By Institution

United Nations

Integration of the Human Rights of Women and the Gender Perspective: Cultural Practices in the Family that Are Violence Towards Women, Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, submitted in accordance with Commission on Human Rights resolution 2001/49 (E/CN.4/2002/83), 31 January 2002. [Available in PDF and Word, 39 pages]. The addendum to the Report of the Special Rapporteur (E/CN.4/2002/83/Add.1), 28 January 2002, contains country information on Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation, and Uzbekistan. [Available in PDF and Word, 41 pages].
The Special Rapporteur’s 2002 report documents cultural practices within the family (i.e., wife burning, honor killings, foot binding, son preference) that constitute violence against women, as well as the ideologies that perpetuate and render invisible these cultural practices. Many of these ideologies—such as the connection between masculinity and violence and the regulation of female sexuality—are also those that perpetuate domestic violence. The Special Rapporteur emphasizes that states “should not invoke any custom, tradition or religious consideration to avoid their obligation to eradicate violence against women and the girl child in the family.”

Statement of the Special Rapporteur to the Commission on Human Rights on 10 April 2002 .
In her statement to the Commission as she presented her 2002 report on cultural practices in the family that violate the rights of women, the Special Rapporteur discusses the causes and consequences of violence against women and notes the connection between the use of violence as a means of conflict resolution and high levels of domestic violence.

First World Report on Violence and Health, World Health Organization, 2002. [PDF, 372 pages; 54-page summary in PDF, press releases and fact sheets available].
Chapter 4 of the First World Report on Violence and Health (pages 87- 121) discusses the scope, dynamics, and health and economic consequences of intimate partner violence, responses to domestic violence (including support for victims, legal remedies, treatment for batterers, health service interventions, and coordinated community responses), and specific recommendations for responding to domestic violence (pages 111-113). The Report concludes with general recommendations for responses to violence at local, national and international levels (pages 241-254).

Integration of the Human Rights of Women and the Gender Perspective: Violence Against Women, Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, on violence against women perpetrated and/or condoned by the State during times of armed conflict (1997-2000), submitted in accordance with Commission on Human Rights resolution 2000/45 (E/CN.4/2001/73), 23 January 2001. [Available in PDF and Word, 45 pages].
The Special Rapporteur’s 2001 report discusses the relationship between violence during war, militarization and violence against women, including domestic violence in refugee camps and the correlation between domestic violence and violence during war.

Review of Reports, Studies and Other Documentation for the Preparatory Committee and the World Conference, Note by the Secretary-General, transmission of contribution by Special Rapporteur Radhika Coomaraswamy to the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance on the subject of race, gender and violence against women (A/CONF.189/PC.3/5), 27 July 2001. [Available in PDF and Word, 64 pages].
In this report to the World Conference on Racism, the Special Rapporteur on Violence describes some of the ways in which race, gender and violence against women intersect. In particular, the Special Rapporteur emphasizes that battered women who belong to marginalized groups often confront additional obstacles, such as language barriers or cultural insensitivity, to protecting themselves from violence.

[Building on Achievements: Women’s Human Rights Five Years After Beijing], Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, May 2000.
Includes section on gender equality and the family.

Integration of the Human Rights of Women and the Gender Perspective: Violence Against Women, Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, on trafficking in women, women’s migration and violence against women, submitted in accordance with Commission on Human Rights resolution 1997/44 (E/CN.4/2000/68), 29 February 2000. [Available in PDF and Word, 38 pages]. Economic and social policy and its impact on violence against women (E/CN.4/2000/68/Add.5), 24 February 2000. [Available in PDF and Word, 20 pages].
The Special Rapporteur’s 2000 report discusses some of the connections between migration and trafficking in women and domestic violence. The Addendum discusses the connections between economic and social policies and violence against women, including the relationship between housing policies and domestic violence.

