The right to freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment can be found in Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 3 of the ECHR, Article 5 of the ACHPR and Article 5 of the ACHR as well as in the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The Convention prohibits torture in Article 2 and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment in Article 16.
The right to physical integrity implies that all persons have the right to control their own bodies, including their sexual and reproduc-tive life, and be free from any intervention, medical or otherwise, save with their full, free and informed consent.
The prohibition against cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment is non-derogable like the prohibition against torture, and a state violates Convention against Torture if it fails to prevent acts prohibited by the Con-vention, including gender-based violence, such as rape, domestic violence, and female genital mutilation and trafficking. “Depriva-tion of liberty, medical treatment, particularly involving reproductive decisions, and violence by private actors in communities and homes” are potential violations of CAT; states are in this respect asked to identify situations where
“men and women and boys and girls may be
Domestic and other forms of violence against women, including rape, forced abortion and sterilization, and female gen-ital mutilation may constitute violations of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 7. Furthermore, in order not to violate the prohibition against torture, detained pregnant women must receive humane treatment, in particular during birth and while caring for newborn children; this includes medical treatment and healthcare for such mothers and their babies.22
In 200623 the Human Rights Committee found that a state had violated Article 7 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on the grounds of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment by refusing to allow an abortion when it was clear that there was a life-threatening risk for the complainant.
The Committee stressed, “The right set out
In his report to the United Nations Human Rights Council of January 2008,24 the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Tor-ture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment emphasized that forced abortions and sterilizations of women with disabilities against their will may con-stitute torture or ill-treatment.
Reproductive rights will not be realized until violence against women has been elimi-nated. One of the many forms of violence against women is Female Genital Mutila-tion/Cutting (FGM/C).25 The Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrim-ination against Women emphasizes steps states must take to eradicate this practice.26 These steps include:
1. collecting and disseminating necessary data;
2. supporting women’s organizations work-ing to eliminate such practices;
3. encouraging decision makers and trend-setters to influence attitudes towards the eradication of FGM/C; and
4. introducing appropriate educational and training programmes.
States should also include eradication strategies in their national health policies, including the special responsibility of health
24 A/HRC/7/3
In order to combat violence against women, states must enact adequate laws and pol-icies against family violence and abuse, rape, sexual assault and other gender-based violence and have in place support and compensation for victims; take steps against attitudes, customs and practices that hinder equality between women and men and thus perpetuates violence against women; take measures against FGM/C and other harmful practices; and prevent coercion in regard to fertility and reproduction.27
Issues related to physical integrity have also been dealt with in the concluding observa-tions of the United Naobserva-tions human rights committees. Sexual abuse, particular of girls, has consistently been highlighted as vio-lence against women and children, and the United Nations human rights committees have stressed the need both to take preven-tive measures, including sensitization, and to properly investigate cases and provide treatment to victims.28 The need to criminal-ize marital rape has been mentioned.
The Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences high-lights the intersection between violence against women and HIV/AIDS in her report of 2005.29 According to her, gender inequal-ity and discrimination against women can
27 Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women General Recommen-dation No. 19 on violence against women from 1992.
materialize in violence against women, not only increasing women’s risk of contracting HIV/AIDS but also seriously affecting the way women with HIV/AIDS are treated. To her, the worst discrimination encountered by HIV-infected women relates to family plan-ning, pregnancy and childcare, often extin-guishing the right to choose whether to have children and to make informed decisions on how to avoid transmitting the disease to an unborn child or a newborn infant.
In order to combat this form of discrimina-tion, states should:
1. Enact laws to combat violence against women and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS, including with respect to sexual and reproductive health;
2. Raise awareness of discriminatory and oppressive practices pursued in
the name of culture and of gender imbalances;
3. Train judges, health-care providers and other relevant officials on how to treat HIV-positive women;
4. Document, investigate and prosecute systemic HIV-related violations of human rights;
5. Provide holistic sexuality education;
6. Ensure women have access to health care; and
7. Provide voluntary counselling and test-ing for pregnant women who are maktest-ing decisions about prenatal and post-natal care.
30 Statistics taken from Table 6.B of The World’s Women 2010, compiled by the United Nations Statistics Divi-sion from national and international reports.
31 From Table 6.D of The World’s Women 2010.
32 A short publication, explaining this link, is Outlook Volume 20, Number 1, September 2002, published by PATH and UNFPA. See www.path.org/files/EOL20_1.pdf
33 For a country specific analysis from 2011, see “Domestic Violence in the United States” - A Preliminary Report prepared for Rashida Manjoo, U.N. Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, 18 April 2011 (repro-ductiverights.org/sites/crr.civicactions.net/files/newsletter/DV%20in%20the%20US_Br%20Paper%20to%20SR%20 on%20VAW.pdf) which deals with reproductive rights on pages 39-47. In her report to the Human Rights Council
widespread.30 In Zambia in 2001, statistics indicate that 27% of women were victims of such violence during the latest 12 months and that 48% had been victims at some point during their lifetime. Figures from other parts of Africa are similar. In Bangladesh, the percentage is even higher. Figures from 2000 indicates that in Thailand just over 20% of women suf-fered domestic violence during the previous 12 months and just over 40% during their life-times. In some provinces of Peru, more than two thirds of women according to figures from 2000 had been subject to violence from their partner at some point during their lifetime, with a similar figure in towns of around half. In Brazil the same figures for 2000/2001 were 29% in the cities and 37% in the provinces. In Europe, figures from the UK (2006/2007) and Germany (2003) show 29% for lifetime and 6 and 3% respectively for the previous 12 months. On this basis, it is clear that domestic violence against women is a large and global problem. Surveys31 show that many women find their husband justified in hitting or beating them, for example for refusing to have sex (for instance 37% in Burkina Faso (2003), 51% in Ethiopia (2000), 21% in Turkmenistan, 7% in Indonesia, and 14% in Haiti); for other reasons, e.g. neglecting the children or going out without informing the husband, the percentage is generally even higher.
Research has shown that violence against women has serious health consequences, not least with respect to reproductive health.32 Women who suffer abuse from their partner have less ability to control the timing of sex and the use of contraception and consequently have more children. This violates their right to choose freely the timing and number of children; it may even lead to young women having children before maturity with a greater risk of mortality and morbidity. Women victims of intimate partner abuse have a significantly greater preva-lence of gynaecological problems and STIs. Significant percentages of abuse happens during pregnancy, leading to pregnancy complications, stillbirths etc.33
Legislation needs to be in place criminalizing all acts of violence against women, including marital rape. This is something NHRIs can attack in their review of legislation and advice to the executive and legislature. An example is the NHRI in India that in the 2002 examined the provisions of the Protection from Domestic Violence Bill and made detailed suggestions which it followed-up on. All these suggestions were incorporated in the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.
The mind-set of both men and women needs to be changed; NHRIs can consider being involved in sensitization campaigns. Providers of health and counselling services need to be aware of the issue of domestic violence and intimate partner abuse; NHRIs can monitor that training is in place and that these issues are taken into account. In some cases it can be useful to work with religious and traditional leaders to thoroughly deal with unfortunate views on gender and rights, see Box on Religious and Cultural Issues. As has been mentioned in several places in this Handbook, there are indications that the rural female population is more at risk than the urban population; this should be taken into account when dealing with these issues.