E/CN.4/2002/73/Add.2 page 52 to women’s health or lives and in banning sex-selective abortion. They should also ensure the observance of religious precepts favourable to women and thus prevent the selective application and/or manipulation of, inter alia, rules governing consent to marriage, mutual respect within marriage, divorce, family relations and inheritance. It should be borne in mind, as has been seen, that, because of factors linked to religious extremism, politics or the ancient hegemony of patriarchal and phallocratic models, religious precepts concerning the status of women are often either interpreted in a manner favourable to men or simply not applied at all. As already stated, a number of religions, at the time of their revelation, constituted a significant emancipatory achievement, in some instances in conflict with the dominant culture of the time. At the dawn of this third millennium, some societies are regressing in terms of respect for the most basic rights of women and also in relation to the times of earliest revelation. (b) Constitutional and legislative recognition of gender equality 211. The basic law in many States does not prohibit discrimination against women.280 Constitutions should thus establish the principle of gender equality and the prohibition of de jure and de facto gender-based discrimination in accordance with the international instruments. Family law provisions in several States lay down that both parents have, without distinction, joint responsibility regarding the upbringing of children and obligations arising from their relationship as a couple. States should be aware that such provisions can contribute to combating negative cultural traditions and sexist stereotypes and thus to improving women’s status and their image within the family and in society. Measures should be taken to protect single mothers’ rights of custody concerning their children, including their registration in their name in cases of non-recognition by the father. (c) Protection against violence towards women 212. States, including emigration countries, should adopt appropriate measures to provide criminal law protection for women against violence, especially within the family, including marital rape, and violence stemming from traditional cultural practices that pose a threat to their health and lives.281 A specialized body or organization with appropriate psychological assistance could be made responsible for receiving complaints and implementing such protection in countries where these forms of violence are widespread, including in immigrant communities. 213. It is also important to note that effective action against cultural practices affecting women’s status, even though they pose serious risks to their health, integrity or lives, has to be undertaken tactfully and with respect for the cultural heritage of the persons involved. Such practices are often an ancestral legacy handed down from generation to generation or an ancient religious and cultural heritage and are thus perceived as positive values which, in those persons’ view, should be respected and preserved. As noted by the Special Rapporteur on traditional practices, disdainful attitudes, value judgments, demonizing of religion or culture and indiscriminate grouping of religions must be avoided in this connection (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/14, para. 75). It seems that, in the judicial sphere, punishments and sentences based on value judgments in countries with high levels of immigration can sometimes even be counterproductive and encourage such persons to close ranks and cling to those practices, which, although harmful, are nonetheless their only means of expressing their cultural identity. According to the Special Rapporteur, criminal sanctions should be used only as a last resort when preventive measures or proposed alternative rituals prove ineffective (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/14, para. 75).