* Adopted by the Committee at its seventy-fourth session (21 October–8 November 2019).

Guidance note for States parties for the preparation of reports under article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals *

I.Revised reporting system

A.Integration of information on the progress made in the achievement of the gender-related Goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in treaty-specific documents submitted under article 18 of the Convention

1.The present guidance note complements the treaty-specific reporting guidelines issued by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (HRI/GEN/2/Rev.6, chap. V). It should be applied in conjunction with the harmonized guidelines on reporting under the international human rights treaties, including guidelines on a core document and treaty-specific documents (ibid., chap. I).

B.Format of the report to the Committee

2.The format of the report to the Committee should be in accordance with chapter I, section II, of the harmonized guidelines. Paragraphs should be numbered sequentially.

C.Annexes to the report

3.The body of the report should contain relevant information on the legal provisions guaranteeing the rights recognized in the Convention and on measures taken to implement those rights. The report should be comprehensible without reference to any annexes. The Committee allows for the submission of a limited number of annexes, which should be provided in one of the working languages of the Committee (currently, English, French and Spanish) because such annexes are not translated.

D.Preparation of the report at the national level

4.States parties should ensure that the report is prepared in a participatory process, as provided for in paragraph 45 of the harmonized guidelines.

II.Periodic reporting obligations

5.Upon ratifying the Convention, a State party undertakes to submit an initial report on the measures that it has adopted to give effect to the rights recognized in the Convention and on the progress made in ensuring their enjoyment within one year after the entry into force of the Convention for that State and periodic reports every four years thereafter and whenever the Committee so requests (art. 18, para. 1, of the Convention), including through the follow-up procedures relating to its concluding observations.

III.General guidance and requirements for reporting under the Convention

6.The present guidance note applies to: (a) States parties preparing their initial report to the Committee; (b) States from which the Committee has requested a full periodic report; and (c) States wishing to submit a full periodic report.

A.Simplified reporting procedure

7.At its fifty-eighth session, in July 2014, the Committee decided to offer the simplified reporting procedure to those States parties that wish to avail themselves of the procedure for the submission of their periodic reports. Under this procedure, the Committee will prepare and adopt lists of issues prior to reporting, to be transmitted to States parties prior to the submission of a report. The States parties’ replies to those lists shall constitute their subsequent periodic report under article 18 of the Convention.

B.Exceptional reports

8.The present guidelines do not affect or negate the Committee’s procedure in relation to any exceptional reports that may be requested and which are governed by rule 48.5 of the Committee’s rules of procedure and its decisions 21/I and 31/III (h) on exceptional reports.

C.Content of the report

9.The report to the Committee should be structured so as to follow parts I to IV of the Convention by providing specific information under each article. State parties should take into account the Committee’s general recommendations when preparing the report. Periodic reports (not initial reports) should address the Committee’s previous concluding observations, in particular the concerns, recommendations and follow-up actions, and examine the progress made towards ensuring, and the current situation concerning, the enjoyment of rights under the Convention.

10.Under article 18, paragraph 2, of the Convention, reports may indicate factors and difficulties affecting the degree of fulfilment of obligations under the Convention. States parties should provide information regarding the nature, extent of and reasons for any such factors. Where difficulties exist, details should be provided on the steps taken to overcome them.

11.There is a significant synergy between the substantive content of the Convention and the Beijing Platform for Action, and they are therefore mutually reinforcing. The Convention comprises legally binding obligations and sets out the right of women to equality in the civil, political, economic, social, cultural or any other field. The Platform for Action, through its 12 critical areas of concern, provides a policy and programmatic agenda that can be used for the implementation of the Convention. The report should also contain information on how the implementation of those 12 critical areas, as they relate to specific articles of the Convention, is systematically integrated into the State party’s implementation of the Convention’s substantive equality framework.

12.The report should also include information on the implementation of the gender elements across all of the Sustainable Development Goals and regional human rights instruments and on the outcomes of other relevant United Nations conferences, summits and reviews.

13.Where applicable, the report should include information on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) and subsequent resolutions on women and peace and security and their outcomes, in line with the Committee’s general recommendation No. 30 (2013) on women in conflict, conflict prevention and post-conflict situations.

D.Optional Protocol

14.If the State party has ratified or acceded to the Optional Protocol and the Committee has issued views entailing provision of a remedy or expressing any other concern relating to a communication received under that Protocol, the Convention-specific document should include further information about the remedial steps taken as well as other steps taken to ensure that any circumstance giving rise to the communication does not recur.

15.If the State party has ratified or acceded to the Optional Protocol and the Committee has conducted an inquiry under article 8 of the Optional Protocol, the Convention-specific document should include details of any further measures taken in response to an inquiry as well as other measures taken to ensure that the violations giving rise to the inquiry do not recur.

E.Guidance and requirements for reporting under specific articles of the Convention

Articles 1 and 2

Legal framework

16.In the light of the provisions of articles 1 and 2 and the Committee’s general recommendation No. 28 (2010) on the core obligations of States parties under article 2 of the Convention, the report should contain information on:

(a)Whether the principles of equality of women and men and non‑discrimination on the basis of sex are enshrined in the Constitution or other basic law, whether these principles supersede discriminatory provisions in statutory, customary and religious laws, norms, codes and rules, and whether they are legally enforceable and applicable in all areas;

(b)Whether the definition of discrimination in law encompasses indirect and direct discrimination against women on the basis of sex in line with article 1 of the Convention and addresses intersecting, multiple, vertical and horizontal forms of discrimination.

Enforcement and monitoring measures

17.The report should indicate:

(a)Whether the law establishes sanctions, remedies and reparations for discrimination against women and provides clear pathways for securing redress;

(b)Whether the law vests courts and tribunals with jurisdiction to address acts of discrimination against women and girls, whether such courts and tribunals have adequate human and financial resources, and whether they have accessibility measures in place;

(c)For cases in which a State party has plural legal systems, whether separate legal provisions regulate the application of the different legal systems, and whether there are any conflicts among the systems that affect women, in particular rural women, and any mechanisms for resolving such conflicts;

(d)Whether independent monitoring institutions, such as national human rights institutions or women’s national commissions, have been established to promote and monitor equality and non-discrimination on the basis of sex;

(e)Whether laws provide for specific capacity-building programmes regarding the principles of non-discrimination on the basis of sex and gender for public officials, and whether such officials include legal professionals, the judiciary, law enforcement officials, paralegals, traditional leaders, religious leaders and relevant professional groups;

(f)Whether legal aid is available and accessible to women in criminal and civil matters, including whether measures are in place to address physical and economic barriers to access to justice;

(g)Whether the law provides for and properly funds the development and maintenance of valid indicators for the status of and progress in the realization of the equality of women and girls and the elimination of discrimination against them, and whether these indicators are disaggregated for intersecting discrimination, including by race, age and disability;

(h)Whether the law addresses the responsibility of the State for discriminatory acts and omissions by non-State actors, including in education, employment and the home, and whether the law provides for reparations for victims in this context;

(i)Whether laws or regulations have been enacted to regulate the conduct of private persons, enterprises and other non-State actors towards women and girls both within and outside their jurisdiction;

(j)Whether laws or regulations mandate the collection of data on cases of discrimination against women and girls lodged with courts or other bodies, the number of cases prosecuted and the outcome of such cases;

(k)Whether social inclusivity and diversity are taken into consideration at all levels of political and administrative governance;

(l)Whether the Sustainable Development Goal framework and the Beijing Platform for Action have been taken into consideration in the implementation of the Convention.

