III.
THE LAW AND SYSTEMS OF PROTECTION APPLICABLE TO VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN IN CIUDAD JUÁREZ
A.
International law
99. Ensuring that
women can freely and fully exercise their human rights is a priority in
the Americas. The fundamental obligations of equality and
nondiscrimination serve as the backbone for the regional human rights
system, and the Convention of Belém do Pará expresses the commitment
of the States Parties to prevent, punish and eradicate violence against
women, itself a manifestation of discrimination based on gender.
The priority given by the Commission and its Special Rapporteurship to
the protection of the rights of women also reflects the importance given
to this area by the member States themselves.
100.
The principles of non-discrimination and equal protection are pillars in
any democratic system, and serve as fundamental bases of the OAS
system. Article 3(l) of the OAS Charter sets forth the core
principle that “the American States proclaim the fundamental rights of
the individual without distinction as to race, nationality, creed or
sex.”
101. The Mexican
State has been a Party to the American Convention on Human Rights since
its accession on March 2, 1981. Article 1 of the American
Convention sets forth the obligation of States Parties to respect and
ensure all recognized rights and freedoms without discrimination on the
basis of, inter alia, sex.[28]
More specifically with respect to the principle of nondiscrimination,
Article 24 recognizes the right to equal protection of and before the
law, and Article 17 provides that the State shall ensure the equal
recognition of rights and “adequate balancing of responsibilities”
of spouses within marriage. In recognizing the fundamental rights
of all persons without distinction, the Convention of course also
protects such basic rights as those to life, liberty and personal
integrity (Articles 4, 5 and 7). Trafficking in women is expressly
prohibited in Article 6. The rights of children are accorded
special measures of protection in Article 19.
102. The purposes
of the regional human rights system and the principle of efficacy
require that these guarantees be implemented in practice.
Accordingly, where the exercise of any of these rights is not already
ensured in law and practice, Article 2 of the American Convention
commits the States Parties to adopt the legislative and other measures
necessary to give them effect. Further, the American Convention
requires that the domestic system provide available and effective
judicial recourse to persons alleging the violation of their rights
protected under national law or the Convention. Where
such domestic remedies prove unavailable or ineffective, the
inter-American system provides for the possibility of recourse through
its individual petition system.
103.
Of special relevance for the present report are the rights and
obligations set forth in the Inter-American Convention on the
Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women (“Convention
of Belém do Pará”), which Mexico ratified on December 12, 1998.[29]
In reflecting a hemispheric consensus on the need to recognize the
gravity of the problem of violence against women and take concrete steps
to eradicate it, the Convention:
-
Defines violence “any act or conduct, based on gender, which causes
death or physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women,
whether in the public or private sphere;”[30]
-
expressly acknowledges the link between gender violence and
discrimination, indicating that such violence is a manifestation of the
historically unequal power relations between women and men, and that the
right to be free from such violence includes the right to be free from
discrimination and to be valued and educated free of stereotypes;[31]
-
recognizes that such violence affects women in a multitude of ways,
preventing them from exercising other fundamental rights, both civil and
political, and economic, social and cultural rights;[32]
and,
-
requires that States Parties apply due diligence to prevent, investigate
and punish such violence wherever it occurs – whether within
the home or the community and perpetrated by individuals, or in the
public sphere and perpetrated by state agents.[33]
104.
Accordingly, the State is directly responsible for violence against
women perpetrated by its agents. State responsibility may also
arise when it fails to apply due diligence to prevent or respond to such
violence when perpetrated by individuals.
105.
Further, States Parties must ensure that these obligations are given
effect in the domestic legal system, and that women at risk for or
subjected to violence have access to effective judicial protection and
guarantees.[34]
The mechanisms for supervision of compliance include the processing of
individual complaints alleging violations of the principal obligations
through the Commission’s existing petition system.[35]
106.
The Mexican State is Party to a number of other international
instruments that provide important protections for the rights of
women. In broad terms, Articles 1 and 2 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, and Articles 2 and 3 of both the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognize
the right to equality and the prohibition of discrimination. The
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women, to which the Mexican State has been a Party since 1981,
reinforces the equality and non-discrimination provisions of the
International Bill of Rights by defining discrimination against women,
and requiring States Parties to adopt specific measures to combat it.[36]
The Mexican State ratified the Optional Protocol to that Convention on
March 15, 2002. Again, in terms of looking at the interrelation
between violence and discrimination based on gender, it is important to
note that the definition of discrimination set forth in the UN
Convention applies to gender-based violence.[37]
Discrimination includes:
acts that
inflict physical, mental or sexual harm or suffering, threats of such
acts, coercion and other deprivation of liberty. Gender-based
violence may breach specific provisions of the [UN] Convention
regardless of whether those provisions expressly mention violence.[38]
107.
Reference should also be made to the UN Declaration on Violence against
Women, which complements these norms, and shares many basic principles
with the Convention of Belém do Pará. The Mexican State is also
Party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and in 2002 ratified
its two optional protocols relative to the Participation of Children in
Armed Conflicts, and to the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and the
Use of Children in Pornography, respectively.
108. It should
also be noted that the situation in Ciudad Juárez has drawn the
attention and concern of different instances within the United
Nations. Following her 1999 visit to analyze the situation of the
right to life in the Mexican State, the UN Special Rapporteur on
extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions expressed:
that the deliberate inaction
of the Government to protect the lives of its citizens because of
their sex had generated a sense of insecurity amongst many of the
women living in Ciudad Juárez. At the same time, it had
indirectly ensured that perpetrators would enjoy impunity for such
crimes. The events in Ciudad Juárez thus constitute a typical
case of gender-based crimes which thrive on impunity.[39]
In his
report from January of 2002, the UN Special Rapporteur on the
independence of judges and lawyers expressed that the lack of an
effective judicial response to the killings had “severely weakened the
rule of law in Ciudad Juárez.”[40]
Prior to her last mission to Mexico, High Commissioner Mary Robinson
expressed renewed concern for the persistence of impunity in Mexico,
including with respect to the unexplained killings of women.[41]
In August of 2002, in the context of its consideration of Mexico’s
CEDAW report, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women expressed its great concern with respect to the killing
and disappearance of women in Ciudad Juárez, and with the lack of
conclusive investigation, prosecution and punishment.[42]
Most recently, the Director of UNIFEM expressed concern about the
killings and impunity, and highlighted the need for additional attention
to meeting the necessities of surviving family members.[43]
B.
