WUNRN
UNIFEM Campaign: http://www.unifem.org/campaigns/vaw/
Facts & Figures - Violence
Against Women - http://www.unifem.org/campaigns/vaw/facts_figures.php
Facts
& Figures on Violence Against Women
Violence against women and girls
continues unabated in every continent, country and culture. It takes a
devastating toll on women’s lives, on their families, and on society as a
whole. Most societies prohibit such violence — yet the reality is that too often,
it is covered up or tacitly condoned. — UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-Moon, 8 March 2007 Violence against women and girls is a problem
of pandemic proportions. At least one out of every three women around the world
has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime — with
the abuser usually someone known to her [1]. Perhaps the most
pervasive human rights violation that we know today, it devastates lives,
fractures communities, and stalls development. Statistics paint a horrifying picture of the
social and health consequences of violence against women. For women aged 15 to
44 years, violence is a major cause of death and disability [2]. In a 1994 study
based on World Bank data about ten selected risk factors facing women in this
age group, rape and domestic violence rated higher than cancer, motor vehicle
accidents, war and malaria [3]. Moreover, several
studies have revealed increasing links between violence against women and
HIV/AIDS. Women who have experienced violence are at a higher risk of HIV
infection: a survey among 1,366 South African women showed that women who were
beaten by their partners were 48 percent more likely to be infected with HIV
than those who were not [4]. The economic cost of violence against women
is considerable — a 2003 report by the US Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) estimates that the costs of intimate partner violence in the
United States alone exceed US$5.8 billion per year: US$4.1 billion are for
direct medical and health care services, while productivity losses account for
nearly US$1.8 billion [5]. Violence against
women impoverishes individuals, families and communities, reducing the economic
development of each nation [6]. In 1996, the United Nations General Assembly
established the UN Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence
against Women. The Trust Fund is managed by UNIFEM and is the only
multilateral grant-making mechanism that supports local, national and regional
efforts to combat violence. Since it began operations in 1997, the Trust Fund
has awarded more than US$19 million to 263 initiatives to address violence
against women in 115 countries. Raising awareness of women’s human rights,
these UNIFEM-supported efforts have linked activists and advocates from all
parts of the world; shown how small, innovative projects impact laws, policies
and attitudes; and has begun to break the wall of silence by moving the issue
onto public agendas everywhere. More facts and figures from around the world: Page: 1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 (Note:
Available in PDF or Word format: ara | chi | eng | esp | fra | rus )
================================================================
To contact the list administrator, or to leave the list, send an email to:
wunrn_listserve-request@lists.wunrn.com. Thank you.