. In 2015, China took a step forward by adopting its first Anti-Domestic Violence Law, which entered into force in March 2016. 25 Article 2 of the Law defines domestic violence as physical, psychological or other infractions between family members that is effected through the use of methods such as beatings, restraints, maiming, restrictions on physical liberty as well as recurrent verbal abuse or intimidation. The law sets out principles for preventing and combating violence, but it lacks operability and does not provide effective protection for victims. C. Education, training and lifelong learning 30. The right to education and lifelong learning is enshrined in article 71 of the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Older Persons. 31. Since China established the first university of the Third Age in 1983, authorities estimate that some 70,000 institutions have been established by government departments – education, civil affairs and cultural, among others – at various levels across the country, with over 3 per cent of the older persons in China having enrolled last year. While some of the schools are reserved for retired civil servants, others are open to all. 32. Overall, more than 8.1 million older persons in China studied in 62,000 educational institutions for older persons in 2018, and there were more than 350,000 activity rooms for older persons. Tens of millions of older persons participate in community training, distance 21 22 23 24 25 CEDAW/C/CHN/CO/7-8, paras. 46–47. Ibid., para. 24. Robert Neil Butler, “Age-ism: another form of bigotry”, Gerontologist, vol. 9, No. 4, part 1 (Winter 1969), pp. 243–246. See china.unfpa.org/en/news/191125. Government submission on the protection of rights and interests of older persons in China, p. 7. 7