4. Detention monitoring
A gender mainstreamed NHRI …
Possible actions
• Includes a specific focus on women and girls
when monitoring and reporting on places of
detention.
• Ensure an appropriate (intersectional) gender
composition, expertise and experience among
members of detention monitoring groups.
• Has staff who are sensitive to the specific issues
facing women and girls in detention and are
competent to monitor and report on such issues.
• Ensure all members of detention monitoring
groups are able to work with sexual violence and
other sensitive gender-specific issues.
• Facilitate awareness raising, attitude- and
behaviour-changing initiatives with departments,
institutions and personnel responsible for
detention centres involving women, including the
adoption of the UN Rules on the Treatment of
Women Prisoners (the Bangkok Rules).
5. Monitoring implementation of human rights commitments
A gender mainstreamed NHRI …
Possible actions
• Monitors and reports on the State’s performance
of its human rights obligations toward gender
equality.
• Advocate for the adoption of international
standards and the removal of reservations as they
relate to the rights of women and girls.
• Prioritises and adequately resources monitoring
and reporting of the State’s performance against
CEDAW commitments.
• Use education and outreach activities to share
information with the community, NGOs and other
civil society stakeholders about the importance of
monitoring the State’s performance as it relates to
gender equality.
• Supports and encourages those working for
gender equality to submit alternative reports
of the State’s performance of its human rights
obligations.
• Has staff who are competent to monitor the
State’s commitment toward gender equality.
• Include gender considerations in formal
mechanisms, such as NHRI reports or
submissions to government or other inquiries.
6. Complaints handling and mediation
A gender mainstreamed NHRI …
Possible actions
• Receives, investigates and/or mediates
complaints of gender-based violations.
• Examine the NHRIs complaint handling
procedures from a gender perspective, paying
special attention to:
• Collects, analyses and reports on data identifying
gender-based violations.
• Applies a gender perspective to its complaints
handling processes.
• Has staff who are competent to investigate and/
or mediate gender-based violations, including by
applying a gender perspective.
−− Accessibility, with a view to identifying
any obstacles that women and girls might
experience in lodging or pursuing a complaint
with the NHRI
−− Effectiveness, with a view to identifying how
the complaint handling process can be
strengthened when dealing with violations of
women’s and girls’ human rights.29
• Ensure that data collected from complaints
includes gender disaggregated information and any
other intersectional identities of priority to the NHRI.
Section 3: Gender mainstreaming in an NHRI | 43