- A.S. v. Denmark, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2018. LGBTIQ, asylum. A.S., a Uganda national, applied for asylum in Denmark. She claimed she was wanted in Uganda and at risk of being killed there because she was a lesbian. She was forced to marry a man and have three children, and when he died, she made a living working in a bar frequented by lesbians. Three men made advances to her in the bar, she turned them down, and they became aggressive. Her home was ransacked and burned, her belongings were stolen, and the police looked for her, including at her mother’s house. She left Rwanda traveling with a visa obtained in Kampala. Danish authorities rejected the asylum application, noting the visa contained the wrong name. A.S. filed a complaint with CEDAW claiming that, deportation to Uganda would violate her rights under articles 1-3 of the Convention because her life would be in danger at the hands of the police and ordinary people due to her sexual orientation. She claimed that her case was not properly investigated by the Refugee Appeals Board. The Committee noted that the Danish authorities found A.S.’ account lacked credibility due to factual inconsistencies and lack of support related to her claim to be a lesbian and her account of the bar incident. The Committee also noted that the authorities considered the situation of gay people in Uganda, and found that, notwithstanding the fact homosexuality is prohibited under the Penal Code, the ban has not been enforced and gay people are not targeted. The Committee deemed the communication inadmissible under article 4 (2)(c) concluding that A.S. failed to support that the lack of reference to the Convention in the asylum decision or the refusal to call a witness stemmed from any gender-based discrimination. It also did not find any procedural defect or arbitrariness in the decision-making process or any breach of the Convention as a result of the initial error related to A.S.’ name.
- S.F.A. v. Denmark, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2018. Female genital mutilation, forced and early marriage, asylum. S.F.A., a Somali national, applied for asylum in Denmark for herself and her son born in 2013. She was subjected to female genital mutilation as a child and her father wanted to marry her forcibly to an older man. She had a relationship against her family’s wishes with H., became pregnant and had an abortion. Her father learned about the abortion and her brothers threatened to hand her over to Al-Shabaab. She left Somalia and ended up in Italy. H. traveled to Italy, they got married and she became pregnant and H. died. S.F.A. and her baby traveled to Denmark without documents and she applied for asylum. Denmark rejected her asylum application and dismissed her claim. She filed a complaint with CEDAW claiming that, if she and her son were deported to Somalia she would be personally exposed to serious forms of gender-based violence, as defined under articles 2, 12, 15 and 16 of the Convention. The Committee noted that the Danish authorities found that S.F.A.’s account lacked credibility due to factual inconsistencies and lack of substantiation and that they considered the general situation in Somalia. The Committee rejected her claim that the fact she is a single woman constitutes a supplementary risk factor in Somalia, finding that she has several close relatives in Somalia. Based on the record, the Commission deemed the communication inadmissible under article 4(2)(c) of the Optional Protocol, finding that it was not able to conclude that the Danish authorities failed to give sufficient consideration to the application or that consideration of her case suffered from any procedural defect.M.W. v. Denmark, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2016. gender discrimination, domestic violence, custody, best interests of the child, state responsibility. M.W., an Austrian national, was married to S., a Danish national, and the couple had a child named O.W. in Denmark. After M.W.’s separation from S. and relocation to Austria with O.W., of whom she was the sole lawful custodian, she was subjected to verbal and physical violence, harassment, and stalking by S., received discriminatory treatment from Danish authorities, and was subject to unlawful arrest during her stay in Denmark. Further, O.W. was kidnapped by S. in Austria and brought back to Denmark, and Danish authorities did not undertake any actions to protect M.W.’s custody rights. O.W. had been severely traumatized by his kidnapping but received no assistance from Danish authorities. M.W. sought the enforcement of the custody order of the Austrian Supreme Court but was denied by the Bailiff’s Court of Helsingør, which noted that S. had been awarded custody by Danish court order. M.W. filed several unsuccessful applications for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court and reported several officials for abuse of office, defamation, and discrimination to the Danish police. M.W. made a complaint against Denmark to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, claiming that her rights under articles 1, 2(a) to (f), 3, 4, 5(a) and (b), 9, 15(1) and (4), and 16(d) to (g) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women were violated. Danish authority was of the position that there were no violations of the Convention, as it was merely a case where two legal systems had made contradictory custody decisions. The Committee acknowledged the Danish authority’s systematic failure to protect M.W.’s custody rights and O.W.’s best interests and recommended that it take steps to ensure that Denmark’s central judicial authority promptly collaborate with the Austrian central authority in order to ensure the immediate return of O.W. to M.W. in Austria, where, if necessary, new proceedings concerning his custody and visitation may be conducted in the best interests of the child. Committee member Patricia Schulz gave a separate opinion.
- N.P. v. Ukraine, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2017. Employment discrimination, sexual harassment. N.P., a Ukrainian, worked as an obstetrician-gynecologist at a hospital in Ichnya, Chernihiv region, Ukraine between 1997 and 2000. N.P. was given responsibility for managing the hospital’s family planning department without commensurate remuneration. She was reprimanded several times for failing to perform certain work in the family planning department (e.g., failure to examine patients and delegating it to a junior staff member, negligence in examining a pregnant woman) and disciplinary sanctions were imposed. In response, she refused to perform managerial duties she claimed were voluntary and she was dismissed for failure to perform her professional duties. She unsuccessfully challenged her dismissal in the Ichnya District court and in appeals to the Chernihiv Regional Court, the Supreme Court, the Kyiv Circuit Administrative Court and the Kyiv Appeal Administrative. In appealing to CEDAW, N.P. claimed the real reason for her termination were conflicts with colleagues and her refusal to have sexual relations with the head of the hospital. She claimed the courts gave preference to arguments and falsified evidence presented by the hospital and the courts unlawfully dismissed her claims. The Optional Protocol entered into force for Ukraine on 26 December 2003. The Committee concluded that the alleged violations took place before the entry into force for Ukraine of the Optional Protocol, and, therefore, that it was precluded from examining the communication.
