Handbook for Legislation on Violence against Women
Human Rights Now (HRN) published an official translation of a Handbook for Legislation on Violence against Women. The English edition of the Handbook for Legislation on Violence Against Women was originally published by the United Nations in 2009.
The adoption and enforcement of national laws to address and punish all forms of violence against women and girls, in line with international human rights standards, is one of the five key outcomes which the Secretary-General’s campaign “UNiTE to End Violence against Women” aims to achieve in all countries by 2015.
In May 2008, the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDAW / DESA) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) organized an expert group meeting in Vienna, Austria, on good practices in legislation on violence against women. That meeting prepared a model framework for legislation on violence against women, including detailed recommendations, commentaries and examples of promising practices. The framework contained two types of recommendations: those that are applicable to all forms of violence against women; and those that are specific to domestic violence or sexual violence.
In 2009, based on the work of the expert group meeting in Vienna, UNDAW/DESA developed A Handbook for Legislation on Violence against Women. This Handbook outlines the international and regional legal and policy frameworks, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which mandate States to enact and implement comprehensive and effective laws to address violence against women. It then presents a model framework for legislation on violence against women, including recommendations on the content of legislation, accompanied by explanatory commentaries and good practice examples. Finally, it provides a checklist of considerations to be kept in mind when drafting legislation. The checklist highlights the importance of identifying a clear legislative goal; undertaking comprehensive and inclusive consultation with all relevant stakeholders, and in particular survivors; and adopting an evidence-based approach to legislative drafting.
For the English edition, please see the following website.
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/vaw/handbook/Handbook%20for%20legislation%20on%20violence%20against%20women.pdf
If you would like to order the book, please visit the following website.
http://www.imagene.jp/npo/hrn/book2.html