Professional Documents
Culture Documents
DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE
AGAINST
WOMEN AND GIRLS
■ OVERVIEW
■ SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM
■ MAGNITUDE OF THE PROBLEM
■ CAUSES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
■ CONSEQUENCES
■ CALCULATING THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC
COSTS OF VIOLENCE
■ STRATEGIES AND INTERVENTIONS:
AN INTEGRATED APPROACH
■ COMBATING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE:
OBLIGATIONS OF THE STATE
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
▼
CONTENTS
EDITORIAL 1
EDITORIAL
OVERVIEW 2 Women and children are often in great danger in the place where they should be safest:
SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM 3 within their families. For many, ‘home’ is where they face a regime of terror and violence
MAGNITUDE OF THE PROBLEM 4 at the hands of somebody close to them – somebody they should be able to trust. Those
Physical abuse 4 victimized suffer physically and psychologically. They are unable to make their own
Sexual abuse and rape decisions, voice their own opinions or protect themselves and their children for fear of
in intimate relationships 4
Psychological and emotional abuse 4
further repercussions. Their human rights are denied and their lives are stolen from them
Femicide 6 by the ever-present threat of violence.
Sexual abuse of children This Innocenti Digest looks specifically at domestic violence. The term ‘domestic’
and adolescents 6 includes violence by an intimate partner and by other family members, wherever this
Forced prostitution 6 violence takes place and in whatever form. The Digest builds on the research carried out
Sex-selective abortions, female
by the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre for an earlier Digest on Children and Violence.
infanticide and differential access
to food and medical care 6 In recent years, there has been a greater understanding of the problem of domestic
Traditional and cultural practices violence, its causes and consequences, and an international consensus has developed on
affecting the health and lives the need to deal with the issue. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
of women 6
Discrimination against Women adopted by the United Nations General Assembly some
CAUSES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 7
20 years ago, the decade-old Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Platform
CONSEQUENCES 8
for Action adopted at the Fourth International Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995,
Denial of fundamental rights 8
all reflect this consensus. But progress has been slow because attitudes are deeply
Human development goals
undermined 9 entrenched and, to some extent, because effective strategies to address domestic vio-
Health consequences 9 lence are still being defined. As a result, women worldwide continue to suffer, with esti-
Impact on children 9 mates varying from 20 to 50 per cent from country to country.
CALCULATING THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC This appalling toll will not be eased until families, governments, institutions and civil
COSTS OF VIOLENCE 12 society organizations address the issue directly. Women and children have a right to
STRATEGIES AND INTERVENTIONS: State protection even within the confines of the family home. Violence against women
AN INTEGRATED APPROACH 13
is perpetrated when legislation, law enforcement and judicial systems condone or do not
The family 14
recognize domestic violence as a crime. One of the major challenges is to end impunity
Local community 15
Civil society 15
for perpetrators. So far, only 44 countries (approximately) have adopted specific legisla-
The state machinery 17 tion to address domestic violence.
International organizations 19 As this Digest demonstrates, domestic violence is a health, legal, economic, educa-
LINKS 20 tional, developmental and, above all, a human rights issue. Much has been done to cre-
REFERENCES 25
ate awareness and demonstrate that change is not only necessary, it is also possible. Now
that strategies for dealing with it are becoming clearer, there is no excuse for inaction.
Also includes
COMBATING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE:
OBLIGATIONS OF THE STATE Mehr Khan
by Radhika Coomaraswamy 10 Director, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre
▼
OVERVIEW
“Violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to
domination over and discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of the full advancement of women...”
The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, General Assembly Resolution, December 1993.
Violence against women and girls contin-
ues to be a global epidemic that kills, tor- Definitions and Key Concepts
tures, and maims – physically, psycholog- There is no universally accepted definition of violence against women. Some human rights
ically, sexually and economically. It is one activists prefer a broad-based definition that includes "structural violence" such as poverty,
and unequal access to health and education. Others have argued for a more limited
of the most pervasive of human rights vio-
definition in order not to lose the actual descriptive power of the term.2 In any case, the
lations, denying women and girls equality, need to develop specific operational definitions has been acknowledged so that research
security, dignity, self-worth, and their and monitoring can become more specific and have greater cross-cultural applicability.
right to enjoy fundamental freedoms. The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (1993)
Violence against women is present in defines violence against women as "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is
every country, cutting across boundaries 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
of culture, class, education, income, eth- or in private life."3
nicity and age. Even though most soci- This definition refers to the gender-based roots of violence, recognizing that "violence
eties proscribe violence against women, against women is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a
the reality is that violations against subordinate position compared with men." It broadens the definition of violence by
women’s human rights are often sanc- including both the physical and psychological harm done towards women, and it includes
acts in both private and public life. The Declaration defines violence against women as
tioned under the garb of cultural practices encompassing, but not limited to, three areas: violence occurring in the family, within the
and norms, or through misinterpretation general community, and violence perpetrated or condoned by the State.
of religious tenets. Moreover, when the Domestic violence, as defined for this Digest, includes violence perpetrated by intimate
violation takes place within the home, as partners and other family members, and manifested through:
is very often the case, the abuse is effec- Physical abuse such as slapping, beating, arm twisting, stabbing, strangling, burning,
choking, kicking, threats with an object or weapon, and murder. It also includes traditional
tively condoned by the tacit silence and
practices harmful to women such as female genital mutilation and wife inheritance (the
the passivity displayed by the state and practice of passing a widow, and her property, to her dead husband’s brother).
the law-enforcing machinery. Sexual abuse such as coerced sex through threats, intimidation or physical force, forcing
The global dimensions of this violence unwanted sexual acts or forcing sex with others.
are alarming, as highlighted by studies on Psychological abuse which includes behaviour that is intended to intimidate and
its incidence and prevalence. No society persecute, and takes the form of threats of abandonment or abuse, confinement to the
home, surveillance, threats to take away custody of the children, destruction of objects,
can claim to be free of such violence, the isolation, verbal aggression and constant humiliation.
only variation is in the patterns and trends Economic abuse includes acts such as the denial of funds, refusal to contribute
that exist in countries and regions. financially, denial of food and basic needs, and controlling access to health care,
Specific groups of women are more vul- employment, etc.
nerable, including minority groups, Acts of omission are also included in this Digest as a form of violence against women
and girls.4 Gender bias that discriminates in terms of nutrition, education and access to
indigenous and migrant women, refugee health care amounts to a violation of women's rights. It should be noted that although the
women and those in situations of armed categories above are listed separately, they are not mutually exclusive. Indeed, they often
conflict, women in institutions and deten- go hand in hand.
tion, women with disabilities, female
children, and elderly women. ner, and by other family members, the place where the violent act occurs.
This Digest focuses specifically on whether this violence occurs within or The Digest attempts to set out the mag-
domestic violence – the most prevalent beyond the confines of the home. While nitude and universality of domestic vio-
yet relatively hidden and ignored form of recognizing that other forms of violence lence against women and girls, and its
violence against women and girls. While are equally worthy of attention, this impact on the rights of women and chil-
reliable statistics are hard to come by, Digest does not cover the violence inflict- dren. It emphasizes the need for coordinat-
studies estimate that, from country to ed on women by strangers outside the ed and integrated policy responses;
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
country, between 20 and 50 per cent of home – in public places such as streets, enhancing partnerships between stakehold-
women have experienced physical vio- workplaces or in custody, or in situations ers; setting up mechanisms for monitoring
lence at the hands of an intimate partner of civil conflict or war. It does not look at and evaluating programmes and policies;
or family member.1 the issue of violence against domestic implementing existing legislation; and
For the purpose of this Digest, the workers, as this is perpetrated by individ- ensuring greater transparency and account-
term “domestic violence” includes vio- uals who are not related. In other words, ability from governments in order to elimi-
lence against women and girls by an inti- the term “domestic” here refers to the nate violence against women and girls.
2 mate partner, including a cohabiting part- types of relationships involved rather than Women’s groups have long pushed for
Main issues
such responses, and have placed women’s lations against women. The Fourth World Committee to receive and consider com-
rights firmly on the agenda of internation- Conference on Women in Beijing (1995) plaints from individuals or groups within
al human rights through their advocacy. included elimination of all forms of vio- that State’s jurisdiction. On the basis of
The 1990s, in particular, witnessed con- lence against women as one of its twelve such complaints, the Committee can then
centrated efforts on the part of the world strategic objectives, and listed concrete conduct confidential investigations and
community to legitimize and mainstream actions to be taken by governments, the issue urgent requests for a government to
the issue. The World Conference on United Nations, international and non- take action to protect victims from harm,
Human Rights in Vienna (1993) accepted governmental organizations. bringing the Convention into line with
that the rights of women and girls are “an While gender-based violence is not other human rights instruments such as
inalienable, integral and indivisible part of specifically mentioned in the 1979 the Convention against Torture.
universal human rights.” The United Convention on the Elimination of All This growing momentum has com-
Nations General Assembly, in December Forms of Discrimination against Women pelled a better understanding of the caus-
1993, adopted the Declaration on the (CEDAW), in 1992 the Committee over- es and consequences of violence against
Elimination of Violence against Women. It seeing CEDAW implementation adopted women, and positive steps have been
is the first international human rights General Recommendation 19, which taken in some countries, including reform-
instrument to deal exclusively with vio- states that it is a form of discrimination ing and changing laws that deal with this
lence against women, a groundbreaking that inhibits a woman’s ability to enjoy issue. Some regions have developed their
document that became the basis for many rights and freedoms on a basis of equality own conventions on violence against
other parallel processes. with men. It asks that governments take women, examples of which are the Inter-
In 1994, the Commission on Human this into consideration when reviewing American Convention on the Prevention,
Rights appointed the first UN Special their laws and policies. Punishment and Eradication of Violence
Rapporteur on Violence against Women, Under the new Optional Protocol to against Women, and the African
entrusting her with the task of analyzing CEDAW, adopted by the UN General Convention on Human and People’s
and documenting the phenomenon, and Assembly in October 1999, ratifying Rights, including its Additional Protocol
holding governments accountable for vio- States recognize the authority of the on Women’s Rights.
