Unedited Final Draft Platform For Action, September 15, 1995

Official Source for Reports on Beijing Conference

The material below is compiled from the Final Draft of the Platform. It contains references to prostitution, both child and adult, and trafficking.

100. Sexual and gender-based violence, including physical and
psychological abuse, trafficking in women and girls, and other forms of
abuse and sexual exploitation place girls and women at high risk of
physical and mental trauma, disease and unwanted pregnancy. Such
situations often deter women from using health and other services.

Strategic objective C.2. Strengthen preventive programmes that
promote women's health

Actions to be taken

108. By Governments, in cooperation with non-governmental
organizations, the mass media, the private sector and relevant
international organizations, including United Nations bodies, as
appropriate:

(q) Adopt specific preventive measures to protect women, youth and
children from any abuse - sexual abuse, exploitation,
trafficking and violence, for example - including the
formulation and enforcement of laws, and provide legal
protection and medical and other assistance.



114. The term "violence against women" means 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.
Accordingly, violence against women encompasses but is not limited to
the following:
(a) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the
family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children
in the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female
genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to
women, non-spousal violence and violence related to
exploitation;
(b) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring within
the general community, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual
harassment and intimidation at work, in educational
institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women and forced
prostitution;
(c) Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or
condoned by the State, wherever it occurs.
123. The effective suppression of trafficking in women and girls for
the sex trade is a matter of pressing international concern.
Implementation of the 1949 Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic
in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others, as
well as other relevant instruments, needs to be reviewed and
strengthened. The use of women in international prostitution and
trafficking networks has become a major focus of international organized
crime. The Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on
violence against women, who has explored these acts as an additional
cause of the violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of
women and girls, is invited to address, within her mandate and as a
matter of urgency, the issue of international trafficking for the
purposes of the sex trade, as well as the issues of forced prostitution,
rape, sexual abuse and sex tourism. Women and girls who are victims of
this international trade are at an increased risk of further violence,
as well as unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection,
including infection with HIV/AIDS.

Strategic objective D.3. Eliminate trafficking in
women and assist victims of violence due to
prostitution and trafficking

Actions to be taken

131. By Governments of countries of origin, transit and
destination, regional and international organizations, as
appropriate:

(a) Consider the ratification and enforcement of
international conventions on trafficking in persons and
on slavery;

(b) Take appropriate measures to address the root
factors, including external factors, that encourage
trafficking in women and girls for prostitution and
other forms of commercialized sex, forced marriages and
forced labour in order to eliminate trafficking in
women, including by strengthening existing legislation
with a view to providing better protection of the
rights of women and girls and to punishing the
perpetrators, through both criminal and civil measures;

(c) Step up cooperation and concerted action by all
relevant law enforcement authorities and institutions
with a view to dismantling national, regional and
international networks in trafficking;

(d) Allocate resources to provide comprehensive
programmes designed to heal and rehabilitate into
society victims of trafficking including through job
training, legal assistance and confidential health care
and take measures to cooperate with non-governmental
organizations to provide for the social, medical and
psychological care of the victims of trafficking;

(e) Develop educational and training programmes and
policies and consider enacting legislation aimed at
preventing sex tourism and trafficking, giving special
emphasis to the protection of young women and children.


133. The Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of
Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 1949, and the Additional
Protocols of 1977 provide that women shall especially be
protected against any attack on their honour, in particular
against humiliating and degrading treatment, rape, enforced
prostitution or any form of indecent assault. 22/ The
Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted by the
World Conference on Human Rights, states that "Violations of
the human rights of women in situations of armed conflict
are violations of the fundamental principles of
international human rights and humanitarian law". 23/ All
violations of this kind, including in particular murder,
rape, including systematic rape, sexual slavery and forced
pregnancy require a particularly effective response. Gross
and systematic violations and situations that constitute
serious obstacles to the full enjoyment of human rights
continue to occur in different parts of the world. Such
violations and obstacles include, as well as torture and
cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or summary and
arbitrary detention, all forms of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia, denial of economic, social and
cultural rights and religious intolerance.

Strategic objective E.3. Promote non-violent forms of
conflict resolution and reduce the incidence of human
rights abuse in conflict situations

Actions to be taken

146. By Governments:
(b) Respect fully the norms of international
humanitarian law in armed conflicts and take all
measures required for the protection of women and
children, in particular against rape, forced
prostitution and any other form of indecent assault.


147. By Governments and international and regional
organizations:

(f) Uphold and reinforce standards set out in
international humanitarian law and international human
rights instruments to prevent all acts of violence
against women in situations of armed and other acts of
conflict; undertake a full investigation of all acts of
violence against women committed during war, including
rape, in particular systematic rape, forced
prostitution and other forms of indecent assault and
sexual slavery, prosecute all criminals responsible for
war crimes against women and provide full redress to
women victims;


I. Human rights of women

225. Violence against women both violates and impairs or
nullifies the enjoyment by women of human rights and
fundamental freedoms. Taking into account the Declaration
on the Elimination of Violence against Women and the work of
Special Rapporteurs, gender-based violence, such as
battering and other domestic violence, sexual abuse, sexual
slavery and exploitation, and international trafficking in
women and children, forced prostitution and sexual
harassment, as well as violence against women, resulting
from cultural prejudice, racism andracial discrimination,
xenophobia, pornography, ethnic cleansing, armed conflict,
foreign occupation, religious and anti-religious extremism
and terrorism are incompatible with the dignity and the
worth of the human person and must be combated and
eliminated. Any harmful aspect of certain traditional,
customary or modern practices that violates the rights of
women should be prohibited and eliminated. Governments
should take urgent action to combat and eliminate all forms
of violence against women in private and public life,
whether perpetrated or tolerated by the State or private
persons.