Integration of the Human Rights of Women and the Gender Perspective: Policies and Practices that Impact Women’s Reproductive Rights and Contribute to, Cause or Constitute Violence Against Women, Addendum to Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, in accordance with Commission on Human Rights resolution 1997/44 (E/CN.4/1999/68/Add.4), 21 January 1999.
The Special Rappporteur discusses the ways in which violence against women contributes to violations of women’s reproductive rights by limiting the choices they can make about their health and sexuality. The report emphasizes that “[s]exuality and reproduction is one of the many ways in which batterers seek to exercise power and control over battered women.” Battered women are often required to take substantial risks in order to seek reproductive health services or prevent unwanted pregnancies.

Further Promotion and Encouragement of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Including the Question of the Programme and Methods of Work of the Commission: Alternative Approaches and Ways and Means Within the United Nations System for Improving the Effective Enjoyment of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, submitted in accordance with Commission resolution 1997/44 (E/CN.4/1998/54), 26 January 1998.

Further Promotion and Encouragement of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Including the Question of the Programme and Methods of the Work of the Commission: Alternative Approaches and Ways and Means Within the United Nations System for Improving the Effective Enjoyment of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedomes, Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy (E/CN.4/1997/47), 12 February 1997.

Further Promotion and Encouragement of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, submitted in accordance with Commission on Human Rights resolution 1995/85 (United Nations E/CN.4/1996/53), 6 February 1996.
The Special Rapporteur discusses the problem of violence against women in the family, examines this violence as a violation of international human rights law, analyzes reports on state compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, discusses national and model legislation on domestic violence, and offers recommendations on ways to combat and remedy the consequences of violence within the family.

Domestic Violence Against Women and Girls, UNICEF, Innocenti Digest, vol. 6, 2000. [PDF, 30 pages].
UNICEF’s report discusses the scope and magnitude of the problem, causes and consequences of domestic violence, the socio-economic costs of violence, strategies and interventions, and state obligations with regard to domestic violence.

Gender Dimensions of Racial Discrimination, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. [PDF, 31 pages].
Includes discussion of the gendered dimension of domestic violence.

Gender and Racial Discrimination: Report of the Expert Group Meeting, United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations Development Fund for Women, 21-24 November 2000, Zagreb, Croatia.
This report emphasizes that while domestic violence is often understood only as a gender issue, for some women, the right to freedom from domestic violence may be compromised by restrictions on their autonomy that are related to their marginalized status.

United Nations’ reports on issues concerning women’s rights that are issued in the future may be located at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights website, Documents on Women’s Rights . This site includes documents produced by the Commission on Human Rights and the Commission on the Status of Women and the Economic and Social Council, many of which are listed in this compilation. Note that a reference number may be necessary to locate a specific document.

Council of Europe

Ending Domestic Violence: Action and Measures, Proceedings of the Forum at Bucharest, Romania, 26-28 November 1998 (EG/BUC (99) 1), 2000.
Includes the texts of statements and speeches, reports of thematic discussions, working group conclusions, and general conclusions from a conference attended by government representatives, policy makers, NGOs, scholars, educators, and legal and medical professionals from Council of Europe member States. Participants discussed the historical development of the battered women’s movement in Europe, outlined emerging challenges in combating domestic violence, and evaluated specific measures adopted in the member States to protect victims and hold batterers accountable.

Violence against Women in Europe: Report (Doc. 8667), Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, 15 March 2000.
The report includes the Parliamentary Assembly’s recommendations to the Council of Ministers regarding violence against women, the Committee’s draft recommendation, and an explanatory memorandum that details the scope and prevalence of violence against women in Europe. On 3 April 2000, the Parliamentary Assembly adopted Recommendation 1450 (2000), Violence Against Women in Europe .

