and fisherfolks, Indigenous peoples and women in conflict situations, older women and persons with disabilities, as well as young women and girls. 3.2 VIOLENCE AND HARMFUL PRACTICES AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS LIVING IN RURAL AREAS Women and girls living in rural areas are disproportionately affected by gender-based violence, and lack access to justice and effective legal remedies.21 Patriarchal structures and the public-private divide remain widespread in rural areas22. Additionally, the underserved nature of these areas – lower access to education, decent work and social protection and higher levels of poverty – often leaves women and girls with few options for escaping violence23. Many of the respondent NHRIs indicated that they monitor and raise awareness about violence against women, like the NHRI of Timor-Leste. Several NHRIs have focused specifically on women and girls in rural areas and have undertaken research or conducted consultations in order to document the most common forms of violence and their consequences: - - - - The NHRI of the Philippines conducted a National Consultation on CEDAW General Recommendation No. 19 (Violence Against Women) in partnership with the NGO Women's Legal and Human Rights Bureau, in which it highlighted that women and girls from rural communities and those located in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas face heightened risks of gender-based violence and are faced with greater barriers in accessing justice. The NHRI made recommendations to the government to provide strengthened protection and redress mechanisms for these women. The Jordanian NHRI conducted a study on "Gender-based violence against women in the Jordanian society, Zarqa and Mafraq governorates as a model". One of the strategies to reduce gender-based violence against women in remote areas that is identified in the study is the Economic Empowerment Program and its importance in alleviating poverty, unemployment rates and improving the standard of living of families in general and women in particular. Interviews and training sessions were conducted by the NHRI of Mexico with a view to identifying the consequences of gender inequality, the most common forms of violence in the domestic, school, work and community spheres, and discriminatory attitudes of public officials towards Indigenous women and women living in rural areas. In 2013, the Polish NHRI published a report on counteracting violence against women, including elderly and women with disabilities. The report highlighted special needs of women living in poverty in rural communities. Violence against Indigenous women and girls is of particular concern. The NHRI of Canada was consulted during the pre-inquiry process of the Canadian Governement’s national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. The NHRI made 16 recommendations for the Government’s recommendation. The NHRI of Costa Rica organized capacity building workshops on gender-based violence specifically for Indigenous women. In terms of strategies that NHRIs adopt with a view to preventing violence against women, the NHRI of Costa Rica explains that their regional offices, with the collaboration of representatives from government institutions and civil society, work specifically on the prevention of violence against women and domestic violence. The institution also organized capacity building workshops on genderbased violence specifically for Indigenous women. In order to eliminate discriminatory stereotypes about women and girls, the NHRI of Bangladesh launched the “Bravemen” campaign, the goal of 21 CEDAW General Recommendation 34, supra note 11, p. 4. Pruitt, supra note 16, p. 378. 23 UN Doc A/64/190, “Improvement of the situation of women in rural areas, Report of the Secretary-General” (2009), online: http://undocs.org/en/A/64/190, p. 13. 22 9