has emerged of the range of motivating factors influencing women and girls232 and the range of roles that they have played as supporters, recruiters, facilitators and in some (limited) contexts as fighters,233 as well as being victims and survivors of egregious violations. Where women commit violent crimes, they must be prosecuted in the criminal justice system in a fair, appropriate and non-discriminatory manner. Several states have shifted prosecutorial policy to focus on female roles, dropping automatic distinctions on gender grounds (previously, men were routinely detained and prosecuted whereas women were not).234 Careful analysis of the particular role that individuals have played – including their material contribution to crime and their intent, understood in context – is necessary in order to effectively respond to FTFs. Women who have been coerced into performing acts in support of terrorist groups should not be prosecuted for those acts. In particular, as section 3.3 states, individuals should not be punished exclusively on the basis of relationships or associations, in particular marital or familial relationships, but rather on the link between individual and criminal acts. Serious concerns arise, for example, when the fact of marrying an FTF is criminalized.235 Punishing marriage is inconsistent with the right to marry and found a family, which is enshrined in international human rights law.236 The diverse roles that women and girls have played as perpetrators of terrorist acts should not detract from the fact that many have been subject to egregious human rights abuses, including sexual violence, trafficking and forced marriage.237 The traumas experienced at the hands of groups such as ISIL, or as a consequence of being identified with 232  For an analysis of the range of reasons why women may choose to travel, see: E.M. Saltman and M. Smith, “‘Till Martyrdom Do Us Part’. Gender and the ISIS Phenomenon”, Institute for Strategic Dialogue, 2015, <www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Till_Martyrdom_Do_Us_Part_Gender_and_the_ISIS_Phenomenon. pdf>, (hereafter, E.M. Saltman and M. Smith, “Till Martyrdom Do Us Part”). 233  Some reports suggest that the FTF characterization is particularly problematic in these cases as women have often not been “fighters” as such. See, for example, E.M. Saltman and M. Smith, “Till Martyrdom Do Us Part”, op. cit., note 232, who “refer to the Western females traveling to join ISIS as ‘migrants’ rather than other common terms such as ‘foreign terrorist fighter’, ‘female foreign fighter’ or ‘jihadi bride’. This is because these women, once in ISIS territory, are not being used in combat and are currently prohibited from combative activities by the strict interpretations of Shariah Law”, p. 7. 234  As referred to earlier in footnote 29, one recent report noted the shift in Dutch, Belgian and to some extent German prosecutorial policy towards returnees, which now make little or no difference in approaches to prosecution. 235  There have been reports about marriage having been criminalized as “material support” to terrorism, for example where the sole evidence was the fact of marriage. See for example, “Iraq court sentences 16 Turkish women to death for joining Isis”, the Guardian, 23 February 2018, < www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/25/ iraq-court-sentences-16-turkish-women-to-death-for-joining-isis>. 236  Article 16 UDHR, Article 23 ICCPR. 237  “Technical guide to the implementation of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) and other relevant resolutions”, UNCTED, 2017, <https://www.un.org/sc/ctc/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/CTED-Technical-Guide-2017. pdf>. The Report notes: “Women and girls are often directly targeted by terrorist groups and subjected to gender-based violence in the form of rape, forced prostitution, forced marriage, forced pregnancy, and human trafficking”, see: p. 49. As noted in a report of the UN Secretary-General, sexual and gender-based violence has become a standard tool for controlling territory, dehumanizing victims and recruiting new supporters. See: UN Secretary General, Report to the Security Council (“Conflict-related sexual violence”), UN Doc. S/2015/203, 23 March 2015. Guidelines for Addressing the Threats and Challenges of “Foreign Terrorist Fighters” 65