CEDAW/C/GC/31-CRC/C/GC/18 III. Rationale for the joint general recommendation/ general comment 6. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on the Rights of the Child consistently note that harmful practices are deeply rooted in social attitudes according to which women and girls are regarded as inferior to men and boys based on stereotyped roles. They also highlight the gender dimension of violence and indicate that sex- and gender-based attitudes and stereotypes, power imbalances, inequalities and discrimination perpetuate the widespread existence of practices that often involve violence or coercion. It is also important to recall that the Committees are concerned that the practices are also used to justify gender-based violence as a form of “protection” or control of women 1 and children in the home or community, at school or in other educational settings and institutions and in wider society. Moreover, the Committees draw States parties’ attention to the fact that sex- and gender-based discrimination intersects with other factors that affect women 2 and girls, in particular those who belong to, or are perceived as belonging to, disadvantaged groups, and who are therefore at a higher risk of becoming victims of harmful practices. 7. Harmful practices are therefore grounded in discrimination based on sex, gender and age, among other things, and have often been justified by invoking sociocultural and religious customs and values, in addition to misconceptions relating to some disadvantaged groups of women and children. Overall, harmful practices are often associated with serious forms of violence or are themselves a form of violence against women and children. While the nature and prevalence of the practices vary by region and culture, the most prevalent and well documented are female genital mutilation, child and/or forced marriage, polygamy, crimes committed in the name of so-called honour and dowry-related violence. Given that those practices are frequently raised before both Committees, and in some cases have been demonstrably reduced through legislative and programmatic approaches, they are used herein as key illustrative examples. 8. Harmful practices are endemic to a wide variety of communities in most countries. Some are also found in regions or countries in which they had not been previously documented, primarily owing to migration, whereas in other countries where such practices had disappeared they are now re-emerging as a result of such factors as conflict situations. 9. Many other practices having been identified as harmful practices are all strongly connected to and reinforce socially constructed gender roles and systems of patriarchal power relations and sometimes reflect negative perceptions of or discriminatory beliefs regarding certain disadvantaged groups of women and children, including individuals with disabilities or albinism. The practices include, but are not limited to, neglect of girls (linked to the preferential care and treatment __________________ 1 2 14-64765 Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women general recommendation No. 19, para. 11; Committee on the Rights of the Child general comment No. 9 on the rights of children with disabilities, paras. 8, 10 and 79; and Committee on the Rights of the Child general comment No. 15 on the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, paras. 8 and 9. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women general recommendation No. 28 on the core obligations of States parties under article 2 of the Convention, para. 18. 3/24