End Violence against Women

Violence against women and children is perhaps the most pervasive violation of human rights. At least one out of every three women around the world will be beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime. Violence against women devastates lives, fractures families and communities, and stalls development. Economic impoverishment, coupled with discrimination and inequality, heightens women’s vulnerability to violence, keeps them dependent and limits their options.

Statistics paint a horrifying picture of the social and health consequences of violence against women and children. For women aged 15 to 44 years, violence is a major cause of death and disability. Rape and domestic and intimate partner violence are higher risk factors for women in this age-group than cancer, motor vehicle accidents, war and malaria. The economic cost of violence against women and children is hugely significant – the costs of intimate partner violence in the United States alone exceeded US$5.8 billion in 2003 - US$4.1 billion was spent on direct medical and health care services, while productivity losses accounted for nearly US$1.8 billion. Hence, violence against women and children impoverishes individuals, families and communities by reducing the economic development of each nation.

In East and Southeast Asia, the widespread prevalence of violence against women is a serious issue, particularly with regard to domestic violence and marital rape, child marriages, and trafficking in women and girls. Despite considerable progress in establishing policies and programmes, implementation has been far slower. This gap is largely the result of deeply entrenched cultural values, attitude and practices that are rooted in gender stereotype and ultimately justify exploitative behaviour and violence against women.

UN Women’s Approach:

Policy reform: UN Women promotes gender sensitive policies, legislation to eliminate violence against women and services to assist survivors;

Capacity Building: UN Women collaborates with governments and civil society to strengthen the capacity of enforcers, interpreters of law and service providers to address EVAW using a women’s human rights perspective, and to build women’s capacity to claim their rights and entitlements.

Public Awareness: The Say NO – UNiTE campaign, now in its second phase is a global platform for advocacy and action, engaging participants from all walks of life to prevent and address violence against women.

Trust Fund: UN Women administers the UN Trust Fund to eliminate violence against women. Over the past decade the Trust Fund has granted over US$19 million to 263 initiatives in over 115 developing countries to support innovative catalytic initiatives that break new ground, create new models and mobilize new constituencies to end violence against women.

UN Women in Action>>