- O.G. v. Russian Federation, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2017. Domestic violence. O.G. was in a civil partnership with K. who used drugs and alcohol and had a gambling addiction. After O.G. left him, he sent her harassing texts, attempted to visit her, and when she refused to let him in her building, he hit her. She reported the events to a Crisis Center for Women. K. was sentenced to four months of labor which was suspended to a six-month probation and ordered to pay $50. After his release, he continued to send texts to O.G. threatening to kill her. She filed seven criminal complaints with the police, who took no action claiming there was nothing they could do because K. would not come to the police station and he was not acting on his threats. O.G. filed a complaint with CEDAW alleging that the Russian Federation failed to fully implement the Convention by not introducing legislation on domestic violence, and that the authorities had violated her rights under the Convention by not responding adequately to her claims or implementing protective orders to ensure her safety, not providing any effective remedy or psychological support, not conducting meaningful investigation, and allowing prosecution to be time barred due to a two-year statute of limitation. The Committee decided in O.G.’s favor, rejecting the Russian authority’s argument that O.G.’s claim to be a domestic violence victim was unsubstantiated because he was not a member of her family at the time of the alleged violence, finding that there is no statutory time limit on how long after the end of a relationship a partner can claim that violence falls within this definition. The Committee determined that Russia had not adopted comprehensive legislation to prevent and address violence against women, and noted recent amendments to national legislation that decriminalized battery under which many domestic violence cases are prosecuted due to the absence of a definition of “domestic violence.” This failure to amend legislation relating to domestic violence directly affected O.G.’s access to remedies and protection. The Committee determined Russia violated O.G.’s rights under articles 1, 2 (b)-(g), 3 and 5 (a) of the Convention. It recommended that Russia provide financial compensation to O.G., adopt comprehensive legislation to prevent and address violence against women, including domestic violence, reinstate criminal prosecution of domestic violence, introduce a protocol for handling domestic violence complaints at the police station level to ensure adequate protection, renounce private prosecution in domestic violence cases, ratify the Istanbul Convention, provide mandatory training for judges, lawyers and law enforcement personnel on the Convention and related documents, investigate allegations of gender-based violence against women promptly and provide safe and prompt access to justice, provide rehabilitation programs to offenders, and develop and implement effective measures with relevant stakeholders such as women’s organizations, to address stereotypes and practices that condone or promote domestic violence. A written response and report on actions taken was due to the Committee within six months.
- S.J.A. v. Denmark, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2017. Forced and early marriage, asylum. S.J.A., a Somali national, arrived in Denmark seeking to escape a forced marriage to A.H., a member of Al-Shabaab. A.H. forced S.J.A. to accompany him to Al-Shabaab headquarters where he threatened to kill her if she did not marry him. S.J.A. said she would consider it, A.H. released her, and then her parents arranged for her departure from Somalia. Her asylum application was rejected. S.J.A. filed a complaint with CEDAW claiming that her deportation from Denmark to Somalia would violate her rights under articles 3, 5 and 16 (b) of the CEDAW Convention. Denmark granted the Committee’s request to suspend S.J.A.’s departure from Denmark pending consideration of her case. The Committee stated that S.J.A. provided limited information to the authorities, which corroborated their finding that her claims lacked support. The Committee also noted that S.J.A. did not sufficiently link the alleged facts and the alleged violation of the Convention. Finally, the Committee observed that the Danish authorities considered the general situation in Somalia, as well as the fact S.J.A. had a family network, including parents and three siblings in her village. Based on the record, the Commission deemed the communication inadmissible under article 4(2)(c) of the Optional Protocol, finding that it was not able to conclude that the Danish authorities failed to give sufficient consideration to S.J.A.’s claims or that the consideration of her case suffered from any procedural defect.
- Anna Belousova, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2015. sexual harassment, gender discrimination, employment discrimination, state responsibility. Anna Belousova, a Kazakh national, lived in a rural area and worked as a technical staff member in a cloakroom at a primary school in Pertsevka, Kazakhstan. A. became the new director of the school and routinely harassed Anna into having a sexual relationship. Anna refused and A. terminated her employment. Anna made several unsuccessful complaints to domestic education and law enforcement authorities. She also gave an interview to a local newspaper to describe her situation, which lead to a successful defamation suit by A. After exhausting all domestic remedies, Anna made a complaint against Kazakhstan to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women claiming that her rights under articles 2(e), 5(a), 11, and 14 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women were violated. Kazakhstan objected to the complaint and noted that there was insufficient evidence supporting Anna’s claims and that Anna did not exhaust all available domestic remedies. The Committee reviewed the admissibility of the case and concluded that domestic remedies would be unlikely to bring effective relief to Anna, and also expressed its concern regarding the lack of legal provisions in national law prohibiting sexual harassment in the workplace. The Committee was of the view that Kazakh authorities failed to give due consideration to Anna’s complaint of gender-based violence and recommended that Kazakhstan provide appropriate reparation, including adequate financial compensation, for moral and material damages caused to Anna as the result of the violation of her rights under the Convention, and further recommended Kazakhstan to adopt without delay comprehensive legislation, in particular in the field of labor, to combat sexual harassment in the workplace.