Data analysis at both the national and the local levels

18.The report should include information on:

(a)The date of entry into force and the coverage of the principle of non‑discrimination on the basis of gender in the Constitution or other statutory law;

(b)The number of complaints of discrimination on the basis of sex and gender submitted by women to the national human rights commission and/or the ombudsperson (or equivalent official bodies), including the number of investigations undertaken and the outcomes thereof;

(c)The proportion of the Government’s recurrent budget allocated to official bodies, such as the national human rights commission and/or the ombudsperson, and the number and percentage of female investigative and complaints case managers in such bodies and of cases handled;

(d)The average length of time to investigate cases of sexual discrimination by national human rights commissions and/or ombudspersons;

(e)The number of complaints submitted by women to the civil service commission (or equivalent agency responsible for the employment of civil servants) or to the labour commissioner regarding discrimination or harassment in government employment, disaggregated by institution, grounds for discrimination and urban and rural location.

Article 3

Legal framework

19.In the light of the provisions of article 3, the report should contain information on:

(a)Whether the law establishes a mechanism to promote and protect the equality of and non-discrimination against women and girls, and the status and level of the mechanism within the hierarchy of the Government and its interaction with other mechanisms, such as national human rights institutions;

(b)Whether the State has a policy enshrined in law on the elimination of discrimination against women and girls, whether such a law sets out policies, plans of action or programmes to promote and protect the full enjoyment by girls of their human rights and to ensure non-discrimination against them, including multiple forms of discrimination, and whether such policies, plans and programmes are supported by an appropriate budget;

(c)Whether the national human rights institution, mechanism or machinery has an appropriate mandate and architecture and sufficient authority, professional competence and resources to execute its mandate, provide oversight to State and non‑State actors and effectively coordinate multisectoral initiatives to address multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination to meet globally accepted standards;

(d)Whether measures have been taken to prevent, mitigate and respond to natural disasters and climate change, and the particular impact thereof on women and girls;

(e)Whether measures are in place to ensure the equal participation of women in post-conflict constitutional and legal reform processes.

Enforcement and monitoring measures

20.The report should indicate:

(a)Whether the law provides for the evaluation and adequate resourcing of programmes for the implementation of national policies, strategies and plans on gender equality across all sectors of public expenditure and ensures that they are integrated or closely linked to national sustainable development financing strategies;

(b)Whether strategies for monitoring gender budgeting are in place and their impact on women’s rights;

(c)Whether the law includes monitoring and/or incentives, such as tax deductions, to encourage approaches that reflect the principles of substantive equality and non-discrimination in the private sector;

(d)Whether a system for data gathering is in place to effectively guarantee the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by income, gender, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographical location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts;

(e)Whether a national human rights institution has been established in compliance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights;

(f)Whether a women and peace and security plan for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) has been adopted and implemented;

(g)Whether development policies and programmes incorporate women’s rights as a leading force for sustainable development.

Data analysis at both the national and the local levels

21.The report should include information on:

(a)The number of national and sectoral policies reviewed by the national gender machinery that include gender analysis disaggregated by sector, and the indicators used therein;

(b)The number of official national reports reviewed by the national women’s machinery that include gender outcomes disaggregated by sector;

(c)The proportion of the annual increase or decrease (over the past five years) in the Government’s recurrent budget for gender equality (for the national women’s machinery or the department responsible for implementing, monitoring and evaluating the national gender equality policy or equivalent);

(d)The number of staff in government departments responsible for implementing, monitoring and evaluating the national gender equality policy;

(e)The number of registered non-governmental organizations (national and international) that promote women’s human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Article 4

Legal framework

22.In the light of the provisions of article 4 and the Committee’s general recommendation No. 25 (2004) on temporary special measures, the report should contain information on:

(a)Whether the Constitution or other legislation provides for the adoption and implementation of temporary special measures, including targets, goals, action plans and quotas, to eliminate discrimination against women and girls in the social, political, economic and cultural fields;

(b)Whether there are specific measures (mandatory or voluntary) for women who may experience intersecting discrimination, such as migrant or indigenous women;

(c)Whether laws or regulations provide for the adoption and implementation of temporary special measures in relation to private organizations and enterprises, and whether such measures are mandatory or voluntary;

(d)Whether temporary special measures are applied in political and public life, in the area of the representation of women at the international level and in the work of international organizations and in the fields of education, employment, the economy, technology, peace and security, credit and loans, sport and culture;

(e)Whether temporary special measures have been taken to ensure the equal participation of women in conflict prevention, management and resolution, peace negotiations and post-conflict reconstruction, including through the involvement and participation of women’s organizations.

Enforcement and monitoring measures

23.The report should indicate:

(a)Whether laws or regulations establish a body responsible for designing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating and enforcing temporary special measures, and whether such a body receives an adequate allocation;

(b)Whether the law governs the collection of statistical data disaggregated by sex and other factors in order to measure progress towards the achievement of de facto equality, and the impact of temporary special measures.

Data analysis at both the national and the local levels

24.The report should include information on:

(a)The number of temporary special measures in place (political, economic, social, cultural and civil) to promote the equality of specific groups of women and girls (by urban and rural area, ethnicity, race, health and disability status, indigenous or language group, age, marital and/or maternal status, socioeconomic status or other minority status, such as refugee, displaced, stateless, migrant, widow, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex);

(b)The number of women promoted in employment or appointed to decision-making positions on the basis of the implementation of temporary special measures (by urban and rural area, ethnicity, race, health and disability status, indigenous or language group, age, marital and/or maternal status, socioeconomic status or other minority status, such as refugee, displaced, stateless, migrant, widow, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex);

(c)The number of women elected to the national parliament or local government on the basis of temporary special measures (by urban and rural area, ethnicity, race, health and disability status, indigenous or language group, age, marital and/or maternal status, socioeconomic status or other minority status, such as refugee, displaced, stateless, migrant, widow, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex).

