International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 25 November Message of the UN Secretary-General for 2011 Violence

against women and girls takes many forms and is widespread throughout the glo e! "t includes rape# domestic $iolence# harassment at work# a use in school# female genital mutilation and se%ual $iolence in armed conflicts! "t is predominantly inflicted y men! &hether in de$eloping or de$eloped countries# the per$asi$eness of this $iolence should shock us all! Violence ' and in many cases the mere threat of it ' is one of the most significant arriers to women(s full e)uality! *he right of women and girls to li$e free of $iolence is inaliena le and fundamental! "t is enshrined in international human rights and humanitarian law! +nd it lies at the heart of my UNi*, to ,nd Violence against &omen campaign! Since its launch in 200-# the campaign has gal$ani.ed go$ernments# ci$il society# the corporate sector# athletes# artists# women# men and young people around the world! *he social mo ili.ation platform /Say N0-UNi*,1 has recorded more than 2 million acti$ities worldwide ' from protest marches to pu lic awareness campaigns# from legislati$e ad$ocacy to help for $ictims! Many of these acti$ities ha$e recei$ed support from the United Nations *rust 2und to ,nd Violence against &omen! Since it was founded 13 years ago# the 2und has deli$ered grants worth 455 million to 667 initiati$es in 128 countries and territories! &e would like the 2und to e a le to do e$en more# ut demand for support continues to outstrip resources! *his year alone# the 2und has recei$ed more than 2#300 applications re)uesting nearly 41!2 illion! " appeal to all our partners to help us meet this $ast unmet need! 0ur challenge is to ensure that the message of 9.ero tolerance9 is heard far and wide! *o do that# we must engage all of society ' and especially young people! "n particular# young men and oys must e encouraged to ecome the ad$ocates we need! &e need to promote healthy models of masculinity! *oo many young men still grow up surrounded y outmoded male stereotypes! :y talking to friends and peers a out $iolence against women and girls# and y taking action to end it# they can help reak the ingrained eha$iour of generations! 0n this "nternational ;ay# " urge go$ernments and partners around the world to harness the energy# ideas and leadership of young people to help us to end this pandemic of $iolence! 0nly then will we ha$e a more <ust# peaceful and e)uita le world!

=>u lished y the UN ;epartment of >u lic "nformation# ;>"?23@8+# No$em er 2007A Violence Against Women *he Situation Violence against women takes many forms ' physical# se%ual# psychological and economic! *hese forms of $iolence are interrelated and affect women from efore irth to old age! Some types of $iolence# such as trafficking# cross national oundaries! &omen who e%perience $iolence suffer a range of health pro lems and their a ility to participate in pu lic life is diminished! Violence against women harms families and communities across generations and reinforces other $iolence pre$alent in society! Violence against women also impo$erishes women# their families# communities and nations! Violence against women is not confined to a specific culture# region or country# or to particular groups of women within a society! *he roots of $iolence against women lie in persistent discrimination against women! Violence y an intimate partner *he most common form of $iolence e%perienced y women glo ally is physical $iolence inflicted y an intimate partner# with women eaten# coerced into se% or otherwise a used! + &orld Bealth 0rgani.ation =&B0A study in 11 countries found that the percentage of women who had een su <ected to se%ual $iolence y an intimate partner ranged from 8 per cent in Capan to 37 per cent in ,thiopia! Se$eral glo al sur$eys suggest that half of all women who die from homicide are killed y their current or former hus ands or partners! "n +ustralia# Danada# "srael# South +frica and the United States# @0 to 50 per cent of female murder $ictims were killed y their partners# according to the &orld Bealth 0rgani.ation! E "n Dolom ia# one woman is reportedly killed y her partner or former partner e$ery si% days! >sychological or emotional $iolence y intimate partners is also widespread! Se%ual $iolence "t is estimated that# worldwide# one in fi$e women will ecome a $ictim of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime! *he practice of early marriage ' a form of se%ual $iolence ' is common worldwide# especially in +frica and South +sia! Foung girls are often forced into the marriage and into se%ual relations# causing health risks# including e%posure to B"V?+";S# and limiting their attendance in school! Se%ual $iolence in conflict Se%ual $iolence in conflict is a serious# present-day atrocity affecting millions of people# primarily women and girls! "t is fre)uently a conscious strategy employed on a large scale y armed groups to humiliate opponents# terrify indi$iduals and destroy societies! &omen and girls may also e su <ected to se%ual e%ploitation y those mandated to protect them! &omen as old as grandmothers and as young as toddlers ha$e routinely suffered $iolent se%ual a use at the hands of military and re el forces! Gape has long een used as a tactic of war# with $iolence against women during or after armed conflicts reported in e$ery international or noninternational war-.one! E "n the ;emocratic Gepu lic of Dongo appro%imately 1#100 rapes are eing reported each month# with an a$erage of 68 women and girls raped e$ery day! "t is elie$ed that o$er 200#000 women ha$e suffered from se%ual $iolence in that country since armed conflict egan! E *he rape and se%ual $iolation of women and girls is per$asi$e in the conflict in the ;arfur region of Sudan!