- X and Y, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2015. sexual violence and rape, domestic violence, child abuse, state responsibility. X, a woman living in Georgia, was raped by a Georgian man following a student party. She was then forced to marry that man due to conservatism of Georgian society. During the marriage, X’s husband routinely used violence and force against X and their children, including Y, and also engaged in inappropriate behavior with Y. X made several complaints to local police, but the police failed to intervene effectively. After an unsuccessful complaint to the local District Prosecutor’s Office, X filed appeals with Georgian courts, which did not bring any evidential success. With all remedies at the national level exhausted, X and her daughter Y brought a complaint to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women claiming to be victims of violation by Georgia of their rights under articles 1, 2(b) - 2(f), and 5(a) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Georgia initially offered X and Y an amicable settlement, and X and Y confirmed their willingness to engagement in such a settlement, but there were no further developments in the discussions. X and Y brought an unsuccessful claim to the European Court of Human Rights, which was focused on the personal impact of the abuse suffered by Y and her brother and on the harm caused to X as a mother unable to protect her children, rather than gender-based discrimination. The Committee reviewed the admissibility of the case and compared the claim with the one submitted to the European Court of Human Rights and concluded that the two were “fairly similar, given that the articles relied upon in both cases are substantively similar” but did not relate to the same substantive rights, therefore the claim was admissible. Georgia claimed that X and Y failed to provide valid arguments to support their allegations concerning the violation. The Committee concluded that the Georgian State party had failed to fulfil its duty to adopt appropriate legislative and other measures to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, and had violated the rights of X and Y. The Committee recommended that Georgia provide adequate financial compensation to X and Y commensurate with the gravity of the violations of their rights.
- de Blok, et al. v. The Netherlands, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2014. Gender discrimination, employment discrimination, CEDAW, international law. Elisabeth de Blok and five other nationals of the Netherlands are self-employed women who gave birth between 2005 and 2006. Until 31 July 2004, self-employed persons were compulsorily insured against the risk of loss of income as a result of incapacity for work under the Incapacity Insurance Act. Under the Work and Care Act, self-employed women were also entitled to a State maternity benefits. On August 1, 2004, the Discontinuation of Access to Incapacity Insurance Act entered into force, ending the entitlement of self-employed women to maternity benefits. The six self-employed women complained to the District Court of The Hague, claiming that the State should have ensured an adequate maternity benefit scheme in keeping with article 11(2)(b) of the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women. The District Court declared the claim unfounded. The Court of Appeal of The Hague upheld the judgment. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, ruling that the provisions of article 11(2)(b) of the Convention were insufficiently precise, thus making them unsuitable for direct application by national courts. In their complaint to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, the six women argued that the State party violated their rights under article 11(2)(b) of the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women by removing the existing maternity leave scheme applicable to self-employed women up to 2004. The Committee held that article 11(2)(b) is applicable also to self-employed women and not to female employees exclusively. Further, the Committee held that, contrary to the State party's view, the provision was directly applicable. The Committee concluded that the State party's failure to provide maternity benefits affected pregnant women adversely and therefore constituted direct sex and gender-based discrimination against women. The Committee recommended that the State party provide reparation, including monetary compensation, for the loss of maternity benefits to the six women. The Committee noted that the Sate party amended its legislation in June 2008 to ensure that a maternity leave scheme is available also to self-employed women. However, the Committee invited the State party to address and redress the situation of women similarly situated to the authors, who are self-employed and gave birth between 1 August 2004 and 4 June 2008, when no compensation scheme for self-employed women was in place.
- González Carreño v. Spain, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2014. Child abuse, child protection, domestic violence, protection order, state accountability, supervised visitation, restraining order, parental visitation. In 2003, a father murdered his seven-year-old daughter Andrea during a court-approved parental visitation. Ángela González, Andrea's mother, had previously reported instances of physical abuse to the police on numerous occasions and sought court-ordered restraining orders against him to protect herself and her daughter. The father had refused to accept supervised visitations with his daughter. After killing his daughter, the father committed suicide. The mother brought suit in national court against Spanish authorities. The court ruled against her, deciding in April 2011 that the visit regime was sound and denied the case any constitutional relevance. As a result, the mother brought this complaint to the CEDAW Committee. The Committee found for the mother, stating that in deciding the parental visitation scheme the Spanish authorities should have taken into account the existing context of domestic violence in the family. Instead, the Spanish authorities had made a routine decision that this type of visitation scheme was appropriate without taking the specific facts of this case into consideration. The Committee held that the Spanish authorities thereby failed to take the best interest of the child into account. The Committee has repeatedly found that a State can be held responsible for acts of individuals if it fails to exercise necessary diligence in order to prevent violations of the CEDAW Convention. Specifically, Spain had violated articles 2 a), d), e) and f), 5 a) and 16 paragraph 1 of CEDAW. Additionally, CEDAW ruled that Spain must provide training to judges and other professionals to avoid similar failures in the future. Spain has since stated that it will introduce new mechanisms to protect children in gender violence cases, such as requiring judges to act with precaution in their decision-making.
- R.P.B. v. The Philippines, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2014. Gender discrimination, sexual violence and rape, women with disabilities, CEDAW. R.P.B., a Filipina national born in 1989 who is both deaf and mute, was raped by her 19-year-old neighbor in 2006. The case remained at the trial court level for five years before the Regional Trial Court of Pasig City acquitted the defendant in 2011. Similar to a previous case from the Philippines heard by the CEDAW Committee in 2008, Karen Tayag Vetrido v. The Philippines, the Court again declined to apply Filipino Supreme Court precedent. Instead, the Court relied on gender-based myths and stereotypes about rape and rape victims, finding that the victim should have used every opportunity to escape or resist her attacker. In addition, State authorities did not provide any interpretation for R.P.B. In her complaint to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, R.P.B. argued that the Court's actions violated article 1, and article 2(c), (d), and (f) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. In addition to relying on gender based myths and stereotypes, R.P.B. also argued that the Court failed to provided her with accessibility, on an equal basis with other victims, to the court, as a woman who is also deaf and mute. The Committee held that the provision of sign language interpretation was essential to ensure R.P.B's full and equal participation in the proceedings, in compliance with article 2(c) and 2(d) of the Convention. Further, the Committee held that the State party erred in relying on gender-based stereotyping, which resulted in sex and gender-based discrimination and disregard for the individual circumstances of the case, such as R.P.B's disability and age. The Committee recommended that the State provide R.P.B. with the appropriate compensation and free-of-charge counseling, review the existing law and remove any requirement that sexual assault be committed by force or violence, guarantee the free and adequate assistance of interpreters, ensure that all criminal proceedings involving rape and other sexual offences are conducted in an impartial and fair manner, free from prejudices or stereotypical notions regarding the victim's gender, age and disability, and provide adequate and regular training on the Convention, the Optional Protocol and the Committee's general recommendations.