Article 5

Legal framework

25.In the light of the provisions of article 5, joint general recommendation No. 31 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women/general comment No. 18 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (2014) on harmful practices and general recommendation No. 35 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (2017) on gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19, the report should contain information on:

(a)Whether the law defines violence against women and girls as discrimination based on sex and gender and as a social rather than an individual problem;

(b)Whether the law provides that customs, traditions or religious considerations cannot be invoked to avoid or undermine State obligations for the elimination of violence against women and girls;

(c)Whether the law provides for a comprehensive approach to addressing violence against women and girls with specific provisions for the investigation, prosecution and punishment of perpetrators, for prevention and for protection and support services for survivors;

(d)Whether the law explicitly condemns gender-based violence against women and girls in all its forms and sets out a policy for its elimination regardless of whether it is perpetrated by public or private actors, and whether these laws apply to women and girls who may be affected by intersecting discrimination;

(e)Whether the law addresses gender-based violence against women and girls, which occurs in all spaces and spheres of human interaction, whether public or private, and its redefinition in technology-mediated environments, such as contemporary forms of violence occurring on the Internet and in digital spaces;

(f)Whether rehabilitation services are available for victims of female genital mutilation.

Enforcement and monitoring measures

26.The report should indicate:

(a)Whether the law creates an integrated, inclusive and holistic framework for the prevention of violence against women and girls, and whether it mandates the creation of a national plan or policy for the prevention of violence against women and provides for regular reviews of the plan;

(b)Whether the law provides for the allocation of a budget to support interventions to address violence against women and girls, and whether there has been an erosion of legal and policy frameworks to eliminate gender-based discrimination or violence or a significant reduction in public spending, justified as part of “austerity measures” due to economic and financial crises;

(c)Whether the law provides for the creation of integrated services for women and girls who have survived violence, such as emergency shelters, transit homes, affordable housing and comprehensive and accessible health services, including for rural women and girls;

(d)Whether the law encourages, including through the use of incentives and corporate responsibility models, the engagement of the private sector, including businesses and transnational corporations, in efforts to eradicate all forms of gender-based violence against women and girls and to enhance its responsibility for such violence in the context of its operations;

(e)Whether the law provides for a regular national survey on gender-based violence against women and/or a system to regularly collect, analyse and publish statistical data on the number of complaints about all forms of gender-based violence against women and girls, including technology-mediated violence, the number and types of protection orders issued, the rates of dismissal and withdrawal of complaints, prosecution and conviction rates as well as the time taken for the disposal of cases, the sentences imposed on perpetrators and the reparations, including compensation, provided to victims and survivors;

(f)Whether the law provides for the gender-sensitive investigation of conflict-related violence against women and for ending impunity for such violations.

Data analysis at both the national and the local levels

27.The report should include information on:

(a)The number of awareness-raising campaigns aimed at eliminating discriminatory gender stereotypes (by type of discrimination, type of beneficiary, e.g. students, State officials and communities, urban and rural area, type of media outlet and expected audience);

(b)The number and proportion of media outlets with a policy to discourage the use of discriminatory gender stereotypes and the type of media outlet, including the number and proportion of women journalists or media professionals involved in combating gender stereotypes;

(c)School teaching hours allocated for education against gender discrimination and the elimination of discriminatory gender stereotypes;

(d)The proportion of women aged 15 to 49 years subjected to physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner in the past 12 months (by urban and rural area, ethnicity, five-year age group and whether the woman has attained secondary or higher education);

(e)The proportion of women aged 15 to 49 years subjected to physical or sexual violence by persons other than an intimate partner in the past 12 months (by urban and rural area, ethnicity, five-year age group and whether the woman has attained secondary or higher education);

(f)The proportion of women aged 15 to 49 years subjected to physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime (by urban and rural area, ethnicity, five-year age group and whether woman has attained secondary or higher education);

(g)The proportion of women 15 to 49 years subjected to physical violence by persons other than an intimate partner in their lifetime;

(h)The number of restraining or protection orders issued for the benefit of female victims of violence and the ratio of those issued in rural areas to those in urban areas (victim’s place of residence);

(i)The ratio of women aged 15 to 49 years subjected to physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner in the past 12 months in rural areas to those in urban areas (by ethnicity, five-year age group and whether the woman has attained secondary or higher education);

(j)The ratio of women aged 15 to 49 years subjected to physical violence by an intimate partner in the past 12 months in rural areas to those in urban areas;

(k)The percentage of girls who have undergone female genital mutilation as reported by their mothers, disaggregated by place of residence and household wealth quintile;

(l)The percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have undergone female genital mutilation, disaggregated by place of residence and household wealth quintile.

Article 6

Legal framework

28.In the light of the provisions of article 6, the report should contain information on:

(a)Whether the law provides for specific anti-trafficking measures, and whether victims of trafficking have protected status under the law;

(b)Whether the law protects women and girls from trafficking and forced prostitution, and whether migrant women and girls, both regular and irregular, are covered by such legislation;

(c)Whether women and girls who are victims of trafficking are criminalized for crimes committed as a direct result of their trafficking;

(d)Whether trafficked women and girls who are without legal status in a country are likely to be imprisoned and/or repatriated;

(e)Whether anti-trafficking legislation provides for a system of witness protection for women and girls who are victims of trafficking.

Enforcement and monitoring measures

29.The report should indicate:

(a)Whether there are national plans to combat trafficking in women and girls, and how the implementation and monitoring of such plans are funded;

(b)Whether there are specific measures targeting migrant women and girls (regular or irregular) at risk of being trafficked, and how such measures are funded;

(c)Whether the law or national plan creates a system of integrated services for women and girls who are victims of trafficking, such as emergency shelters and comprehensive and accessible health services, including for rural women and girls;

(d)Whether measures have been taken to ensure that migration and asylum procedures do not deter or limit opportunities for women and girls fleeing conflict zones to lawfully seek asylum.

