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VAW Definition and Statistics
Source: http://www.enditnow.org/stop-violence-against-women-resources

What does enditnow mean by VAW?

Violence against women includes the physical, sexual, and emotional abuse of women and girls. VAW has many different faces. Sex trafficking in Thailand. Domestic abuse in Canada. Dowry deaths in India. Military rape in Congo. Female genital mutilation in Kenya. Child marriage in Bangladesh. Honor killings in Pakistan. It is likely all of these in many places.

1. Female genital mutilation (FGM) includes procedures that intentionally alter or injure female genital organs for non-medical reasons. (WHO)
2. An estimated 100 to 140 million girls and women worldwide have been subjected to female genital mutilation. (WHO)
3. In Africa, about three million girls are at risk for female genital mutilation each year. (WHO)
4. Female genital mutilation can cause severe bleeding, problems urinating, and later, childbirth complications and newborn deaths. (WHO)
5. Female genital mutilation is mostly carried out on young girls sometime between infancy and age 15. (WHO)
6. Female genital mutilation is internationally recognized as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. (WHO)
7. At least half of all persons trafficked over international borders are children. (US State Department)
8. Forced marriage violates the human rights of women and girls, but is still practiced in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
9. Child marriage violates the human rights of women and girls, but is still practiced in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
10. Over 60 million women aged 20-24 were child brides. (UNICEF)
11. South Asia has the highest number of child marriage followed by Sub-Saharan Africa.
12. The more education a girl receives, the less likely she is to marry as a child.
13. UNICEF estimates that one million children, mostly girls, enter the sex trade each year.
14. In some countries rape is allowed or even condoned by the government. (UN statement on the rights of women)
15. Systematic rape is used as a weapon of terror by the military and police in many war-torn countries. (UNHCR)
16. The average age of marriage in Bangladesh is 15.
17. The United Nations Development Fund for Women estimates that at least one of every three women globally will be beaten, raped, or otherwise abused during her lifetime.
18. Violence and the threat of violence against women contributes to the spread of HIV/AIDS.
19. Approximately 800,000 people are trafficked across borders each year. This does not include the millions of people trafficked within their own countries. (US State Department)
20. Worldwide, four in five trafficking victims are women and girls. (US State Department)
21. In Africa, about 92 million girls age 10 years and above have undergone female genital mutilation. (WHO)
22. Violence against women is a major public health problem and a violation of human rights. (WHO)
23. A lack of access to education and opportunity, and low social status are linked to violence against women.
24. In a 10-country study conducted by the World Health Organization, 40% of women in South Africa said their first sexual experience was non-consensual.
25. In a 10-country study conducted by the World Health Organization, over 70% of ever partnered women in Ethiopia reported having experienced physical or sexual violence by a partner.
26. In a 10-country study conducted by the World Health Organization, more than 50% of women in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Peru and Tanzania reported having experienced physical or sexual abuse by an intimate partner.
27. In a classic study based on World Bank Data, rape and domestic violence rated higher than cancer, motor vehicle accidents, war, and malaria, as causes of death and disability in women aged 15 to 44.
28. According to a World Health Organization study, 30% of women in the United Kingdom have experienced physical abuse.
29. According to a World Health Organization study, 22% of women in the United States have experienced physical abuse by their partners.
30. One in five women will become a victim of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime. (UNIFEM Factsheet)
31. Dowry murder is a brutal practice involving a woman being killed by her husband or in-laws because her family is unable to meet their demands for her dowry – a payment made to a woman’s in-laws upon her marriage as a gift to her new family.
32. Dowry murder occurs predominantly in South Asia.
33. In many societies, rape victims, and women suspected of engaging in premarital sex or having affairs, have been murdered by their relative because the violation of a woman’s chastity is viewed as an affront to the family’s honor. These are called “honor killings”.
34. Honor killings take place in Pakistan, Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, Morocco and other Mediterranean and Gulf countries.
35. Rape is used as a weapon in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is currently thought to have the highest incident of rape in the world.
36. Hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been raped over the past decade by soldiers and rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
37. A recent survey conducted in South Africa shows that 1 in 4 men admit to sexual violence.