- Jallow v. Bulgaria, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2012. CEDAW, domestic and intimate partner violence, gender discrimination, divorce. J moved from the Gambia to Bulgaria after marrying A.P., a Bulgarian national. Once in Bulgaria, A.P. subjected J to physical and psychological violence, including sexual abuse, and attempted to force her to take part in pornographic films and photographs. He also abused their daughter, M.A.P. A.P. called the Child Protection Department to stop J from breastfeeding M.A.P, during which onsite visit the social workers learned of A.P's abuse, called the police and advised J to seek refuge but provided no guidance about where or how to do so. J found refuge for several days in an NGO-run shelter, but A.P. later found her and forced her to return to the family home. Prosecutors refused to continue investigating the alleged domestic violence due to insufficient evidence. At no time did the authorities interview J. Later, A.P. filed an application with the Sofia Regional Court alleging him being a victim of domestic violence and requesting an emergency protection order. The Court granted the order, along with temporary custody of M.A.P, based solely on his statement and without consideration of the alleged domestic violence he committed against J. Authorities did not provide J with information about M.A.P's whereabouts or her condition, despite repeated requests. The Court dismissed A.P.'s application for a permanent protection order but the emergency order remained effective. J later agreed to a divorce, including to numerous unfavorable conditions, to regain her custody of the daughter. J submitted a communication before the CmEDAW on behalf of M.A.P. and herself alleging violations by Bulgaria of Articles 1, 2, 3, 5 and 16 (1)(c), 16(1)(d), 16(1)(f) and 16(1)(g) of CEDAW by failing to provide effective protection against domestic violence and sanction A.P. for his behavior, to consider domestic violence as a real and serious threat, to adopt effective measures to address gender-based violence against women, gender discrimination and to provide illiterate migrant woman as herself to access justice. The Committee upheld all her claims, urged Bulgaria to compensate J and M.A.P, and recommended that the State Party adopt measures to ensure that women victims of domestic violence, including migrant women, have effective access to justice and other services. It also called on the State Party to provide regular training on CEDAW and the Optional Protocol and to adopt legislative and other measures to ensure that domestic violence is taken into account in determining custody and visitation rights of children.
- Kell v. Canada, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2012. CEDAW, gender discrimination, property and inheritance rights. K, an Aboriginal woman from the Rae-Edzo community in the Northwest Territories (N.W.T.) of Canada, bought a house from the N.W.T. Housing Corporation, with S her common law partner, as co-owners of the property. S subjected K to domestic violence, including economic abuse, over the subsequent three-year period. Following a request from S, a then board member of the Housing Authority, and without K's knowledge, the N.W.T. Housing Corporation on instruction from the Rae-Edzo Housing Authority removed K's name from the Assignment of Lease, making S the sole owner of the property. S then evicted her from the property while she sought protection in a shelter. K filed proceedings against S in the N.W.T. Supreme Court seeking compensation for domestic violence and loss of use of her home, fraudulently obtained by S, aided and abetted by the N.W.T. Government. S subsequently died, following which K's lawyer initiated proceedings against his estate and the N.W.T. Housing Corporation. They offered K a monetary settlement but K refused as her key concern was regaining the property. The Supreme Court dismissed both proceedings for "want of prosecution." Costs were imposed against K and subsequent appeals were unsuccessful. K filed a third action related to her interest in and right to the leasehold title and possession of the property. The property had then been sold and the Court dismissed the matter. K brought a communication to the CmEDAW alleging violations by Canada of Articles 1, 2(d), 2(e), 14(2)(h), 15(1)-15(4), 16(1)(h) of CEDAW by allowing its agents - the N.W.T. Housing Corporation and the Rae-Edzo Housing Authority - to discriminate against her on the grounds of sex, marital status and cultural heritage and failing to ensure that its agents afford women and men equal rights in respect of ownership and enjoyment of property. The Committee found that Canada was responsible for K losing ownership of the property, in violation of Articles 2(d), 2(e), and 16(1)(h) of CEDAW, read with Article 1. However, it found that Canada had not violated Articles 14(2)(h) or 15(4), as there was no evidence K had been discriminated against as a rural woman or prevented from residing in another property in the community. The Committee recommended that Canada compensate K and provide her with appropriate housing. It also recommended recruiting and training more Aboriginal women to provide legal aid and reviewing the legal aid system to ensure Aboriginal women who are victims of domestic violence have effective access to justice.
