Gender-Based Violence Against Women and Girls in Southern Africa - Key Human Rights Trends.

This advocacy brief provides an overview of the trends in terms of Gender Based Violence (GBV) as a human rights violation in the southern Africa sub-region. Although people of all genders can experience GBV, women and girls are disproportionally affected and therefore this brief will focus on this group specifically. The brief includes Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) recommendations on GBV for 14 countries in the sub-region. It also refers to existing national legislation, policies and actions addressing GBV against women and girls, while highlighting certain human rights protection gaps and providing recommendations for States, Southern African Development Community (SADC), civil society and National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) to effectively address this violation of human rights.