References to Child Prostitution
******
41. The girl child of today is the woman of tomorrow. The skills,
ideas and energy of the girl child are vital for full attainment of the
goals of equality, development and peace. For the girl child to develop
her full potential she needs to be nurtured in an enabling environment,
where her spiritual, intellectual and material needs for survival,
protection and development are met and her equal rights safeguarded. If
women are to be equal partners with men, in every aspect of life and
development, now is the time to recognize the human dignity and worth of
the girl child and to ensure the full enjoyment of her human rights and
fundamental freedoms, including the rights assured by the Convention on
the Rights of the Child, universal ratification of which is strongly
urged. Yet there exists world-wide evidence that discrimination and
violence against girls begin at the earliest stages of life and continue
unabated throughout their lives. They often have less access to
nutrition, physical and mental health care and education and enjoy fewer
rights, opportunities and benefits of childhood and adolescence than do
boys. They are often subjected to various forms of sexual and economic
exploitation, paedophilia, forced prostitution and possibly the sale of
their organs and tissues, violence and harmful practices such as female
infanticide and prenatal sex selection, incest, female genital
mutilation and early marriage, including child marriage.

95. Discrimination against girls, often resulting from son preference,
in access to nutrition and health-care services endangers their current
and future health and well-being. Conditions that force girls into
early marriage, pregnancy and child-bearing and subject them to harmful
practices, such as female genital mutilation, pose grave health risks.
Adolescent girls need, but too often do not have, access to necessary
health and nutrition services as they mature. Counselling and access to
sexual and reproductive health information and services for adolescents
are still inadequate or lacking completely, and a young woman's right to
privacy, confidentiality, respect and informed consent is often not
considered. Adolescent girls are both biologically and psychosocially
more vulnerable than boys to sexual abuse, violence and prostitution,
and to the consequences of unprotected and premature sexual relations.
The trend towards early sexual experience, combined with a lack of
information and services, increases the risk of unwanted and too early
pregnancy, HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases, as
well as unsafe abortions. Early child-bearing continues to be an
impediment to improvements in the educational, economic and social
status of women in all parts of the world. Overall, for young women
early marriage and early motherhood can severely curtail educational and
employment opportunities and are likely to have a long-term, adverse
impact on the quality of their lives and the lives of their children.
Young men are often not educated to respect women's self-determination
and to share responsibility with women in matters of sexuality and
reproduction.


123. The effective suppression of trafficking in women and girls for
the sex trade is a matter of pressing international concern.
Implementation of the 1949 Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic
in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others, as
well as other relevant instruments, needs to be reviewed and
strengthened. The use of women in international prostitution and
trafficking networks has become a major focus of international organized
crime. The Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on
violence against women, who has explored these acts as an additional
cause of the violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of
women and girls, is invited to address, within her mandate and as a
matter of urgency, the issue of international trafficking for the
purposes of the sex trade, as well as the issues of forced prostitution,
rape, sexual abuse and sex tourism. Women and girls who are victims of
this international trade are at an increased risk of further violence,
as well as unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection,
including infection with HIV/AIDS.

Strategic objective H.3. Generate and disseminate
gender- disaggregated data and information for planning
and evaluation

Actions to be taken

209. By national, regional and international statistical
services and relevant governmental and United Nations
agencies, in cooperation with research and documentation
organizations, in their respective areas of responsibility:


(j) Develop improved gender-disaggregated and
age-specific data on the victims and perpetrators of
all forms of violence against women, such as domestic
violence, sexual harassment, rape, incest and
sexualabuse, and trafficking in women and girls, as
well as on violence by the agents of the State;

Strategic objective I.1. Promote and protect the
human rights of women, through the full implementation
of all human rights instruments, especially the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women

(n) Address the acute problems of children, inter alia,
by supporting efforts in the context of the United
Nations system aimed at adopting efficient
international measures for the prevention and
eradication of female infanticide, harmful child
labour, the sale of children and their organs, child
prostitution, child pornography and other forms of
sexual abuse and consider contributing to the drafting
of an optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights
of the Child;

L. The girl child

Actions to be taken
277. By Governments and, as appropriate, international and
non-governmental organizations:
(d) Develop policies and programmes, giving priority to
formal and informal education programmes that support
girls and enable them to acquire knowledge, develop
self-esteem and take responsibility for their own
lives; and place special focus on programmes to educate
women and men, especially parents, on the importance of
girls' physical and mental hea