- R.K.B. v. Turkey, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2012. CEDAW, gender discrimination, employment discrimination. R.K.B.'s employer dismissed her but not the male colleague whom she was accused of having an affair with, and threatened to "spread rumours about her relationships with other men" to pressure her to sign a document, attesting that she had been paid all her benefits upon termination. R.K.B. filed a claim to the Kocaeli 3rd Labour Court against her employer alleging unfair termination based on gender stereotypes. The Court decided that the termination of her contract was not justified but not dismissing the male colleague was not discriminatory. R.K.B. appealed to the Court of Cassation, which dismissed the appeal without reference to gender discrimination. The CEDAW held that the Turkish court violated Articles 5(a), 11(1a) and 11(1d) of CEDAW by basing their decisions on gender stereotypes, tolerating allegations of extramarital relationships by male employees but not by female employees. It recommended adequate compensation to be paid to R.K.B, issued the State to take measures to implement laws on gender equality in the work environment; and to provide training to judges, lawyers and law enforcement personnel on women's rights and gender-based stereotypes. The decision is of particular importance in a country where almost 80% of women are unemployed (Richinick) and where women's participation in the labor force has been declining. It also stresses that mere adoption of laws is not enough to protect rights - implementation is the key. The decision also emphasizes the role of the courts (and not the executive branch) as ultimately responsible for rights' violation.
- S. V. P. v. Bulgaria, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2012. CEDAW, defilement and statutory rape, sexual violence. S filed a complaint on behalf of her seven-year-old daughter, V, who was sexually assaulted by a neighbor. The perpetrator, B, was indicted for sexual molestation, at which time, was not a 'serious crime' under the State's criminal code and thus permitted B to enter into a plea-bargain agreement under which he admitted guilt and received a three-year suspended sentence. S brought a civil tort claim on behalf of V as she was not permitted to bring a civil claim against B in connection with B's prosecution and received a judgment of approximately EUR 15,000 for moral damages two years later. The law did not provide for a state actor to enforce the judgment, and S was only able to collect approximately EUR 500 from B. B continued to live in the vicinity of V's home, and she repeatedly expressed fear of further harm from him. After the assault, V was diagnosed as a person with disability. S brought a communication before the CEDAW alleging violations by Bulgaria of Articles 1, 2(a), (b), (c), (e), (f) and (g), 3, 5, 12 and 15 of CEDAW by failing to effectively protect V against sexual violence and compensation, to ensure V's rights to health, including reproductive health and education, to provide V with proper rehabilitative services, and to guarantee V's right against re-victimization by B. The Committee upheld all of S's claims, ordered the State to provide V with appropriate reparations and addressed the State to adopt specified changes to State laws, including amendments to provide effective protection from re-victimization and to provide appropriate support and financial compensation to victims, and enact new policies, including health care protocols and hospital procedures, to address sexual violence against women and girls.
- Alyne da Silva v. Brazil, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2011. Women's health negligence, pregnancy complications, reproductive healthcare, gender discrimination. A, a 28-year-old Afro-Brazilian woman, died of complications resulting from pregnancy after her local health center misdiagnosed her symptoms and delayed providing her with emergency care. A's death is not an isolated case. Brazil's maternal mortality rates are disproportionately high for a country of its economic status and the chances of dying in pregnancy and childbirth are greatest among indigenous, low-income, and Afro-descendant women. The Center for Reproductive Rights and Brazilian partner Advocaci filed a communication before the CEDAW alleging violations Articles 2 and 12 of CEDAW. The Committee affirmed the violations despite Brazil's claims that it had made "qualified obstetric care" a priority in its National Plan for Women's Policies. It also highlighted that "the State is directly responsible for the action of private institutions when it outsources its medical services, and that furthermore, the State always maintains the duty to regulate and monitor private health-care institutions". The Committee recommended Brazil ensure affordable access for all women to adequate emergency obstetric care and to effective judicial remedies, provide adequate professional training for health workers, ensure compliance by private facilities with national and international standards in reproductive healthcare, and reduce preventable maternal deaths. The case was important as it was the first case on maternal mortality to be brought before CEDAW. The Committee took a leap forward in increasing coherence in international human rights law on women's economic, social and cultural rights. Further, the Committee's inclusion of factors affecting A's access to health services, such as poverty and race were a milestone in the development of an intersectional understanding of women's ESCR.
- L.C. v. Peru, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2011. CEDAW, defilement and statutory rape, sexual violence and rape. An 11-year-old girl was repeatedly raped by a 34-year-old man. As a result, she became pregnant and consequently attempted to commit suicide by jumping from a building. She survived the suicide attempt but sustained serious injuries which required emergency surgery. The hospital declined to perform the surgery based on the risk posed to the pregnancy, and refused to perform an abortion despite that therapeutic abortion is legal in Peru and that the pregnancy posed a danger to her physical and mental health. As a consequence, she was completely paralyzed from the neck down. The Center for Reproductive Rights and the Center for the Promotion and Defense of Sexual and Reproductive Rights filed a human rights petition on behalf of her against Peru before CEDAW alleging violations of Articles 1, 2 (c) and (f), 3, 5, 12 and 16 (e) of CEDAW by failing to implement measures that guarantee a woman's ability to obtain essential reproductive health services in a timely manner. The Committee upheld the claim and asked Peru to provide L.C. reparation, including physical and mental rehabilitation, and issue necessary measures so that no other woman is denied her right to comprehensive healthcare and therapeutic abortion. This decision demonstrate a willingness on the part of the CEDAW to view the denial of reproductive rights as a discrimination issue and is flagged as an innovative juridical resource for reforming abortion laws.