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SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM
The family is often equated with sanctuary lation, early marriage, and forced prostitu- include forced pregnancy, abortion or ster-
– a place where individuals seek love, safe- tion or bonded labour. ilization, and harmful traditional practices
ty, security, and shelter. But the evidence Some go on to suffer throughout their such as dowry-related violence, sati (the
shows that it is also a place that imperils adult lives – battered, raped and even mur- burning of a widow on the funeral pyre of
lives, and breeds some of the most drastic dered at the hands of intimate partners. her husband), and killings in the name of
forms of violence perpetrated against Other crimes of violence against women honour. And in later life, widows and elder-
women and girls.
Violence in the domestic sphere is usual-
ly perpetrated by males who are, or who Table 1 - Examples of Violence against Women
have been, in positions of trust and intima- Throughout the Life Cycle
cy and power – husbands, boyfriends,
Phase Type of violence
fathers, fathers-in-law, stepfathers, brothers,
uncles, sons, or other relatives. Domestic Pre-birth Sex-selective abortion; effects of battering during pregnancy on birth
outcomes.
violence is in most cases violence perpetrat-
ed by men against women. Women can also Infancy Female infanticide; physical, sexual and psychological abuse.
be violent, but their actions account for a Girlhood Child marriage; female genital mutilation; physical, sexual and
small percentage of domestic violence. psychological abuse; incest; child prostitution and pornography.
Violence against women is often a cycle Adolescence and Dating and courtship violence (e.g. acid throwing and date rape)
of abuse that manifests itself in many forms Adulthood economically coerced sex (e.g. school girls having sex with “sugar
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
throughout their lives (see Table 1). Even daddies” in return for school fees); incest; sexual abuse in the
workplace; rape; sexual harassment; forced prostitution and
at the very beginning of her life, a girl may
pornography; trafficking in women; partner violence; marital rape;
be the target of sex-selective abortion or
dowry abuse and murders; partner homicide; psychological abuse;
female infanticide in cultures where son- abuse of women with disabilities; forced pregnancy.
preference is prevalent. During childhood,
Elderly Forced “suicide” or homicide of widows for economic reasons; sexual,
violence against girls may include enforced physical and psychological abuse.
malnutrition, lack of access to medical care
(Source: “Violence Against Women”, WHO., FRH/WHD/97.8)
and education, incest, female genital muti- 3
Main issues
ly women may also experience abuse. ical abuse makes it harder to define and severity. It can be perpetrated intentionally,
While the impact of physical abuse report, leaving the woman in a situation and committed for the specific purposes of
may be more ‘visible’ than psychological where she is often made to feel mentally punishment, intimidation, and control of
scarring, repeated humiliation and insults, destabilized and powerless. the woman’s identity and behaviour. It takes
forced isolation, limitations on social Jurists and human rights experts and place in situations where a woman may
mobility, constant threats of violence and activists have argued that the physical, sex- seem free to leave, but is held prisoner by
injury, and denial of economic resources ual and psychological abuse, sometimes fear of further violence against herself and
are more subtle and insidious forms of vio- with fatal outcomes, inflicted on women is her children, or by lack of resources, fami-
lence. The intangible nature of psycholog- comparable to torture in both its nature and ly, legal or community support.5
▼
MAGNITUDE OF THE PROBLEM
The extent, validity and reliability of the they may have to contend with police and access to his wife. Surveys in many coun-
data available are critical in determining health care officials who have not been tries reveal that approximately 10 to 15 per
the magnitude of the problem and in iden- trained to respond adequately or to keep cent of women report being forced to have
tifying priority areas for intervention. consistent records. On the other hand, sex with their intimate partner.8
Prevalence studies with samples of repre- shame, fear of reprisal, lack of information Some countries have begun to legislate
sentative populations are relatively new in about legal rights, lack of confidence in, against marital rape. These include
developing countries. Such studies were or fear of, the legal system, and the legal Australia, Austria, Barbados, Canada,
initially conducted in industrialized coun- costs involved make women reluctant to Cyprus, Denmark, the Dominican
tries – the United States, Canada, and report incidents of violence. Republic, Ecuador, Finland, France,
Europe. For example, one very influential Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Namibia, New
survey conducted in Canada in 1993 under Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Poland,
the auspices of the Canadian government Physical abuse Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden,
was developed in consultation with A growing body of research studies con- Trinidad & Tobago, the United Kingdom
women’s organizations and ensured ade- firms the prevalence of physical violence and the United States of America.
quate support and services for women par- in all parts of the globe, including the esti- Although provision of such laws represents
ticipating in the survey. mates of 20 to 50 per cent of women from considerable progress, it is often difficult
When designing research on violence country to country who have experienced for a woman to press charges because of
against women, it is important that the domestic violence7. Statistics are grim no the evidential rules concerning the crime.
research itself does not put women at risk. matter where in the world one looks. Data
The World Health Organization (WHO) from industrialized and developing coun-
has developed specific ethical and safety tries as well as from transitional countries Psychological
recommendations that take into account, (see Table 2) provide an overview of the and emotional abuse
among other issues, the safety of respon- global problem. The data in this table Because psychological violence is harder
dents and the research team, protecting focus only on physical assault. There are to capture in quantitative studies, a full
confidentiality to ensure both women’s few comparable statistics on psychological picture of the deeper and more insidious
safety and data quality, and specialized violence, sexual abuse, and murder of levels of violence defies quantification.
training of interviewers.6 women at the hands of intimate partners Victim-survivors report that ongoing psy-
Most of the data available on violence and other family members. As already chological violence – emotional torture
against women are believed to be not only mentioned, physical violence is usually and living under terror – is often more
conservative, but unreliable. Studies vary accompanied by psychological abuse, and unbearable than the physical brutality,
in the sample size of women chosen, and in many cases by sexual assault. with mental stress leading to a high inci-
the ways in which questions have been dence of suicide and suicide attempts. A
posed. It is difficult to compare these stud- close correlation between domestic vio-
ies because of inconsistency in the defini- Sexual abuse and rape lence and suicide has been established
tion of domestic violence and in the para- in intimate relationships based on studies in the United States, Fiji,
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
meters used, which can range from physi- Sexual abuse and rape by an intimate part- Papua New Guinea, Peru, India,
cal abuse alone, to physical, sexual and ner is not considered a crime in most coun- Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Suicide is 12
psychological abuse. tries, and women in many societies do not times as likely to have been attempted by
Debate regarding the magnitude of the consider forced sex as rape if they are mar- a woman who has been abused than by
problem is also clouded by the fact that ried to, or cohabiting with, the perpetrator. one who has not.9 In the United States, as
domestic violence is a crime that is under- The assumption is that once a woman many as 35 to 40 per cent of battered
recorded and under-reported. When enters into a contract of marriage, the hus- women attempt suicide.10 In Sri Lanka, the
4 women file a report or seek treatment, band has the right to unlimited sexual number of suicides by girls and women
Main issues
Middle East
Egypt
● 35% of women (a nationally representative sample of women) reported being beaten by their husband at some point in their marriage.
Israel
● 32% of women reported at least one episode of physical abuse by their partner and 30% report sexual coercion by their husbands in
the previous year, according to a 1997 survey of 1,826 Arab women.
Africa
Kenya
● 42% of 612 women surveyed in one district reported having been beaten by a partner; of those 58% reported that they were beaten
often or sometimes.
Uganda
● 41% of women reported being beaten or physically harmed by a partner; 41% of men reported beating their partner (representative
sample of women and their partners in two districts).
Zimbabwe
● 32% of 966 women in one province reported physical abuse by a family or household member since the age of 16, according to a
1996 survey.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Chile
● 26% of women (representative sample of women from Santiago) reported at least one episode of violence by a partner, 11%
reported at least one episode of severe violence and 15% of women reported at least one episode of less severe violence.
Colombia
● 19% of 6,097 women surveyed have been physically assaulted by their partner in their lifetime.
Mexico
● 30% of 650 women surveyed in Guadalajara reported at least one episode of physical violence by a partner; 13% reported physical
violence within the previous year, according to a 1997 report.
Nicaragua
● 52% of women (representative sample of women in León) reported being physically abused by a partner at least once; 27% reported
physical abuse in the previous year, according to a 1996 report.
Central and Eastern Europe/CIS/Baltic States
Estonia
● 29% of women aged 18-24 fear domestic violence, and the share rises with age, affecting 52% of women 65 or older, according to
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
(Adapted from “Violence Against Women,” WHO, FRH/WHD/97.8, “Women in Transition,” Regional Monitoring Report, UNICEF 1999, and a study by Domestic Violence Research Centre, Japan.)
5
Main issues
15-24 years old is 55 times greater than Destitute families, unable to support their 10,000 cases of female infanticide annual-
the number of deaths due to pregnancy children, often hire out or sell their chil- ly. The figure does not take into account
and childbirth.11 dren, who may then be forced into prosti- the number of abortions performed to
tution. Very often the young girl is sent as prevent the birth of a child.19 An official
a domestic worker, in which case she may survey in China revealed that, with its
Femicide be physically and sexually exploited by one-child policy, 12 per cent of all female
Femicide – murder of women by their bat- her employers. For example, in West embryos were aborted or otherwise unac-
terers – is another phenomenon that Africa – from Senegal to Nigeria – tens of counted for.20 And in many countries the
should be regarded as a separate category thousands of children of destitute families discrimination that leads to the neglect of
when recording domestic violence. Studies are reportedly sent to the Middle East girl children is the greatest cause of sick-
carried out in Australia, Bangladesh, each year, many of them ending up as ness and death among girls between the
Canada, Kenya, Thailand and the United prostitutes.17 In South Africa, child prosti- ages of two and five years.21 Girls in many
States of America have documented the tution is on the rise and has become an developing countries receive less nourish-
incidence of femicide within the domestic increasingly organized activity. In certain ment than boys, and they are more likely
sphere.12 In Southern Africa, women’s hill districts of Nepal, prostitution has to suffer mental or physical disability or
groups have begun to document the become an almost ‘traditional’ source of even die, as a result of poor nutrition. Less
increasing incidence of femicide, and data income. Women and girls are tricked or access to health care also exacerbates the
on this issue are available from Botswana, forced by their husbands and relatives much higher mortality rate among girls.