Data analysis at both the national and the local levels

30.The report should include information on:

(a)The number of detected victims of trafficking in persons per 100,000 population, and the estimated number of non-detected victims, disaggregated by sex, age, ethnicity and form of exploitation;

(b)The number and proportion of women among identified victims of trafficking for sexual purposes, disaggregated by sex, age, ethnicity and form of exploitation;

(c)The number of investigations following complaints regarding all forms of trafficking in women and girls;

(d)The number of prosecutions against perpetrators of trafficking in women and girls;

(e)The number and proportion of women and girls among identified victims of trafficking for the purposes of forced labour and other contemporary forms of slavery;

(f)The number of girls under the age of 18 years arrested for prostitution (by urban and rural area, ethnicity and age);

(g)The number of complaints regarding physical or sexual assault made by women engaged in prostitution;

(h)The number of cases prosecuted regarding the physical or sexual assault of women engaged in prostitution;

(i)The number of persons prosecuted for illegal prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation, disaggregated by sex and age.

Articles 7 and 8

Legal framework

31.In the light of the provisions of articles 7 and 8 and the Committee’s general recommendation No. 23 (1997) on women in political and public life, the report should contain information on:

(a)Whether the legal framework guarantees equality between women and men with regard to voting, irrespective of marital status, age, religion or property ownership;

(b)Whether the legal framework provides for proxy voting, and whether husbands or male guardians are entitled to exercise a proxy vote on behalf of their wives or female relatives;

(c)Whether laws and regulations on eligibility for public and political office (including the legislature, executive office, the judiciary, the military and religious affairs) include restrictions on the basis of sex, religion and/or age;

(d)Whether laws or regulations on inclusive electoral systems include the prohibition of electoral and related violence;

(e)Whether women have, in law and in practice, an equal right with men to be judges, lawyers or other judicial officers;

(f)Whether laws or regulations provide for the participation of women on an equal basis with men in foreign affairs and international institutions.

Enforcement and monitoring measures

32.The report should indicate:

(a)Whether the Constitution or other laws provide for quotas or other measures for women in parliament or local government (such as reserved seats), and whether there are enforcement mechanisms and sanctions;

(b)Whether the legal framework provides for training for women, especially marginalized women, to support their effective participation in political and public life, and whether such training is supported by a dedicated budget and an enforcement and monitoring mechanism;

(c)Whether the legal framework ensures that women have equal rights to participate in the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts and in reconstruction efforts, and whether there are mechanisms for enforcement and monitoring;

(d)Whether laws or regulations exist relating to the representation of women on the executive and non-executive boards of political parties and State-owned companies, and whether they include enforcement mechanisms and sanctions;

(e)Whether legal mechanisms exist to promote the participation of women human rights defenders in civil society and to protect women human rights defenders, including those advocating rural women’s human rights, and whether there are enforcement mechanisms and concomitant sanctions and reparations.

Data analysis at both the national and the local levels

33.The report should include information on:

(a)The number and proportion of women elected or appointed to serve in government bodies (by type of body);

(b)The number of women standing for election in elected bodies (by urban and rural area, constituency, ethnicity, race and age);

(c)The number and proportion of women registered voters (by urban and rural area, constituency, ethnicity, race and age);

(d)The trends in voter turnout of women over the past four national elections (by urban and rural area, constituency, ethnicity, race and age);

(e)The trends in women candidates over the past four national elections, including the number and proportion of female candidates standing for election;

(f)The number and proportion of judges and prosecutors who are women (by age and the proportion of cases allocated to them);

(g)The number of women in the governance bodies of public and private economic institutions, especially in senior management positions and on boards (by sector and the ratio of women to men);

(h)The number and proportion of women appointed at the international level (by position, length of service and qualifications in the foreign service);

(i)The number and proportion of women in senior positions in the foreign service, that is above the level of protocol officer or equivalent and those performing policy analysis, implementation or development.

Article 9

Legal framework

34.In the light of the provisions of article 9 and the Committee’s general recommendation No. 32 (2014) on the gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women, the report should contain information on:

(a)Whether women have equal rights with men to acquire, change or retain their nationality when they marry a non-citizen or whether a change of nationality by a woman’s husband or partner affects the woman’s nationality;

(b)Whether women and men have equal rights to transmit their nationality to their spouses and in relation to the residence and employment status of non‑national spouses or partners;

(c)How the nationality of a child is determined, and whether laws and regulations on the issuance of passports and other travel documents discriminate against women in any way, including with respect to their minor children;

(d)Whether laws or regulations provide for special measures to ensure that women and girls, especially those most marginalized, have access to identity documents, including proof of nationality;

(e)Whether measures have been taken to prevent statelessness of women and girls affected by conflict.

Enforcement and monitoring measures

35.The report should indicate:

(a)Whether laws and regulations provide for the promotion of awareness of legal and policy developments granting women equal rights with men to acquire, change or retain their nationality or to transfer their nationality to their children and their foreign spouses;

(b)Whether specific plans or special measures are in place to ensure that women and girls, especially those most marginalized, have access to identity documents, including proof of nationality;

(c)Whether laws or regulations provide for the collection, analysis and disaggregation by sex and other status of data on statelessness in the State.

Data analysis at both the national and the local levels

36.The report should include information on:

(a)The number and proportion of citizenship applications received for children of a female citizen and a non-citizen father;

(b)The number and proportion of citizenship applications received for children of a male citizen and a non-citizen mother;

(c)The number and proportion of cases in which citizenship has been granted to children of a female citizen and a non-citizen father.

Article 10

Legal framework

37.In the light of the provisions of article 10 and the Committee’s general recommendation No. 36 (2017) on the right of girls and women to education, the report should contain information on:

(a)Whether the law recognizes education as a right and the right of access to education without discrimination (whether implicit or explicit) of different population groups (such as women and girls, indigenous peoples, minorities and women with disabilities);

(b)Whether the provision of universal education is recognized as a directive principle of State policy;

(c)Whether the law addresses measures to eliminate gender stereotyping in education that perpetuates direct and indirect discrimination against all categories of girls and women;

(d)Whether the law recognizes the right to education for disadvantaged groups of women and girls, in particular those in conflict situations;

(e)Whether any legislative measures expressly prohibit discrimination where education is outsourced to private entities or provided by non-State organizations, such as religious or community groups and/or non-governmental organizations;

(f)Whether any legislative or policy measures encourage the access of women and girls to careers in information and communications technology and their pursuit of courses in science, technology, engineering and mathematics;

(g)Whether any legislation prohibits gender-based violence against women and girls, cyberbullying and harmful practices that would interfere with school attendance;

(h)Whether laws and policies are in place to ensure the access of women and girls to education at all levels in post-conflict contexts.