National law
109.
Applicable legal provisions at both the federal and state levels have
recently been reformed to incorporate positive advances. Through
reforms adopted on August 14, 2001, Article 1 of the Constitution of the
Republic was amended to prohibit all forms of discrimination, including
on the basis of sex. Article 4 sets forth that men and women are
equal before the law, and that every person has the right to freely
determine the number and spacing of their children. The
Constitution also recognizes that men and women have the same rights
with respect to employment, education, nationality, remuneration and
participation in political life. With respect to the Federal
District, it may be noted that family violence has been typified as a
crime in the Criminal Code, as has marital rape, and violence has been
introduced as a cause for divorce in the Civil Code.
110. The laws of
the State of Chihuahua that apply in cases of violence against women
have been subject to recent reforms. Following an intense debate
in the legislature, that included some consultation with civil society
in the final stages, family violence is addressed in Article 190 of the
Criminal Code. This Article provides that violence between family
members or those who have shared another kind of emotional relationship
shall be penalized by a prison sentence of between 6 months and three
years. While the coverage of the provision is ample, including
physical, verbal, emotional or sexual violence, the scope of application
is limited to acts or omissions that are recurring. It is crucial
that such violence be penalized as a matter of law; accordingly, this
Article provides an important form of protection. However, the
limitation that the violence in question be of a recurring nature has
been criticized and removed from similar legislation in other
jurisdictions.
111.
Sexual crimes are covered in title fourteen of the Criminal Code of
Chihuahua. In relation to the reforms mentioned, rape is now
sanctioned as a crime when committed against either the wife or the
concubine of the perpetrator. With respect to statutory rape, the
provision indicating that the crime would not apply in the case of a
girl not deemed “honest” was eliminated. The definition of
sexual harassment was also clarified.
112.
Revisions to the Civil Code of Chihuahua adopted in 2001 added two
provisions that concern family violence. The first sets forth that
each and every member of the family or domestic unit has the right that
the other members respect his or her physical, psychological and sexual
integrity, and to this effect can count on the support and protection of
public institutions in accordance with the law. The second defines
family violence in broad terms, and indicates that the members of such
groups are obliged to avoid conduct generating such
violence.
113.
In sum, the Commission and its Special Rapporteur have taken due note of
the debate engendered by a set of reforms to the Criminal Code enacted
prior to those now in effect. Those prior reforms had been
rejected by many as contradicting the principles of nondiscrimination
and protection of the rights of women.[44]
The Commission and its Special Rapporteur value the initiative of the
Government of Chihuahua to open a new space for dialogue with some
inclusion of civil society to arrive at the reforms now in force.
The reforms now in place demonstrate progress in bringing legislation
into conformity with the obligations of ensuring equality and
nondiscrimination. The Commission and its Special Rapporteur have
also taken note of the recommendation by the Special Congressional
Commission established to follow-up on the killings to the effect that
the Civil Code, Criminal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure should be
subjected to further reforms designed to improve responses to the
prevailing violence against women.[45]
As the Government of Chihuahua itself recognized in its March 2002
presentation before the Commission, the legislation can be perfected,
and is not sufficient in and of itself. It is important that
efforts continue to bring legislation into conformity with the
principles of equality and nondiscrimination.
C.
Role of national entities
114. Within the
Executive Branch, at the federal level, the National Women’s
Institute, INMUJERES, was created in 2001 in order to promote
non-discrimination, equality of opportunities and treatment between the
genders, and the ability of women to fully exercise their rights and
participate in the political, cultural, economic and social life of the
nation. INMUJERES’ six-year work program, the National Program
for Equality of Opportuntiies and Non-Discrimination 2001-2006
(PROEQUIDAD) applies to all sectors of the Federal administration and
sets specific goals, projects and programs designed to achieve
those. Among the priority areas of PROEQUIDAD is the struggle to
prevent, punish and eradicate violence against women. At the time
of the Special Rapporteur’s visit, a national program on family
violence and violence against women was being designed. The
Institute also promoted the creation of the Inter-Institutional Panel to
coordinate actions on violence in the family and violence against women
that brings together representatives from each branch of the federal
Government and representatives of civil society.
115.
Most states within Mexico, including Chihuahua, have recently created
Women’s Institutes. The state-level Institutes and INMUJERES are
to collaborate as equals in the goal of institutionalizing the
perspective of gender throughout the country.
116. The Special
Rapporteur met with the President of INMUJERES during her visit to
discuss actions being taken to address the situation in Ciudad
Juárez. The President of INMUJERES, Patricia Espinosa, indicated
that the situation was of particular concern to the Government, and that
INMUJERES had been working closely with the authorities in Chihuahua to
initiate mechanisms of dialogue and inter-institutional
collaboration. She referred to the Interinstitutional Panel
established in Ciudad Juárez to coordinate initiatives against violence
within the family and violence against women along the lines of the
national model mentioned above. With respect to the specific
situation of the killings, she referred to steps being taken to
establish another panel (which subsequently initiated its work in
October) to seek further solutions.
117. Within the
Legislative branch, Commissions on Gender and Equity have been
established in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Congress of
the Union. The Special Rapporteur met with members of the
Commissions on Gender and Equity during her visit, and received useful
insights into the problem of violence against women in Ciudad
Juárez. She also met with members of a Special Commission of the
Chamber of Deputies established to provide follow-up on those
crimes. Members of the latter had been in Ciudad Juárez in late
2001 to interview family members, representatives of civil society and
diverse State representatives, and collect other information. The
work and initial reflections of that Special Commission have provided
valuable insight into the situation. Representatives of civil
society have indicated that they consider it would be beneficial for the
Special Commission to report publicly on the results of its work.
118. The National
and State Human Rights Commissions also have a role to play in the
safeguarding of fundamental rights and freedoms. The valuable work
of the CNDH in issuing Recommendation 44/98 on the killings of women in
Ciudad Juárez and the deficiencies in the official response has been
discussed in detail above, in section II.E.1.a. However, as noted,
there has been no reported institutional follow-up by the CNDH to ensure
the implementation of the important recommendations contained therein,
and, as of the Special Rapporteur’s visit, the Human Rights Commission
of the State of Chihuahua had had no substantive involvement in this
situation.