E :etween 230#000 and 300#000 women were raped during the 177@ genocide in Gwanda! E Se%ual $iolence was a characteri.ing feature of the 1@- year long ci$il war in Hi eria! E ;uring the conflict in :osnia in the early 1770s# etween 20#000 and 30#000 women were raped! Violence and B"V?+";S &omen(s ina ility to negotiate safe se% and refuse unwanted se% is closely linked to the high pre$alence of B"V?+";S! Unwanted se% results in a higher risk of a rasion and leeding and easier transmission of the $irus! &omen who are eaten y their partners are @- per cent more likely to e infected with B"V?+";S! Foung women are particularly $ulnera le to coerced se% and are increasingly eing infected with B"V?+";S! 0$er half of new B"V infections worldwide are occurring among young people etween the ages of 13 and 2@# and more than 80 per cent of B"V-positi$e youth in this age racket are female! 2emale Genital Mutilation?Genital Dutting 2emale Genital Mutilation?Genital Dutting =2GM?DA refers to se$eral types of traditional cutting operations performed on women and girls! E "t is estimated that more than 160 million girls and women ali$e today ha$e undergone 2GM?D# mainly in +frica and some Middle ,astern countries! E 2 million girls a year are thought to e at risk of genital mutilation! ;owry murder ;owry murder is a rutal practice where a woman is killed y her hus and or in-laws ecause her family cannot meet their demands for dowry I a payment made to a woman(s in-laws upon her marriage as a gift to her new family! &hile dowries or similar payments are pre$alent worldwide# dowry murder occurs predominantly in South +sia! /Bonour killing1 "n many societies# rape $ictims# women suspected of engaging in premarital se%# and women accused of adultery ha$e een murdered y their relati$es ecause the $iolation of a woman(s chastity is $iewed as an affront to the family(s honour! *he United Nations >opulation 2und =UN2>+A estimates that the annual worldwide num er of so-called /honour killing1 $ictims may e as high as 3#000 women! *rafficking in persons :etween 300#000 to 2 million people are trafficked annually into situations including prostitution# forced la our# sla$ery or ser$itude# according to estimates! &omen and girls account for a out -0 per cent of the detected $ictims! Violence during pregnancy Violence efore and during pregnancy has serious health conse)uences for oth mother and child! "t leads to highrisk pregnancies and pregnancy-related pro lems# including miscarriage# pre-term la our and low irth weight! 2emale infanticide# prenatal se% selection and systematic neglect of girls are widespread in South and ,ast +sia# North +frica# and the Middle ,ast! ;iscrimination and $iolence Many women face multiple forms of discrimination and increased risk of $iolence!

E "ndigenous women in Danada are fi$e times more likely than other women of the same age to die as the result of $iolence! E "n ,urope# North +merica and +ustralia# o$er half of women with disa ilities ha$e e%perienced physical a use# compared to one-third of non-disa led women! Dost and Donse)uences *he costs of $iolence against women are e%tremely high! *hey include the direct costs of ser$ices to treat and support a used women and their children and to ring perpetrators to <ustice! *he indirect costs include lost employment and producti$ity# and the costs in human pain and suffering! E *he cost of intimate partner $iolence in the United States alone e%ceeds 43!- illion per yearJ 4@!1 illion is for direct medical and health care ser$ices# while producti$ity losses account for nearly 41!- illion! E + 200@ study in the United Kingdom estimated the total direct and indirect costs of domestic $iolence# including pain and suffering# to e L26 illion per year or L@@0 per person!