Enforcement and monitoring measures

38.The report should indicate:

(a)Whether the State has a national education strategy and plan of action and, if so, whether there are measures addressing gender discrimination in education;

(b)Whether public policy measures have been taken to remove gender bias and discriminatory stereotypes from primary education, teachers’ education strategies and optional subjects and to train teachers in gender equality issues;

(c)Whether the law provides for education, training and retraining for girls and women to acquire skills, including in mathematics, science and computer technology, and whether there is a budget to support such measures;

(d)The time frame and coverage of the plan of action to implement the principle of free compulsory primary education for all, and whether the national education strategy or plan of action has a monitoring mechanism for assessing the attainment of goals, expressly includes the goals of universal, compulsory and free primary education and provides for the progressive introduction of free secondary education;

(e)Whether a policy is in place to protect the access of girls to all levels of education by ensuring that third parties, including parents and employers, do not prevent girls from going to school, and whether there is a policy addressing school dropout by girls, including measures to ensure that pregnant girls can continue their education;

(f)Whether the State has taken measures to ensure that schools are safe and free of violence.

Data analysis at both the national and the local levels

39.The report should include information on:

(a)The percentage of the gross domestic product devoted to education (primary, secondary and higher) in the past five years;

(b)The percentage of the overall budget allocated to education at the national, regional, State and provincial or local government levels, disaggregated by primary, secondary and higher education;

(c)The gender budget in education at all levels;

(d)The literacy rates of men and women (by urban and rural area, low-income status, disability status and other minority status, such as language, religion and ethnicity);

(e)The gross enrolment ratio in preschool and primary, secondary and tertiary education (by sex, urban and rural area, low-income status, disability status and other minority status, such as language, religion and ethnicity);

(f)The dropout rates in primary, secondary and tertiary education (by sex, urban and rural area, low-income status, disability status and other minority status, such as language, religion and ethnicity);

(g)The number and proportion of female students enrolled in in-country technical and vocational education and training programmes (by urban and rural area, low-income status, disability status and other minority status, including language, religion and ethnicity);

(h)The number and proportion of female students with access to information and communications technology (by urban and rural areas, low-income status, disability status and other minority status, such as language, religion and ethnicity);

(i)The rates of female students of and graduates in science, technology engineering and mathematics (by urban and rural area, low-income status, disability status and other minority status, such as language, religion and ethnicity);

(j)The number and proportion of female teachers in primary, secondary and tertiary education and academia;

(k)The number of toilets for girl and boys and the ratio of toilets to students (by sex, urban and rural area, low-income status, disability status and other minority status, such as language, religion and ethnicity);

(l)The ratio of schools to the population (by urban and rural areas, school level, e.g. early childhood and care, primary, secondary and senior secondary education, age and sex).

Article 11

Legal framework

40.In the light of the provisions of article 11, the report should contain information on:

(a)Whether women require permission from their husbands or guardians to choose a profession, occupation or work;

(b)Whether the law places any restrictions on the professions, industries or sectors in which women can work, and whether the State keeps protective laws and regulations under review;

(c)Whether the law provides for equality in employment opportunities and remuneration between women and men, and whether it regulates the criteria for job selection and, if so, how;

(d)Whether legal and administrative measures prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex or gender in the recruitment and promotion of women in all fields, and whether during the recruitment or promotion process employers are prohibited from asking whether a woman is pregnant or about her intention to have children and whether this is monitored;

(e)Whether the State’s pension system is based on compulsory contributions or is non-contributory, whether the law provides, without limitation, that wives and non-marital partners inherit the pension rights of their spouses, whether the law takes into account differences in life expectancy, patterns of work and maternity or paternity, child-, age and disability care for women and men, and whether pension coverage is available to women who work in informal employment and women who perform unpaid care work;

(f)Whether regulations are in place to ensure alternative forms of employment, such as supported employment or special employment centres.

Enforcement and monitoring measures

41.The report should indicate:

(a)Whether the law establishes an independent body to gather evidence and analyse discrimination against women and girls in relation to employment and economic benefits in order to guide policy and reduce the gender pay gap;

(b)Whether the law provides for or encourages special temporary measures, including quotas and mandatory targets, to achieve equality for women in senior levels of employment, including on company boards;

(c)Whether there are plans to support the unpaid social care work of women and girls and to ensure their social protection;

(d)Whether there are plans to protect women working in the informal sector and to ensure their social protection;

(e)Whether the legal framework includes provisions to ensure that employers understand the rights of pregnant women and women returning to work following maternity leave and their obligations towards them;

(f)Whether the law establishes a collective insurance scheme to support small and medium-sized employers in paying and covering for maternity, paternity and parental leave;

(g)Whether specific strategies are in place to ensure access for women to intellectual property to promote their creation of start-up and digital companies;

(h)Whether specific strategies are in place to ensure the representation of women in professional and trade unions.

Data analysis at both the national and the local levels

42.The report should include information on:

(a)The labour force participation rate of women and men aged 15 years and over (by urban and rural area, highest level of education and minority status, including migrant workers and persons with disabilities);

(b)The unemployment rate for women and men aged 15 years and over (by urban and rural area, age and highest level of education);

(c)The gender pay gap (by urban and rural area, age, level of education, type of job and sector);

(d)The employment-to-population ratio for women and men aged 15 years and over (by urban and rural, age and highest level of education);

(e)The number and proportion of women aged 15 years and over among legislators, senior officials and managers (by urban and rural area, age and occupation);

(f)The number and proportion of working women aged 15 years and over working in commercial agriculture (by urban and rural area, age and occupation);

(g)The number and proportion of working women aged 15 years and over working for wages or salary (by urban and rural area, age and occupation);

(h)The amount, number and proportion of State payments for paid parental leave to men (by occupation, length of leave and private or public sector);

(i)The number and proportion of working women aged 15 years and over who are self-employed and not employing others (own account workers) (by urban and rural area, age and occupation);

(j)The number and proportion of working women aged 15 years and over who are self-employed and employing others (by urban and rural area, age and occupation);

(k)The number and proportion of working women aged 15 years and over who are engaged in unpaid family work (contributing family workers) (by urban and rural area, age, occupation, industry, highest level of education, sector average and hours worked);

(l)The proportion of employed women aged 15 years and over who are vulnerable workers (own account workers, unpaid workers in a family enterprise and subsistence workers) (by urban and rural area, age, occupation, industry, highest level of education, sector average and hours worked);

(m)The social protection and retirement schemes (type, average amount, sex, urban and rural area, age, disability status and ethnicity);

(n)The gender retirement gap (by urban and rural area, age, level of education, type of job and sector);

(o)The number of women in supported employment;

(p)The number of women working in special employment centres.

