The Episcopal Church Welcomes You
» Site Map   » Questions    
WM_hdr_sub
Flames
  
Violence against Women

Violence against women is a pervasive human rights violation, a public health crisis, and an obstacle to equality, development, security and peace.  The terms �violence against women� and �gender-based violence� are used to refer to a range of abuses, committed against women that stem from gender inequality and women�s subordinate status in society relative to men.  In 1993, the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women defined violence against women as �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 in private life.�  This definition includes violence occurring in the family, within the general community, and violence perpetrated or condoned by the State.  Forms of gender-based violence include, but are not limited to, domestic violence, sexual abuse, rape, sexual harassment trafficking in women, forced prostitution, and harmful traditional practices.  In addition, women�s multiple and intersecting identities based on factors such as class, race, ethnicity, religion, descent, sexuality and citizenship status can serve to increase their subordination and vulnerability to violence.  It is estimated that one in three women throughout the world will suffer some form of gender-based violence in her lifetime
.[1]

[1] Heise, L., M. Ellsberg and M. Gottemoller. 1999. Ending Violence Against Women.  Population Reports, Series L, No. 11. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University of Public Health, Population Information Program.

 


Divider Image
  

 
Who are the Mirabal Sisters?
November 25 is International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women
16 Days 2008 Take Action Kit
ADVOCACY: Multi-country Study on Women�s Health and Domestic Violence against Women
Interviews were conducted with 24,000 women at 15 sites in 10 countries from around the world:  Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, Japan, Peru, Namibia, Samoa, Serbia and Montenegro, Thailand, and Tanzania.  The results of the study show the horrific rate at which women are suffering physical or sexual abuse by an intimate partner.

Job Postings
To watch this video on your browser, download the current Adobe Flash Player.
The Rev. Anne Weatherholt on her latest book