A/RES/65/228 with the same seriousness as other types of violence. Therefore, it is important that States strongly condemn all forms of violence against women and refrain from invoking any custom, tradition or religious consideration to avoid their obligation with respect to its elimination and that the criminal justice system recognize violence against women as a gender-related problem and as an expression of power and inequality. 4. Violence against women is defined in the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women1 and reiterated in the Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women3to mean any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life. The updated Model Strategies and Practical Measures build on the measures adopted by Governments in the Platform for Action, which was adopted in 1995 and subsequently reaffirmed in 2000 and 2005, the Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Women in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice adopted in 1997, 17 and relevant General Assembly resolutions, including resolutions 61/143 and 63/155, bearing in mind that some groups of women are especially exposed and vulnerable to violence. 5. The updated Model Strategies and Practical Measures specifically acknowledge the need for an active policy of mainstreaming a gender perspective in all policies, programmes and practices to ensure gender equality and equal and fair access to justice, as well as establishing the goal of gender balance in all areas of decision-making, including those related to the elimination of violence against women. The updated Model Strategies and Practical Measures should be applied as guidelines in a manner consistent with relevant international instruments, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 8 the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 18 the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, 19 the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 20 the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, 21 the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court12 and the Guidelines for the Prevention of Crime,10 with a view to furthering their fair and effective implementation. The updated Model Strategies and Practical Measures reaffirm the commitment of States to promote gender equality and empower women with a view to meeting Goal 3 of the Millennium Development Goals. 6. The updated Model Strategies and Practical Measures should be endorsed by national legislation and implemented by Member States and other entities in a manner consistent with the right to equality before the law, while also recognizing that gender equality may sometimes require the adoption of different approaches that acknowledge the different ways in which violence affects women as compared to men. Member States should ensure that women have equal protection under the law and equal access to justice in order to facilitate efforts by Governments to _______________ 17 Resolution 52/86, annex. United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1577, No. 27531. 19 Ibid., vol. 2171, No. 27531. 20 See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex. 21 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2237, No. 39574. 18 7