Article 12

Legal framework

43.In the light of the provisions of article 12 and the Committee’s general recommendation No. 24 (1999) on women and health, the report should contain information on:

(a)Whether there are legal provisions on the right to health, in particular those addressing life-cycle sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls;

(b)Whether the law provides for termination of pregnancy, and whether services for termination of pregnancy are accessible on request or only under certain circumstances, such as in cases of threat to the health or life of the pregnant woman, rape, incest or severe fetal impairment (other circumstances, if any, should be specified in the report);

(c)Whether the law addresses discrimination and protects groups of people identified as being especially vulnerable to health discrimination owing to HIV/AIDS, such as sex workers and intravenous drug users;

(d)Whether there is a law to combat harmful practices, and how such practices are addressed in the health sector;

(e)Whether regulations, policies or strategies are in place for adolescent sexual and reproductive health;

(f)Whether legal provisions are in place to ensure free and informed consent for any medical treatment;

(g)Whether legislation is in place to prohibit forced sterilization and coercive abortion.

Enforcement and monitoring measures

44.The report should indicate:

(a)Whether there are regulations, policies, strategies or plans for family planning, and whether legislative provisions specify restrictions, which might include third-party authorization for women to receive family planning services or family planning services only for married women;

(b)Whether health services for women and girls (e.g. reproductive health, maternal health, family planning and prevention of violence against women) are publicly funded;

(c)Whether there are procedures to ensure the decrease of infertility, including assisted medical procreation;

(d)Whether there are waivers or exceptions to any fee-for-service schemes for the poor or other mechanisms to ensure that persons in need have access to and can use services, and whether women can benefit from them;

(e)Whether a multisectoral strategy or action framework to combat HIV/AIDS is in place, and whether it addresses the reduction of gender inequality in relation to HIV/AIDS prevention and care;

(f)Whether there are regulations, policies, strategies or plans to address harmful traditional practices, and how these are addressed in the health sector;

(g)Whether there are accessible gynaecological and obstetric services.

Data analysis at both the national and the local levels

45.The report should include information on:

(a)The number of facilities per 500,000 population providing basic obstetric care and comprehensive obstetric care (by urban and rural area, age, ethnicity and disability status);

(b)The percentage of births attended by skilled health personnel (by urban and rural area, age, ethnicity and disability status);

(c)The maternal mortality ratio (number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births) (by urban and rural area, age, ethnicity and disability status);

(d)The neonatal mortality rate (number of infant deaths within one month of birth per 1,000 live births) or infant mortality rate (number of infant deaths within one year of birth per 1,000 live births) (by urban and rural area, age, ethnicity and disability status);

(e)The prevalence of HIV infection among pregnant women aged 15 to 24 years (by urban and rural area, age, ethnicity and disability status);

(f)The number of family planning service delivery points per 500,000 population offering comprehensive family planning services or the percentage of primary health-care facilities providing comprehensive family planning services (by urban and rural area, age, ethnicity and disability status);

(g)The unmet need for family planning, that is the percentage of women at risk of pregnancy who wish to avoid pregnancy but who are not using (and whose partner is not using) a contraceptive method (by urban and rural area, age, ethnicity and disability status);

(h)The percentage of service delivery points providing abortion or post-abortion care irrespective of whether abortion is illegal (by urban and rural area, age, ethnicity and disability status);

(i)The abortion rate (number of abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age) (by urban and rural area, age, ethnicity and disability status);

(j)The percentage of maternal deaths attributed to unsafe abortion (by urban and rural area, age, ethnicity and disability status);

(k)The number of condoms available for distribution nationwide during the preceding 12 months per population aged 15 to 49 years or the percentage of family planning service delivery points offering counselling on protection from sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, and unwanted pregnancies;

(l)The percentage of women screened for cervical cancer within the past five years and receiving treatment when required;

(m)The population with self-reported or diagnosed symptoms of bacterial or viral sexually transmitted infections and reproductive tract infections;

(n)The prevalence of HIV infection among pregnant women and in subpopulations engaging in high-risk behaviour;

(o)The percentage of women with cervical cancer, and available facilities for treatment;

(p)The proportion of female patients (of total male and female users) being treated for mental health problems or the proportion referred to specialized services, including mental health outpatient facilities;

(q)The percentages of young women and men aged 15 to 24 years who are infected with HIV;

(r)The percentages of women and men with advanced HIV infection who are receiving antiretroviral therapy;

(s)The proportion of health services that have raised the awareness of or trained providers with regard to violence against women and girls;

(t)The number of women sterilized without their consent;

(u)The number of coercive abortions.

Article 13

Legal framework

46.In the light of the provisions of article 13, the report should contain information on:

(a)Whether the law establishes family allowances or subsidies or any form of social protection, for example with respect to children, childcare, housing, age and disability, and whether these are available to women and men on an equal basis;

(b)Whether child- and family care costs are taken into account in taxation assessments, whether couples are taxed separately, and whether the law establishes specific tax deductions and credits applicable only to women or men;

(c)Whether the law provides that women are entitled to apply for and receive bank loans, including flexible and affordable soft loans, mortgages and other credit, without the consent, participation or guarantee of their husbands, male guardians or relatives;

(d)Whether the law establishes specific microcredit or guarantee schemes, seed funding, scale-up and venture capital or other financial facilities for women, including appropriate business support services, trade facilitation and negotiation, e‑commerce and export and market access;

(e)Whether the law provides for the full participation of women in all aspects of cultural life, including access to new social media, innovation and sports, as well as policies on private sector investment in these areas.

Enforcement and monitoring measures

47.The report should indicate:

(a)Whether there are any poverty alleviation, financial inclusion and enterprise stimulation programmes, and whether there are specific measures to mainstream gender equality and promote non-discrimination of women and girls;

(b)Whether there are social protection floors, safety nets and social buffers for women and girls, including those belonging to ethnic and other minorities who suffer multiple forms of discrimination;

(c)Whether there are programmes or plans (private and public) to support the access of women to financial and credit facilities.

Data analysis at both the national and the local levels

48.The report should include information on:

(a)The number, amount and proportion of housing allowances paid to women in the public service;

(b)The number, amount and proportion of social protection and welfare benefits paid to women of different categories;

(c)The number of complaints received by the labour commissioner (or equivalent) about breaches of family allowance payments (by sex, urban and rural area, type of occupation, industry and age);

(d)The number, amount and proportion of tax or financial credits claimed (by sex, urban and rural area, type of occupation, industry and age);

(e)The number of persons with life insurance (by sex, urban and rural area, age, highest level of education, industry and insurance provider);

(f)The number of persons with health or medical insurance (by sex, urban and rural area, age, highest level of education, industry and insurance provider);

(g)The number of persons with a personal loan (by sex, urban and rural area, age and type of financial institution, e.g. commercial bank, development bank or other type of lending agency);

(h)The number and proportion of microfinance providers with specific lending schemes for women (by urban and rural area and type of scheme);

(i)The number of persons with a housing mortgage or loan, and the results of surveys, if any, of the microfinance sector (by sex, urban and rural area, age and type of financial institution, e.g. commercial bank or development bank).

