2. 2. The fight against sexual violence and its consequences is further governed by specific texts for the promotion and protection of the rights of women, such as the Declaration of the General Assembly of the United Nations on the Elimination of Violence against Women (1993); the Beijing Declaration and Programme of Action (1995); the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (hereinafter the “CEDAW Convention”, 1979), as interpreted by the Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (hereinafter the “CEDAW Committee”). In particular, the latter has adopted general recommendations on the following topics: on violence against women (General Recommendation No. 12 (1989) and General Recommendation No. 19 (1992)); on non-discrimination against women in strategies to prevent and combat AIDS (General Recommendation No. 15 (1990)); on women and conflict (General Recommendation No. 30 (2013)); on women’s health (General Recommendation No. 24 (1999)); on harmful practices (Joint General Recommendation/General Comment No. 31 of the CEDAW Committee and No. 18 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, CEDAW/C/GC/31/CRC/C/GC/18 (2014)); and on women’s access to justice (General Recommendation No. 33, CEDAW/C/GC/33 (2015)). 2. 3. The United Nations Security Council has also adopted a number of resolutions on women, peace and security requiring that States adopt measures to protect women and girls in conflicts, including protecting them from sexual violence, also requiring States to strengthen their position in conflict prevention and resolution (Resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009), 1960 (2010), 2106 (2013), 2122 (2013) and 2242 (2015)). 2. 4. These Guidelines have also drawn from applicable regional instruments from outside the continent, which are particularly relevant in fighting against sexual violence and its consequences. These include the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (hereinafter “the Istanbul Convention”, 2011) and the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence Against Women (hereinafter the “Belém do Pará Convention”, 1994). 3. Definitions 3. 1. Sexual violence a. Sexual violence means any non-consensual sexual act, a threat or attempt to perform such an act, or compelling someone else to perform such an act on a third person. These acts are considered as nonconsensual when they involve violence, the threat of violence, or coercion. Coercion can be the result of psychological pressure, undue influence, detention, abuse of power or someone taking advantage of a coercive environment, or the inability of an individual to freely consent. This definition must be applied irrespective of the sex or gender of the victim and the perpetrator, and of the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator. Explanatory Notes: Declaration of the General Assembly of the United Nations on the Elimination of Violence against Women (1993); Istanbul Convention, Articles 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 (2011); International Criminal Court, Office of the Prosecutor, General Policy Document on sexual and sexist crimes, p. 4 (2014); United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW) and United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), UN Handbook for Legislation on Violence against Women ST/ESA/329, pp. 26 et seq. (2010). b. Sexual violence is not limited to physical violence and does not necessarily involve physical contact. It takes many forms, and includes but is not limited to: • sexual harassment; • rape (including gang rape, marital rape or “corrective”1rape), which includes penetration of the vagina, anus or mouth by any object or part of the body; 1. Corrective rape is defined as the use of rape against women because of their real or alleged homosexuality supposedly in order to “cure” them of this sexual orientation. 14 GUIDELINES ON COMBATING SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES IN AFRICA