Violence against women a 'worldwide scandal'

Stat house
April 2004

Violence against women a 'worldwide scandal'
Violence against women is the greatest human rights scandal of our times, according to Amnesty International (AI). "From birth to death, in times of peace as well as war, women face discrimination and violence at the hands of the state, the community and the family," the group charges. As refugees and in times of armed conflict women—and their children—have been especially vulnerable to sexual assaults and other violence. The renowned human rights organization has launched an online campaign to confront this scandal.

Here are some of AI's statistics on women and violence:

• At least one out of every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex, or abused in her lifetime. This figure comes from a study based on 50 surveys from around the world.
• More than 60 million women are "missing" from the world today as a result of sex-selective abortions and female infanticide.

• Every year, millions of women are raped by partners, relatives, friends and strangers, by employers and colleagues, soldiers and members of armed groups.

• Violence in the family is endemic all over the world; the overwhelming majority of victims are women and girls. In the United States, for example, women account for around 85 per cent of the victims of domestic violence.

• The World Health Organization has reported that up to 70 percent of female murder victims are killed by their male partners.

• Small arms and light weapons are the main tools of almost every global conflict. Women and children account for nearly 80 percent of conflict scasualties, according to the UN Secretary-General.

AI reports: "Violence against women is not 'natural' or 'inevitable.' It is an expression of historically and culturally specific values and standards. Social and political institutions foster women's subservience and violence against women. Certain cultural practices and traditions, particularly those related to notions of purity and chastity, are invoked to explain or excuse such violence.

"Poverty and marginalization fuel violence against women and also result from it. Worldwide, women have a higher incidence of poverty than men; their poverty is more severe than that of men; and increasing numbers of women are poor. Illiteracy and poverty severely restrict women's ability to organize to fight for change. The negative effects of globalization are leaving more and more women trapped on the margins of society while it is extremely difficult for them to escape abusive situations and obtain protection and redress."

For more information:
Amnesty International Campaign: "Stop violence against women"

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