Submission Link : ASA Submission link
Submission Summary:
Anti-Slavery Australia submitted a written contribution to the half-day general discussion on gender stereotypes held by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee). This discussion supports the development of a General Recommendation on the impact of gender stereotypes on the enjoyment of rights outlined in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW Convention).
The submission focuses on several issues, including the intersection of harmful gender stereotypes with legal and policy gaps in addressing modern slavery through a gender-sensitive lens, the impact of these stereotypes on access to justice for victim-survivors of modern slavery, and ASA’s recommendations for addressing harmful gender stereotypes. It highlights how gender stereotypes and modern slavery intersect, asserting that harmful stereotypes are often the root cause of discrimination faced by women and girls. These stereotypes increase the risk of exploitation in modern slavery, such as forced marriage and human trafficking. Thus, structural gender inequality profoundly influences the prevalence of modern slavery and preserves gender-based harm.
ASA makes a number of targeted recommendations that the General Recommendation No. 41 on gender stereotypes should implement, such as:
- Explicitly recognise harmful gender stereotypes as underlying drivers of modern slavery practices, including forced marriage, exit trafficking, and domestic servitude.
- States should be encouraged to implement legal reforms, public education campaigns, and institutional policies aimed at challenging and transforming these stereotypes, both within and beyond the justice system.
- That States establish robust, gender-sensitive legal and policy frameworks that address modern slavery in all its forms. This should include identification frameworks that are non-discriminatory and gender sensitive.
- Urge States to guarantee access to effective remedies for survivors. Legal and procedural reforms should be adopted to remove barriers such as immigration status, ensuring survivors can seek justice without fear of punishment or deportation.
- Recommend that States invest in comprehensive education and training programs for frontline service providers, law enforcement, and judicial actors. This is to identify and respond effectively to modern slavery.
- States should support community-led initiatives that raise awareness of rights, challenge harmful cultural norms, and empower at-risk groups, particularly women and girls from marginalised communities – this should be co-designed and led by those with lived experience of modern slavery.