South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and into being trafficked to India for prostitu- Sex-selective abortion, female infanti-
Zimbabwe.13 A comparative analysis of tion. In the poor rural areas of Thailand, cide, and systematic differential access to
spousal homicide, based on 1991 data, where poverty has given rise to the phe- food and medical care have led to the
concluded that Russian women are 2.5 nomenon of debt bondage, it is believed phenomenon known as the “missing mil-
times more likely to be murdered by their that it is the daughter’s duty to sacrifice lions” of women and girls. An estimated
partners than American women. However, herself for the well-being of her family. 60 million women are simply missing
American women are already twice as like- Traffickers buy the “labour” of young from the population statistics. In other
ly to be killed by their partners than women and girls in exchange for money. words there are 60 million fewer women
women in Western European countries.14 The high incidence of HIV/AIDS in the alive in the world than should be expect-
country has been attributed to this traf- ed on the basis of general demographic
ficking in young girls.18 In Northern trends. The phenomenon is observed pri-
Sexual abuse of children Ghana and parts of Togo, girls are “donat- marily in South Asia, North Africa, the
and adolescents ed” to priests, and are forced to live as Middle East and China.22
“wives” and submit sexually to the shrine
Considering the taboo in most countries
priests in return for protection for the
that surrounds incest or the sexual abuse of Traditional and cultural
family. A similar practice exists in south-
children and adolescents within the family, practices affecting
ern India where young women and girls
this is one of the most invisible forms of
(devadasis) are “donated” to serve a temple; the health and lives
violence. Because the crime is perpetrated
most often by a father, stepfather, grandfa-
and very often end up being prostituted. of women
ther, brother, uncle, or another male rela- Around the world, women and girls suffer
tive in a position of trust, the rights of the Sex-selective abortions, the harmful and life-threatening effects of
child are usually sacrificed in order to pro- traditional and cultural practices that con-
female infanticide tinue under the guise of cultural and social
tect the name of the family and that of the
and differential access conformism and religious beliefs.
adult perpetrator. However, studies have
shown that from 40 to 60 per cent of
to food and medical care Examples include:
known sexual assaults within the family are In societies where a higher value is placed Female Genital Mutilation (FGM): It has
committed against girls aged 15 years and on sons, discrimination towards female been estimated that nearly 130 million
younger, regardless of region or culture.15 A children can take extreme forms such as women worldwide have undergone FGM
recent study in the Netherlands showed sex-selective abortions and female infanti- and that approximately two million
that 45 per cent of the victims of sexual vio- cide. In India, a recent survey reported undergo the procedure every year. FGM
lence within the domestic sphere are under
the age of 18. Of these, girls are far more Killing in the Name of Honour
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
likely to be victims of incest than boys.16 The issue of killings in the name of honour began to appear on the political agenda in
Pakistan in 1999 as a result of growing pressure from NGOs, the media, activists, and
UN agencies including UNICEF. On 21 April, 2000, at a National Convention on Human
Forced prostitution Rights and Human Dignity, General Pervez Musharraf, The Chief Executive of Pakistan
announced that such killings would be treated as murder. “The Government of Pakistan,
Forced prostitution or other kinds of com-
vigorously condemns the practice of so-called ‘honour killing’. Such actions do not find
mercial exploitation by male partners or any place in our religion or law.” The killings continue, but steps are now being taken to
parents is another form of violence against address the issue.
6 women and children reported worldwide.
Main issues
takes place in 28 countries in Africa (both lenient, particularly if the crime is commit- out it; more than 50 countries allow mar-
eastern and western), in some regions in ted by boys under 18 years of age. riage at 16 or below with parental con-
Asia and the Middle East, and in certain Early marriages: Early marriage, with or sent.23 Early marriage leads to child-
immigrant communities in North without the consent of the girl, consti- hood/teenage pregnancy, and can expose
America, Europe and Australia. It can lead tutes a form of violence as it undermines the girl to HIV/AIDS and other sexually
to death and infertility, and long-term the health and autonomy of millions of transmitted diseases. It is also associated
psychological trauma combined with young girls. The legal minimum age of with adverse health effects for her chil-
extreme physical suffering. marriage is usually lower for females than dren, such as low birthweight.
Dowry-related violence: Even though India for males. In many countries, the mini- Furthermore, it has an adverse effect on
has legally abolished the institution of mum legal age for marriage with parental the education and employment opportu-
dowry, dowry-related violence is actually consent is considerably lower than with- nities of girls.
on the rise. More than 5,000 women are
killed annually by their husbands and in-
laws, who burn them in “accidental”
kitchen fires if their ongoing demands for
▼
dowry before and after marriage are not
met. An average of five women a day are
CAUSES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
burned, and many more cases go unre-
There is no one single factor to account women. Factors contributing to these
ported. for violence perpetrated against women. unequal power relations include: socio-
Deaths by kitchen fires are also on the Increasingly, research has focused on the economic forces, the family institution
rise, for example, in certain regions of inter-relatedness of various factors that where power relations are enforced, fear of
Pakistan. The Human Rights Commission should improve our understanding of the and control over female sexuality, belief in
of Pakistan reports that at least four problem within different cultural contexts. the inherent superiority of males, and leg-
women are burned to death daily by hus- Several complex and interconnected islation and cultural sanctions that have
bands and family members as a result of institutionalized social and cultural factors traditionally denied women and children
domestic disputes. have kept women particularly vulnerable an independent legal and social status.
Acid attacks: Sulphuric acid has emerged to the violence directed at them, all of Lack of economic resources underpins
as a cheap and easily accessible weapon to them manifestations of historically women’s vulnerability to violence and
disfigure and sometimes kill women and unequal power relations between men and their difficulty in extricating themselves
girls for reasons as varied as family feuds,
inability to meet dowry demands, and
rejection of marriage proposals. In Table 3 - Factors That Perpetuate Domestic Violence
Bangladesh, it is estimated that there are Cultural ● Gender-specific socialization
over 200 acid attacks each year. ● Cultural definitions of appropriate sex roles
● Expectations of roles within relationships
Killing in the name of honour: In several
● Belief in the inherent superiority of males
countries in the world including, but not ● Values that give men proprietary rights over women and girls
limited to, Bangladesh, Egypt, Jordan, ● Notion of the family as the private sphere and under male control
Lebanon, Pakistan, and Turkey, women are ● Customs of marriage (bride price/dowry)
● Acceptability of violence as a means to resolve conflict
killed in order to uphold the “honour” of
the family. Any reason – alleged adultery, Economic ● Women’s economic dependence on men
premarital relationships (with or without ● Limited access to cash and credit
sexual relations), rape, falling in love with ● Discriminatory laws regarding inheritance, property rights, use of
a person of whom the family disapproves – communal lands, and maintenance after divorce or widowhood
● Limited access to employment in formal and informal sectors
are all reason enough for a male member
● Limited access to education and training for women
of the family to kill the woman concerned.
In 1997, more than 300 women were vic- Legal ● Lesser legal status of women either by written law and/or by practice
tims of these so-called “honour” crimes in ● Laws regarding divorce, child custody, maintenance and inheritance
just one province of Pakistan. In Jordan, ● Legal definitions of rape and domestic abuse
● Low levels of legal literacy among women
the official toll is rising and in reality the
● Insensitive treatment of women and girls by police and judiciary
numbers are higher because many such
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
murders are recorded as suicides or acci- Political ● Under-representation of women in power, politics, the media and in the
dents. Victim-survivors of attempted mur- legal and medical professions
● Domestic violence not taken seriously
ders are forced to remain in protective cus-
● Notions of family being private and beyond control of the state
tody, knowing that leaving custody would ● Risk of challenge to status quo/religious laws
result in death at the hands of the family. ● Limited organization of women as a political force
The penal codes in Jordan that govern ● Limited participation of women in organized political system
from a violent relationship. The link societies. Traditional norms in these soci- and neighbours) or formal (community
between violence and lack of economic eties allow the killing of ‘errant’ daughters, organizations, women’s self-help groups,
resources and dependence is circular. On sisters and wives suspected of defiling the or affiliated to political parties).29
the one hand, the threat and fear of vio- honour of the family by indulging in for- Lack of legal protection, particularly
lence keeps women from seeking employ- bidden sex, or marrying and divorcing within the sanctity of the home, is a
ment, or, at best, compels them to accept without the consent of the family. By the strong factor in perpetuating violence
low-paid, home-based exploitative labour. same logic, the honour of a rival ethnic against women. Until recently, the pub-
And on the other, without economic inde- group or society can be defiled by acts of lic/private distinction that has ruled most
pendence, women have no power to sexual violence against its women. legal systems has been a major obstacle to
escape from an abusive relationship.24 Experiences during childhood, such as women’s rights. Increasingly, however,
The reverse of this argument also holds witnessing domestic violence and experi- States are seen as responsible for protect-
true in some countries; that is, women’s encing physical and sexual abuse, have ing the rights of women even in connec-
increasing economic activity and indepen- been identified as factors that put children tion with offences committed within the
dence is viewed as a threat which leads to at risk. Violence may be learnt as a means home. In many countries violence against
increased male violence.25 This is particu- of resolving conflict and asserting man- women is exacerbated by legislation, law
larly true when the male partner is unem- hood by children who have witnessed enforcement and judicial systems that do
ployed, and feels his power undermined in such patterns of conflict resolution. not recognize domestic violence as a
the household. Excessive consumption of alcohol and crime. The challenge is to end impunity
Studies have also linked a rise in violence other drugs has also been noted as a factor for the perpetrators as one means of pre-
to the destabilization of economic patterns in provoking aggressive and violent male venting future abuse.