- Abramova v. Belarus, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2011. CEDAW, sexual harassment, gender discrimination. Ms. Abramova, a citizen of Belarus, is a journalist who was arrested for her activism on behalf of the "For Freedom" movement and convicted of "minor hooliganism." She was held in a temporary detention facility for five days, where she shared a small, unheated cell with an unenclosed toilet area that lay in open view of the all-male staff. During her detention, the male prison staff directed numerous humiliating comments at Ms. Abramova, treatment that the male detainees at the facility did not receive. Upon her release, Ms. Abramova submitted a complaint of violation of her rights in detention to authorities at the Interior Department, who informed her that her allegations had not been verified. Ms. Abramova then filed a complaint with the Prosecutor's Office, again with a response that her claims had not been confirmed. Next, Ms. Abramova filed an application to the District Court under civil procedure, but the court claimed that it lacked jurisdiction and rejected her application. She appealed, and the Judicial Board rejected her appeal. Ms. Abramova proceeded to file a complaint to the District Court under administrative procedure, which again refused to initial civil proceedings. On appeal, the Judicial Board reversed the decision of the District Court and remanded the case for new consideration; on remand, the District Court dismissed Ms. Abramova's complaint on procedural grounds. She submitted a complaint to the CEDAW Committee alleging that the conditions under which the State detained her constituted inhuman and degrading treatment, and that such treatment amounted to discrimination against her on the basis of gender. The Committee found that Ms. Abramova's temporary detention in poor, unhygienic conditions, in a facility staffed exclusively by men, amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment and discrimination on the basis of her gender. Further, the Committee found that the State was in violation of its obligations under the Convention (CEDAW).
- Teixeira v. Brazil, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2011. CEDAW, maternal health, gender discrimination. Alyne da Silva Pimentel Teixeira, a Brazilian national of African origin, suffered a high-risk pregnancy and was repeatedly denied timely care at public health facility, before dying of a digestive hemorrhage following delivery of her stillborn fetus. The husband of the deceased then filed a civil claim for material and moral damages, and twice requested the judicial mechanism of tutela antecipada, which requests the judge to anticipate the protective effects of a decision. The first request was ignored and the second denied. The mother of the deceased then submitted a complaint to CEDAW Committee, alleging that the State violated her daughter's right to life and health under the Convention (CEDAW). The State contended that the evidence offered no link between the deceased's gender and the possible errors committed, and that such errors therefore did not fall within the definition of discrimination set out in the Convention. Upon consideration, the Committee found that the death of the deceased must be regarded as maternal, that the deceased was denied appropriate services in connection with her pregnancy, that the State failed to fulfill its obligations under the Convention pursuant to the right to health, and that the State's lack of appropriate maternal health services has a differential impact on the right to life of women. The Committee directed the State to take the following steps: compensate the deceased's family, ensure women's right to safe motherhood and affordable access to adequate emergency obstetric care, provide adequate professional training for health workers, ensure that private health care facilities comply with national and international standards on reproductive health care, and ensure that sanctions are imposed on health professionals who violate women's reproductive health rights.
- V.K. v. Bulgaria, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2011. CEDAW, domestic and intimate partner violence, gender discrimination, divorce and dissolution of marriage. Ms. V.K., a Bulgarian citizen residing in Poland, sought to obtain a divorce from her husband after years of physical, emotional and economic abuse. Following a series of incidents in which her husband physically abused and intimidated both mother and children, Ms. V.K. took her children and left Poland for Bulgaria in order to hide from her husband and to seek protection and support from her family and the State. Once in Bulgaria, Ms. V.K. filed an application pursuant to the State's Law on Protection against Domestic Violence, asking for an immediate protection order against her husband, invoking the Convention (CEDAW) and other human rights treaties. The District Court issued the order for immediate protection, but rejected Ms. V.K.'s application for a permanent protection order. On appeal, the Regional Court upheld the decision of the District Court. After exhausting all available domestic remedies, Ms. V.K. lodged a complaint with the CEDAW Committee alleging that the State had failed to provide her with effective protection against domestic violence, in violation of the Convention. She further claimed that the absence of a special law regarding the equality of women and men in the State, and the lack of recognition of violence against women as a form of discrimination, interfered with her human rights. Upon consideration, the Committee found that the refusal of the State's courts to issue a permanent protection order against Ms. V.K.'s husband, along with the unavailability of shelters for battered women, violated the State's obligation to effectively protect her against domestic violence. The Committee further concluded that the refusal of the State's courts to issue a permanent protection order against Ms. V.K.'s husband was based on discriminatory notions of what constitutes domestic violence.
- Karen Tayag Vertido v. The Philippines, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2008. Gender discrimination, sexual violence and rape, CEDAW, international law. Karen Tayag Vertido, an employee of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Philippines, was raped by a former President of the Chamber in 1996. The case remained at the trial court level for eight years before the Regional Court of Davao City acquitted the defendant in 2005. The Court scrutinized Vertido's testimony with "extreme caution," and challenged her credibility on the ground that "an accusation of rape can be made with facility." The Court specifically declined to apply Filipino Supreme Court precedent cases establishing that failure to escape does not negate the existence of rape, stating that Vertido had ample opportunities to escape her attacker. In her complaint to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, Vertido argued that the Court's actions subjected her to revictimization and violated articles 2(c), 2(f), and 5(a) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and CEDAW General Recommendation 19, which obliges a State to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, and practices that constitute discrimination against women. The Committee held that the State Court erred in relying on gender-based myths and stereotypes about rape and rape victims in Vertido's case, and stressed that there should be no assumption in law or practice that a woman gives her consent where she had not physically resisted unwanted sexual conduct. The Committee recommended that the State provide Vertido with appropriate compensation, review the definition of rape under existing law to ensure that lack of consent is a essential element of the crime of rape, remove any requirement that sexual violence be committed by violence or force, and require appropriate training for judges, lawyers, and law enforcement officers in understanding crimes of rape and other sexual offenses.
