Editing Women's rights (section)

== Violence against women ==

=== United Nations Declaration ===

The [[Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women]] was adopted by the United Nations in 1993. It defines [[violence against women]] as "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.un-documents.net/a48r104.htm|title=A/RES/48/104 – Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women – UN Documents: Gathering a body of global agreements|author=United Nations General Assembly|work=un-documents.net|access-date=8 October 2015}}</ref> This resolution established that women have a right to be free from violence. As a consequence of the resolution, in 1999, the General Assembly declared the day of 25 November to be the [[International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women]].

Article 2 of The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women outlines several forms of violence against women:

<blockquote>Article Two:
Violence against women shall be understood to encompass, but not be limited to, the following:

: (a) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, including [[Battery (crime)|battering]], sexual abuse of female children in the household, [[dowry]]-related violence, [[marital rape]], [[female genital mutilation]] and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence and violence related to [[Sexual exploitation|exploitation]];
: (b) Physical, sexual and [[psychological abuse|psychological violence]] occurring within the general community, including [[rape]], [[sexual abuse]], [[sexual harassment]] and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere, [[Human trafficking|trafficking]] in women and [[forced prostitution]];
: (c) Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the State, wherever it occurs.</blockquote>

=== Istanbul Conventions ===

The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, also known as the [[Istanbul Convention]], is the first legally binding instrument in Europe in the field of domestic violence and violence against women,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oas.org/es/mesecvi/docs/CSW-SideEvent2014-Flyer-EN.pdf |title=Flyer |publisher=oas.org |access-date=2019-12-16}}</ref> and came into force in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|author=Bureau des Traités |url=http://www.conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/ChercheSig.asp?NT=210&CM=&DF=&CL=ENG |title=Liste complète |publisher=Conventions.coe.int |access-date=18 July 2016}}</ref>
Countries which ratify it must ensure that the forms of violence defined in its text are outlawed. In its Preamble, the Convention states that "the realisation of ''de jure'' and ''de facto'' equality between women and men is a key element in the prevention of violence against women". The convention also provides a definition of [[domestic violence]] as "all acts of physical, sexual, psychological or economic violence that occur within the family or domestic unit or between former or current spouses or partners, whether or not the perpetrator shares or has shared the same residence with the victim".<ref name="Istanbul"/> Although it is a Convention of the [[Council of Europe]], it is open to accession by any country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/standardsetting/convention-violence/thematic_factsheets/IC%20Global%20Tool_EN.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=8 February 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221131635/http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/standardsetting/convention-violence/thematic_factsheets/IC%20Global%20Tool_EN.pdf |archive-date=21 February 2015}}</ref>

=== Rape and sexual violence ===
{{Main|International framework of sexual violence}}
[[File:Chinese girl from one of the Japanese Army's 'comfort battalions'.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|A young [[Chinese diaspora|ethnic Chinese]] woman who was in one of the [[Imperial Japanese Army]]'s "comfort battalions" is interviewed by an [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] officer (see [[Comfort women]]).]]
Rape, sometimes called [[sexual assault]], is an assault by a person involving [[sexual intercourse]] with or [[sexual penetration]] of another person without that person's [[consent]]. Rape is generally considered a serious [[sex crime]] as well as a civil assault. When part of a widespread and systematic practice, rape and [[sexual slavery]] are now recognised as a [[crime against humanity]] as well as a [[war crime]]. Rape is also now recognised as a form of [[genocide]] when committed with the [[genocidal intent|intent to destroy]], in whole or in part, a targeted group.

==== As genocide ====
{{See also|Rwandan genocide}}
In 1998, the [[International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda]] established by the United Nations made landmark decisions that rape is a crime of [[genocide]] under [[international law]]. The trial of [[Jean-Paul Akayesu]], the mayor of Taba Commune in Rwanda, established precedents that rape is an element of the crime of genocide. The Akayesu judgement includes the first interpretation and application by an international court of the 1948 [[Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide]]. The Trial Chamber held that rape, which it defined as "a physical invasion of a sexual nature committed on a person under circumstances which are coercive", and sexual assault constitute acts of genocide insofar as they were committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a targeted group. It found that sexual assault formed an integral part of the process of destroying the [[Tutsi]] ethnic group and that the rape was systematic and had been perpetrated against Tutsi women only, manifesting the specific intent required for those acts to constitute genocide.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2012-10-12|title=UNHCR {{!}} Refworld {{!}} The Prosecutor v. Jean-Paul Akayesu (Trial Judgement)|url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/publisher,ICTR,,,40278fbb4,0.html|access-date=2020-10-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012031344/http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/publisher,ICTR,,,40278fbb4,0.html|archive-date=12 October 2012}}</ref>

Judge [[Navanethem Pillay]] said in a statement after the verdict: "From time immemorial, rape has been regarded as one of the [[Wartime sexual violence|spoils of war]]. Now it will be considered a war crime. We want to send out a strong message that rape is no longer a trophy of war."<ref name=paulwalters>[[Navanethem Pillay]] is quoted by Professor Paul Walters in his presentation of her honorary [[doctorate of law]], [[Rhodes University]], April 2005 {{cite web |url=http://www.ru.ac.za/academic/graduation/addresses_and_citations/2005/Judge_Pillay_citation.doc |title=Judge Navanethem Pillay |access-date=2008-02-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081001193848/http://www.ru.ac.za/academic/graduation/addresses_and_citations/2005/Judge_Pillay_citation.doc |archive-date=1 October 2008}}</ref> An estimated 500,000 women were raped during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org.nz/web/pages/home.nsf/0/e57ea3f05f6aa848cc256e460012f365?OpenDocument|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071212040642/http://www.amnesty.org.nz/web/pages/home.nsf/0/e57ea3f05f6aa848cc256e460012f365?OpenDocument|url-status = dead|title=Violence Against Women: Worldwide Statistics|archive-date=12 December 2007}}</ref>