119. To summarize,
important steps have been taken at both the national and state levels to
bring legislation into conformity with the obligations of equality and
nondiscrimination, and to create mechanisms responsible for
incorporating the perspective of gender in the design and implementation
of public policy. These steps to improve the framework of
applicable guarantees must now be complemented with concrete actions to
implement those guarantees in practice.
A.
General considerations
120.
Violence against women constitutes a violation of multiple human
rights. The right to be free from violence in both the public and
private spheres set forth in Article 3 of the Convention of Belém do
Pará accordingly includes the right to the protection of other basic
rights, inter alia, to life, personal integrity, liberty, to be
free from torture, to equal protection before and of the law and to
effective access to justice set forth in Article 4. Article 5 affirms
that the “States Parties recognize that violence against women
prevents and nullifies the exercise of these rights.” Article 6
further specifies that the right of every woman to be free from violence
includes the right to be free from discrimination and to be valued and
educated free of stereotyped patterns of behavior. There is thus
an integral connection between the guarantees set forth in the
Convention of Belém do Pará and the basic rights and freedoms set
forth in the American Convention in addressing the human rights
violation of violence against women.
121.
With respect to the situation in Ciudad Juárez, it must also be taken
into account that a significant number of the victims have been girls
under the age of 18. Under both the American Convention (Article
19) and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, children are
entitled to special measures of protection.
122.
Violence against women is, first and foremost, a human rights
problem. It has been accorded priority in the region as such, with
the conviction that its eradication is essential to ensure that women
may fully and equally participate in all spheres of national life.
Violence against women is a problem that affects men, women and
children; it distorts family life and the fabric of society, with
consequences that cross generations. Studies have documented that
having been exposed to violence within the family during youth is a risk
factor for perpetrating such violence as an adult. It is a human
security problem, a social problem and a public health problem.
123.
In this regard, among the key problems the Special Rapporteur has
confirmed with respect to the situation in Ciudad Juárez are, first, an
insufficient awareness that women’s rights are human rights, and that
the right of women to be free from violence is itself a human right that
requires the Mexican State to adopt measures of prevention and
response. This is illustrated, for example, in the tendency on the
part of many in both the State and non-state sectors to focus on the
killings characterized as “serial” as the legitimate source of
concern because of their brutality. In this regard, there is an
insufficient understanding that these deaths, whether perpetrated in
connection with sexual crimes by unknown perpetrators, or in connection
with domestic violence by intimate partners, are equally violative of
the right to be free from violence, and equally manifest the
objectification or dehumanization of the victim based on gender.
The fact that the so-called “serial” killings are portrayed in the
media and viewed by many as shocking, while the killings arising in
connection with domestic violence are given less attention, demonstrates
the problem.
124.
In this regard, addressing the phenomena of violence against women in
Ciudad Juárez requires addressing not only the killings, but sexual
crimes and domestic violence as well. Domestic violence is in some
ways especially emblematic. As the UN Special Rapporteur on
Violence against Women has characterized:
At
its most complex, domestic violence exists as a powerful tool of
oppression. Violence against women in general, and domestic
violence in particular, serve as essential components in societies
which oppress women, since violence against women not only derives
from but also sustains the dominant gender stereotypes and is used to
control women in the one space traditionally dominated by women, the
home.[46]
125.
Second, there remains a significant tendency on the part of some
officials to either blame the victim for placing herself in a situation
of danger, or to seek solutions that emphasize requiring the victim to
defend her own rights. In this regard, while the official
discourse in Ciudad Juárez has somewhat improved since the National
Human Rights Commission established a notorious practice on the part of
officials of discrediting the victims -- by pointing to the length of
their skirts, or that they went out at night, or even that they were “easy”
or prostitutes -- there remains a marked tendency to look first to the
conduct of the victim or family for explanations. Further, the
Special Rapporteur noted that when officials focus on public security
initiatives, many tend to think in terms of self-defense courses for
women. While those may be helpful, they do nothing to address the
root sources of the problem.
126.
Third, to the limited extent the gender dimensions of these crimes get
taken into account at the official level, they tend to be dealt with as
a women’s issue or a women’s problem, as opposed to being addressed
through the incorporation of the perspective of gender in the design and
implementation of public policy in Ciudad Juárez. (As noted above
in section E.2, during her visit, the Special Rapporteur was able to
perceive a certain division based on gender in the roles taken by women
and men in relation to the killings.)
127.
Fourth, and perhaps most importantly, while there is agreement on the
part of the State sector and civil society that violence against women
in Ciudad Juárez is a problem of grave proportions, the Special
Rapporteur’s analysis confirms that the problem has not been met with
measures that correspond to that gravity. The fact that the vast
majority of these crimes against women remain in impunity requires an
urgent response.
128.
The violence described in the overview above has its roots in concepts
of the inferiority and subordination of women. When the
perpetrators are not held to account, as has generally been the case in
Ciudad Juárez, the impunity confirms that such violence and
discrimination is acceptable, thereby fueling its perpetuation. As
the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has emphasized with respect to
human rights violations generally, “the State has the obligation to
use all the legal means at its disposal” to combat impunity because it
“fosters chronic recidivism” of such violations, “and total
defenselessness of victims and their relatives.”[47]
129.
In looking at this duty with respect to domestic violence specifically,
the Commission has emphasized that the failure to effectively prosecute
and punish indicates that the State in effect condones it. Where
such inaction and tolerance is part of a pattern, “[t]he condoning of
this situation by the entire system only serves to perpetuate the
psychological, social and historical roots and factors that sustain and
encourage violence against women.”[48]
It creates a climate that is “conducive to domestic violence”
because society sees no will on the part of the State to take effective
action against it.[49]
130.
While officials of both the Federal and Chihuahua Governments have
expressed their commitment to combating such impunity, that commitment
has yet to be translated into effective action and results in terms of
the lived experience of the women of Ciudad Juárez.
B.
The obligation of the Mexican State to apply due diligence to
respond to such violence when it occurs so as to ensure the
investigation, prosecution and punishment of those responsible
131. It is
precisely because of the pernicious nature of gender-based violence and
the effects of the impunity in which this violation is usually left that
the key obligation of States Parties to the Convention of Belém do
Pará is to apply due diligence to prevent, investigate and punish such
violence – whether in the home, the community or the public
sphere. This principle of due diligence is also closely connected
with the norms of the American Convention, particularly those obliging
States Parties such as the Mexican State to respect and ensure each of
the protected rights, and to provide effective judicial protection and
guarantees.