- Goekce v. Austria, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2007. CEDAW, domestic and intimate partner violence, international law. Sahide Goekce's husband shot and killed her in front of their two daughters in 2002. Before her death, Ms. Goekce had obtained three expulsion and prohibition-to-return orders against her husband in response to repeated episodes of domestic violence. The Vienna Public Prosecutor denied police requests to detain Mr. Goekce, and stopped the prosecution against him on the basis of insufficient grounds of prosecution two days before Ms. Goekce's death. Police reports show that the law enforcement failed to respond in a timely fashion to the dispute that resulted in Ms. Goekce's death. The complaint to the Committee on behalf of the decedent stated that Austria's Federal Act for the Protection against Violence within the Family provides ineffective protection for victims of repeated, severe spousal abuse and that women are disproportionately affected by the State's failure to prosecute and take seriously reports of domestic violence. The Committee found that although Austria has established a comprehensive model to address domestic violence, it is necessary for State actors to investigate reports of this crime with due diligence to effectively provide redress and protection. The Committee concluded that the police knew or should have know that Ms. Goekce was in serious danger, and were therefore accountable for failing to exercise due diligence in protecting her. By allowing the perpetrator's rights to supersede Ms. Goekce's human rights to life and to physical and mental integrity, Austrian law enforcement violated it obligations under article 2 to end gender discrimination through the modification or enactment of appropriate legislation, and its article 3 obligation to guarantee women's exercise and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedom on a basis of equality with men. The Committee recommended that Austria strengthen its implementation and monitoring of the Federal Act for the Protection against Violence within the Family, respond to complaints of domestic violence with due diligence, and provide adequate sanctions for failure to do so.
- N. S. F. v. United Kingdom, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2007. CEDAW, international law, marital rape, domestic and intimate partner violence, divorce, asylum. N. S. F., a Pakistani national, experienced repeated ill-treatment from her husband, including marital rape, until they divorced in 2002. Although N. S. F.'s husband continued to harass her after she moved to a nearby village, the police did not offer her any protection. When her ex-husband came to her new home with other armed men and threatened to kill her, N. S. F. fled to the United Kingdom and applied for asylum, claiming that her forced return to Pakistan would constitute violations of the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. N. S. F. appealed the dismissal of her application for asylum by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate of the Home Office, and on appeal the Adjudicator denied N. S. F.'s application on the grounds that N. S. F. could relocate further away from her husband within the country, and that she would receive protection in Pakistan on account of her being divorced from her husband. The Immigration Appeal Tribunal rejected N. S. F.'s application for permission to appeal, and the High Court of Justice, Queens Bench Division, Administrative Court affirmed the decision upon challenge. Her complaint alleged that the asylum and human rights-based procedures were not fair, and that if deported back to Pakistan, N. S. F.'s husband would kill her and put her children's education at risk. Although the Committee found the complaint inadmissible because N. S. F. did not exhaust all domestic remedies, the Committee noted that the complaint raised concern for women who have fled their country because of fear of domestic violence. It recalled its General Recommendation No. 19 on violence against women, and concluded that Pakistan's assertion that N. S. F.'s claims do not amount to an allegation of sex discrimination needed to be reconsidered in light of this Recommendation. The Committee suggested that N. S. F. apply to the High Court for judicial review of her application for asylum, and that the Court take her allegations of sex discrimination under consideration.
- Salgado v. United Kingdom, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2007. CEDAW, gender discrimination, international law, citizenship. Constance Ragan Salgado, a British citizen, moved to Colombia with her husband, a Colombian, and gave birth to a son. Salgado attempted to obtain British nationality for her son, but the British Consul in Bogotá stated that British nationality passed only though the paternal line. Although the British Nationality Act of 1981 amended British law to confer equal rights to men and women, Salgado's son did not qualify because he was over 18. The Legislation again changed in 2002 with the passage of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act which allowed children born to British mothers between 1961 and 1983 to register as British nationals if they satisfied certain other conditions. Salgado's complaint alleged sex-based discrimination under the British Nationality Act of 1948 which restricted nationality descent to British fathers. Salgado raised issues under article 2 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which calls for the elimination of all discriminatory laws, regulations and customs that discriminate against women, and article 9 paragraph 2 under which State parties must grant women equal rights with men with respect to the nationality of their children. She claimed that the discrimination was ongoing because her son failed to qualify for citizenship under the various amendments to the Act. Although the Committee held that the complaint was inadmissible ratione temporis because the events occurred before the Covention's entry into force in the United Kingdom, it based its decision on the fact that Salgado's son had reached the age of majority, at which time he could have applied for British nationality on his own. The Committee noted that the United Kingdom had enacted the challenged legislation prior to the Optional Protocol's entry into force. The Committee also recommended that Salgado challenge the legislation by way of judicial review in the British High Court before turning to the Committee for further redress.
- Yildirim v. Austria, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2007. CEDAW, domestic and intimate partner violence, divorce, international law. Fatma Yildirim sought to divorce her husband who threatened to kill her and her children if she ever initiated divorce proceedings. In response to Yildirim's numerous reports of assault and dangerous criminal threats, the Austrian police issued an expulsion and prohibition-to-return order against her husband. The police also recommended that her husband be detained, but the Vienna Public Prosecutor twice denied the request. Yildirim appealed to the Vienna Intervention Center after her husband repeatedly came to her workplace to harass and threaten her; the Center asked the police to pay more attention to Yildirim's case. When Yildirim finally filed a petition for divorce at the Vienna District Court of Hernals, her husband followed her home from work and fatally stabbed her. The complaint stated that the State's action violated article 1 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) because the Austrian criminal justice system negatively impacts women through the public prosecutors' failure to treat cases of domestic violence seriously. The complaint also cited the failure of judicial officials and law enforcement to collect data and maintain statistics on domestic violence instances denied Yildirim the enjoyment of her human rights in violation of article 2 and 3 of CEDAW on eliminating laws, regulations, and customs that adversely effect women . Finally, the complaint stated a violation of article 5 of the Convention on eliminating social and cultural attitudes towards women in the State's continual treatment of domestic violence as a social or domestic problem rather than a serious crime. The Committee held that the Austrian police force's failure to detain Yildirim's husband was in breach of the State's due diligence obligation to protect Yildirim, noting that a perpetrator's rights cannot superseded women's human rights to life and to physical and mental integrity. The Committee also took note of the correlation between lenient attitudes towards women's cultural subordination and domestic violence. Although Austria prosecuted Yildirim's husband to the fullest extent for her death, the Committee found violations of articles 2, 3, and 5 and recommended that Austria strengthen its implementation and monitoring of the Federal Act for the Prevention against Violence within the Family, and ensure enhanced coordination between police and judicial officers to protect women victims of gender-based violence.
