Overview

An illustration from JJ Grandville's Cent Proverbes (1845) captioned "Qui aime bien châtie bien" (Who loves
well, punishes well). A man beating a woman is shown in the back.

Burning witches, with others held in Stocks

Sati (a Hindu practice whereby a widow immolates herself on the funeral pyre of her husband) ceremony.
X-ray of bound feet, China

The history of violence against women remains vague in scientific literature. This is in part because
many kinds of violence against women (specifically rape, sexual assault, and domestic violence) are
under-reported, often due to societal norms, taboos, stigma, and the sensitive nature of the subject.
[23][24]
It is widely recognized that even today, a lack of reliable and continuous data is an obstacle to
forming a clear picture of violence against women.[25]
Although the history of violence against women is difficult to track, it is clear that much of the
violence was accepted, condoned and even legally sanctioned.[26] Examples include that Roman law
gave men the right to chastise their wives, even to the point of death, [27] and the burning of witches,
which was condoned by both the church and the state (although this was not a practice exclusively
against women).[26]
The history of violence against women is closely related to the historical view of women as property
and a gender role of subservience.[28]Explanations of patriarchy and an overall world system or status
quo in which gender inequalities exist and are perpetuated are cited to explain the scope and history
of violence against women.[24][25] The UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women
(1993) states, "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, and that violence against women is
one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position
compared with men."[29][30]
According to the UN, "there is no region of the world, no country and no culture in which women's
freedom from violence has been secured."[25] Several forms of violence are more prevalent in certain
parts of the world, often in developing countries. For example, dowry violence and bride burning is
associated with India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. Acid throwing is also associated with these
countries, as well as in Southeast Asia, including Cambodia. Honor killing is associated with
the Middle East and South Asia. Female genital mutilationis found mostly in Africa, and to a lesser
extent in the Middle East and some other parts of Asia. Marriage by abduction is found
in Ethiopia, Central Asia and the Caucasus. Abuse related to payment of bride price (such as
violence, trafficking and forced marriage) is linked to parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania. (Also
see lobolo.)[31][32]
Certain regions are no longer associated with a specific form of violence, but such violence was
common until quite recently in those places; this is true of honor-based crimes in
Southern/Mediterranean Europe.[33] For instance, in Italy, before 1981, the Criminal Code provided
for mitigating circumstances in case of a killing of a woman or her sexual partner for reasons related
to honor, providing for a reduced sentence.[34]
Invoking culture to explain particular forms of violence against women risks appearing to legitimize
them. There is also debate and controversy about the ways in which cultural traditions, local customs
and social expectations, as well as various interpretations of religion, interact with abusive practices.
[25][35]
Specifically, cultural justifications for certain violent acts against women are asserted by some
states and social groups within many countries claiming to defend their traditions. These
justifications are questionable precisely because the defenses are generally voiced by political
leaders or traditional authorities, not by those actually affected. [25] The need for sensitivity and respect
of culture is an element that cannot be ignored either; thus a sensitive debate has ensued and is
ongoing.
There has also been a history of recognizing the harmful effects of this violence. In the 1870s, courts
in the United States stopped recognizing the common-law principle that a husband had the right to
"physically chastise an errant wife".[36] The first state to rescind this right was Alabama in 1871.[37] In
the UK the right of a husband to inflict moderate corporal punishment on his wife to keep her "within
the bounds of duty" was removed in 1891.[38][39]
In the 20th and 21st centuries, and in particular since the 1990s, there has been increased activity
on both the national and international levels to research, raise awareness and advocate for the
prevention of all kinds of violence against women.[25] Most often, violence against women has been
framed as a health issue, and also as a violation of human rights. A study in 2002 estimated that at
least one in five women in the world had been physically or sexually abused by a man sometime in
their lives, and "gender-based violence accounts for as much death and ill-health in women aged
15–44 years as cancer, and is a greater cause of ill-health than malaria and traffic accidents
combined."[40]
Certain characteristics of violence against women have emerged from the research. For example,
acts of violence against women are often not unique episodes, but are ongoing over time. More
often than not, the violence is perpetrated by someone the woman knows, not by a stranger. [24] The
research seems to provide convincing evidence that violence against women is a severe and
pervasive problem the world over, with devastating effects on the health and well-being of women
and children.[25]

Milestones
Some of the most important milestones on the international level for the prevention of violence
against women include:

 The 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against

 The 1993 World Conference on Human Rights, which recognized violence against women as
a human rights violation, and which contributed to the following UN declaration. [41]