Article 14

49.The Committee’s general recommendation No. 34 (2016) on the rights of rural women provides an important contribution to analysing the multiple forms of discrimination against rural women and girls in the context of globalization and addresses not only the de jure framework or legislation but also its de facto implementation and the process for achieving actual outcomes in many fields relevant to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In the general recommendation, the root causes of discrimination are analysed as macroeconomic policies, and the role of rural women and girls in unpaid work is clearly stated. The equal access of women to, and their control over, economic resources, including land and natural resources, is central to the recommendation (paras. 56–59), as is their participation in development processes, economic and agrarian reforms, trade, markets and finance and social protection programmes. The recommendation is particularly interesting for clearly highlighting the due diligence of States in protecting the rights of rural women in public-private partnerships for development.

Legal framework

50.In the light of the provisions of article 14 and the Committee’s general recommendation No. 34, the report should contain information on:

(a)Whether rural women and men enjoy equal tenure and property rights regardless of their civil or other status, and whether the law addresses discrimination that hinders the full participation of rural women in development processes;

(b)Whether the law recognizes the unpaid work of women and girls and their contribution to economic growth;

(c)Whether the law guarantees rural women and female-headed households equal access to food security, livelihoods and natural resources sufficient to their needs and necessary for their survival, including land, water, building materials, fuel and fodder;

(d)Whether the lack of secure land tenure contributes to situations of violence against women in rural areas;

(e)Whether rural women have access to training and technology in the area of agricultural production and are involved in development programmes and their implementation.

Enforcement and monitoring measures

51.The report should indicate:

(a)The measures adopted to effectively regulate distribution and ensure the accessibility and affordability of land and natural resources for women and female-headed households, including through subsidies;

(b)The measures adopted to enable women from all cultural, ethnic, religious and other backgrounds to participate in rural planning processes and to ensure their right to self-determination in relation to housing;

(c)The measures adopted to guarantee rural women full protection against forced eviction and to ensure effective participation, consultation and negotiation with affected women or groups of women.

Data analysis at both the national and the local levels

52.The report should include information on:

(a)The rate of migration from rural to urban areas (by sex, age, lifetime or time period, ethnicity and reason for migration);

(b)The number of persons involved in consultations and discussions for rural development policies (by sex, type of policy and agency represented);

(c)The number and proportion of members of village development committees (or equivalent) in rural areas (by sex and position);

(d)The number and proportion of participants in renewable energy maintenance training (by type of renewable energy, sex, age and ethnicity);

(e)The number and proportion of social security payments paid to residents in rural areas (by type of social security payment, income, age and benefit provider);

(f)The ratio of employed persons aged 15 years and over to social security contributors in rural areas (by income, age, sector of employment, hours worked and sex);

(g)The ratio of skilled health personnel in rural areas to the population (by occupation of health personnel and sex);

(h)The ratio of village health workers (or equivalent) in rural areas to the population (by occupation of health personnel and sex);

(i)The number of persons referred to a higher-level health or medical facility (by condition, age and sex);

(j)The average time to reach the nearest health facility in rural areas;

(k)The proportion of persons living in rural areas who did not seek assistance for their most recent illness because the clinic was too far away or believed to be inadequate (by sex, condition and age);

(l)The ratio of women aged 20 to 24 years who were married or entered into a union before the age of 18 years in rural areas to those in urban ones (by age and ethnicity);

(m)The contraceptive prevalence rate (modern methods) in rural areas (by age, ethnicity and health and disability status);

(n)The number of active users of family planning services in rural areas (by sex, age, ethnicity and method);

(o)The ratio of family planning counsellors in rural areas to the population (by sex);

(p)The number and proportion of registered post-secondary training providers operating in rural areas (by type of training provider and type of training);

(q)The number of persons enrolled in post-secondary training courses in rural areas (by sex, type of training and length of training);

(r)The number and proportion of members of active cooperatives in rural areas (by type of cooperative and sex);

(s)The number and proportion of agricultural extension officers (by sex);

(t)The number and proportion of training recipients of agricultural extension programmes in rural areas (by training provider, type of training and sex);

(u)The number of persons in rural areas aged 15 years and over without access to a telephone for their own use (by sex);

(v)The ratio of cash income of rural women to urban women aged 15 years and over (by age and source of income);

(w)The percentage of rural women aged 15 years and over with no cash income (by age, disability status and ethnicity).

Article 15

Legal framework

53.In the light of the provisions of article 15, the report should contain information on:

(a)Whether the law provides that women, irrespective of marital status, have the same capacity as men to conclude contracts, and whether the law provides that any contracts or other legal instruments that seek to restrict the legal capacity of women are null and void;

(b)Whether the law provides that women, irrespective of marital status, have the same rights to acquire, own, administer and alienate personal property, leaseholds, livestock, agricultural equipment and other infrastructure;

(c)Whether in law and in practice women have equal capacity with men to sue or to be sued, and whether procedural rules in civil, criminal and family courts and tribunals take into account the interests of women and girls, including their access to legal advice and/or legal aid;

(d)Whether the evidence of a woman in civil, criminal and family courts and tribunals is equal to that of a man, and whether this also applies with respect to customary and religious courts and tribunals;

(e)Whether the law provides that women and men have equal rights with regard to domicile and/or choice of residence;

(f)Whether the law prohibits the legal incapacitation of women, including for health reasons.

Enforcement and monitoring measures

54.The report should indicate:

(a)Whether the legal framework provides for the creation and maintenance of courts and tribunals to facilitate the access of women and girls to justice, such as mobile courts and the use of information and communications technology, and whether such courts and tribunals are staffed by qualified officials and are provided with adequate budgetary resources;

(b)Whether there are laws and regulations to address discriminatory gender stereotypes in the judiciary, the legal profession and legal education, and whether these include capacity-building, accountability and enforcement measures;

(c)Whether the law establishes a mechanism to oversee the responses of the judiciary and quasi-judicial and administrative bodies to cases regarding the equality and non-discrimination of women and girls;

(d)Whether the law provides for a budget and technical assistance to ensure that all parts of the justice system (the judiciary, quasi-judicial and administrative personnel, mediation officials, national human rights institution members and ombudspersons) are able to deliver gender-sensitive and non-discriminatory decisions and remedies;

(e)The number of women deprived of their legal capacity.