in society. Macro-economic policies such as behaviour towards women and children. Investigations by Human Rights
structural adjustment programmes, global- A survey of domestic violence in Moscow Watch have found that in cases of domes-
ization, and the growing inequalities they revealed that half the cases of physical tic violence, law enforcement officials fre-
have created, have been linked to increasing abuse are associated with the husband’s quently reinforce the batterers’ attempts
levels of violence in several regions, includ- excessive alcohol consumption.28 to control and demean their victims. Even
ing Latin America, Africa and Asia.26 The The isolation of women in their fami- though several countries now have laws
transition period in the countries of Central lies and communities is known to con- that condemn domestic violence, “when
and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet tribute to increased violence, particularly committed against a woman in an intimate
Union – with increases in poverty, unem- if those women have little access to family relationship, these attacks are more often
ployment, hardship, income inequality, or local organizations. On the other hand, tolerated as the norm than prosecuted as
stress, and alcohol abuse – has led to women’s participation in social networks laws....In many places, those who commit
increased violence in society in general, has been noted as a critical factor in less- domestic violence are prosecuted less vig-
including violence against women. These ening their vulnerability to violence and in orously and punished more leniently than
factors also act indirectly to raise women’s their ability to resolve domestic violence. perpetrators of similarly violent crimes
vulnerability by encouraging more risk-tak- These networks could be informal (family against strangers.”30
ing behaviour, more alcohol and drug abuse,
the breakdown of social support networks,
and the economic dependence of women on
their partners.27
▼
Cultural ideologies – both in industrial-
ized and developing countries – provide
CONSEQUENCES
‘legitimacy’ for violence against women in broad concept of human rights that
certain circumstances. Religious and his- Denial of stretches beyond civil and political rights
torical traditions in the past have sanc- fundamental rights to the core issues of economic survival,
tioned the chastising and beating of wives. Perhaps the most crucial consequence of health, and education that affect the quali-
The physical punishment of wives has been violence against women and girls is the ty of daily life for most women and chil-
particularly sanctioned under the notion of denial of fundamental human rights to dren. The two Conventions call for the
entitlement and ownership of women. women and girls. International human right to protection from gender-based
Male control of family wealth inevitably rights instruments such as the Universal abuse and neglect.
places decision-making authority in male Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), The strength of these treaties rests on
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
hands, leading to male dominance and pro- adopted in 1948, the Convention on the an international consensus, and the
prietary rights over women and girls. Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination assumption that all practices that harm
The concept of ownership, in turn, Against Women (CEDAW), adopted in women and girls, no matter how deeply
legitimizes control over women’s sexuali- 1979, and the Convention on the Rights of they are embedded in culture, must be
ty, which in many law codes has been the Child (CRC), adopted in 1989, affirm eradicated. Legally binding under interna-
deemed essential to ensure patrilineal the principles of fundamental rights and tional law for governments that have rati-
inheritance. Women’s sexuality is also tied freedoms of every human being. Both fied them, these treaties oblige govern-
8 to the concept of family honour in many CEDAW and the CRC are guided by a ments not only to protect women from
Main issues
crimes of violence, but also to investigate to illegal abortions. Girls who have been
violations when they occur and to bring Table 4 - Health Consequences sexually abused in their childhood are
the perpetrators to justice.31 of Violence Against Women more likely to engage in risky behaviour
NON-FATAL OUTCOMES such as early sexual intercourse, and are at
Physical health outcomes: greater risk of unwanted and early preg-
Human development goals ● Injury (from lacerations to fractures nancies.33 Women in violent situations are
undermined and internal organs injury) less able to use contraception or negotiate
● Unwanted pregnancy safer sex, and therefore run a high risk of
There is a growing recognition that coun-
● Gynaecological problems contracting sexually transmitted diseases
tries cannot reach their full potential as
● STDs including HIV/AIDS
long as women’s potential to participate and HIV/AIDS.34
● Miscarriage
fully in their society is denied. Data on the The impact of violence on women’s
● Pelvic inflammatory disease
social, economic and health costs of vio- mental health leads to severe and fatal
● Chronic pelvic pain
lence leave no doubt that violence against consequences. Battered women have a
● Headaches
women undermines progress towards ● Permanent disabilities
high incidence of stress and stress-related
human and economic development. ● Asthma
illnesses such as post-traumatic stress syn-
Women’s participation has become key in ● Irritable bowel syndrome drome, panic attacks, depression, sleeping
all social development programmes, be ● Self-injurious behaviours and eating disturbances, elevated blood
they environmental, for poverty allevia- (smoking, unprotected sex) pressure, alcoholism, drug abuse, and low
tion, or for good governance. By hamper- self-esteem. For some women, fatally
Mental health outcomes:
ing the full involvement and participation ● Depression depressed and demeaned by their abuser,
of women, countries are eroding the ● Fear
there seems to be no escape from a violent
human capital of half their populations. ● Anxiety relationship except suicide.
True indicators of a country’s commitment ● Low self-esteem
inate violence against women in all its ● Eating problems Impact on children
● Obsessive-compulsive disorder
forms and in all areas of life. Children who have witnessed domestic
● Post traumatic stress disorder
violence or have themselves been abused,
FATAL OUTCOMES exhibit health and behaviour problems,
Health consequences ● Suicide including problems with their weight,
● Homicide their eating and their sleep.39 They may
Domestic violence against women leads to
● Maternal mortality have difficulty at school and find it hard
far-reaching physical and psychological
● HIV/AIDS
consequences, some with fatal outcomes to develop close and positive friendships.
(see Table 4). While physical injury repre- (Source: “Violence against Women”, WHO They may try to run away or even display
sents only a part of the negative health Consultation, 1996) suicidal tendencies.
impacts on women, it is among the more
visible forms of violence. The United Domestic Violence and HIV/AIDS
States Department of Justice has reported Nearly 14 million women today are infected with HIV and the rate of female infection is
that 37 per cent of all women who sought rising. A forthcoming study from WHO finds that the greatest risk of HIV infection for many
medical care in hospital emergency rooms women comes from a regular partner, and is heightened by an unequal relationship that
for violence-related injuries were injured by makes it difficult, if not impossible, to negotiate safe sex. For these women, sex is not a
matter of choice.35
a current or former spouse or partner.32 A study of women aged 18 and over in one province in Zimbabwe found that 26 per cent
Assaults result in injuries ranging from of married women reported being forced to have sex when they did not want to. It is widely
bruises and fractures to chronic disabilities acknowledged that, even when a woman is aware that her partner has other sexual partners,
such as partial or total loss of hearing or or is HIV infected, she may not be in a position to insist on condom use or monogamy. Most
HIV/AIDS prevention programmes, however, advocate both methods. Many women would
vision, and burns may lead to disfigure-
feel that any attempt to discuss such measures would provoke yet more violence.36
ment. The medical complications resulting Other studies have found that the spread of HIV/AIDS in some parts of Africa is being
from FGM can range from haemorrhage exacerbated by practices that see women as the ‘property’ of men. The tradition of wife or
and sterility to severe psychological trau- widow inheritance, for example, is fairly common in eastern and southern Africa. When a
ma. Studies in many countries have shown woman’s husband dies, his wife and property are often inherited by his eldest brother. In
western Kenya women have been forced to marry, even when their husbands have died of
high levels of violence during pregnancy
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
AIDS, when they themselves are infected, or when their future husband has AIDS. There are
resulting in risk to the health of both the no laws to address this practice in Kenya.37
mother and the unborn foetus. In the worst Sexual cleansing is a more recent phenomena, resulting from, and contributing to, the
cases, all of these examples of domestic vio- spread of HIV/AIDS. Practised within extended families in western Kenya, Zimbabwe and
lence can result in the death of the woman parts of Ghana, it is based on the belief that a man can be cured of HIV/AIDS if he has sex
with a young girl who is a virgin. Girls as young as eight are selected to ensure their purity.38
– murdered by her current or ex-partner. A new approach is required that acknowledges the links between violence against
Sexual assaults and rape can lead to women and the spread of HIV/AIDS, and translates this into policies and programmes for
unwanted pregnancies, and the dangerous HIV prevention and care.
complications that follow from resorting (continued on page 12) 9
Discussion site
▼
COMBATING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE:
OBLIGATIONS OF THE STATE
by Radhika Coomaraswamy
United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women*
Domestic violence, whether it is perpetrated kinds of violence, including violence and to “pursue by all appropriate means and
by private or state actors, constitutes a vio- abuse in the family, sexual assault and sexual without delay a policy of eliminating dis-
lation of human rights. It is the duty of states harassment in the workplace; crimination against women”, which includes
to ensure that there is no impunity for the (2) preventive measures, including public the duty to “refrain from engaging in any act
perpetrators of such violence. Often state information and education programmes to or practice of discrimination against women
policies and inaction perpetuate or condone change attitudes concerning the roles and and to ensure that public authorities and
such violence within the domestic sphere. status of men and women; institutions shall act in conformity with this
States have a double duty under internation- (3) protective measures, including refuges, obligation” and “to take all appropriate mea-
al human rights law. They are not only counselling, rehabilitation action and sup- sures, including legislation, to modify or
required not to commit human rights viola- port services for women who are experienc- abolish existing laws, regulations, customs
tions, but also to prevent and respond to ing violence or who are at risk of violence. and practices which constitute discrimina-
human rights abuses. The United Nations Declaration on the tion against women”.