132. In general
terms, effective judicial protection and guarantees signify the right of
an individual to resort to a court when any of her rights have been
violated (whether a right protected by the Convention, the constitution
or the domestic laws of the State concerned), in order to obtain a
judicial investigation conducted by a competent, impartial and
independent tribunal that will establish whether or not a violation took
place. In this regard, when a human rights violation is the
outcome of an act classified as criminal, the victim is entitled to
obtain from the State a judicial investigation that is conducted “purposefully
with the means at its disposal” in order to prosecute and punish those
responsible.[50]
133.
As the jurisprudence of the regional system has affirmed over many
years, it is not the formal existence of such remedies that demonstrates
due diligence, but rather that they are made available and
effective. In this sense, “[i]f the State apparatus acts in such
a way that the violation goes unpunished and the victim’s full
enjoyment of such rights is not restored as soon as possible, the State
has failed to comply with its duty to ensure” the rights of those
subject to its jurisdiction.[51]
“The same is true when the State allows private persons … to act
freely and with impunity to the detriment of rights recognized by the
Convention.”[52]
Due diligence requires an “effective search for the truth” by the
State at its own initiative.[53]
The investigation must be prompt, thorough, impartial and in accordance
with international standards in this area.[54]
134. With respect
to the situation of violence against women in Ciudad Juárez, the
Special Rapporteur has placed special emphasis on the question of due
diligence in investigation for two reasons. First, because an
adequate investigation provides clarification of the facts and the
foundation required to then comply with the duty to prosecute and punish
the perpetrators. Second, because the vast majority of the crimes
presently at issue have yet to reach the stage of conviction and
punishment.
135.
With respect to the duty to apply due diligence to investigate, the
Special Rapporteur has identified a series of priority concerns. First
and foremost, impunity for violence against women remains the general
practice rather than the exception. Of the approximately 285
killings under study, dating back to 1993, only 20% have reached the
stage of conviction. With respect to the so-called “serial”
killings within this group, only one person has been convicted in
relation to one death.
136.
The investigations of the killings and other crimes have been and remain
plagued by irregularities. To the extent family members and
lawyers assisting them have been able to access the case files, reports
indicate that those continue to be incomplete. In some cases
certain identification tests have not been done, in others the results
are not in the files. The investigations continue to be
characterized by delay. The families of those whose bodies may
have been recovered in November of 2001 still don’t have conclusive
confirmation that the remains correspond to their loved ones.
Additionally, there appears to be little effort to follow-up on the
oldest cases. While there have been presumed “serial”
perpetrators in detention since 1996 and 1999, they have yet to be
tried. Such delay is problematic from an evidentiary point of
view, as testimonial and material evidence tends to deteriorate or
become more difficult to produce over time. It is, moreover,
extremely painful for the family members, who have no sense of emotional
closure, and no sense of increased security from knowing the
perpetrators have been tried and placed behind bars.
137.
The importance of due investigation cannot be overestimated, as
deficiencies often prevent and/or obstruct further efforts to identify,
prosecute and punish those responsible. According to Articles 1
and 2 of the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, which
closely relate to the principle of due diligence, such officials must
fulfill their duties under the law “by serving the community and by
protecting all persons against illegal acts.” In performing
their duties, they must “respect and protect human dignity and
maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons.” In
many cases, these standards are not being met in Ciudad Juárez.
Nor, in general, are the prosecutors meeting the standard of paragraph
12 of the UN Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutors, which requires that
they “in accordance with the law, perform their duties fairly,
consistently and expeditiously, and respect and protect human dignity
and uphold human rights, thus contributing to ensuring due process and
the smooth functioning of the criminal justice system.”
138.
In its observations to the draft report, in relation to the theme of
impunity specifically, the State indicated that:
In
conformity with the affirmations of the Special Rapporteur, the
Mexican Government is convinced that denouncing the human rights
violations against the women of Ciudad Juárez, obtaining justice, and
restoring their dignity through the recognition of what they have
suffered, constitute a point of reference for future societies.
With this
conviction, the Office of the Special Prosecutor has been strengthened
through the allocation of greater human and material resources, so
that it may investigate denunciations concerning the killing and
disappearance of women in that city promptly and effectively.
139.
With respect to the deficiencies that have been referred to above, while
the State accepts that in the first stages of the situation “there
were various delays and irregularities,” it maintains that “it must
be recognized that 93 of those responsible for the killing and
disappearance of women, including accomplices and collaborators, have
been delivered to justice.” Accordingly, the State sustains that
“it cannot be considered that a phenomenon of impunity prevails in
Ciudad Juárez, insofar as this concept implies the inactivity of the
Government to sanction those responsible.” In this regard, the
Commission and its Rapporteur value the efforts of the State oriented
toward overcoming serious deficiencies in the investigation and
punishment of those responsible. They wish to reiterate, however,
that the individualization of less than 100 alleged authors, including
accomplices and collaborators, in the approximately 300 killings and
almost 300 disappearances is not a satisfactory result, as it leaves the
vast majority unresolved.
140. The full
participation of all sectors–the Federal, State and municipal
Governments, working with civil society–is urgently required to
provide accountability for and redress these killings. While it
may be the case that criminal jurisdiction corresponds as a matter of
internal law to the State of Chihuahua for many of these crimes, the
Federal Government bears responsibility under international law to
assure, directly and through the corresponding local authorities, that
the rights of those within the Republic are protected and ensured.
The Federal Government has specialized resources and capacities that
must be brought to bear. In addition to technical assistance and
support, the Federal Government has the capacity to prioritize attention
to this situation through the allocation of additional material
resources and the decisive application of political will to insist on
results.
141. With respect
to the issue of coordination among governmental authorities, in its
observations on the draft report, the Mexican State reported that, given
the seriousness of the problem, diverse federal departments had held
meetings to “study the most adequate manner to collaborate jointly
with state authorities in order to promote the investigations of the
disappearances and killings committed against women in Ciudad Juárez,”
as well as to establish policies to prevent violence against
women. The Mexican State indicated that each department of the
Federal Government that participates in this process “will act in
accordance with its competences.” More specifically, it
indicated:
It is a real
fact that the primary competence corresponds to the Government of the
State of Chihuahua. For this reason, the Government of the
Mexican State considers that the solution is not to substitute
obligations, but to jointly adopt measures that permit both
Governments to work, in order that they comply with the duties that
correspond to them.
