A/HRC/9/26 page 19 3. Freedom of movement 62. Freedom of movement is provided for in article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including individuals’ freedom to leave any country, including their own. Together with other persons living in Gaza, survivors of the Beit Hanoun shelling have had their movements severely restricted by the occupation and the blockade. More directly, during the Autumn Clouds operation, a curfew was imposed on Beit Hanoun, which was thus isolated. The impact of these restrictions on access to health-care services has been discussed above. Being unable to move freely also contributes to feelings of isolation and can undermine mental health. 4. The situation of women 63. The particular position of women and gender-specific harm may be invisible where a whole society is facing gross violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law, as there is a sense of unity that prevents identification of and focus on women’s situations. Nevertheless, incursions and artillery strikes and their aftermath such as those in Beit Hanoun have engendered consequences that should be addressed. 64. The mission heard testimony from both women survivors of the shelling and women’s groups active in Gaza. Many spoke of the intrusions of the Autumn Clouds incursions on women’s sense of privacy within the home. Where women have a more vulnerable social position and only limited freedom of movement in public, the private space of the home is especially important as a “women’s space”. Intrusion into the home by Israeli military personnel, sometimes for several hours, caused humiliation, loss of dignity, denied privacy and undermined women’s sense of belonging and ownership. One woman was ejected from her house with nothing but the clothes she was wearing. Another said that she had been unable to go to the bathroom while the Israeli soldiers were in the house. Incursions into houses also caused humiliation to men through their being beaten in front of their families. 65. Autumn Clouds and the shelling on 8 November led to the destruction of a number of houses. Female victims told the mission that they destroyed “the only thing in the world” and that “life itself was destroyed” with the house. Possessions of special importance to women were destroyed with their houses; one woman said she had gone to her child’s school to recover some photos of her child as she had lost all she had in the shelling of the house and this was the only way she could get photos of her own child. 66. One woman told the mission that the sufferings of women “could not be divided” but noted that the particular effects and vulnerable social position of women had been worsened by the blockade and effects of the incursion and shelling; women are “the poorest of the poor” and unemployment is especially high among women, including women graduates. The burden of childcare falls on women, which is made more difficult when children are traumatized. Lack of specialized medical services and limited facilities for counselling mean that women receive little expert assistance. Anecdotal evidence was offered indicating an increase in domestic violence in Gaza as a result of the blockade. The mission considers that this is an area that needs addressing. The blockade also hampers initiatives by women’s groups to ameliorate the situation, for example, through law reform and advocacy to support women’s claims.