Submission to UNSRVAWG - Violence Against Mothers
The UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls (UNSRVAWG) recently issued a call for submissions focusing on violence against mothers - including how systems, institutions, and societal norms can create or reinforce harm. This call recognises that mothers experience unique, sex-based forms of violence that are often overlooked, and seeks evidence to better inform international human rights standards and state obligations.
Why We Responded
Not All Gays welcomes this important initiative. As an Irish lesbian, gay, and bisexual advocacy organisation we believe that the experiences of lesbian and bisexual mothers must be included in global discussions about violence and discrimination against mothers.
Our submission highlights how lesbian and bisexual mothers—especially those raising children in same‑sex relationships—face distinct, intersectional forms of violence that are not fully recognised in current policy debates. These harms arise not only because they are women and mothers, but also because sexual identity and motherhood intersect in ways that expose them to unique vulnerabilities, including:
Obstetric violence and violations of informed consent
Discrimination in maternity and child healthcare
Reproductive coercion and medical paternalism
Economic and legal precarity, especially where parental rights are unevenly recognised
Institutional erasure of maternal bonds, particularly affecting non‑gestational mothers
We also address how marketised reproductive practices such as surrogacy can intensify these harms, and how gay‑rights‑framed narratives may at times be used coercively to silence legitimate feminist and maternal rights concerns.
Our Perspective
We responded to the Special Rapporteur’s call because:
Lesbian and bisexual mothers are too often invisible in research, policymaking, and human rights monitoring.
Their experiences of violence - both structural and interpersonal - are specific and measurable, and deserve international attention.
Human rights protections for mothers must include all mothers, regardless of family structure or sexual orientation.
Respectful, rights‑based maternity care and equal parental recognition are essential for protecting both women and children.
We welcome this global consultation as a rare and vital opportunity to ensure that the realities of lesbian and bisexual mothers are part of the international human rights record.