In the past, human rights protection was Elimination of Violence Against Women Domestic violence as torture
interpreted narrowly – state inaction to pre- also calls on States to “pursue by all appro- This school of thought argues that
vent and punish violations was not viewed as priate means and without delay a policy of domestic violence is a form of torture and
a failure in its duty to protect human rights. eliminating violence against women” and, should be dealt with accordingly. The argu-
The concept of state responsibility has now further to “exercise due diligence to prevent, ment is that, depending on the severity and
developed to recognize that states also have investigate and, in accordance with national the circumstances giving rise to state
an obligation to take preventive and puni- legislation, punish acts of violence against responsibility, domestic violence can consti-
tive steps where rights violations by private women, whether those acts are perpetrated tute torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading
actors occur. by the State or by private persons”.2 treatment or punishment under the
The concept of due diligence has been International Covenant on Civil and
taken forward by the judgement of the Inter- Political Rights, and the Convention
International American Court of Human Rights in the Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman
legal standards case of Velásquez Rodríguez. The Court or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Three doctrines, developed by human rights required the government to “take reasonable It is argued that domestic violence
scholars and activists, have to be taken into steps to prevent human rights violations and involves the very four critical elements that
account when dealing with the issue of vio- to use the means at its disposal to carry out constitute torture: (a) it causes severe physi-
lence against women by private actors. The a serious investigation of violations commit- cal and or mental pain, it is (b) intentionally
first is that states have a responsibility to ted within this jurisdiction, to identify those inflicted, (c) for specified purposes and (d)
exercise due diligence to prevent, investi- responsible, to impose the appropriate pun- with some form of official involvement,
gate and punish international law violations ishment and to ensure the victim adequate whether active or passive.
and pay just compensation. compensation”.3 Proponents of this argument call for
Due diligence Thus, the existence of a legal system domestic violence to be understood and
In 1992, the Committee on the criminalizing and providing sanctions for treated as a form of torture and, when less
Elimination of Discrimination Against domestic assault would not in itself be suffi- severe, ill-treatment. This argument deserves
Women (CEDAW) adopted General cient; the government would have to per- consideration by the rapporteurs and treaty
Recommendation 19, in which it confirmed form its functions to “effectively ensure” that bodies that investigate these violations,
that violence against women constitutes a incidents of family violence are actually together perhaps with appropriate NGO
violation of human rights and emphasizes investigated and punished.4 experts and jurists.
that “States may also be responsible for pri- Equal protection of the law
vate acts if they fail to act with due diligence This doctrine is related to the concept of
to prevent violations of rights or to investi- equality and equal protection. If it can be
Responses to combat
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
gate and punish acts of violence, and for pro- shown that law enforcement discriminates domestic violence
viding compensation”.1 The Committee against the victims in cases involving vio- Today, many States recognize the impor-
made recommendations on measures states lence against women, then the State may be tance of protecting women from abuse and
should take to provide effective protection of held liable for violating international human punishing the perpetrators of the crimes.
women against violence, including: rights standards of equality. One of the major questions facing law
(1) effective legal measures, including penal The Convention on the Elimination of reformers is whether to ‘criminalize’ wife
sanctions, civil remedies and compensatory All Forms of Discrimination Against battery. There is a sense that domestic vio-
10 provisions to protect women against all Women, in Article 2, requires State parties lence is a crime between those who are
Discussion site
linked by bonds of intimacy. The question arrest, without a warrant, a person who has survivors to the correct procedures for seek-
of intimacy, i.e. whether wife-battering contravened a protection order. ing redress.
should be treated as an ordinary crime or Civil law remedies, such as an injunction Any relief given to domestic violence
whether there should be an emphasis on which is used to support a primary cause of victims should also include counselling for
counselling and mediation, poses a major action such as divorce, nullity or judicial both the battered and the batterers. These
dilemma for policy makers. separation, can also be utilized. Some juris- programmes can even serve as alternative
Criminalization dictions have enacted legislation removing sentencing options especially in cases where
Advocates of the criminal justice the requirement of applying for principle women prefer that their partners “get help”
approach point to the symbolic power of relief and allowing the woman to apply for rather than be punished. In order to be
the law and argue that arrest, prosecution injunctive relief independently of any other effective, all these approaches should utilize
and conviction, with punishment, is a legal action.7 Another civil remedy which is formal and informal methods of education
process that carries the clear condemnation available in certain states in the USA is an and dissemination of information.
of society for the conduct of the abuser and action in tort claiming damages from the Cooperation at all levels
acknowledges his personal responsibility marital partner.8 Overwhelmingly, governments lack the
for the activity. Research conducted by the Police action necessary expertise to develop and imple-
Minneapolis Police Department has shown In most jurisdictions the power of the ment policy relating to violence against
that 19 per cent of those involved in medi- police to enter private premises is limited. women. Therefore, a more cooperative rela-
ation and 24 per cent of those ordered to In the context of domestic violence this can tionship between governments and civil
leave their matrimonial homes repeated the protect the violent man at the expense of society should be built to combat violence
assault, but only 10 per cent of those who the woman. Some legislations allow the against women.
were arrested indulged in further violence.5 police to enter if requested to do so by a An integrated, multidisciplinary approach
It is, however, critical that those involved person who apparently resides on the with lawyers, psychologists, social workers,
in policy making in this area take into premises or where the officer has reason to doctors and others working together to gain
account the cultural, economic and politi- believe that a person on the premises is a holistic understanding of each particular
cal realities of their countries. Any policy under attack or imminent attack.9 In many case and the needs of the individual is the
which fails to acknowledge the singular cases of domestic violence, immediate best option. Giving attention to the real-life
nature of these crimes and which is unac- release of the offender on bail may be dan- context of the battered woman, her hope-
companied by attempts to provide support gerous for the woman and, certainly, lessness, dependency, restricted options, and
for the victim-survivor and help for the release without prior warning may have her consequent need for empowerment,
abuser is doomed to fail. serious consequences for her. A number of should underpin every approach. The goal is
Legislation Australian jurisdictions attempt to strike a to work with her to develop her capacity to
Legislation with regard to domestic vio- balance between the interests of the decide her own future.
lence is a modern phenomenon. There is an offender and the woman by specifying con- *The Special Rapporteur on Violence Against
increasing belief that special laws should be ditions designed to protect her to be Women was appointed by the United Nations
drafted, having special remedies and proce- attached to the release of the offender.10 Commission on Human Rights in 1994 with a
dures. The first problem that arises with Training and community mandate to: seek and receive information from
regard to legislation is to allow for prosecu- support services governments, organizations and individuals on
tion of men who beat their spouses even if Most police, prosecutors, magistrates, violence against women; recommend measures to
the latter, under pressure, want to withdraw judges and doctors adhere to traditional val- eliminate such violence and remedy its conse-
quences; and carry out field visits.
their claims. In response some countries ues that support the family as an institution
have instructed police and prosecutors to and the dominance of the male party with-
proceed with cases even in situations where in it. It is therefore necessary to train law 1 Committee on the Elimination of Violence
women indicated that they would rather Against Women, Eleventh Session, General
enforcers and medical and legal profession-
Recommendation 19, Official Records of the
not proceed.6 In addition, since the spouse als who come in contact with those experi- General Assembly, Forty-seventh Session,
will be the main witness, some jurisdictions encing violence to understand gender vio- Supplement No. 38 (A/47/38), Ch.1.
have introduced legislation making the lence, to appreciate the trauma of those suf- 2 General Assembly Resolution 48/104 of 20
woman a “compellable witness” except in fering and to take proper evidence for crim- December 1993, Article 4.
certain situations. Other countries, such as inal proceedings. Professionals in law and 3 Veláquez Rodríguez Case (Honduras), 4 Inter.
the United States, are moving towards medicine are often resistant to this type of Am. Ct. HR, Ser. C, No.4, 1988, para 174.
advocacy support. training and to learning from anyone out- 4 Ibid, para 167.
Quasi-criminal remedies are also being 5 Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment.
side their speciality. It would therefore be
6 Confronting Violence: A Manual for Common-
utilized by several countries. The most more effective to involve other profession- wealth Action, Women and Development
important of these are the “protection” or als in the training programme. Programme, Human Resource Development
“bound over” orders. These are procedures The nature of the crime of domestic vio- Group, Commonwealth Secretariat, London,
by which a person can complain to a magis- lence requires the intervention of the com- June 1992.
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
trate or a justice that violence has taken munity to assist and support victim-sur- 7 Australia, Family Law Act, 1975, Sections 114,
place and the violent party is then “bound vivors. Community workers should be 70 C’ Hong Kong, Domestic Violence Order,
over” to keep the peace or be of good behav- trained to give them information on the law 1986; Matrimonial Causes Act, 1989, section 10.
iour. The standard of proof is lower than 8 “Developments in the law- Legal responses to
and law enforcement, available financial and
domestic violence”,106 Harvard Law Review,
with strictly criminal proceedings and this other support offered by the State, the pro- 1993, p.1531.
may provide some women with appropriate cedures for obtaining such assistance, etc. 9 Justices Act, 1959 (Tas) section 106F; Crimes
relief, with a court order obtainable on the Community workers can also play an impor- Act 1900 (NSW), section 349A.
balance of probabilities. Breach of the order tant role in identifying violence, raising 10 Bail Act 1978 (NSW) section 37; Bail Act 1980
is a criminal offence and the police may awareness about such issues and directing (Qld); Bail Act 1985 (SA) section 11. 11
Main issues
Witnessing and experiencing violence as be more likely to accept violence as the be violent, those who have witnessed vio-
a child can also result in internalizing vio- norm in a marriage than those who come lence in childhood are more likely to
lence as a form of conflict resolution. Girls from non-violent homes. While many chil- become adults who engage in violent behav-
who witness their mother being abused may dren from violent homes do not grow up to iour both inside and outside the home.
▼
CALCULATING THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC COSTS OF VIOLENCE
Calculating the costs of violence is a strate- costs for domestic violence and rape social violence into four categories using
gic intervention to make policy-makers accounted for nearly one in five disability- the following framework (see Table 5)51:
more aware about the importance and adjusted life years* lost to women age 15 (i) Direct costs take into account expen-
effectiveness of prevention. Studies carried to 44.48 The health costs of domestic vio- ditures on psychological counselling and
out in Canada, the United States, lence and rape are the same in industrial- medical treatment (emergency room care,
Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and ized and developing countries, but hospitalizations, care in clinics and doc-
Australia calculate costs using different because the overall burden of disease is tors’ offices, treatment for sexually trans-
parameters.45 The Canadian study, which much higher in developing countries, a mitted diseases); police services including
estimated the costs of violence against smaller percentage is attributed to gender- time spent on arrests and responding to
women in the larger context of violence based victimization. In developing coun- calls; costs imposed on the criminal justice
both within and outside the home, con- tries, depending on the region, estimates system (prison and detention, prosecution
cluded that the state spends over CDN$1 range from 5 to 16 per cent of healthy and court cases); housing and shelters for
billion annually on services, including years lost to women of reproductive age women and their children; and social ser-
police, criminal justice system, counselling, as a result of domestic violence. 49 vices (prevention and advocacy pro-
and training.46 For the United States, The Inter-American Development Bank grammes, job training, and training for
according to one study, cost estimates (IDB) has recently carried out studies in six police, doctors, the judiciary and the
range between US$5 and US$10 billion countries in Latin America – Brazil, media).
