Documenting reproductive violence: Unveiling opportunities, challenges, and legal pathways for UN investigative mechanisms

Reproductive violence is a distinct form of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) targeting reproductive autonomy, a right protected under international law. The impacts of reproductive violence can be as profound, damaging, and long-lasting as those accompanying other forms of violence and can compound the pain of other forms of SGBV. Yet recognition of reproductive violence as a distinct harm has been overlooked historically, including in international investigations of atrocities, conflict, humanitarian crises, or other instability.

International investigations often play a key role in guiding international responses to crises, and the omission of reproductive violence can thus have significant ripple effects:

• victims may go un- or under-recognized;
• vital reproductive services may be absent from humanitarian responses;
• prevention efforts may fail to address the risks and inflammatory impacts of this violence; and
• justice, accountability, and reparations efforts may omit reproductive harms from consideration.

This paper analyses the documentation of reproductive violence to date by UN-mandated fact-finding and other investigative mechanisms. To enhance documentation going forward, the paper also provides guidance on the international law governing reproductive harms. The guidance explains how international criminal, humanitarian, and human rights laws prohibit reproductive violence—including forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, forced abortion, forced contraceptive use, restricting access to reproductive care, destroying essential reproductive healthcare infrastructure, and other forms of reproductive violence.