In this sense, the Prosecutor
General of the Republic will continue cooperating with the Prosecutor
General of Justice of Chihuahua in the investigation and prosecution
of the murders of women in Ciudad Juárez, for example, providing
expert support in the area of criminology, forensic photography,
forensic genetics, technical-juridical assistance, as well as with the
actions necessary to request the cooperation of foreign police corps.
The
Commission and its Special Rapporteur fully value the
technical-juridical support provided by the Federal Government as a
crucial contribution to the strengthening of the practical aspects of
the official response to these crimes. At the same time, they wish
to underline that, in view of the responsibility of the Federal
Government in the area of human rights, as well as the gravity of the
situation in Ciudad Juárez, it is fundamental that priority attention
be given to this situation through the allocation of additional material
resources and the application of political will to insist on the
production of results.
142. At present,
there is impunity both for the killings and for the negligence and
irregularities in the official response thereto. Notwithstanding
the findings of recommendation 44/98 of the National Human Rights
Commission to the effect that the investigations evaluated were grossly
deficient, and that the authorities responsible should be held
accountable for having failed to discharge their responsibilities under
the law, information received indicates no efforts to hold any
functionaries of Ciudad Juárez responsible– administratively,
disciplinarily or criminally. The existence of norms and
procedures to ensure effective official responses to such crimes is only
one part of the equation; the other part is that those who fail to
comply with requirements under the law be held to account.
143.
One of the repeated complaints the Special Rapporteur has received is
that family members are not able to obtain adequate information about
the legal process and their rights within it. Family members and
the representatives of civil society who assist them have indicated that
the Special Prosecutor’s Office is not providing a sufficient response
in this regard. In particular, while one of the stated goals of
the Inter-Institutional Panel established to address these crimes was a
review of the case files, recent reports from nongovernmental sources
suggest that the PGJE is declining to provide that access.
Further, many working on this problem indicated that it is often the
case that family members require effective legal assistance to protect
and vindicate the rights of their loved one and their own rights in the
legal system, but lack the resources to hire attorneys.
144. There
continues to be a strong, highly counterproductive level of tension
between many of the relevant authorities, family members of victims and
representatives of civil society seeking justice in these cases.
The Special Rapporteur has continued to receive complaints that family
members seeking information about the status of investigations have been
met with responses ranging from unhelpful to arrogant to openly hostile.[55]
In a few cases, family members reported having been told to cease their
inquiries or other activities in search of justice.
145. With respect
to the question of how to confront impunity, in its observations to the
draft report, the State reported that:
With full awareness that
impunity affects all spheres of society, diverse mechanisms have been
established to inform victims and their families, in a transparent
way, in order to disseminate the necessary measures that jointly
permit civil society and the Government to promote and strengthen a
culture of denunciation, and prevent the repetition of violent acts
against women, in accordance with the recommendations formulated by
the Rapporteur. The mesas de diálogo with civil society
are one example of these mechanisms.
The
Commission and its Rapporteur value this recognition of the importance
of the right to invoke judicial protection and guarantees for victims
and their families, as well as of the importance of receiving the
information necessary to exercise this right effectively. They
also share the view of the Government that these inter-institutional
panels may offer an important contribution in this regard, as indicated
in other sections of this report. It is, however, indispensable
that the Mexican State ensure that this recognition of the rights of the
victim and her family, both to judicial protection and guarantees as
well as to the related information, is respected by all the competent
authorities. It is equally important that the administrative,
disciplinary or criminal measures necessary to hold such authorities to
account for any failure to comply be put into practice.
146.
As indicated above, family members have the right to press for due
investigation, and the Mexican State has the obligation to provide
effective judicial protection and guarantees, with due respect for the
dignity of the victims and family members. The families have the
right to information, and to be heard in these processes under both
international and national law. While Article 20 of the
Constitution provides for the right of victims to name a lawyer to
assist the prosecutor with the investigation and trial processes (“coadyuvancia”),
that right cannot be exercised absent access to the relevant information
and assistance of legal counsel.
147. Reports from
civil society indicate that efforts on the part of family members and
nongovernmental organizations to press for justice in these cases, and
of the press to report on these have in some cases met with threats or
attacks, but that this intimidation has not been met with sufficient
official attention or condemnation. A number of those affected
indicated that they had not even approached the authorities to denounce
the situation out of a lack of confidence or fear of further
reprisals. Further attention needs to be given to the role played
by human rights defenders in the pursuit of justice in these cases, and
the risks they may face. Where required, these risks must be given
priority attention through protective measures and due
investigation. In addition to being required to protect the
individuals affected, this attention would constitute an important
confidence-building mechanism in the process of developing effective
multisectoral collaboration.
148.
The climate in Ciudad Juárez remains characterized by extremely high
levels of lack of confidence, mistrust and politicization. Both
the State and non-state sectors referred, in particular, to a strong
lack of citizen confidence in the police. Additionally, relations
between the Office of the Special Prosecutor for these crimes and
representatives of civil society have often been marked by mistrust and
tension. As noted above, efforts to address these crimes have also
been hindered by an extremely high degree of politicization. In
this regard, the Commission values the establishment of
inter-institutional panels for dialogue as a promising means to build
confidence and create spaces for collaboration within different State
sectors and between the State and civil society. Initial efforts
to activate these panels show that further steps need to be taken to
achieve significant changes in the dynamic.
149.
In its observations on the draft report, the Mexican State emphasized
the role of the inter-institutional panels as mechanisms that have
allowed civil society to participate in the planning of policies to
prevent violence against women, as well as in the follow-up on the
investigations carried out by the Office of the Special
Prosecutor. In this sense, it highlighted that:
For the Mexican State the
participation of civil society is of great relevance, both because it
brought the problem being suffered in Ciudad Juárez to light, and
because of the proposals it has indicated to resolve the
situation. For these reasons, it is intended to guarantee the
efficacy of the current mechanisms of participation with concrete
actions reflecting the observations proposed.
150.
