Domestic violence

The General Assembly,

Reaffirming its resolution 40/36 of 29 November 1985 on domestic violence and resolution 6 of the Seventh United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, concerning the fair treatment of women by the criminal justice system,

Taking into account the recommendations made at the Expert Group Meeting on Violence in the Family with Special Emphasis on its Effects on Women, held at Vienna from 8 to 12 December 1986,

Also taking into account the recommendations made on the subject of domestic violence by the World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace, the resolution on domestic violence against women submitted to the Second Committee of the Conference, and the recommendations and conclusions arising from the first review and appraisal of the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women to the Year 2000,

Commending the efforts of the United Nations, inter alia, through the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to guarantee the human rights of women and children,

Recognizing the need for further work to be undertaken with respect to violence against all members of the family unit,

Welcoming the report of the Secretary-General on domestic violence,

Recalling that, in its resolution 44/82 of 8 December 1989, it proclaimed 1994 the International Year of the Family,

Bearing in mind the serious lack of information and research on domestic violence globally and the need for exchange of information on ways of dealing with this problem,

Recognizing the concern of Member States about domestic violence as an urgent problem deserving focused attention and concerted action,

Aware that domestic violence is a critical problem that has serious physical and psychological effects on individual family members and jeopardizes the health and survival of the family unit,

Recognizing that domestic violence may take many forms, both physical and psychological,

Convinced of the necessity of improving the situation of the victims of domestic violence,

Recognizing the need to focus on all victims of domestic violence and to consider common policies and specialized approaches regarding women, children, the elderly and those especially vulnerable because of disability,

Noting that exposure to domestic violence, especially during childhood, may produce long-term effects on attitudes and behaviour, such as increased tolerance to violence in society as a whole,

Aware of the fact that many offenders, including those convicted of offences relating to domestic violence, and many victims were themselves abused as children,

Recognizing the fact that domestic violence is often a recurring phenomenon and that an effective early response, as part of a crime prevention policy, may prevent the occurrence of future incidents,

Convinced that the problem of domestic violence is prevalent and affects all segments of society regardless of class, income, culture, gender, age or religion,

Conscious that the complex problem of domestic violence is viewed differently in various cultures of different countries and that at the international level it must be addressed with sensitivity to the cultural context in each country,

1.         Urges Member States to begin or continue to explore, develop and implement multidisciplinary policies, measures and strategies, within and outside of the criminal justice system, with respect to domestic violence in all its facets, including legal, law enforcement, judicial, societal, educational, psychological, economic, health-related and correctional aspects and, in particular:

(a)        To take all possible steps to prevent domestic violence;

(b)        To ensure fair treatment of and effective assistance to the victims of domestic violence;

(c)        To increase awareness and sensitivity concerning domestic violence, in particular by fostering the education of criminal justice and other professionals in regard to this issue;

(d)        To provide appropriate treatment for the offenders;

2.         Recommends that Member States ensure that their systems of criminal justice and the competent bodies for juveniles and their families provide an effective and equitable response to domestic violence and that they take appropriate steps towards achieving this goal;

3.         Urges Member States to exchange information, experience and research findings between governmental and non-governmental organizations regarding domestic violence, and, in this regard, recommends the use of the United Nations Criminal Justice Information Network and other available means to facilitate the exchange of information concerning domestic violence and the means of curtailing it;

4.         Invites Member States, the Secretary-General and concerned intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to include the problem of domestic violence in the preparations for and observance of the International Year of the Family, within the crime prevention and criminal justice area;

5.         Requests the Secretary-General to convene a working group of experts, within existing or with extrabudgetary resources, to formulate guidelines or a manual for practitioners concerning the problem of domestic violence for consideration at the Ninth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders and its regional preparatory meetings, taking into account the conclusions of the report of the Secretary-General on domestic violence;

6.         Requests the Committee on Crime Prevention and Control to consider placing the topic of domestic violence on the agenda of the Ninth Congress, as a matter of priority.