Annotation:
In this document, Human Rights Watch observes that five years after the Beijing Conference, few advances have been made in the area of combating violence against women. Referring to reports on Jordan, Pakistan, Peru, Russia, South Africa, and the United States, HRW demonstrates that states continue to fail their human rights commitments with regard to violence against women. HRW recommends that states should take the following minimum steps: 1) repeal and revise all laws that discriminate against women and deny them access to justice; 2) eliminate police mistreatment of and bias against female victims of violence; 3) ensure that the medico-legal system provides women with appropriate diagnosis and treatment; 4) provide protection from violence; 5) ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice; and 6) eliminate judicial bias against women. [Descriptors: Violence Against Women, International]