By Trish Williams, Media & Gender Consultant, UK
"Any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life"
Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence Against Women
Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence Against Women
Whether in the developed or developing world, all women live with the risk of physical harm on a daily basis, in ways that have no direct parallels for men.
Violence or the threat of violence affects women and girls in almost every area of life, public and private - at home, in school, in the workplace and in the community. This violence affects their health, limits their activities and destroys their self-confidence.
Although it is difficult to obtain accurate figures, it's estimated that between one in five and one in seven women will be the victim of rape during their lifetimes and most of the time, the rapist is known to the victim. Many rapes go unreported because of the stigma and trauma associated with them and the lack of sympathy from the authorities.
In this section we will look at: