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Knowledge and Narratives
Joint Submission to the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, on “sex-based violence”
January 2025
Just Futures Collaborative joins a broad coalition of feminist, human rights and gender justice organizations in a joint submission to the Special Rapporteur on violence against women. The submission highlights why gender-based frameworks must remain at the heart of efforts to end violence against women, girls, and gender-diverse people. The submission responds to a recent call for input on “sex-based violence” from the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls. Our submission raises concerns that this framing risks undoing years of progress in human rights advocacy. It warns that focusing narrowly on “sex” as an immutable biological category ignores the complex ways in which violence is rooted in power dynamics, gender roles, and social norms.
The document explains that gender, not just sex, shapes how people experience discrimination and violence. Gender-based violence is not simply about biology, it’s about ideas and structures that maintain inequality. For example, beliefs about masculinity, femininity, and gender roles fuel harmful practices and justify violence. Ignoring this reality makes it harder to create solutions that work.
Read the full submission (English) here!