The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women adopted general recommendation No. 19 on violence against women in 1992. This recommendation stated that gender-based violence is a form of discrimination against women, as defined by Article 1 of the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and is thus a violation of women’s human rights. As such, general recommendation No. 19 facilitated global acceptance of the elimination of violence against women as a key principle of international human rights law.
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the adoption of general recommendation No. 19, the Committee has adopted general recommendation No. 35 to provide States with further guidance on how to eliminate violence against women, which remains a pervasive and serious global problem. General recommendation No. 35 outlines updated responsibilities and recommended actions for both State actors and non-State actors, including general legislative measures that facilitate compliance with CEDAW as well as measures that prevent violence against women and protect victims, promote the prosecution and punishment of perpetrators, and improve data collection, monitoring and international cooperation.
A list of all CEDAW general recommendations may be found here.
Compiled from: General recommendation No. 35 on gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19, United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (July 14, 2017).