Steering Committee for Equality Between Women and Men: Summary of the Plan of Action to Combat Violence Against Women, Shelia Henderson, (EG-S-VL (98)), June 1998.
Part One of the report describes the Council of Europe’s Group of Specialists’ findings with respect to the nature of violence against women, the scope of the problem, the work that has been undertaken, and current challenges and problems. Part Two of the report describes the Council’s Plan of Action for governments. The Plan of Action articulates recommendations for the areas of legislation and policy, education and awareness-raising, victim support and assistance, and research and monitoring.

Men and Violence Against Women, Proceedings (EG/SEM/VIO (99) 21), 5 April 2000. [PDF, 175 pages].
Includes papers presented at a conference in Strasbourg on 7-8 October 1999. The conference focused on scholarly and theoretical issues relating to the causes of male violence, including trans-cultural representations of male violence, psychoanalytical and feminist theories of male violence, and socio-economic factors and the use of violence.

The Protection of Women against Violence, Recommendation Rec(2002)5 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on the protection of women against violence, adopted on 30 April 2002, and Explanatory Memorandum. [PDF, 52 pages].
The Explanatory Memorandum (page 18) contains information about the history of efforts to combat violence against women in Europe, legislative differences between member States, and the reasons for the choices that were made in the Recommendation.

Although many of these may not be available on-line, the Council of Europe provides a list of its documents on equality between men and women. Documentation centers, from which these documents may be obtained, are located in each member country. Additional information about the actions taken by the Council of Europe to combat violence against women are available through the Council’s October 2002 Fact Sheet on violence against women.

European Union

Report from the Commission to the Council, The European Parliament, The Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: Annual Report on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men in the European Union 2000, Commission of the European Communities, 2 April 2001. [PDF, 39 pages].
Devotes a brief section (page 34) to domestic violence and, in particular, domestic violence in candidate countries.

Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the Daphne Programme (2000-2003): January 2002, Commission of the European Communities, (SEC(2002) 338), 8 April 2002. [PDF, 26 pages]. DAPHNE: External Evaluators’ report on the 1999 Initiative, November 2001. [PDF, 27 pages]. The DAPHNE Initiative (1997-1999): Overview and External Evaluators’ report of the 1998 Initiative, March 2001. [PDF, 28 pages].
These reports discuss the activities and success of the DAPHNE Initiative, one of the European Union’s principal vehicles for addressing the problem of violence against women. DAPHNE was created to fund projects that addressed prevention, treatment or responses to actual or potential violence against women and children in more than one member State.

Breaking the Silence, European Communities, 2000. [PDF, 13 pages].
Provides background information on domestic violence in Europe and describes the European Commission’s awareness-raising zero tolerance campaign.

Special Issue: Domestic violence against Women, Women of Europe Newsletter No. 92. [PDF, 4 pages].
Provides an overview of the European Union’s zero tolerance campaign and other measures to combat violence against women in Europe.

Unveiling the hidden data on domestic violence in the European Union, 1998-1999.
This study provides an overview of domestic violence in the member States. Although selected portions of this study are available on-line, the complete study can only be ordered through the European Women’s Lobby.

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)

Final Report, OSCE Supplementary Implementation Meeting: Gender Issues, Vienna, 14-15 June 1999. [PDF, 19 pages].
Annex I sets forth the keynote address by Martina Vandenberg of Human Rights watch, in which she identifies some of the key problems facing women in the OSCE region. The body of the report documents the discussions of and the non-binding recommendations developed by the meeting’s working groups for actions in the economic, security, and political spheres.

Briefing: Domestic Violence in the OSCE Region, 7 September 2001. [Testimony available in PDF and HTML].
Panelists Hon. Christopher H. Smith, Co-Chairman of the Helsinki Commission; Winnie Bartel, Executive Chair of the World Evangelical Fellowship; Robin Phillips, Executive Director of Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights; and Nancy Murphy, Executive Director of NW Family Life Learning and Counseling Center, testified before the OSCE on domestic violence in the region.

Gender Action Plan: June 2000 – June 2001, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), September 2001.
Discusses ODIHR activities that address gender-based violence in the OSCE region.

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