Further, in relation to the issue of services for those affected by
these crimes, the Special Rapporteur has received repeated indications
that the family members of those killed have not been able to obtain
access to adequate psychological and social services. Reports
indicate that medical, psychological and social services for victims of
domestic violence are far from sufficient to meet the need. In
this regard, the Special Rapporteur has received information concerning
the adoption in 2001 of an official norm within the Mexican national
health system intended to improve attention to family violence within
this sector. This norm reportedly aims to contribute to the
provision of quality care by health care providers in preventing,
detecting and reporting violence against women. The evident
challenge is to put these standards into practice.
151.
Programs to assist women who have been subjected to violence must take
the problem of economic subordination into account in designing measures
that will enable women to remove themselves from abusive
situations. This is why it is crucial that shelters, counseling
and rehabilitation services and other related resources be available for
victims. Further, reports suggest that women who have been
subjected to domestic violence in Ciudad Juárez may face serious
obstacles with respect to protecting the interests of their children and
defining parental custody, and require available and effective legal
assistance in order to safeguard their rights and those of their
children.
152.
In addition to rehabilitation services, victims of violence or their
family members have the right to effective access to measures of
restitution and reparation. The impunity that characterizes most
crimes of violence against women has the further effect of impeding the
victims or their families from seeking civil redress or other forms of
restitution from the perpetrator. In the case of the women and
girls killed in Ciudad Juárez, it is important to note that many had
worked to help provide for their families; in those instances, in
addition to the emotional consequences, the loss of that financial
contribution has had a major impact on the life of the family.
153.
Due investigation, prosecution and punishment serve not only as the
required response to violence against women, such actions are also a key
means to prevent future violence. However, the fact that
initiatives such as the CNDH’s issuance of recommendation 44/98
condemning the Mexican State’s response to the killings in Ciudad
Juárez have received no institutional follow-up, and, in particular,
that not one person has evidently been sanctioned for the grave failures
identified therein reflects that attention to the right of women to be
free from violence is still not accorded sufficient priority. This
reinforces stereotyped notions that crimes of violence against women
matter less, and that violence in the home or community is a private
matter. While there have been some noteworthy legislative
advances, their implementation in practice remains pending.[56]
154. In this
regard, one of the serious problems the Special Rapporteur has
identified is the prioritization of attention to the so-called “serial”
killings to the exclusion of the larger, grave problem of violence
against women that underlies many of these killings. In this
regard, the presentation made by the PGJE during the October, 2002
hearing before the IACHR looked only at statistics concerning the “serial”
killings with the qualification that, while any homicide drew the
attention of society:
What is truly of
concern are those facts qualified as multiple homicides, because of
their danger in relation to the indetermination of the victims.
It was these events that motivated the creation of the Special
Prosecutor’s Office for the investigation of the homicides of
women. The eradication of this situation constitutes a principle
goal for the authorities, independently of the measures being adopted
by all to prevent violence against women.
One of the
central points of the present report is to emphasize that it is crucial
for the authorities at all levels to understand that the killings are
largely a manifestation of a problem of violence against women that has
to be addressed with attention to its root causes. Due diligence
to prevent future killings and respond to those that have
already occurred requires that these issues be approached in a more
integral way. In this regard, it is crucial that authorities at
all levels understand that such violence has its roots in
discrimination, in order to understand how to change the State’s
response to incorporate the perspective of gender.
155.
In some instances, the duty of due diligence to prevent a violation
requires an urgent response, for example in the case of women in need of
measures to protect against an imminent threat of violence, or in
response to reports of a disappearance. In this regard, while the
State has reported on efforts to respond more rapidly in the case of
reports of disappearances, information received by the Commission in
instances dating from 2001 indicates that the first investigation
measures were taken in some cases with lapses of days in between.
Initial information received relative to protective measures in cases of
domestic or family violence raises doubts as to their effective
availability and implementation
156. Training,
especially for those charged with responding to crimes of violence
against women, is an important means of developing technical capacity
and an understanding of the gender dimensions of the problem.
While the State has taken some steps in this regard, and has reported on
a number of training initiatives, it appears that further training for
rank and file investigators is essential, as is further training for all
functionaries who deal with the public in how to deal with victims and
their family members in a way that fully respects their dignity.
Training, in turn, must be accompanied by measures to monitor and
evaluate results, and to apply sanctions where agents do not comply with
their responsibilities under the law. Training is one side of the
coin and accountability is the other.
157. The public
security aspect of these killings has begun to be taken more seriously
by Municipal and State authorities. Measures to install more
lights, pave more roads, increase security in high-risk areas and
improve the screening and oversight over the bus drivers who transport
workers at all hours of the day and night, combined with efforts to
place stricter controls on alcohol and drug consumption and the crimes
related to both have an important place in improving the security of
women in Ciudad Juárez. While much remains to be done, it is
encouraging that new measures are being adopted to incorporate broader
collaboration and participation in planning such initiatives, including
civil society. It is also of great importance that such efforts
incorporate the perspective of gender from their inception.
158. One of the
Special Rapporteur’s concerns with respect to prevention measures
taken to date is the focus on the need for potential victims to defend
their own rights. In this regard, there have been some very modest
efforts to provide self-defense training, and to guide women on how to
be alert to security concerns. Such initiatives can play an
important role, particularly for the large number of young women who
come to Ciudad Juárez from rural areas or small towns from all over
Mexico, and lack experience with the risks of living in an urban
industrialized society. At the same time, the application of due
diligence requires that measures of prevention be viewed with more
integral attention to all those affected by violence against women –
men, women and children. In this regard, the Mexican State needs
to work with civil society in ensuring that the rights of women to be
free from violence and discrimination are understood as such, through
education programs, community outreach, working on gender-sensitive
school curricula, and working with the media in violence prevention
campaigns. Violence is a learned behavior;[57]
part of the duty of the State to apply due diligence to prevent such
crimes is to work with civil society in changing this behavior and
eradicating such violence.
159. It is
essential in this regard that the participation of men in the process of
changing stereotyped notions of gender be amplified. The Special
Rapporteur noted a tendency toward a division of roles based on gender
during her visit. It may be further noted that the vast majority
of family members who continue to press for clarification and
accountability are women. In this regard, the interinstitutional
panels at the national and local levels provide a promising opportunity
incorporating the full participation of men and women in the formulation
of public policy; it is important that this participation incorporate
the perspective of gender in all areas.
160.
The ability to design effective prevention strategies is undermined by
the lack of empirical data on the breadth and depth of the problem of
violence against women in Ciudad Juárez. Such factors as the
impunity that often attaches to crimes against violence, obstacles in
seeking judicial recourse, and the stigma that may attach for victims
lead to such crimes being underreported. It also remains rare to
find comprehensive studies on such violence and its consequences.
