Goal 3 of the Millennium Development Goals has not thus far been achieved , in part because of the prevalence of gender-based violence and discrimination and a basic lack of legal equality for women and girls around the world . We , the above-mentioned human rights , women 's rights and development organizations , therefore call upon all Member States at the fifty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women to endorse a stand-alone goal on gender equality , women 's rights and women 's empowerment in the post-2015 development framework , with at least one of the specific components being freedom from violence , as recommended by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women ( UN-Women ) in its June 2013 paper entitled `` A transformative stand-alone goal on achieving gender equality , women 's rights and women 's empowerment : imperatives and key components '' .