1. Indicators on violence against women: A human rights perspective
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Laure-Anne Courdesse
4/30/2019
UNECE, Conference of European Statisticians, Group of experts on Gender Statistics

2. Using a human rights lense: Rationale and basis for indicators
Framework for human rights indicators
Proposals by the SR on VAW
Main approaches: Differences? Debates?

3. I. Rationale and basis for indicators

4. Rationale
Instrumental reasons: Key link between policy and statistics: policy tool to devise strategies / set priorities based on accurate data
State obligation to monitor human rights violations and progress to fulfill rights.
→ Monitoring of scope of VAW and State action (often overlooked): Framework for human rights indicators proposes three key components (structural/process/outcomes)

5. Guiding principles for developing indicators
Non-discrimination:
- Disaggregation of data for any type of HR indicator (age; race; disability, etc.)
- Data gathering also on forms affecting relatively few women or those that are marginalised
International standards and commentaries by human rights treaty bodies/UN: UN Declaration on the Elimination of violence Against Women, CEDAW, ICC Statute, Inter-American Convention on VAW, etc.

6. Definition of VAW as basis
“any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty whether occurring in public or private life” (UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, article 1)
Sites of VAW: Family; Community; State; Transnational Sphere → who are the perpetrators of violence?
All forms of violence against women as recognized internationally should be addressed (and thus measured)

7. OHCHR Framework for indicators
Structural indicators (commitments)
reflect ratification / adoption of legal instruments and existence of basic institutional mechanisms deemed necessary for facilitating realisation of concerned right
Process indicators (efforts)
relate the state policy instruments with milestones (which cumulate into outcomes), hence capture accountability as well as the notion of progressive realisation
Outcome indicators (results)
capture attainments, individual and collective, that reflect the status of realisation of the human rights in given context

8. OHCHR framework – right to health example
Reproductive health
Child mortality and health care
Natural and occupational environment
Prevention, treatment and control of diseases
Accessibility to health facilities and essential medicines
Structural indicators
International human rights treaties, relevant to the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, ratified by the State
Estimated proportion of births and deaths recorded through vital registration system
Timeframe and coverage of national policy on health (…)
Process indicators
Prop. of births attended by skilled health personnel
(…)
Prop. of one-year-olds immunized against vaccine-preventable diseases (e.g. measles) (…)
Prop. of population with access to improved sanitation
Prop. of population covered under awareness raising programmes on transmission of diseases (e.g. HIV/AIDS) (…)
Prop. of population covered by health insurance
Outcome indicators
Maternal mortality ratio
Under-five mortality rate
Incidence of deaths, injury and diseases caused by unsafe natural and occupational environment
Incidence of death associated with and prevalence of communicable and non-communicable diseases
Prop. of population with access to affordable essential drugs on a sustainable basis

9. Proposals by the SR on VAW
A/HRC/7/6, March 2008
Commission on Human Rights Resolution 2004/46:
GA Resolution 61/143 (2006):
“to recommend proposals for indicators in violence against
women and on measures taken by, inter alia, Member States,
to eliminate violence against women.”
requests UN Statistical Commission to propose, “building on
the work of the Special Rapporteur, possible indicators to
assess the scope, prevalence and incidence of VAW.”

10. Indicators on VAW (outcomes)
« Grave violence »:
proportion of female population who have experienced grave violence in the past 12 months; proportion of female population who have ever experienced grave violence
(a) Any incidence of rape/serious sexual assault/coercion in childhood or adulthood, FGM, child/forced marriage, trafficking, sexual exploitation
(b) IPV, stalking, sexual harassment when serious and/or frequent
Inclusive definition of grave violence to redress unbalanced knowledge base (IPV, sexual assault, FGM)
Layered compliance (IPV, rape and sexual assault, FGM), taking into account resources / capacities of States – realization of human rights over time.

11. Femicide – The trend in female deaths due to femicide
Gravest form of VAW but not captured by prevalence surveys
e.g. murder by intimate partner, killings of sex workers; killings in the name of honor; female infanticide, dowry-related deaths
Social tolerance – evidence of decreasing tolerance of VAW

12. State response: Structural/Institutional indicators
Indicators developed within following components:
ratification of CEDAW
ratification of relevant regional conventions
recognition of non-discrimination/gender equality
PoA on VAW
criminalization of all forms of VAW

13. State response: Process indicators
Access to justice and reporting: increased reporting rates; decreased attrition rates for prosecution and conviction (based on admin. data)
Victim protection: increase in the index of support services
Prevention: awareness raising campaign; violence prevention in school curriculum
Training: increased capacity of professionals to respond to VAW

14. IV. Differences? Debates?
Same message to countries – data collection on VAW a must
Focus on State response in addition to measuring the violence – a complementary approach.
How and by which bodies should State response be measured?

15. Call to expand list to other forms of violence
Similar forms of VAW to start with - physical violence, sexual violence, and FGM and/or IPV
Call to expand list to other forms of violence
E.g. femicide, sexual harassment; violence against girls; forced marriage; violence by family members; trafficking; violence against migrant women or other vulnerable groups, etc.
Definitions issue: e.g. rape

16. Key methodological challenges?
Practicality (selected list of indicators) vs. government obligation and reality of violence:
Key methodological challenges?
Data-generating mechanisms? Stat. Surveys; administrative records; but also ‘events-based’ data on human rights violations (NGOs; UN/SG/Special Rapporteurs’ studies/reports; opinion surveys