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
annually.47 These studies, it should be noted, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru and (ii) Non-monetary costs that do not draw
refer only to direct service-related costs and Venezuela – taking a more holistic look at upon medical services, but in themselves
do not address the human costs of violence. the socio-economic cost of domestic vio- take a heavy toll on the victim-survivors
In 1993, the World Bank estimated lence.50 For analytical purposes, the IDB by way of increased morbidity and mor-
that in industrialized countries health has divided the costs of domestic and tality through homicide and suicide,
*The Bank estimates count every year lost due to premature death as one disability-adjusted life year (DALY), and every year spent sick or incapacitated as a fraction of a
12 DALY, with the value depending on the severity of disability.
Main issues
increased dependence on drugs and alco- who are not victims of severe abuse.54 studies need to be carried out in both
hol and other depressive disorders. These (iv) Social multiplier effects include the developing and industrialized countries to
are the intangible costs that are compara- inter-generational impact of violence on estimate the costs of domestic violence in
ble, according to World Bank estimates, to children, erosion of social capital, reduced order to advocate for national policies to
other risk factors and diseases such as quality of life and reduced participation in eradicate this largely preventable crime.
HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, cancer, cardiovas- democratic processes. These effects are dif- A major knowledge gap also exists on
cular disease, and sepsis during childbirth. ficult to measure quantitatively, but their the cost-effectiveness of interventions for
(iii) Economic multiplier effects include, impact is substantial in terms of a country’s domestic violence.55 This is an important
for example, decreased female labour par- social and economic development. area of research that would provide guid-
ticipation and reduced productivity at It is clear that all sectors of society are ance on effective, workable and replicable
work, and lower earnings. In the United deeply affected by, and bear the conse- programmes, and thereby help channel
States, it has been reported that 30 per quences of, violence against women. More resources and energy in the right direction.
cent of abused women lost their jobs as a
direct result of the abuse.52 A study in
Santiago, Chile estimates that women Table 5 - The Socio-Economic Costs of Violence: a Typology
who do not suffer physical violence earn Direct costs: value of goods ● Medical
an average of US$385 per month while and services used in treating ● Police
women who face severe physical violence or preventing violence ● Criminal justice system
the school system as children from violent repetition and lower education attainment of children
● Decreased investment and saving
homes may perform badly and have to
● Capital flight
repeat grades. According to an IDB study
in Nicaragua, 63 per cent of children from Social multiplier effects: ● Intergenerational transmission of violence
families in which women are subjected to impact on interpersonal ● Reduced quality of life
relations and quality of life ● Erosion of social capital
domestic violence repeat a grade at school, ● Reduced participation in democratic process
and on average drop out at age 9, com-
(Source: Buvinic et al, 1999)
pared with age 12 for children of women
▼
STRATEGIES AND INTERVENTIONS:
AN INTEGRATED APPROACH
Domestic violence is a complex problem framework. A multi-layered strategy that ● Within the local community, partner-
and there is no one strategy that will addresses the structural causes of violence ships have to be developed with
work in all situations. To begin with, vio- against women while providing immedi- traditional elders, religious leaders,
lence may take place within very differ- ate services to victim-survivors ensures community-based groups, neighbour-
ent societal contexts, and the degree to sustainability and is the only strategy that hood associations, men’s groups (e.g.,
which it is sanctioned by a community has the potential to eliminate this scourge. village farmers’ associations), local
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
will naturally influence the kind of strat- When planning strategies and inter- councils and village level bodies.
egy needed. ventions, there are a variety of stakehold- ● Within civil society, the range of
Considering the interconnections ers that should be borne in mind. partners include professional groups,
between the factors responsible for Partnerships with these stakeholders can women’s and men’s groups, NGOs, the
domestic violence – gender dynamics of operate on several levels at once. private sector, the media, academia, and
power, culture and economics – strategies ● At the level of the family, the trade unions.
and interventions should be designed stakeholders include women, men, ● At the state level, strategies must be
within a comprehensive and integrated adolescents and children. designed in partnership with the criminal 13
Main issues
justice system (the police, judiciary and working with other men to review male
lawyers); the health care system; The family behaviour and to develop new models of
parliament and provincial legislative WOMEN Because their life and dignity are masculinity (see section on civil society).
bodies; and the education sector. at stake, women have emerged as the most There are examples of male leadership on
● At the international level, the significant agents of change in the strug- gender violence in most parts of the world
stakeholders include international gle against gender-based violence. While and the involvement of men is critical in
organizations (such as the United women’s organizations have played a crit- changing behaviour.
Nations agencies, the World Bank, and ical role (see section on civil society), the Men should receive one consistent
the regional development banks). collective strength and courage of indi- message from all sectors and levels of
Domestic violence is a health, legal, vidual women has been notable in fight- society – that those who perpetrate vio-
economic, educational, developmental ing many forms of violence. Poor and lence will be held accountable. The crim-
and human rights problem. Strategies often illiterate, these women have man- inal justice system must act to reinforce
should be designed to operate across a aged to mobilize hundreds of other this message by taking action against per-
broad range of areas depending upon the women, raised resources, designed strate- petrators, as well as providing rehabilita-
context in which they are delivered. Key gies and forced policy-makers to revise tion options for those who offend.
areas for intervention include: laws and policies. A systematic effort has Services need to be developed that pro-
● advocacy and awareness raising to be made to listen to the voices of grass- vide the possibility to change violent
● education for building a culture of non- roots women and survivors of domestic behaviour. These services, offered at the
violence violence, and to incorporate solutions local level, also need to address associated
● training they have to offer. Their perspectives will issues of drug and alcohol problems.
● resource development provide valuable lessons in making pro- Men need to challenge other men to
● direct service provision to victim- grammes and services effective and target- stop abusing women, and to change the
survivors and perpetrators ed to their needs. norms that encourage this violence. This
● networking and community mobilization Women need to be empowered requires support for men to act as healthy
● direct intervention to help victim- through education, employment opportu- role models to younger men, and the rais-
survivors rebuild their lives nities, legal literacy, and right to inheri- ing of boys in a non-violent climate to
● legal reform tance. Human rights education and infor- respect women.
● monitoring interventions and measures mation regarding domestic violence ADOLESCENT GIRLS AND BOYS Ado-
● data collection and analysis should be provided to them because this is lescent girls need all the protection and
● early identification of ‘at risk’ families, a matter of their absolute rights. support that should be available to adult
communities, groups, and individuals. Integrated supportive services, legal inter- women. They need clear messages about
These areas are not mutually exclusive; vention and redress should be made avail- their rights from society and the educa-
interventions may touch upon several able in situations of domestic violence. tional system. Educational programmes
areas at once. Assistance to help women rebuild and that equip girls with self-esteem and
Above all, five underlying principles recover their lives after violence should be negotiation skills, and enhance participa-
should guide all strategies and interven- part of the intervention strategy, includ- tion of girls in leadership roles should
tions attempting to address domestic vio- ing counselling, relocation, credit sup- become part of the school curriculum.
lence: port, and employment. Adolescent boys need positive role
● prevention Consistent support for women must be models and clear messages from the men
● protection provided by all relevant sectors – the in their families and society in general that
● early intervention criminal justice system, health, welfare, violence against women is not acceptable
● rebuilding the lives of victim-survivors and the private sector. Support must also and that they will be held accountable.
● accountability be available to women via informal net- Like adult men, adolescent boys need
This section of the Digest attempts to works such as family, friends, neighbours, access to services to help them deal with
formulate a framework for coordinated and local community groups. any violent behaviour they may have.
action at the policy and programme level. Community groups and government Support services need to address asso-
An effective strategy is one that is institutions should be trained to identify ciated behaviour patterns such as drug
designed to be culture- and region-specif- women, men, adolescent boys and girls, and alcohol problems, or the risky sexual
ic, providing victim-survivors easy access and children at risk of domestic violence, behaviour in which adolescent girls and
to wide-ranging services, and involving and to refer them to confidential and boys may indulge as a result of being vic-
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
the community and individual stakehold- accessible services. Where such services timized themselves.
ers in the design of interventions. By are not available, communities must be CHILDREN need to be identified as vic-
focusing on the stakeholders and by high- helped to establish local culturally appro- tims of domestic violence, and their safe-
lighting responsibilities of the family, the priate mechanisms to support women. ty has to be ensured. This requires ensur-
local community, the civil society, the MEN There are a growing number of ing the safety of their mothers and making
state, and international organizations, this male professionals designing and facilitat- childcare facilities available to women in
framework points to relevant areas of ing training events on gender inequality, shelters. Appropriate programmes should
14 action. including the issue of violence. Some are be developed by the community and the
Main issues
Spurred on by this success, the women spread the word to other villages, with ing the visibility of violence against
continued support from Tostan, UNICEF and the Government. These efforts women; giving victim-survivors a voice
culminated in the Diabougou Declaration of February 1998, when the representatives through tribunals and personal testi-
of 13 communities publicly and formally renounced FGM. And in April 2000, the
women, men and children of 26 islands in the Sine-Saloum river gathered on the monies; providing innovative forms of
island of Niodior to celebrate the end of FGM. The traditional cutters from the islands support to victims of violence; and forcing
wrapped their mystical cutting knives in cloth to hide them from the public eye. Then, governments and the international com-
in formal procession, they put the knives into a traditional straw basket, symbolizing munity to recognize their own failure to
the end of FGM.57 protect women. From local, collective 15
Main issues
early intervention. These protocols must ing, and develop organizational cultures free ty for women. Many men who abuse
be developed in collaboration with of abuse, including sexual harassment, in the women justify such behaviour on a reli-
experts in the domestic violence field. workplace. The private sector should also gious basis, and many cultural practices
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS be encouraged to finance preventive and that abuse and violate women are justified
(NGOs), like women’s organizations, support services in the local community. in the name of religion. Religious leaders
have worked in partnership with govern- TRADE UNIONS must support these at all levels have a responsibility to ensure
ment agencies and international organiza- actions by the private sector, using their that religious interpretations are not used
16 tions to provide a diversity of services, resources to promote non-violence to oppress women.
