CCPR/C/GEO/CO/4 (d) Raise awareness among the population at large about the Law on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination and the penalties for discrimination. Non-discrimination and gender equality 7. While welcoming the steps taken by the State party to promote gender equality, including the adoption of the Law on Gender Equality (2010) and of the National Action Plan for Gender Equality for 2014-2016, the Committee remains concerned about: (a) The underrepresentation of women in decision-making positions in legislative and executive bodies, including in the Parliament and Government; (b) The significant gender wage gap; (c) The prevalence of sexual harassment, including in the workplace; (d) The number of cases of early marriage; (e) The practice of sex-selective abortions of female foetuses (arts. 2, 3, 23, and 26). The State party should step up its measures aimed at ensuring gender equality, including by: (a) Developing strategies to combat patriarchal attitudes and stereotypes on the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family and society at large, including through awareness-raising campaigns to sensitize the population to the need to ensure the enjoyment by women of their rights; (b) Strengthening efforts to achieve equitable representation of women in decision-making positions in legislative and executive bodies, including in Parliament and at the highest levels of the Government, within specific time frames; (c) Eliminating the gender wage gap by combating vertical and horizontal segregation in employment; (d) Prohibiting sexual harassment by law, providing for sanctions with a deterrent effect and for protection for victims, raising awareness of the population at large about the inadmissibility of harassment and encouraging reporting of such cases; (e) Combating early marriage, including by pursuing awareness-raising strategies focusing on its negative consequences; community (f) Combating the practice of sex-selective abortions, including by monitoring the scale of this phenomenon, addressing its root causes and long-term implications for the society, expanding and improving family planning services and carrying out awareness-raising activities on the detrimental impact of sex selection and on the equal value of girls and boys. Discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity 8. The Committee is concerned about discrimination and social stigma, hate speech and acts of violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons and violation of their rights to freedom of expression and assembly (arts. 2, 9, 19, 21 and 26). The State party should take effective measures to combat any form of social stigmatization of homosexuality, bisexuality or transsexuality, or hate speech, discrimination or violence against persons based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. It should provide effective protection to lesbian, gay, bisexual and 3