Promoting and Protecting the Human Rights of Women and Girls A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions Laws and policies on marriage and the family:80 Do women have equal rights at the time of marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution, by divorce or death? Are there any negative economic consequences for women in marriage and at the dissolution of marriage? Do multiple family law systems impact negatively on women? Do widows and widowers have equality in relation to inheritance laws? Is child marriage prohibited? Laws related to violence against women: Is violence against women prohibited and, if so, what is the scope of the prohibition? For example, does it extend to domestic violence and to rape in marriage? What is the national policy for responding to complaints of violence against women? What policies are in place to ensure women are not further traumatized during the investigation and prosecution of offenders? Are there laws that determine the rights of the victim to access social services, health care and legal support? Is there a national action plan on violence against women or a similar clear policy to guide the national response? Laws and policies on trafficking in persons: Is trafficking in persons criminalized and appropriately penalized? Does the definition of trafficking in the national law reflect the internationally agreed definition (which recognizes that women, men and children can be victims and that people are trafficked for a range of purposes, including labour exploitation as well as sexual exploitation)? Is there a national action plan on trafficking or a similar clear policy to guide the national response? Labour and workplace laws: Do labour laws, including laws that apply to the public service, protect women from discrimination in the workplace? For example, do they mandate equal pay for equal work? Are women protected from sexual harassment in the workplace? Are they protected from discrimination in relation to breastfeeding and family responsibilities? What legal and/or policy provisions apply to pregnancy and maternity leave? Are there national policies that seek to promote gender parity within certain industries or workplaces? Laws and policies affecting minority groups: Are minorities – such as ethnic minorities and sexual minorities – protected under existing laws and policies? Are those protections sufficient to guarantee them the rights to which they are entitled under national and international human rights law? Social security laws: Does the national social security framework entrench or challenge gender stereotyping and unequal distribution of power and resources? More specifically, do social security laws discriminate against women? For example, does access to social security depend on men in any way? Are widows and widowers treated differently? Does the scope of coverage and schedule of entitlements take account of women’s different involvement in the formal and informal labour sectors? Laws and policies on disability: Does national law and policy provide a strong foundation for recognizing and protecting the rights of people with disabilities? To what extent do these laws and policies integrate an understanding of gender? For example, do they acknowledge that disabled women experience violations of their rights in different ways to men? Areas for NHRI advocacy on laws and policies may emerge from other NHRI activities, such as issues raised during a national inquiries or from analysing complaints data, that reveal specific “protection gaps” or problems in implementation. For example, the National Human Rights Commission of India held a special meeting to discuss custodial deaths and custodial rapes after a rise in the number of such incidents being reported to the Commission. The outcome of the meeting was a letter addressed to the Chief Secretaries and Administrators of all State and Union Territories with a recommendation that a directive be issued to the District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police of all districts stipulating that custodial deaths and custodial rapes be reported within 24 hours. 80 44 See CEDAW Committee, General Recommendation No. 29, 2013; Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 19, 1990; and General Comment No. 28, 2000, especially paras. 23-27; and Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 16, 2005, especially para. 27.