Main issues
Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence relevant courses in their programmes.
Against Women in 1994 provided the momentum to enact such legislation. PROTECTIVE MEASURES The protec-
The South African Domestic Violence Act of 1998 contains a particularly innovative tion and safety of victim-survivors should
feature – granting of a temporary Protection Order in cases where the court is satisfied be the prime focus of legal systems. It is
that the actions of the aggressor pose 'imminent harm' to the complainant. This ruling
allows protection of the health, safety, and well-being of the applicant, and includes
important that protective measures are
provision for the aggressor to be evicted from the matrimonial home while continuing to provided so that victim-survivors are not
provide monetary relief to the applicant. left without adequate protection, and are
not re-victimized. In industrialized coun- 17
Main issues
port to victims of domestic violence since vivors have the opportunity to interact that domestic violence is a private matter;
the 1970s, usually providing a 24-hour with other women experiencing the same ● possible misconceptions about victim-
hotline, support groups for the victims, problems, they are able to escape their survivors, including the belief that
basic child-care, and social and legal ser- isolation, shame and fear, and are able to women provoke violence.62
vices. Similar centres have been created in rebuild their lives at a faster pace. Training should be supplemented with
many developing countries since the early Telephone hotlines, usually set up by protocols to guide health care providers
1980s, mostly run by NGOs. Given that NGOs, have also expanded in many to implement standards. Protocols should
shelters are expensive, NGOs in develop- countries of Latin America (Argentina, include procedures for documentation for
ing countries are hard-pressed to provide Chile, El Salvador, Uruguay) and in South legal, medical and statistical purposes;
shelter for victims, and focus instead on Asia. However, given the scarcity of tele- legal, ethical and privacy issues; and up-
providing legal advice and psychological phones in most rural areas, such hotlines to-date information on local referral ser-
and social support. can only reach the urban population. vices. Protocols need to be culture-specif-
This is an area where support from It is critical that every woman who has ic with special attention paid to respect-
municipal and provincial governments is been abused or who is at risk has immedi- ing the rights of women.63
needed to provide viable, short-term and ate and ongoing access to support services Education
long-term shelters, referral services to that provide non-judgemental and non- Curricula that teach non-violence, con-
other sectors (health, justice, police) and directive service. At all times, the woman flict resolution, human rights and gender
assistance in related needs such as hous- must be helped to be an active agent in issues should be included in elementary
ing, employment, and child care. her interaction with the civil and criminal and secondary schools, universities, profes-
Increasingly, governments are creating justice systems so that she can examine sional colleges, and other training settings.
such support services in partnership with options available to her and make choices Violence against women can be prevented
NGOs as part of an integrated response to about her safety. and eliminated only when the underlying
domestic violence. The health care system causes of violence are addressed and cul-
In Namibia, for example, women and The health care system is well-placed to tural norms and attitudes are challenged.
child protection units have been estab- identify women who have been abused Curriculum reform that works towards
lished in partnership with the Namibian and refer them to other services, as the eliminating the gender stereotyping in
police, ministries of health and social ser- vast majority of women visit a health facil- schools (teaching about women’s contribu-
vices, and NGOs. The role of social work- ity at some point in their lives – during tions in history class, eliminating sex-
ers stationed at the units is to ensure the pregnancy, for example, or to get treat- stereotypes in textbooks, promoting girls’
protection and safety of the abused women ment for themselves or their children. The participation in sports) are important steps
and children during and after the crisis; and reality, however, is that far from playing a in achieving gender equality.
assist in preparation of court reports, proactive role, the health care system has A more fundamental problem – that of
appearance in court, and medical examina- usually been unresponsive to women suf- girls’ enrolment in schools – has to be
tions needed for evidentiary purposes. fering from domestic abuse. Training for addressed by governments alongside cur-
Helping women rebuild their lives and
self-esteem has been a particular focus of Women's Access to Health Services
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
NGO efforts. Many adopt an empower- Lack of access to health services is a critical constraint to medical examination for women
ment approach for women through educa- experiencing domestic violence. In Pakistan, for example, the two major cities of Karachi
tion, legal literacy, and economic self- and Lahore have only one medico-legal centre where examinations for evidence of sexual
reliance programmes within shelter assault are carried out. The complex logistics of city travel, among other constraints, make
it hard for women to access these services. In Moscow, there is only one centre that
homes to help women take charge of their
opens from 9 am to 2 pm, limiting women's access. Elsewhere, rural victims of violence
own lives and personal security. Such pro- may have to travel for days to reach a centre. Moreover, in many countries abused and
grammes also provide counselling and a violated women are uncomfortable with male doctors. These are generally the same
18 connection to existing networks of countries with extreme shortages of female doctors.
Main issues
issue. These organizations can play a criti- develop TV spots on violence against study on women’s health and domestic
cal role by using their expertise and credi- women; and support for the development violence, which aims to develop
bility to garner support for eliminating vio- of an active movement against gender- methodologies to measure violence
lence against women. By advocating with based violence in Afghanistan and other against women and its health
national governments, and by supporting countries in South Asia.67 consequences cross-culturally in six
programmes run by both government and ● The United Nations regional campaigns, countries.69
non-governmental organizations, these coordinated by UNIFEM, to eliminate ● The Pan American Health Organization
organizations are already working at many violence against women have spurred (PAHO) and the Inter-American
levels to prevent and reduce domestic vio- new partnerships between a number of Development Bank (IDB) are
lence in different regions of the world. UN agencies (including UNICEF), collaborating to pilot a coordinated,
The following examples outline some governments, national and regional multi-sectoral response to violence
initiatives led by these inter-governmental NGOs, and community-based groups against women in Latin America.70
organizations. and media organizations since 1998.68 ● The Trust Fund in Support of Actions to
● UNICEF works with different partners to ● UNFPA supports research on the Eliminate Violence against Women,
address domestic violence in many prevalence of domestic violence and has established at UNIFEM in 1996 by a UN
countries. Examples include: facilitating helped to create women’s health centres General Assembly resolution, has
creation of Bolivia’s National Plan for the in areas where such violence is common. supported innovative projects around
Prevention of and Eradication of It also works in partnership with the world that address all forms of
Violence Against Women (1994) and the governments, NGOs and local gender-based violence.71
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
19
Links
T
his section contains information Activities United Nations Division for the
about some of the major inter- UNIFEM has made women’s human Advancement of Women (DAW)
governmental organizations, and rights the centrepiece of its 2 UN Plaza, DC2-12th Floor
international and regional NGOs empowerment approach to New York
working on issues related to domestic programming. It is coordinating NY 10017
violence. It is not meant to be a regional campaigns to eliminate USA
comprehensive listing, nor does it violence against women, aiming to Fax: +1 212 963 3463
prioritize or rank the organizations highlight the problem. Nine UN E-mail: daw@un.org
listed. These contacts should serve as agencies, several national and
links to other types of organizations, regional NGOs, and 22 governments Activities
particularly national and local NGOs, in Africa, Asia and Latin America DAW conducts research, develops
professional and community organiza- are partners in this effort. Since 1996, policy options and provides gender
tions, academic and other institutes UNIFEM has managed the Trust policy advisory services, including
and government bodies, whose work is Fund in Support of Actions to needs assessment, diagnostic studies
relevant either to the issue of domestic Eliminate Violence against Women, and evaluations and support for
violence or to the empowerment of established by the United Nations capacity-building to enhance the
women and girls through education, General Assembly, providing funds participation of women in developing
employment or training. Website for innovative projects on this issue. countries. The Division also publishes
information is listed and is as current research and data on women and
UNIFEM facilitates an internet
as possible. Such information is, of gender issues and works closely with
working group on violence against
course, subject to change. intergovernmental and non-
women (http://www.unifem.undp.org/
governmental organizations. It assists
campaign/violence). Past discussions the Commission on the Status of
are available on-line and the site Women (CSW) and the Committee on
also contains instructions for joining the Elimination of Discrimination
UNITED NATIONS AND this virtual working group. against Women (CEDAW) in their
ITS SPECIALIZED AGENCIES Website: www.unifem.undp.org mandated tasks.
Contains information about the Website:
United Nations Children’s United Nations regional campaigns www. un.org/womenwatch/daw
Fund (UNICEF) to eliminate violence against women; Contains information on CEDAW and
3 UN Plaza links to other UN organizations that its monitoring Committee; the full text
New York are part of the campaign; and of the Convention, ratification
NY 10017 information on applying to the Trust information and country reports; the
USA Fund for funding. work of CSW; the text of the Platform
Tel: +1 212 326 7000 for Action; information about the
Fax: +1 212 888 7465 Fourth World Conference on Women
United Nations Development and the Beijing +5 review meeting.