V.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
161. The
Commission and its Special Rapporteur have given close attention to
assessing the situation of violence against women in Ciudad Juárez in
order to provide this analysis and the recommendations that
follow. Both wish to note their appreciation for the willingness
and openness of the Government at both the national and local levels to
discuss the situation and how advances can be sought and attained.
In addition to the problems and challenges highlighted in the present
report, due note has been taken of efforts on the part of the Mexican
State, at both the national and local levels, to overcome these.
In this regard, special mention must be made of efforts to move forward
with improvements in the normative framework to guarantee the right to
be free from violence and discrimination. The ratification of the
Convention of Belém do Pará, and the enactment of related legislation
at the domestic level -- for example the criminalization of family
violence in the Criminal Code of Chihuahua -- signify the very real
commitment of the Mexican State to move forward in these areas, as does
the establishment of new mechanisms for interinstitutional collaboration
in the incorporation of the perspective of gender in public
policy.
162.
The formal recognition of gender equality and recognition of violence
against women as a human rights violation open the door to new
approaches to eradicating violence based on gender. The Commission
and its Special Rapporteur give due recognition to these valuable
advances. The pending challenge is to make these guarantees
effective in practice – to bridge the existing gap between what the
law says and the lived experience of the women of Ciudad Juárez.
163.
A decisive question is whether the rights of women in Ciudad Juárez are
more secure now than before. Efforts to address the violence and
killings to date have not achieved that goal. There is an urgent
need to prioritize attention to this situation through the allocation of
additional human and material resources, backed by the legal authority
and political will necessary to achieve effective results.
164. Ensuring that
women in Ciudad Juárez can fully and equally exercise their fundamental
rights, particularly to be free from violence, requires urgent attention
not just to these killings, but to the various forms of gender-based
violence that violate the rights of women. The killings and
disappearances in Ciudad Juárez are an especially dramatic
manifestation of patterns of gender-based violence and discrimination
that include other forms of sexual violence and violence within the
family. Violence has its root causes in concepts of subordination
and discrimination, and impunity (and the discrimination inherent in the
lack of effective response) fuels its persistence.
165.
Effective approaches to the killings require effective approaches to
violence against women. Such violence is, above all, a human
rights problem. Applying due diligence to prevent such violence,
as required under international and national law, requires attention to
the gender dimensions of the problem, as well as the human security,
public security and social dimensions. When the killing, sexual
abuse, or beating of women remain in impunity, and are effectively
tolerated by the State, this sends a strong message to men, women and
children. Violence is a learned behavior.[58]
That behavior cannot be changed and eradicated if old patterns of
inequality and discrimination continue to be sustained in
practice.
166.
The failure to investigate, prosecute and punish the perpetrators of
these killings, sexual crimes and domestic violence against women in
Ciudad Juárez contributes to a climate of impunity that perpetuates
such violence. It is indispensable that cases of violence based on
gender are investigated and those responsible brought to justice.
167. Violence
based on gender is unacceptable – whether manifested through killings,
sexual or domestic violence. The consequence of impunity is to
lessen the visibility of such violations, to the point where domestic
violence, for example, is in effect an invisible crime. This is
the opposite of what the Mexican State has sought to achieve through the
ratification of international human rights treaties such as the
Convention of Belém do Pará, and the adoption of related legislation
such as the reforms to the Criminal Code of Chihuahua defining family
violence as a crime punishable by imprisonment. Children who grow
up in a context of impunity for such crimes grow up with the perception
that women are not entitled to equal recognition and protection under
the law.
168.
Violence against women exacts a terrible cost for the victims, their
families and society as a whole, and has intergenerational
effects. It is crucial that all sectors, public and private, be
brought into the process of addressing this problem. The focus
cannot be on blaming the victims; rather, it must be on changing the
patterns and practices that allow them to be subjected to these human
rights violations. This requires the greater participation of
women in the formulation of public policy, as well as the greater
participation of men in helping to change traditional patterns and
practices based on stereotypes. The responsibility of the Mexican
State in addressing this violence and ending this impunity is to design
and implement effective measures of prevention and response
incorporating the substantive participation of the Federal Government,
and the Governments of Chihuahua and the Municipality of Ciudad Juárez,
as well as civil society.
169. In reiterated
opportunities, the Mexican State has emphasized to the Commission and
its Special Rapporteur its institutional commitment to combat impunity
with respect to these killings. The Government of Chihuahua has
expressed its commitment to applying the best resources available to
ensuring absolute respect for the rights of women, through a policy of
openness and coordination with all the public and private institutions
able to make a contribution in this regard. The Federal
Government, for its part, has indicated its determination to assist in
the resolution of past crimes and prevention of future crimes. It
is light of the foregoing commitments that the Commission and its
Special Rapporteur offer the recommendations that follow, as a means of
assisting the State in putting that commitment into practice.
General
recommendations to enhance the efficacy of the right of the women of
Ciudad Juárez to be free from violence:
1.
Prioritize the full inclusion, participation and collaboration of all
levels of Government -- federal, state and municipal -- in the State
response to the killings and other forms of gender-based violence
affecting women in Ciudad Juárez, with the application of specific
goals, timelines, oversight and evaluation to ensure the efficacy of
mechanisms for interinstitutional participation.
2.
In seeking solutions to the killing of women and girls in Ciudad
Juárez, devote increased attention to developing an integrated
understanding of how different forms of violence against women
interrelate and reinforce each other, and integrated strategies to
combat such violence.
3.
Enhance efforts that have been initiated to incorporate the perspective
of gender in design and implementation of public policy, with special
attention to making such efforts effective in practice at the levels of
the State of Chihuahua and Municipality of Ciudad Juárez, in order to
provide due attention to compliance with the principles of equality and
nondiscrimination.
4.
Amplify the participation of women in the design and implementation of
public policy and decision-making at all levels and across all sectors
of Government.
Recommendations to improve the
application of due diligence to investigate, prosecute and punish
violence against women in Ciudad Juárez and overcome impunity:
1.
Strengthen institutional capacity and procedures for responding to
crimes of violence against women, including through the allocation of
additional human and material resources for the Special Prosecutor’s
Office and the other instances responsible for addressing and redressing
these violations.
2.
