Adopt a New Optional Protocol to CEDAW
A binding global instrument is needed to end violence against all women and girls.
Across the globe, incidents of violence against women and girls are intensifying in all spheres—in homes, in public life, in conflict settings, and online, with at least 1 in 3 women experiencing violence. We need urgent, global solutions, starting with stronger international laws.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) provides the international legal basis to address violence against women and girls. Its General Recommendation 35 focuses explicitly on this issue; however, it is not legally binding. This means countries do not have a legal obligation to comply with this “soft” law. To cement General Recommendation 35 into “hard” law, we need a legally binding treaty in the form of a new Protocol to CEDAW. Without a new Optional Protocol, ending violence against all women and girls will remain a promise without enforcement.
A new Optional Protocol would:
- Codify norms and standards into a binding framework.
- Generate momentum to develop and implement stronger domestic action plans.
- Track countries’ efforts to eradicate violence against women and girls against a set of standard benchmarks, which, if done through a metrics-based approach, can lead to strong outcomes.
Resources
Safer Now
Rapid rise in violence against women and girls demands highest level of global commitment.
Jane Aeberhard-Hodges, Najla Ayoubi, Francisco Rivera Juaristi, JD, Every Woman
Safer Sooner
Toward a Global Binding Norm to End Violence Against Women and Girls.
Dr. Eleanor Ann Nwadinobi, Francisco Rivera Juaristi, JD, et al, Every Woman
The Case For Strengthening The International Framework On Violence Against Women With A New Optional Protocol On Violence Against Women To The CEDAW Convention.
Dr Dubravka Šimonović, International Law Journal: Boston University
Closing the Protection Gap Through a Legally Binding CEDAW Optional Protocol on Violence against Women and Girls.
Rashida Manjoo and Christina Beninger, International Human Rights Law Review
Time For a Change: The Need for a Binding International Treaty on Violence Against Women.
Helen Rubenstein, Global Rights for Women
Time for Action: The Way to a Binding International Treaty on Violence Against Women.
Helen Rubenstein, Global Rights for Women
