What is Violence Against Women?

The most widely used definition of violence against women (VAW) is provided by the United Nations’ General Assembly Declaration of the Elimination of Violence against Women (resolution 48/104 of December 1993). Article 1 and 2 of this resolution offer the following definition:

"violence against women" means 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.

Violence against women shall be understood to encompass, but not be limited to, the following

(a) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence and violence related to exploitation;

(b) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring within the general community, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women and forced prostitution;

(c) Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the State, wherever it occurs.

The same definition is later recalled in the Elimination of violence against women (resolution 2003/45) of the UN, where economic exploitation is added to the definition of VAW.

Whereas the above declarations provide a rather wide description of acts of gender-based violence, it is worth noting, that violence against women is in no way limited to these acts only.(1)

Therefore, the VAW phenomenon embraces, but is not limited to, physical, sexual, psychological/emotional, as well as economic violence. Furthermore, gender-based violence occurs in diverse settings (e.g., family, community, etc.) and its victims represent a multitude of socio-economic status, level of education, culture, and ethnicity. Thus, VAW is an international phenomenon – one, in which the perpetrators are as divers as the victims themselves (i.e. family members, strangers or acquaintances, friends or colleagues, intimate partners or representatives of the State). With regard to the victims, it is worth noting, that some social groups are at particular risk of becoming the victims of violence. Examples of such particularly vulnerable groups include minorities, migrants and refugees, indigenous women, women in institutions or with disabilities, women living in an armed conflict situation, etc.

Finally, it is important to note that gender-based violence affects both men and women, while VAW embraces those violent acts that are primarily directed towards women by virtue of their sex, and affect women disproportionately. (2)

(1) For a full list of gender-based violent acts, see resolutions 48/104 and 2003/45

(2) Co-ordination Action on Human Rights Violations (CAHRV) (2006) “State of European research on the prevalence of interpersonal violence and its impact on health and human rights”

Historical Background of VAW

Violence against women (VAW) is deemed as rooted in the “historically unequal power relations between men and women” (3). Hence, women have been placed into a subordinate position, one where one of the sexes is dominant over the other, and thus deprived from realising their full potential and opportunities for personal development.

Identifying VAW as global problem and, subsequently, publicizing this issue owe much to the international women’s movements and their activists.

While, in the early stages of examining this matter, VAW may have been approached primarily from a criminal justice perspective, later on, the health and societal consequences of gender-based violence have come into focus. Moreover, the latest, and current, approach to VAW identifies the problem as one of universal human rights violation.(4)

The latter has a special connotation, where VAW is seen as a phenomenon that deprives women from their universal right to enjoy their freedom, security, and the right to equal opportunity and personal development. Moreover, the human rights perspective on VAW has a very important implication, namely, it presents States with the obligation to protect women’s rights and punish acts of gender-based violence.

Among the milestones in the campaign against VAW have been the two UN declarations of elimination of violence against women introduced in 1993 and 2003, respectively, as well as the Beijing World Conference on Women in 1995. The UN has assumed a leading role in the recognition and fight against gender-based violence, whereas Canada has taken a leading role in the attempt to measure and assess the extent of VAW.

(3) Declaration of the Elimination of Violence against Women (resolution 48/104, p.1)

(4) Tjaden, Patricia. (2005) “ Defining and measuring violence against women: Background, issues, and recommendations” Division for the Advancement of Women

Why is VAW Important?

As declared by the Beijing Platform of Action (Beijing , 1995) violence against women is deemed to be a violation of the universal human rights (i.e. rights and freedoms to which all individuals are entitled by virtue of being human). The latter, in and of itself, grants significance to the problem of gender-based violence.

Additionally, VAW affects significantly not only its’ victims as individuals, but the society as a whole. On an individual level, gender-based violence has a strong impact on the victim’s physical and mental health. Beyond the immediate physical injuries, VAW is also related to adverse reproductive health outcomes, disabilities and, in some cases, death. Moreover, in addition to adverse physical outcomes, VAW has been continuously related to poor mental health, substance abuse, sexual dysfunctions, as well as deficient performance in the social sphere. All these, in turn, affect the society as a whole. Namely, gender-based violence is strongly related to significant social and economic costs (e.g., decreased productivity, impaired female labour force, drainage of resources from health care and social services, etc.). In addition, VAW is not only a consequence of, but also a cause for gender inequalities, and as such, it hinders development. Finally, gender-based violence is alleged to create a “culture of violence” where children witnessing abuses at home are likely to replicate these experiences later in their life.(5)

(5) Ibid, Co-ordination Action on Human Rights Violations (CAHRV) (2006)

Measuring Violence Against Women

The data on gender-based violence that currently exist is limited and largely incomparable from country to country. Moreover, depending on how the phenomenon is defined, different rates of VAW are likely to be registered/detected (i.e. a narrow definition would aid lower rates of violence, and vice versa).

Currently, there are two ways of measuring VAW:

through the use of police, court, social services, as well as hospital records; and
through surveys containing questions on VAW, or specifically designed to measure the phenomenon.

Thus, statistics on gender-based violence could be obtained from the registers of social institutions such as the police, health centres’, as well as other social services. Furthermore, many countries have implemented population crime surveys that can provide some limited data on VAW. In addition, the Demographic Health Survey (DHS) and the Reproductive Health Survey (RHS) that are carried out in numerous countries, contain modules on VAW. The WHO has also carried out comprehensive multiple-country surveys that provide information on gender-based violence. Finally, there exist surveys specifically designed to measure the VAW phenomenon, such as the International Violence Against Women Survey (IVAWS).

When assessing the extent of VAW, the two most commonly used measurements are the prevalence and the incidence of violence:

Prevalence: The majority of studies provide estimates on the prevalence of violence, that is, the percentage of persons within a demographic group, who are victimized within a specific time frame [time frames most commonly used are 1 year, 5 years, or lifetime].

Incidence: Another way to measure violence is to count the number of separate victimizations or incidents of violence perpetrated against persons within a specific demographic group during a specific time frame [1 year, 5 years, or lifetime]. These incidents can be presented as an incidence or victimization rate.(6)

It is of uttermost importance, therefore, that future efforts are allocated toward the synchronization of methods of measurement and the creation of universal indicators of VAW, which would enable cross-country comparisons and provide a clearer picture of the extent of the problem.

(6) UNDAW, UNECE, WHO. (2005) “Violence against women: a statistical overview, challenges and gaps in data collection and methodology and approaches for overcoming them”