Harmful practices

Harmful practices are a form of gender-based violence and a violation of human rights that put women’s, adolescents’ and girls’ health and rights at great risk. A variety of harmful practices exist, including female genital mutilation (FGM), child and forced marriage, virginity testing and related practices, accusations of witchcraft, and body modifications that are performed for the purpose of beauty or marriageability of girls and women.

Human rights bodies have repeatedly called on States to protect women, adolescents and children from all harmful practices, including in the 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 on harmful practices from 2019.

Child, early and forced marriage

Child, early and forced marriage (CEFM) is a harmful gender-based practice and a serious human rights violation that disproportionately affects girls and women. It encompasses both marriages where at least one party is under 18 and unions entered into without full, free, and informed consent. Rooted in gender inequality and discrimination, child marriage undermines girls’ and adolescents’ health, education, and bodily autonomy, often perpetuating cycles of violence and poverty.

International human rights frameworks such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women explicitly require state parties to reject harmful practices and ensure marriage is consensual and entered into at a legal age (18 years-old). In conflict, humanitarian and fragile settings, where protective systems are weakened or shattered, the risk of CEFM increases significantly, prompting OHCHR and the Human Rights Council to call for states to uphold their obligations by prioritising the protection, dignity, and access to justice for affected girls.

The latest report of the Secretary General on the issue of child, early and forced marriage (A/79/308) in 2024 highlighted gaps and promising practices to eliminate child, early and forced marriage, in view of the new and exacerbated drivers of this harmful practice, such as climate change or the pushback on women’s rights and gender equality. It includes human rights-based strategies and recommendations to prevent and eliminate child, early and forced marriage, while providing support to survivors. 

The OHCHR Guidelines to prevent and address child, early and forced marriage (A/HRC/62/26), presented at the Human Rights Council in June 2026, stress the need to address the root causes of child, early and forced marriage, including gender inequality, harmful social norms, poverty, and limited access to education and essential services, while ensuring the meaningful participation of women and girls in decision-making and adopting a survivor-centred approach across all laws, policies and programmes. They set out five mutually reinforcing areas for action: strengthening legal frameworks by establishing 18 as the minimum age of marriage without exceptions and prohibiting all forms of forced marriage; adopting comprehensive and coordinated national strategies with adequate resources and cross-sector partnerships; investing in prevention through education, economic empowerment and the transformation of harmful gender norms, including engagement with communities, men and boys; strengthening protection systems and access to justice through survivor-centred services such as healthcare, psychosocial support, shelters and legal aid; and improving data collection, monitoring and accountability to support evidence-based policymaking and measure progress.

Here is the list of previous reports on the subject.

Female genital mutilation

Female genital mutilation (FGM) involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injury to female genital organs for non-medical reasons. The practice reflects and reinforces systemic gender inequalities by controlling women’s bodies and limiting their autonomy. It constitutes a form of gender-based violence and has severe consequences for the physical, psychological, sexual and reproductive health of women and girls. FGM violates multiple human rights, including the rights to health, physical integrity, freedom from torture, and, in some cases, the right to life.

Under international human rights law, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, States have clear obligations to prevent FGM, protect those at risk, and provide support, care, redress and reparations for survivors.

The latest report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on cross-border and transnational female genital mutilation (A/HRC/56/29). The report reaffirms that female genital mutilation constitutes a human rights violation and a form of gender-based violence against women and girls that is inherently linked to deep-rooted gender inequality and stereotypes. The report highlights the need to strengthen data collection, harmonize legal and policy frameworks, and strengthen regional and international cooperation and systematic coordination among States and other key stakeholders, including civil society, to tackle cross-border and transnational female genital mutilation.

Virginity testing

Virginity testing, also referred to as hymen examination, “two-finger” or per-vaginal tests, is a profoundly harmful practice that lacks any scientific or medical validity and constitutes a serious violation of the human rights of women and girls. This invasive inspection is rooted in discriminatory gender norms that seek to control female sexuality and enforce patriarchal standards of purity, reinforcing inequality and gender-based oppression.

In 2018, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a Joint Inter-agency Statement on Eliminating Virginity Testing, that highlights that such examinations not only lack clinical merit but also cause significant physical and mental harm, including pain, humiliation, re-traumatisation, particularly in the context of sexual violence, and social stigma. By degrading bodily autonomy and privacy, virginity testing violates multiple core human rights, including the rights to equality, freedom from torture and ill-treatment, privacy, and health, and must be categorically banned. The elimination of this practice requires comprehensive action through legal prohibition, professional guidelines, and community-level mechanisms to dismantle the cultural norms that sustain it.

Accusations of witchcraft

Accusations of witchcraft, often deeply rooted in harmful social beliefs and gender inequality, frequently result in severe human rights violations, particularly against women, children, persons with disabilities, older people, and minorities. These allegations lead to physical violence, arbitrary and cruel punishments, forced displacement, and stigmatization, with victims often abandoned in so-called "witch camps" or forcibly removed from their communities. Accusations are often exploited to reinforce patriarchal control and violate human rights, including the rights to life, bodily integrity, due process, non-discrimination, and freedom from torture.

The report of the High Commissioner on harmful practices related to accusations of witchcraft and ritual attacks, as well as stigmatization (A/HRC/52/47) was presented to the Human Rights Council in 2023. In this report, he urges States to treat witchcraft accusations as serious violations requiring legal prohibition, effective access to justice, targeted protections for at-risk groups, and community-based initiatives to address root causes and promote gender equality.