E/C.12/MEX/CO/4 page 6 38. The Committee urges the State party to proceed with the adoption of the General Act establishing a National System for Prevention, Protection, Assistance and Eradication of Violence against Women and Girls, of the envisaged amendments to the Constitution, the Federal Criminal Code, the Federal Civil Code, the Federal Act for the Prevention and Elimination of Discrimination and the Social Assistance Act and of other legislative projects, with a view to (a) providing adequate counselling and medical, psychological, as well as legal assistance to victims of domestic violence; (b) defining the offences of domestic violence and incest, as well as the sentences for perpetrators of such acts; and (c) providing for banning orders against perpetrators, as well as for compensation and alimony payments to victims, of domestic violence. The Committee also calls on the State party to ensure the harmonization and promulgation of legislation on domestic violence and incest in all its States, to strengthen and upgrade shelters for battered women and children and to intensify its awareness-raising campaigns and training of judges, prosecutors, police and medical personnel on the criminal nature of such acts. The Committee invites the State party to include information on the results of these measures and on the number of victims, perpetrators, convictions, the types of sanctions imposed and the assistance provided to victims in its next periodic report. 39. The Committee requests the State party to include, in its fifth periodic report, statistical information on the number of victims of trafficking, disaggregated on an annual basis by sex, age and national or ethnic origin, as well as on perpetrators, convictions, the types of sanctions imposed and the assistance provided to victims. 40. The Committee recommends that the State party raise and equalize the minimum age for marriage for boys and girls, as well as the age of sexual consent, at the federal and state levels. 41. The Committee recommends that the State party consider ratifying ILO Convention No. 138 (1973) concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment and that it accordingly raise the minimum working age from 14 years to the age of completion of compulsory schooling and, in any case, to no less than 15 years. The Committee also recommends that the State party invite representatives of Mexican civil society sector to participate in this evaluation process. 42. The Committee recommends that the State party ensure the full integration of economic, social and cultural rights in its social development and poverty reduction strategies, specifically address the needs of disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups, and allocate sufficient funds for the implementation of these strategies. In this regard, the State party is referred to the Committee’s statement on “Poverty and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights” (E/C.12/2001/10). The Committee recommends that the State party intensify its efforts to address the wide disparities between rich and poor, North and South, and between rural and urban areas. The Committee also recommends that the State party further develop indicators and benchmarks, disaggregated by sex, age, urban/rural population and social and ethnic group, for monitoring the progress achieved in combating poverty, and that it report on such progress in its next report. 43. The Committee recommends that the State party adopt comprehensive national housing legislation, including legislation on rent control, and that it promote affordable rental housing and invest in social housing in order to meet the needs of the poor and of low-paid workers. It reiterates its request for detailed information in the State party’s next periodic report on the number of forced evictions, the manner in which these are carried out and on the remedial