Annotation:
General Recommendation 19 is the CEDAW's
key recommendation on violence against
women. The Committee notes that gender-
based violence in all forms "impairs or
nullifies the enjoyment by women of human
rights and fundamental freedoms" and that
States are responsible for violence
perpetrated by public authorities and for
private acts with respect to which they
have failed to act with due diligence to
prevent, investigate and/or punish the
violation of rights. Thus, laws against
family violence and other forms of VAW
must reflect the seriousness of such
offences, give adequate protection to all
women in all areas, and respect their
integrity and dignity. Such legislation
should also be coupled with appropriate
support services. Because certain
entrenched prejudices and traditional
practices may justify gender-based
violence as a form of protection or
control over women, States must act to
overcome and eliminate such harmful
attitudes and customs. States must also
take all appropriate measures to suppress
all forms of trafficking in women and the
exploitation and prostitution of women,
including by taking preventive and
punitive measures against traffickers and
by addressing vulnerabilities raised by
poverty, unemployment, armed conflict and
the occupation of territories. Unequal
access to health care, compulsory
sterilization and forced abortion put the
health and lives of women at risk and,
therefore, also constitutes VAW.