Data analysis at both the national and the local levels

55.The report should include information on:

(a)The number and proportion of land titles where a woman is the sole owner (by urban and rural area, age and marital status);

(b)The number and proportion of businesses registered to women (by urban and rural area, age and industry);

(c)The number and proportion of female members of tribunals (by type of tribunal, e.g. arbitration or mediation);

(d)The number and proportion of persons seeking advice or counselling about legal rights by provider (such as legal aid, non-governmental organization or lawyer or solicitor) and issue (such as matrimonial property, land or theft).

Article 16

Legal framework

56.In the light of the provisions of article 16, the Committee’s general recommendation No. 29 (2013) on the economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution and joint general recommendation No. 31 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women/general comment No. 18 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the report should contain information on:

General principles

(a)Whether equality and/or non-discrimination in cases relating to marriage or personal status are enshrined in the Constitution or other basic law, and whether there are mechanisms to oversee and monitor the application of the law;

(b)Whether family relations are governed by civil, customary, religious, indigenous or a hybrid of laws, and whether women can choose the legal system and forum to be applied to them;

(c)Whether legislation has been adopted that eliminates discriminatory aspects of family law in the civil code and customary, religious or indigenous law, and whether systems have been established in law to provide for the right of appeal to the civil justice system where religious, customary or indigenous authorities have jurisdiction in respect of marriage and family relations;

Marriage

(d)Whether women and men have equal rights to enter into marriage, including the right to choose a spouse, and whether the legal age for marriage is the same for women and men;

(e)Whether the law prohibits forced marriage and provides that forced marriages have no legal effect, and whether the law prohibits or discourages polygamy;

(f)Whether the law provides for the official registration of all marriages, including customary and religious marriages, establishes a mechanism for proving marriage other than through registration, where necessary, and includes provisions on awareness-raising on marriage registration, including the facilitation thereof through mobile registration facilities;

(g)Whether measures have been taken to prevent, investigate and punish forced marriage, forced pregnancies, the denial of abortions and sterilization in conflict-affected areas;

(h)Whether the law prohibits the limitation of the rights to marriage and custody of children for women with disabilities;

Marital relations

(i)Whether legal provisions that require a married woman to obey her husband have been repealed, including provisions that provide for the punishment of women when they disobey their husbands;

(j)Whether legal provisions that define the husband as the head of household have been repealed and a married woman has the same rights as her husband to choose the family name, including the legal capacity to apply for identity cards and passports on an equal basis as her husband;

(k)Whether in law and in practice a married woman is required to obtain her husband’s consent to choose a profession or occupation;

Rights and responsibilities relating to children

(l)Whether the law provides for the equal rights and responsibilities of parents with regard to their children, including parents in informal unions and those in lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex unions;

(m)Whether the law provides for the equal rights and responsibilities of parents with regard to their children upon the dissolution of marriage, in particular in family violence-related cases;

(n)Whether the law deprives lesbian mothers of custodial and other rights over their children;

Registered partnerships

(o)Whether the law provides for a regime of registered partnerships and the equal rights and responsibilities of the partners, including with respect to income, assets and children;

Informal unions

(p)Whether informal unions such as cohabitation are regulated by law, and whether women and men in such unions have equal rights and responsibilities in relation to income and assets;

(q)Whether the law provides for the registration of informal unions, and whether it regulates the rights and responsibilities of partners upon the dissolution of such unions by separation or death;

Marital property

(r)Whether the law allows for contractual agreements to be entered into by spouses or partners prior to or during the marriage or union, and whether the law ensures that the spouses have equal bargaining power and that there is no abuse of power or discrimination against women;

(s)Whether the law provides for a marital property regime based on separation of property, community of property or deferred community of property, and whether in the determination of property rights the regime takes into account the non-economic contributions of women to marital property, such as childcare and household work;

(t)Whether the law provides for equal land titling for land used or acquired by couples who are married or in informal unions;

Divorce and annulment

(u)Whether women have equal rights as men with respect to divorce, and whether the requirements for the finalization of divorce or annulment are the same for women and men;

(v)Whether the financial consequences of divorce or annulment are contingent on fault and whether different standards are applicable to women and men, and whether the non-financial contributions of the partners during the marriage or union are recognized in the assessment of financial provision upon divorce, annulment or the end of an informal union;

Death and inheritance

(w)Whether surviving spouses (women and men) who are either married or in an informal relationship have equal inheritance rights in respect of real and personal property;

(x)Whether the law prohibits harmful practices relating to widows, such as levirate, where a widow is required to marry her deceased spouse’s sibling, or other forms of forced marriage;

Girls

(y)Whether the law provides for the birth registration of children, whether there is a budget allocation for measures to ensure the birth registration of children, including through the use of mobile registration units, and whether the non‑registration of births is punishable, and the nature of such sanctions;

(z)Whether the law provides for equal inheritance rights for girls and boys with respect to real and personal property, including where the deceased died intestate;

(aa)Whether the law provides that the betrothal of a child shall have no legal effect and there are measures to raise awareness thereof and to sanction such conduct;

(bb)Whether the law identifies 18 years as the minimum age of marriage applicable to both women and men, and whether the law provides that marriages under the minimum age will have no legal effect;

(cc)Whether the law provides for measures, supported by a budget, to generate social support for the enforcement of laws on the minimum age for marriage, including among girls, and the applicable sanctions for those who facilitate a marriage under the minimum marriage age.

Data analysis at both the national and the local levels

57.The report should include information on:

(a)The mean age at marriage (by sex, urban and rural area, ethnicity and age);

(b)The proportion of the population aged 45 years and over who are widows or widowers (by sex, urban and rural area and ethnicity);

(c)The proportion of the population aged 60 years and over who are widows or widowers (by urban and rural area, ethnicity and age);

(d)The proportion of the population who are divorced or separated (by urban and rural area, ethnicity, age and sex);

(e)The number of births officially registered (by urban and rural area, ethnicity, age of mother and sex);

(f)The estimated number and proportion of births not officially registered (by urban and rural area, ethnicity, age of mother and sex);

(g)The number and proportion of persons aged 15 years and overworking in family enterprises without pay;

(h)The number of restraining (or protection) orders issued to married women (against their spouse) in situations of sexual and domestic violence (by urban and rural area, ethnicity, age and marital status as legally married or in a consensual union);

(i)The unmet need for family planning among females who are married or in a consensual union (by urban and rural area, ethnicity, age and marital status as legally married or in a consensual union);

(j)The number of petitions regarding matrimonial property disputes upon the dissolution of a marriage (by urban and rural area and sex).