A/RES/73/148
Intensification of efforts to prevent and eliminate all forms of
violence against women and girls: sexual harassment
(e) Developing, adopting, strengthening and implementing legislation and
policies that address the issue of sexual harassment in a comprehensive manner by,
inter alia, prohibiting and considering, where appropriate, criminalizing sexual
harassment, exercising due diligence by taking protective and preventive measures,
ensuring appropriate complaints mechanisms and reporting procedures, as well as
accountability and access to effective, timely and appropriate remedies, including
through adequate enforcement by the police and the judiciary of civil remedies, orders
of protection and, where applicable, criminal sanctions in order to eliminate impunity
and avoid revictimization;
(f) Accelerating efforts to develop, review and strengthen inclusive and
gender-responsive policies, including by allocating adequate resources, to address th e
structural and underlying causes of sexual harassment against women and girls, to
overcome gender stereotypes and negative social norms, to encourage the media to
examine the impact of gender-role stereotypes, including those perpetuated by
commercial advertisements, that foster gender-based violence, sexual exploitation
and inequalities, to promote zero tolerance for such violence and to remove the stigma
of being a victim and survivor of violence, thus creating an enabling and accessible
environment where women and girls can easily report incidents of violence and make
use of the services available, including protection and assistance programmes;
(g) Taking measures to ensure that all officials, including those in leadership
positions, responsible for implementing policies and programmes aimed at preventing
violence against women and girls, including sexual harassment, protecting and
assisting the victims and investigating and punishing acts of violence receive
ongoing, adequate and gender- and culturally sensitive training to be aware of genderspecific needs, as well as of the underlying causes and short - and long-term impact
of sexual harassment;
(h) Removing barriers, including political, legal, cultural, social, economic,
institutional and religious ones, preventing women’s full, equal and effective
participation in leadership and political and other decision -making positions, taking
into account that promoting women to leadership positions may significantly reduce
the risk of sexual harassment;
(i) Taking measures to ensure that all workplaces are free from discrimination
and exploitation, violence, and sexual harassment and bullying and that they address
discrimination and violence against women and girls, as appropriate, through such
measures as regulatory and oversight frameworks and reforms, collective agreements,
codes of conduct, including appropriate disciplinary measures, protocols and
procedures, and referral of cases of violence to health services for treatment and to
police for investigation, as well as through awareness-raising and capacity-building,
in collaboration with employers, unions and workers, including through workplace
services and flexibility for victims and survivors;
(j) Taking measures to improve the safety of girls at and on the way to and
from school, including by creating a safe and violence-free environment by improving
infrastructure, such as transportation, providing hygienic, separate and adequate
sanitation facilities, improved lighting, playgrounds and safe environm ents and
adopting policies to prevent, address and prohibit sexual harassment through all
appropriate measures;
9.
Also urges States to take effective action to protect victims of all forms of
violence, including sexual harassment, including by:
(a) Providing relevant, comprehensive and victim-centred legal protection to
support and assist victims of violence, including sexual harassment, in a gender sensitive manner, including victim and witness protection from reprisals for bringing
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