 The 1993 UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women was the first
international instrument explicitly defining and addressing violence against women. This
document specifically refers to the historically forever-present nature of gender inequalities in
understanding violence against women.[41] (Include current 2nd paragraph here). This
Declaration, as well as the World Conference of the same year, is often viewed as a "turning
point" at which the consideration of violence against women by the international community
began to be taken much more seriously, and after which more countries mobilized around this
problem.[40][42]

 The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, linking violence against
women to reproductive health and rights, and also providing recommendations to governments
on how to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. [41]
 In 1996, the World Health Assembly (WHA) declared violence a major public health issue,
and included in the subtypes recognized were intimate partner violence and sexual violence, two
kinds of violence often perpetrated as violence against women. This was followed by a WHO
report in 2002 (see below).[23] The UN also created the Trust Fund to Support Actions to
Eliminate Violence Against Women.[43]

 In 1999, the UN adopted the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women and designated November 25 as the International Day
for the Elimination of Violence against Women.[40]

 In 2002, as a follow-up of the WHA declaration in 1996 of violence as a major public health
issue, the World Health Organization published the first World Report on Violence and Health,
which addressed many types of violence and their effect on public health, including forms of
violence affecting women particularly strongly. The report specifically noted the sharp rise in civil
society organizations and activities directed at responding to gender-based violence against
women from the 1970s to the 1990s.[23]

 In 2004, the World Health Organization published its "Multi-country study on Women's Health
and Domestic Violence against Women", a study of women's health and domestic violence by
surveying over 24,000 women in 10 countries from all regions of the world, which assessed the
prevalence and extent of violence against women, particularly violence by intimate partners, and
linked this with health outcomes to women as well as documenting strategies and services that
women use to cope with intimate-partner violence.[42]

 The 2006 UN Secretary General's "In-depth study on all forms of violence against women",
the first comprehensive international document on the issue. [25]

 The 2011 Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against
women and domestic violence, which is the second regional legally-binding instrument on
violence against women and girls.[41]

 In 2013, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) adopted, by
consensus, Agreed Conclusions on the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence
against women and girls (formerly, there were no agreed-upon conclusions). [41]

 Also in 2013, the UN General Assembly passed its first resolution calling for the protection
of defenders of women's human rights.[44] The resolution urges states to put in place gender-
specific laws and policies for the protection of women's human rights defenders and to ensure
that defenders themselves are involved in the design and implementation of these measures,
and calls on states to protect women's human rights defenders from reprisals for cooperating
with the UN and to ensure their unhindered access to and communication with international
human rights bodies and mechanisms.[45]
Additionally, on the national level, individual countries have also organized efforts (legally, politically,
socially) to prevent, reduce and punish violence against women. As a particular case study, here are
some developments since the 1960s in the United States to oppose and treat violence against
women:[37]

 1967: One of the country's first domestic violence shelters opened in Maine.

 1972: The country's first rape help hotline opened in Washington, D.C.
 1978: Two national coalitions, the National Coalition Against Sexual Assault and the National
Coalition Against Domestic Violence, were formed, to raise awareness of these two forms of
violence against women.

 1984: The U.S. Attorney General created the Department of Justice Task Force on Family
Violence, to address ways in which the criminal justice system and community response to
domestic violence should be improved.

 1994: Passage of the Violence Against Women Act or VAWA, legislation included in
the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, sponsored by then-Senator Joseph
Biden, which required a strengthened community response to crimes of domestic violence and
sexual assault, strengthened federal penalties for repeat sex offenders and strengthened
legislative protection of victims, among many other provisions.

 2000: President Clinton signed into law the VAWA of 2000, further strengthening federal
laws, and emphasizing assistance of immigrant victims, elderly victims, victims with disabilities,
and victims of dating violence.

 2006: President Bush signed into law the VAWA of 2006, with an emphasis on programs to
address violence against youth victims, and establishing programs for Engaging Men and Youth,
and Culturally and Linguistically Specific Services.

 2007: The National Teen Dating Abuse Hotline opened.

 2009: President Obama declared April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

 2013: President Obama signed into law the VAWA of 2015, which granted Native American
tribes the ability to prosecute non-Native offenders, and regulated reports of sexual assault on
college campuses.[46][47]
Other countries have also enacted comparable legislative, political and social instruments to address
violence against women. Experts in the international community generally believe, however, that
solely enacting punitive legislation for prevention and punishment of violence against women is not
sufficient to address the problem. For example, although much stricter laws on violence against
women have been passed in Bangladesh, violence against women is still rising. [40] Instead, it is
thought that wide societal changes to address gender inequalities and women's empowerment will
be the way to reduce violence against women.[25][40][48][49]

Effect on society