The Holy See is concerned by the increasing exploitation and violence against women and girls. This includes femicide and rape, female genital mutilation, and prenatal sex selection, as well as practices that commodify the female body, such as surrogacy, prostitution, and pornography. These issues cannot be satisfactorily resolved or ended, without clearly defining and recognizing the specific vulnerabilities that women face due to their innate biological differences from men.
Statement by His Excellency Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, Apostolic Nuncio, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organisations in Geneva at the 59th Session of the Human Rights Council
Item 3: Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur
on Violence Against Women and Girls, its causes and consequences
Geneva, 25 June 2025
Mr. President,
The Holy See is concerned by the increasing exploitation and violence against women and girls. This includes femicide and rape, female genital mutilation, and prenatal sex selection, as well as practices that commodify the female body, such as surrogacy, prostitution, and pornography. These issues cannot be satisfactorily resolved or ended, without clearly defining and recognizing the specific vulnerabilities that women face due to their innate biological differences from men.[1]
Only by affirming and accepting the biological distinction between women and men can we truly respect the dignity of women, and ensure that their rights are effectively realized and protected. “[W]e cannot separate the masculine and the feminine from God’s work of creation, which is prior to all our decisions and experiences”.[2] When these objective realities are ignored, and sexual difference is obscured or deprioritised in law and culture, it is often women and girls who suffer the most, sometimes facing traumatic lifelong consequences.
Mr. President,
Pope Leo XIV recently denounced all “those cases where relationships are marked by an unhealthy desire for domination, an attitude that often leads to violence, as is shown, tragically, by numerous recent cases of femicides.”[3] It is imperative to unequivocally condemn not only physical violence but also psychological violence. This kind of violence can also lead to suicide.
The Holy See therefore renews its call for States to fight against the scourge of violence against women and girls by enacting laws based on the truth of the human beings created male and female, and by fostering a culture that repudiates all forms of violence.
Thank you.