Last week’s 62nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) was a major historic leap for mothers around the world, in both the developing countries and in advanced economies. Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur for Violence against Women and Girls, its Causes and Consequences presented an astoundingly thorough report titled Violence Against Mothers.

Working under a special UN mandate established in 1994 to investigate the root causes and resulting consequences of gender-based violence, as well as propose systemic reforms, Ms. Alsalem’s report covered the manifold forms of overlooked gender-based violence against mothers. In her public statement accompanying her report she said: “Motherhood remains largely undervalued and mischaracterized as a purely private choice rather than a public good. Mothers are subjected to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, yet remain unrecognized as a distinct category in law, policy and data.”