The UN Secretary-General has released a study on violence against women. The study will be presented at the UN General Assembly on 9 October 2006. The study is a response to a 2003 UN General Assembly request for the Secretary-General to to conduct an in-depth study on all forms of violence against women (resolution 58/185). The Secretary-General was expected to study and report on: - A statistical overview on all forms of violence against women;
- The causes of violence against women;
- The medium and long-term consequences of violence against women;
- The health, social and economic costs of violence against women; and
- Best practice examples for combating and eliminating violence against women.
The Secretary-General sought input from governmental and nongovernmental sources through questionaires, CEDAW reports and general requests for information. The study found violence against women to be a “widespread and serious problem that affects the lives of countless women and is an obstacle to the achievement of equality, development and peace in all continents. It endangers women’s lives and impedes the full development of women’s capabilities. It obstructs the exercise of their rights as citizens; it harms families and communities and reinforces other forms of violence throughout societies, often with deadly consequences.”
The study provides recommendations on the national, intergovernmental, and UN level, on the action steps governments should take to end the impunity in which violence against women is perpetrated.
To view the full report, please click here.
Compiled from: Secretary-General’s study on violence against women, United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women, last accessed 27 September 2006.