Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health

Statement by the Delegation of the United States of America

As delivered by Daniel Kronenfeld

Human Rights Council – 50th Session

June 20, 2022

Thank you, Mr. Vice President.

We thank the Special Rapporteur for her important report on the role of violence in physical and mental health.

As the report correctly notes, States should protect persons in vulnerable or marginalized situations from violence, including women and girls in all their diversity, children, LGBTQI+ persons, older persons, and persons with disabilities.

We echo the sentiment that States should expand the scope and understanding of gender-based violence to include violence based on sexuality, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics.

It is crucial that health responses to violence are comprehensive, and that they are survivor-centered, and consider the intersecting forms of discrimination that exacerbate the impact of violence on survivors’ health.

Is it also important that services for survivors of gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence, include sexual and reproductive health services, legal services, and mental health support.

As the report states, “to reach the goal of substantive equality it is essential to start with what it takes for the most vulnerable among us to thrive.”

Question: How can we better ensure that services for survivors of gender-based violence are inclusive of cisgender, transgender, non-binary, queer, and intersex persons?

Thank you.

###