Intensification of efforts to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls: domestic violence A/RES/71/170 8. Stresses that, despite the important steps taken by many countries around the world, States should continue to focus on the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls, as well as on their protection, their empowerment and the provision of services, and should therefore implement laws, policies and programmes for ending all forms of violence against women and girls and monitor and rigorously evaluate their implementation and improve, where possible, their impact, accessibility and effectiveness; 9. Also stresses the importance of ensuring that, in armed conflict and postconflict situations and in natural disaster situations, the prevention of and response to all forms of violence against women and girls, including sexual and gender -based violence, are prioritized and effectively addressed, including, as appropriate, through the investigation, prosecution and punishment of perpetrators to end impunity, the removal of barriers to women’s access to justice, the establishment of complaint and reporting mechanisms and the provision of support to victims an d survivors; 10. Further stresses the need to leave no one behind in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in this regard recognizes the challenges faced by refugee and migrant women and girls and the need to protect and empower them, including in countries in conflict and post-conflict situations, and the need to strengthen the resilience of communities hosting refugees, and underscores the importance of development support for those communities, particularly in developing countries; 11. Stresses the need to address discrimination based on multiple and intersecting factors, which places women and girls at greater risk of exploitation, violence and abuse, and to take appropriate action to empower and protect them; 12. Recognizes that violence against women and girls, including domestic violence, can take the form of an isolated act or pattern of abusive behaviour that may occur over a period of time, which as a pattern constitutes violence against women and girls, and can occur in digital and online spaces and include cyberbullying and cyberstalking; 13. Notes that efforts by civil society organizations in eliminating violence against women, including domestic violence, can be complementary to those of Governments, and in this regard urges States to support, where possible, initiatives aimed at promoting gender equality and at preventing, responding to and protecting women and girls from domestic violence; 14. Calls upon States to take effective action to prevent and eliminate domestic violence without delay, including by: (a) Adopting, strengthening and implementing legislation that prohibits domestic violence and adequately penalizes offences involving physical, sexual, psychological and economic violence occurring in families, and es tablishing adequate legal protection against such violence, including victim and witness protection from reprisals for bringing complaints or giving evidence; (b) Preventing violations and taking steps to prevent abuses of all human rights of women and girls, devoting particular attention to abolishing practices and legislation that discriminate against women and girls, including, as applicable, provisions in civil, criminal and personal status law governing marriage and family relations, eliminating prejudices, harmful practices and gender stereotypes and raising awareness of the unacceptability of violence against women and girls, including domestic violence, at all levels throughout their life course; 7/12