CEDAW/C/77/D/133/2018 Advance unedited version
or that affects women disproportionately. It includes acts that inflict physical,
mental or sexual harm or suffering, threats of such acts, coercion and other
deprivations of liberty”. 7 In accordance with paragraph 7 (b) of the
recommendation, the Committee reiterates that “gender-based violence, which
impairs or nullifies the enjoyment by women of human rights and fundamental
freedoms”, including the “right not to be subject to torture or to cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment”, constitutes discrimination within the meaning
of article 1 of the Convention.
7.5 The Committee recalls that the fact that detention facilities do not address the
specific needs of women constitutes discrimination, within the meaning of article
1 of the Convention. Thus, in line with article 4 of the Convention, principle 5 (2)
of the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of
Detention or Imprisonment (General Assembly resolution 43/173) states that
special measures designed to address the specific needs of women prisoners shall
not be deemed to be discriminatory. The need for a gender-sensitive approach to
problems faced by women prisoners has also been endorsed by the Assem bly by its
adoption, in resolution 65/229, of the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of
Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders.
7.6 In the present case, besides the poor conditions of detention, the author claims
that all staff working in the detention facility were exclusively male. As a woman
prisoner, she was supervised by male guards, who had unrestricted visual and
physical access to her and other women prisoners. The Commit tee recalls in this
respect that, according to rule 53 of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules
for the Treatment of Prisoners:
(1) In an institution for both men and women, the part of the institution set
aside for women shall be under the authority of a responsible woman officer
who shall have the custody of the keys of all that part of the institution.
(2) No male member of the staff shall enter the part of the institution set
aside for women unless accompanied by a woman officer.
(3) Women prisoners shall be attended and supervised only by women
officers.
This important safeguard, based on non-discrimination against women in line with
article 1 of the Convention, has been reaffirmed by the Committee in its concluding
observations on the reports of States parties, 8 as well as by the Human Rights
Committee in paragraph 15 of its general comment No. 28 (2000) on the equality
of rights between men and women and the report of the Special Rapporteur on
violence against women, its causes and consequences (see E/CN.4/2000/68/Add.3,
para. 44) 9.
7.7 The Committee notes that, while in the detention facilities, the guards insulted
the author, called her various inappropriate names such as “little rose” or
“rozochka” and touched her inappropriately. Furthermore, the guards were in a
position to watch her through the door peephole in the course of private activities,
__________________
7
8
9
8/10
See also general recommendation No. 28 (2010) on the core obligations of States parties
under article 2 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discri mination against
Women, para. 19.
See, for example, the concluding observations of the Committee on the sixth periodic report
of Yemen (CEDAW/C/YEM/CO/6).
See also International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (art.10), Convention against
Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Subcommittee on
Prevention of torture, document “Prevention of torture and ill - treatment of women deprived
of their liberty”, CAT/OP/27/1, 18 January 2016.