Amnesty International 25 novembre - Giornata mondiale per l elimina!ione della violen!a s"lle donne #ompiamo il circolo vi!ioso di povert$ e violen!a% "n occasione del 23 no$em re# Giornata mondiale per l elimina!ione della violen!a s"lle donne& +mnesty "nternational dM un rinno$ato impulso alla campagna 9Mai piN $iolen.a sulle donne9# promuo$endo nuo$e a.ioni per garantire a tutte le donne il diritto a $i$ere una $ita dignitosa e li era dalla $iolen.a! Ouesta data P stata scelta dal mo$imento interna.ionale delle donne in onore delle sorelle Mira al# atti$iste della Gepu lica ;ominicana assassinate il 23 no$em re del 1781 perchQ si oppone$ano al regime dittatoriale del loro paese! "l coraggio e la for.a dimostrate dalle sorelle Mira al hanno contri uito a renderle delle eroine interna.ionaliR la loro storia P stata scelta a sim olo della gra$e $iola.ione dei diritti umani rappresentata dalla $iolen.a sulle donne! HSa.ione di +mnesty "nternational si concentra )uestSanno s"l legame tra povert$ e violen!a& per spe..are )uesto circolo $i.ioso in cui moltissime donne nel mondo sono costrette a $i$ere! He donne e le raga..e che $i$ono in po$ertM spesso $edono $iolati i loro diritti umani! He loro $ite sono segnate dalla $iolen.a sessuale# dallo scarso accesso a unSistru.ione adeguata e dalla mancata prote.ione dai rischi collegati alla gra$idan.a e al parto! I loro diritti devono essere protetti e le loro voci ascoltate' (a violen!a spesso impedisce alle donne di sf"ggire alla povert$! HSistru.ione puT essere una $ia di fuga dalla po$ertM# perchQ accresce le possi ilitM di scelta delle donne e riduce la loro dipenden.a economica# ma discrimina!ione e violen!a negano alle raga!!e l accesso all istr"!ione! HSistru.ione P un diritto umano! +d oggi piN di 33 milioni di am ine e raga..e in tutto il mondo non fre)uentano alcuna scuola! "n *agikistan# molte famiglie non possono affrontare le spese asilari per lSistru.ione dei propri figli# )uali li ri scolastici# $estiti e trasporto! Garamente le am ine e le raga..e $engono mandate a scuola# perchQ $iene data la preceden.a ai figli maschi# nella con$in.ione che potranno guadagnare di piN! Molte raga..e non terminano il proprio percorso formati$o# perchQ si prendono cura della famiglia# la$orano nei campi o al mercato# oppure si sposano in etM precoce! Ho scarso accesso allSistru.ione rende le donne estremamente $ulnera ili a sfruttamento# matrimoni precoci e $iolen.a domestica! "l )er* ha il tasso di mortalit$ materna pi* alto di t"tto il continente americano! Ha profonda ini)uitM della societM peru$iana P rappresentata dalla grandissima differen.a del tasso di mortalitM materna delle donne delle aree ricche e )uelle delle aree po$ere! Secondo il ministero della SanitM peru$iano# le donne nelle aree rurali hanno il doppio della pro a ilitM rispetto a )uelle delle aree ur ane di morire per pro lemi legati alla gra$idan.a! +entinaia di donne incinte povere# appartenenti a popola.ioni nati$e o che $i$ono in aree rurali# m"oiono per complica!ioni evitabili# perchQ $iene negata loro lSassisten.a medica garantita in$ece alle donne in tutto il resto del paese! Non cSP una societM nel mondo do$e le donne non rischino violen!e basate s"lla discrimina!ione di genere# $iolen.e che impediscono alle donne di prendere parte alla $ita sociale e di reali..are i loro diritti umani! Nonostante la$orino due ter.i delle ore

la$orati$e mondiali e producano la metM del ci o del pianeta# le donne guadagnano il 10 per cento del reddito mondiale e posseggono meno dellS1 per cento della proprietM mondiale! + casa o nella societM in generale# le donne e le raga..e s$olgono i compiti piN umili e la loro voce ha "na bassissima probabilit$ di essere ascoltata! Molte soffrono ulteriori discrimina.ioni a causa della loro etnia# religione# stato ci$ile# disa ilitM! Ha discrimina.ione e la $iolen.a di cui sono $ittime si aggra$ano in situa.ioni di conflitto )uando le donne# pri$ate di ogni ene# scappano dalle loro terre# per $i$ere in campi profughi do$e sono ulteriormente esposte a $iolen.e e a usi# come accade per le tante darfuriane nei campi profughi del Diad orientale!