Programme (UNDP)
Activities
1 UN Plaza
As part of its mandate, and guided United Nations
New York
by the CRC and CEDAW, UNICEF High Commissioner
NY 10017
promotes the equal rights of women for Human Rights (UNHCHR)
USA
and girls and supports their full Special Rapporteur
Tel: +1 212 906 5558
participation in the development of Fax: +1 212 906 5001 on Violence Against Women
their communities. It works with Office of the High Commissioner
partners to end violence against Activities for Human Rights
women and girls; widen their access As one part of its contribution to the United Nations
to health-care, education, and United Nations Inter-Agency 1211 Geneva 10
affordable credit; and promote Switzerland
Campaign on Women’s Human
awareness of their rights. Tel: +41 22 917 9150
Rights, UNDP’s Regional Bureau for
Website: www.unicef.org Fax: +41 22 917 0212
Latin America and the Caribbean
E-mail: srvaw@sltnet.lk
has developed a website containing
Contact Ms Radhika Coomaraswamy
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
The Special Rapporteur recommends 1995, focus on the role of the health combat domestic violence against
measures at the national, regional sector in preventing violence against women. It focuses both on prevention
and international level to eliminate women and managing its of abuse and on treatment for
violence against women and its consequences, with increasing women who have been abused. Its
causes, and to remedy its attention given to rape and sexual projects include working with the
consequences. assault. WHO is conducting a multi- media for public education; training
Website: www. unhchr.ch/huridocda country study of prevalence, health of judges and other judicial
Contains United Nations ECOSOC consequences, and risk and personnel; creation of national
resolutions on violence against protective factors for domestic networks to provide support to
women, and reports of the Special violence; has established a database affected women and support for
Rapporteur to the Commission on of existing research on violence regional efforts to design projects to
Human Rights (in English, French against women; and has initiated reduce domestic violence.
and Spanish). reviews of interventions to prevent Website: www.iadb.org
violence, to identify and assist Contains information in English,
abused women, and of various French, Portuguese and Spanish on
United Nations Population training approaches and materials. the organization, its programmes,
Fund (UNFPA) Website: www.who.ch/frh-whd publications, and relevant data.
220 East 42nd Street Contains global health facts related
New York to issues such as violence against
NY 10017 women, female genital mutilation, Pan American Health
USA and HIV/AIDS; fact sheets on women; Organization (PAHO)
Tel: +1 212 297 5020 resources including documents, 525 23rd Street, NW
Fax: +1 212 557 6416 publications, databases and press Washington DC 20037
Email: ryanw@unfpa.org releases; and links to other resources USA
and organizations. Tel: +1 202 9743458
Activities Fax: +1 202 9743143
UNFPA supports research and E-mail: publinfo@paho.org
surveys to assess the prevalence of OTHER UN AGENCIES
domestic violence, including the Activities
development of methodologies to The work of a number of other United PAHO, the regional office of WHO in
identify local and regional problems Nations agencies is relevant to this Latin America and the Caribbean, is
linked to violence against women. It issue, including the International working closely with grassroots and
assesses the impact of violence on Labour Organization (ILO), the Joint national organizations on the issue of
women’s ability to exercise their United Nations Programme on violence against women in 10
reproductive rights and access HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the United countries across the region. At the
reproductive health care. It has Nations Education, Scientific and local level, it is creating coordinated
helped to establish women’s health Cultural Organization (UNESCO) community networks involving the
centres providing integrated health and legal systems, churches,
and the United Nations High
packages of services and support in NGOs, and community-based
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
areas where abuse of women is groups. At the national level, it is
For information about these
widespread. In cooperation with strengthening institutional capacity
organizations, visit their websites as
governments, NGOs and local
follows: and promoting adoption of legal
communities, UNFPA supports
ILO: www.ilo.org norms and policies.
programmes to reduce and
UNAIDS: www.unaids.org Website: www.paho.org
eventually eliminate female genital
UNESCO: www.unesco.org Contains information in English and
mutilation.
UNHCR: www.unhcr.ch Spanish about its programmes,
Website: www.unfpa.org
services and publications, with links
to databases on health.
World Health Organization OTHER INTERGOVERNMENTAL
(WHO) ORGANIZATIONS
INTERNATIONAL
Global Programme on Evidence AND REGIONAL NGOS
for Health Policy (GPE) Inter-American Development
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
23
Links
26. UNICEF (1989), ‘The invisible adjustment: Poor women and Stanko A. et al. (1998) Counting the Costs: Estimating the
economic crisis’, UNICEF, The Americas and Caribbean Impact of Domestic Violence in the London Borough of
Regional Office, Santiago. ‘La situation de la femme mali- Hackney. Crime Concern, London.
enne: cadre de vie, problèmes, promotion’ op. cit. Yodanis C.L. and Godenzi A. (1999) Report on the economic
Mazumdar, V. et al. (1995) Changing Terms of Political costs of violence against women. Fribourg Switzerland:
Discourse: The Women’s Movement in India, 1970s-1990s, University of Fribourg.
Economic and Political Weekly, vol. XXX: 29, pp 1866-1878. 46. Greaves, Lorraine (1995) ‘Selected Estimates of the Costs of
27. UNICEF (1999). Violence against Women’. London, Ontario: Centre for
25
Information sources
Research on Violence aginst Women and Children 69. WHO (1999) ‘WHO Multi-country study of women’s health and
47. Laurence L. and Spalter-Roth R. (1996) ‘Measuring the costs domestic violence. Core protocol’. WHO/EIP/GPE/99.3
of domestic violence against women and the cost-effective- Geneva: WHO.
ness of interventions: an initial assessment and proposals for 70. WHO (1996) ‘Violence against Women: WHO Consultation’, p
further research’. Washington DC: Institute for Women’s 26- 27. Geneva: WHO.
Policy Research. 71. For information, contact The United Nations Development
48. World Bank (1993) World Development Report 1993: Investing Fund for Women (UNIFEM) at tfvaw.unifem@undp.org, or
in Health. New York: Oxford University Press. visit web site at www.unifem.undp.org.
49. Ibid.
50. Buvinic M., Morrison A.R. and Shifter M. (1999) Violence in
the Americas: A Framework for Action in ‘Too Close to Home:
Domestic Violence in the Americas’, Morrison A.R. Biehl M.
L. (eds.). Washington DC: Inter-American Development
Bank.
51. Buvinic M., Morrison, A.R., Shifter M. (1999) op. cit.
52. Morrison A.R. and Orlando M.B. (1999) Social and Economic
Costs of Domestic Violence: Chile and Nicaragua in ‘Too
Close to Home: Domestic Violence in the Americas’.
Washington DC: Inter-American Development Bank.
53. Ibid.
54. Hayward (1999).
55. Garcia-Moreno C. (1999) Violence Against Women, Gender
and Health Equity. Harvard Center for Population and
Development Studies, Working Paper Series 99.15.
Cambridge, Massachusetts.
56. Economic and Social Research Council, Children 5-16
Research Programme, conducted by the Universities of
Warwick, Bristol, North London and Durham. Number 12. For
further information contact Audrey Mullender, University of
Warwick, Audrey.Mullender@warwick.ac.uk
57. Tortured Tradition, by Lauren Goldsmith, The Baltimore Sun,
March 26, 2000; The Niodior Declaration to abandon female
genital cutting, Molly Melching, Director of Tostan, Senegal,
April 7, 2000.
58. Hayward Ruth F. (1997) ‘Needed: A new model of masculini-
ty to stop violence against girls and women’, UNICEF
Regional Office for South Asia, Kathmandu, Report no. 17;
UNICEF (1997) ‘The Role of Men in the Lives of Children. A
Study of How Improving Knowledge about Men in Families
Helps Strengthen Programming for Children and Women’,
UNICEF, New York.
59. Poppe P. (1999) Partnerships with the Media to Prevent
Domestic Violence, in ‘Too Close to Home: Domestic Violence
in the Americas’ op. cit.
60. Human Rights Watch (1995).
61. Mitra Nishi (1999) Best Practices among Responses to
Domestic Violence in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
Washington, DC: International Center for Research on
Women (ICRW).
62. WHO (1996).
63. Ibid.
64. Kellermann A.L., Mercy J. A. (1992) Men, women, and mur-
der: gender-specific differences in rates of fatal violence
and victimization. Journal of Trauma, 33 (1), pp 1-5.
65. Smith T. W., (1995) Changes in Firearm Ownership among
Women, 1980-1994. Journal of Criminal Law and
Criminology, 86, pp 133-149.
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
Selected key readings Latin American and Caribbean Women’s Health Network (1996)
The Right to Live Without Violence: Women’s Proposals and
While not included in the list of references, the following Actions. Santiago: Latin American and Caribbean Women’s
materials are invaluable resources on gender issues and/or Health Network.
domestic violence
Mertus J., Flowers N. and Dutt M (1999) Local Action, Global
Bauer H., and Rodriguez M.A. (1995), Letting Compassion Open Change. Learning about the Human Rights of Women and
the Door: Battered Women’s Disclosure to Medical Providers. Girls. New York: UNIFEM and the Center for Women’s Global
Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, Vol 4, pp 459-465. Leadership.
Brasileiro A. M. (1997), Women Against Violence: Breaking the Segal L. (1997) Slow Motion: Changing Masculinities, Changing
Silence. New York: UNIFEM. Men. London: Virago.
Bunch C. (1997) The Intolerable Status Quo: Violence against Sen A. (1990) More than One Million Women are Missing. New
Women and Girls, in The Progress of Nations. New York: York Review of Books, December 20, 1990.
UNICEF.
United Nations (1993) Strategies for Confronting Domestic
Carillo R. (1992) Battered Dreams: Violence against Women as Violence: A Resource Manual. New York: United Nations.
an Obstacle to Development. New York: UNIFEM.
UNICEF (1999) Programming for Safe Motherhood: Guidelines
Clarke R. (1998) Violence Against Women in the Caribbean: for Maternal and Neonatal Survival. New York: UNICEF.
State and Non-State Responses. Barbados: UNIFEM.
UNIFEM (1999) Women @ Work against Violence: Voices in
Cook R. (ed.) (1994) Human Rights of Women: National and Cyberspace. New York: UNIFEM.
International Perspectives. Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Press. WHO (1997) ‘Violence Against Women. Information Kit’.
WHO/FRH/WHD/97.8. Geneva: WHO.
Corrin C. (1996) Women in a Violent World: Feminist Analyses
and Resistance Across Europe. Edinburgh: Edinburgh Women, Law and Development International (1996) ‘State
University Press. Responses to Domestic Violence: Current Status and Needed
Improvements’. Washington, D.C: Women, Law and
Davies M. (ed.) (1994) Women and Violence: Realities and Development International.
Responses Worldwide. London: Zed Books.
27
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of UNICEF.
Extracts for this publication may be freely reproduced provided that due acknowledgment is given to the source
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
and to UNICEF:
We invite comments on the content and layout of the Digest and suggestions on how it could be improved as
an information tool.
28 June 2000
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
Website: www.unicef-icdc.org
ISSN: 102-3528