Promoting and Protecting the Human Rights of Women and Girls A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions 32 VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN AND THE GENDER DIMENSION No violence against children is justifiable; all violence against children is preventable. A child rights-based approach to child caregiving and protection requires a paradigm shift towards respecting and promoting the human dignity and the physical and psychological integrity of children as rights-bearing individuals rather than perceiving them primarily as ‘victims’. The concept of dignity requires that every child is recognized, respected and protected as a rights holder and as a unique and valuable human being with an individual personality, distinct needs, interests and privacy. States parties should ensure that policies and measures take into account the different risks facing girls and boys in respect of various forms of violence in various settings. States should address all forms of gender discrimination as part of a comprehensive violence-prevention strategy. This includes addressing gender-based stereotypes, power imbalances, inequalities and discrimination which support and perpetuate the use of violence and coercion in the home, in school and educational settings, in communities, in the workplace, in institutions and in society more broadly. Men and boys must be actively encouraged as strategic partners and allies, and along with women and girls, must be provided with opportunities to increase their respect for one another and their understanding of how to stop gender discrimination and its violent manifestations.32 KEY POINTS: CHAPTER 1 • Human rights are proclaimed to be inherent, universal, inalienable, indivisible and interdependent. In practice, however, these principles are not always respected when it comes to the human rights of women and girls. • All human rights apply equally to women and girls. However, many different factors operate to prevent human rights from applying equally to women and girls. These factors have also had a direct impact on how human rights were conceived and how the international human rights system itself has evolved over time. • The idea of “women’s human rights” recognizes that women and girls experience their human rights – and experience violations of their human rights – in ways that are different to men. It also recognizes that women are vulnerable to human rights violations in ways that reflect the fact they are women and the structures and expectations that are built into the idea of what it is to be “female”. • Human rights issues of special concern to women include violence against women; discrimination in employment; discrimination in access to justice; discrimination in access to education and resources; discrimination in relation to family life; reproductive health; participation in public life and decision-making; the links between rights and between violation of rights; and instances of multiple discrimination. • Human rights issues of special concern to girls include child marriage; discrimination in education; physical and sexual violence; and harmful traditional practices. 32 10 Committee on the Rights of the Child; General Comment No. 13; 2011; paras. 3(a)-(c) and 72(b).