International Day in Support of Victims of Torture: UN Mechanisms call for gender-sensitive torture prevention, accountability and redress for women and girls

GENEVA - As we commemorate the 20th anniversary of the entry into force of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT)^[1] and the 45th anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women,^[2] the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture in 2026 is a timely opportunity to reaffirm our resolve to eradicate torture – a heinous crime and an affront to the dignity of each human being. Today, we, the United Nations (UN) anti-torture mechanisms,* draw attention to the specific and often overlooked risks of torture and ill-treatment faced by women and girls deprived of liberty, in peacetime as well as in conflict settings.

Discrimination against women and girls worldwide places them at heightened risk of severe and gender-specific forms of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and critical links exist between discriminatory laws and policies and the incarceration of women and girls, as also recognized for the first time by the Commission on the Status of Women at its seventieth session in March 2026.^[3]

In the context of detention, whether in police custody, prisons, immigration facilities, child justice institutions, psychiatric institutions, or any other place of deprivation of liberty, women and girls often remain structurally invisible. Many places of deprivation of liberty are designed around male-centered models, leading to structural deficiencies that do not accommodate the specific needs and protections of women and girls, with particularly acute risks for, among others, those belonging to the LGBTQI+ community, indigenous women and girls, and women and girls with disabilities.

The risks faced by women and girls deprived of liberty frequently materialize during arrest, interrogation, and detention in ways that compromise their dignity and rights, including their physical and mental integrity. They include sexual and gender-based violence; degrading body searches; abusive and discriminatory disciplinary practices; lack of gynecological, pre- and post-natal healthcare, and absence of menstrual hygiene products; detention in places far from their homes, families and children; disruption of education; mixed-gender detention and inadequate staffing; and lack of confidential complaint mechanisms with gender-sensitive approaches. Failure of States to address the specific needs of women and girls deprived of liberty allows risks and vulnerabilities to persist and violations to flourish.

Women and girls in situations of armed conflict and displacement are also at risk of conflict-related sexual violence, which may amount to torture, as recognized by the General Assembly in 2025.^[4] They face stigmatization, discrimination, marginalization, and even ostracization by their communities and families. Many also suffer severe harm as a consequence of witnessing torture inflicted on family members.

As UN anti-torture mechanisms, we emphasize the centrality of prevention in all efforts to address and eradicate torture and ill-treatment. The OPCAT has strengthened global focus on the obligation to prevent torture and other ill-treatment through a system of regular visits to places of deprivation of liberty and the establishment of some 80 National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs) worldwide. The work of these national bodies is more important than ever, particularly at a time when the ongoing United Nations (UN) liquidity crisis has so severely limited the work of human rights mechanisms across the UN system, underscoring the importance of strong national prevention and monitoring frameworks.

We urge all States that have not yet done so to ratify UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) and OPCAT as an important step towards strengthening prevention and protecting human dignity, and we call on UNCAT States Parties to continue strengthening their prevention, protection, and accountability infrastructure and on OPCAT State Parties to implement effective, preventive, and gender-sensitive detention monitoring through their NPMs. States should also make use of the support available through the OPCAT Special Fund to help implement recommendations arising from preventive monitoring and to strengthen safeguards against torture and ill-treatment.

States must translate the absolute prohibition of torture into effective protection in practice. In relation to the experience of women and girls, this first and foremost calls for gender-sensitive approaches to be entrenched as an integral part of every prevention effort. In places of deprivation of liberty, States must adopt specific measures that respond to the specific needs and realities of all persons deprived of liberty, with particular attention to women, in line with the UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules), including effective legal safeguards; adequate physical, mental, sexual and reproductive healthcare; and programmes to support rehabilitation and social reintegration that do not reinforce gender stereotypes.

States should examine their anti-torture legal and institutional frameworks and review laws and policies that have led to the disproportionate criminalization and over-incarceration of women. They must integrate gender perspectives into crime and sentencing policies, particularly for drug-related offences, and make non-custodial alternatives a reality, especially for pregnant women and mothers.

Women and girls must be able to report torture, ill-treatment, sexual violence or any abuse safely, confidentially and without reprisals. Such allegations must be promptly, impartially and effectively investigated, and those responsible at all levels must be held accountable. Effective prevention requires justice and accountability, and rehabilitation and remedies for victims and survivors. Lessons from each case of torture and ill-treatment must also be learned in order to ensure non-repetition. States must guarantee the right to redress for victims, including access to effective remedies and full reparation after such violations. Rehabilitation programmes should be informed by gender‑disaggregated data and include gender-sensitive support, including for women raising children born of conflict-related sexual violence. States are encouraged to support such programmes, including through voluntary contributions to the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture with plays a critical role in supporting survivors and their families worldwide.

Moreover, meaningful prevention of torture, accountability and reparation require the full participation and empowerment of women and girls in all their diversity. This includes ensuring that survivors of torture and ill-treatment can participate as full and equal partners at all stages of policy, law-making, monitoring, and redress.

Women human rights defenders, caregivers, and family members of torture victims often bear the emotional and economic burden of their rehabilitation, all while confronting stigma, gender-based discrimination, and the risk of reprisals themselves. Ensuring survivor‑centred and gender‑sensitive approaches are essential to delivering meaningful reparation.

This strengthening of the voices of victims and survivors of torture is central to an inclusive approach to preventing and combatting torture and its consequences. We therefore acknowledge the Charter of Rights of Victims and Survivors of Torture presented to the Human Rights Council by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in March of this year— a welcome platform for amplifying the voices and participation of survivors.

In the words of the Charter's authors:

“Our experiences will mark us for the rest of our lives; and yet we are still here, still standing, still fighting for justice, for reparation and for a world where no one else will have to endure what we have suffered. We demand accountability for perpetrators, and we dream of societies grounded in dignity, law and democracy. No one understands the suffering from torture better than we do.”

On this 26 June, we honour women and girls who are victims and survivors of torture and ill-treatment, and whose courage and resilience must continue to guide our collective efforts to build a world free from torture—one grounded in prevention, accountability, and redress, with dignity for all.

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[1] On 18 December 2002 the UN General Assembly adopted the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture. On 22 June 2006, the OPCAT obtained 20 ratifications and entered into force.

[2] On 18 December 1979, the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. On 3 September 1981, CEDAW entered into force.

[3] E/CN.6/2026/L.2 (Agreed Conclusions of the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), adopted on 9 March 2026.

[4] https://docs.un.org/en/A/RES/80/198