==== As a crime against humanity ====
{{Main|Crimes against humanity}}
The [[Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court|Rome Statute]] Explanatory Memorandum, which defines the jurisdiction of the [[International Criminal Court]], recognises rape, [[sexual slavery]], [[enforced prostitution]], [[forced pregnancy]], [[compulsory sterilization|enforced sterilization]], "or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity" as a [[Crimes against humanity|crime against humanity]] if the action is part of a widespread or systematic practice.<ref name="Horton">As quoted by Guy Horton in [http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs3/Horton-2005.pdf ''Dying Alive&nbsp;– A Legal Assessment of Human Rights Violations in Burma'']. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307095038/http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs3/Horton-2005.pdf |date=7 March 2008 }}. April 2005, co-funded by The Netherlands Ministry for Development Co-Operation. See section "12.52 Crimes against humanity", p. 201. He references RSICC/C, Vol. 1, p. 360.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://legal.un.org/icc/statute/romefra.htm |title=Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court |publisher=United Nations |access-date=30 August 2011}}</ref> The [[Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action]] also condemn systematic rape as well as murder, sexual slavery, and forced pregnancy.<ref>Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, Section II, paragraph 38.</ref>

Rape was first recognised as a [[crime against humanity]] when the [[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]] issued arrest warrants based on the [[Geneva Conventions]] and Violations of the Laws or Customs of War. Specifically, it was recognised that Muslim women in [[Foča|Foca]] (southeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina) were subjected to systematic and widespread [[gang rape]], torture, and [[sexual enslavement]] by [[Bosnian Serb]] soldiers, policemen, and members of paramilitary groups after the takeover of the city in April 1992.<ref name="haverford">{{cite web|url=http://www.haverford.edu/relg/sells/rape.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212122926/http://www.haverford.edu/relg/sells/rape.html|url-status = dead|title=Rape as a Crime Against Humanity|archive-date=12 February 2009}}</ref> The indictment was of major legal significance and was the first time that sexual assaults were investigated for the purpose of prosecution under the rubric of [[torture]] and [[enslavement]] as a crime against humanity.<ref name="haverford"/> The indictment was confirmed by a 2001 verdict by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia that rape and sexual enslavement are crimes against humanity. This ruling challenged the widespread acceptance of rape and sexual enslavement of women as intrinsic part of war.<ref name=AmnestyInt2001feb22>[http://asiapacific.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGEUR630042001?open&of=ENG-BIH Bosnia and Herzegovina : Foca verdict&nbsp;– rape and sexual enslavement are crimes against humanity] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090907091105/http://asiapacific.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGEUR630042001?open&of=ENG-BIH |date=7 September 2009 }}. 22 February 2001. [[Amnesty International]].</ref> The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia found three Bosnian Serb men guilty of rape of [[Bosniak]] (Bosnian Muslim) women and girls, and two of the men were found guilty of the crime against humanity of sexual enslavement for holding women and girls captive. Many of the women subsequently disappeared.<ref name=AmnestyInt2001feb22/>
According to a report by the [[UN Human Rights Office]], published on 28 July 2020, the women who traveled abroad were forcibly returned to [[North Korea]] and were subjected to abuse, torture, sexual violence and other violations. North Korea bans citizens from traveling abroad. Those women who were detained for doing so were regularly beaten, tortured, and subjected to forced nudity and invasive body searches. Women have also reported that in case of pregnancy, the prison officials aborted many children by either beating the women or making them do hard labor.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/07/1069131|title=Human rights report details 'heartbreaking' accounts of women detained in DPRK|access-date=28 July 2020|website=UN News|date=28 July 2020}}</ref>

=== Forced marriage and slavery ===
{{See also|Forced conversion of minority girls in Pakistan|Forced marriage}}

The 1956 [[Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery]] defines "institutions and practices similar to slavery" to include:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/SupplementaryConventionAbolitionOfSlavery.aspx |title=Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery |publisher=Ohchr.org |date=1956|access-date=18 July 2016}}</ref>

c) Any institution or practice whereby:

* (i) A woman, without the right to refuse, is promised or given in marriage on payment of a consideration in money or in kind to her parents, guardian, family or any other person or group; or
* (ii) The husband of a woman, his family, or his clan, has the right to transfer her to another person for value received or otherwise; or
* (iii) A woman on the death of her husband is liable to be inherited by another person;

The Istanbul Convention requires countries which ratify it to prohibit forced marriage and to ensure that forced marriages can be easily voided without further victimization.<ref name="Istanbul"/>

=== Trafficking Protocol ===

The [[Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children]] is a [[Protocol (diplomacy)|protocol]] to the [[Convention against Transnational Organised Crime]]. Its purpose is defined in ''Article 2. Statement of purpose'' as: "(a) To prevent and combat trafficking in persons, paying particular attention to women and children; (b) To protect and assist the victims of such trafficking, with full respect for their human rights; and (c) To promote cooperation among States Parties in order to meet those objectives."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/UNTOC/Publications/TOC%20Convention/TOCebook-e.pdf |title=United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols Thereto |access-date=18 July 2016}}</ref>