Establish procedures to provide additional independent oversight,
including periodic reports, for the investigations carried out under the
direction of the Special Prosecutor’s Office to ensure periodic
evaluation of the steps taken and timely progress in each case.
3.
Ensure that investigations into the killings of women are developed from
their inception on the basis of investigation plans that take into
account the prevalence of violence against women, and possible linkages
between certain cases.
4.
Develop and apply an action plan with respect to outstanding
denunciations of missing women to ensure that all reasonable avenues of
investigation are fully explored, and to cross reference information on
the disappearances with that concerning the killings in order to
identify possible connections or patterns.
5.
Develop and apply an action plan with respect to the “cold” cases
designed to identify and remedy any and all existing deficiencies in
those files (such as those identified by the National Human Rights
Commission in its review) and reactivate the investigations.
6.
Expand the assistance the PGR has provided to the PGJE in isolated
instances, and concretize the contributions it can and should provide to
fortify local capacity in such areas as technical, investigative,
criminological, medical-forensic, psychological-forensic and other
scientific assistance.
7.
Improve procedures and practices to ensure that reports of missing
persons are subjected to rapid, thorough and impartial investigation,
including through protocols or guidelines to ensure compliance with
basic standards in all cases, and the development of new initiatives
such as bulletins to the media.
8.
Guarantee prompt access to and the efficacy of special measures for the
protection of the physical and psychological integrity of women subject
to threats of violence.
9.
Intensify efforts to train all relevant officials -- including police,
prosecutors, forensic medical and other specialists, judges and court
personnel -- in the causes and consequences of violence based on gender
both in terms of the technical aspects pertinent to investigation,
prosecution and punishment, and the need to apply this understanding in
their interaction with victims and/or their families.
10.
Implement reforms designed to protect the rights of victims or their
family members to judicial protection and guarantees, principally by
improving mechanisms to ensure that the affected parties have access to
information about the development of the investigation and about their
rights in the legal proceedings, as well as to develop the possibilities
of obtaining legal assistance where necessary to pursue such
proceedings.
11.
Ensure adequate oversight of officials responsible for responding to and
investigating crimes of violence against women and ensure that measures
to hold them accountable administratively, disciplinarily or criminally,
depending on the case, are actually applied when they fail to discharge
their responsibilities under the law.
12.
Provide those who seek assistance from such officials an available and
effective procedure to file complaints in the case of noncompliance with
their duties under the law, and information about how to invoke that
procedure.
13.
Reorient the working relationship with the individuals and organizations
that serve as the coadyuvancia (legal counsel defending the
interests of the victim in investigation and prosecution) to provide for
a fluid exchange of information, and to fully utilize this mechanism as
the aid to justice it was intended to be when established.
14.
In view of the climate of fear and threats in relation to some of these
killings, and reported potential links of some to organized crime, give
attention to incorporating the participation of police officers from
other areas in the investigative teams as a means to ensure that
officers who live in the community are not themselves under threat or
pressure, and increase citizen confidence.
15.
Also with respect to the issue of fear and threats, give priority
attention to ensuring the existence of measures of security for women
victims of or threatened with violence, family members, human rights
defenders, witnesses or journalists in situations of risk, both to
provide protection for their right to personal security and to ensure
that those who come forward to press for clarification of these crimes
or provide information are not intimidated into abandoning their
efforts.
16.
Subject all threats or acts of hostility denounced in connection with
these killings to prompt, thorough and impartial investigation with due
follow-up, and the State should pursue further consultation with the
organizations of civil society who assist victims and their families in
developing and implementing solutions in this regard.
17.
Enhance public services for women who have been subjected to violence
with special attention to amplifying access to medical and psychological
treatment; adopting more integral social services designed to respond to
the problem of economic subordination that often prevents women from
removing themselves from an abusive situation; and, providing
information and assistance to ensure effective access to legal remedies
for protection against this violation and related legal issues such as
child custody.
Recommendations to improve the
application of due diligence to prevent violence against women in Ciudad
Juárez and increase their security
1.
Place renewed emphasis on training for public sector functionaries,
especially the police, prosecutors, forensic specialists, judges and
court personnel, in the causes and consequences of violence based on
gender.
2.
Continue to develop spaces for interinstitutional dialogue and
collaboration to exchange information and strategies, ensure coherent
approaches, improve services and promote best practices; it is crucial
that such efforts include monitoring, evaluation and follow-up to assess
advances and continuing obstacles.
3.
Coordinate and amplify efforts at the federal, State and Municipal
levels to improve such basic services as lighting in marginal areas and
zones that have been associated with security risk; security with
respect to transportation; the paving of roads in marginal areas -- and
to allocate the funds necessary to provide such services.
4.
Improve the detection, recording and reporting of violence against women
through health care settings, and provide information on violence
prevention, treatment and services to users of these services,
especially reproductive health services.
5.
Develop data collection systems to document and report on the scope and
consequences of violence against women in Ciudad Juárez in order to
improve the design and implementation of measures to confront it, and
evaluate the efficacy of those measures.
6.
Work with civil society to design and implement broad based rights and
education campaigns, first, to inform women of Ciudad Juárez about
their right to be free from violence and how to seek protection for that
right, and, second, to ensure that men, women and children understand
that violence based on gender is a human rights violation under
international law and a crime punishable under the law of Chihuahua.
7.
Take steps to involve more men in initiatives aimed at changing
attitudes and practices based on stereotyping, and to ensure that public
campaigns are designed to correspond to the needs of men, women and
families.
8.
Work with the media to: promote public awareness of the right to be free
from violence; inform the public about the costs and consequences of
such violence; disseminate information about legal and social support
services for those at risk; and inform victims, victimizers and
potential victimizers of the punishment for such violence.
9.
Work with instances at the levels of the Federal Government, State of
Chihuahua and the Municipality of Ciudad Juárez responsible for
protecting the rights of children to ensure that special measures of
protection are available for children threatened with gender-based
violence, and that the response to gender-based violence against girl
children takes into account their special vulnerability.
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[36]
Article 1 defines such discrimination as:
any
distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which
has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition,
enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status,
on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and
fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural,
civil or any other field.
The
definition covers any difference in treatment on the basis of sex that
intentionally or unintentionally disadvantages women; prevents
recognition by society as a whole of the rights of women in the public
and private spheres; or, prevents women from exercising the human
rights to which they are entitled.
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