- Zhen Zhen Zheng v. The Netherlands, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2007. CEDAW, trafficking, asylum, exhaustion of remedies. Petitioner was trafficked into the Netherlands and request for asylum was denied because she could not give details about her trip from China and did not have identity documents. Although the Committee held complaint to be inadmissible for non-exhaustion of domestic remedies, the dissent found that due to vulnerable situation of victims of trafficking, the complaint should be admissible and that the State did not act with due diligence in failing to recognize that Ms. Zheng may have been victim of trafficking.
- A.S. v. Hungary, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2006. CEDAW, forced sterilization, international law. Andrea Szijjarto was sterilized without her informed consent by a Hungarian hospital during an emergency cesarean section procedure. While in a state of shock due to blood loss, Szijjarto was asked to provide her written consent to tubal ligation by signing an illegible hand-written note describing the procedure in terms she did not understand. Szijjarto charged the hospital with negligence in failing to obtain her full and informed consent to the coerced sterilization. Both the town and county courts held that the hospital was at least partially negligent in its legal duties to Szijjarto, but rejected her claim and appeal for failure to prove a lasting handicap and causal relationship between permanent loss of reproductive capacity and the conduct of the hospital's doctors. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women held that Hungary violated Szijjarto's rights under article 10(h) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) on access to information on family planning, article 12 guaranteeing women appropriate medical services in connection with pregnancy, and paragraph 1(e) of article 16 on a woman's right to freely choose the number and spacing of her children. The Committee recognized the serious consequences of coercive practices including forced sterilization under its General Recommendation No. 21, and held that the Hungary had violated Szijjarto's right to information on family planning and the sterilization procedure. The Committee also held that lack of informed consent constituted a breach of the obligation under article 12 and General Recommendation No. 24 to ensure the delivery of acceptable medical services in a manner that respects a woman's dignity. Accordingly, the Committee recommended the State provide compensation to Szijjarto and amend its Public Health Act allowing doctors' discretion to administer sterilization procedures when "appropriate in given circumstances."
- Dung Thi Thuy Nguyen v. The Netherlands, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2006. CEDAW, international law, employment discrimination. Dung Thi Thuy Nguyen worked part-time as a salaried employment agency worker as well as together with her husband as a co-working spouse in his enterprise. For her salaried employment, Nguyen was insured under the Sickness Benefits Act (ZW), and for work at her husband's enterprise she was insured under the Invalidity Insurance (Self-Employed Person) Act (WAZ). When Nguyen applied for maternity leave in 1999, she received benefits from her ZW insurance, but her WAZ insurance denied her coverage because of an "anti-accumulation clause" which allowed payment of benefits only insofar as they exceed benefits payable under the ZW policy. Nguyen objected to the withholding of her benefits and applied for review with the Breda District Court, who dismissed the complaint. The Central Appeals Tribunal upheld the lower judgment on appeal, stating that the WAZ insurance policy did not result in unfavorable treatment of women as compared to men. Nguyen's complaint to the Committee cited a violation of article 11, paragraph 2 (b) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women under which the State party is obligated to introduce maternity leave with pay or with comparable social benefits without loss of former employment, seniority, or social allowance. The Committee held that it is state's discretion to determine the appropriate maternity benefits within the meaning of article 11 for employed women, and separate rules for self-employed women accounting for fluctuated income and related contributions did not amount to a violation. The dissent, however, argued that the law of the Netherlands which provides for a financially compensated maternity leave for women who are both salaried and self-employed does not take into account the situation of these women who work more hours per week than a full-time salaried employee entitled to full maternity benefits. The anti-accumulation clause, therefore, constitutes indirect sex-discrimination because the policy assumes that mainly women work as part-time salaried employees in addition to working as family helpers in their husband's enterprises.
- A.T. v. Hungary , Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2005. CEDAW, domestic and intimate partner violence, international law, gender discrimination. A.T. is a Hungarian woman whose husband subjected her to continued domestic violence resulting in her hospitalization and ten medical certificates documenting separate incidents of abuse. Hungarian law did not provide a mechanism for A.T. to obtain a protection order against her husband, and accordingly, A.T. submitted a motion for injunctive relief for her exclusive right to the family apartment. The Budapest Regional Court denied the motion and held that A.T.'s husband had a right to return and use the apartment, stating that A.T.'s battery claims against him lacked substantiation and that the court could not infringe on her husband's right to property. Her complaint to the Committee called for the introduction of effective and immediate protection for victims of domestic violence in Hungary, as well as effective interim measures to prevent irreparable damage to A.T.'s person in accordance with article 5, paragraph 1 of CEDAW's Optional Protocol. The Committee held that Hungary's domestic violence jurisprudence was deeply entrenched in gender stereotypes which constituted a violation of Hungary's obligation under article 2 of CEDAW to promote gender equality through appropriate legislation. Hungary's lack of specific legislation to combat domestic and sexual violence led the Committee to conclude that the State had violated its article 5 obligation to eliminate prejudices and customs grounded in female inferiority, and article 16 obligation to end discrimination against women in matters relating to marriage and the family. The Committee recommended that Hungary enact domestic and sexual violence legislation and allow victims to apply for protection and exclusion orders which forbid the abuser from entering or occupying the family home.