Peter Cunningham IN THE days after the Omagh bomb, Tony Blair, in consultation with the Irish government, decided on today’s recall of Parliament in order to push through sweeping anti-terrorist measures. Blair’s critics have not been slow off the mark. They accuse him of making a selective attack on terrorism, in this case Irish, and for a misguided abandonment of reliance on existing domestic law, which, they claim, is already adequate. More, Blair is accused of fitting Britain with a noose of emergency powers that will lead in jig time to a choking of civil liberties. But with his eye unwaveringly on the Irish problem as it has been since he came into power, Blair knows that by far the greater risk will be to ignore the rare opportunity which has arisen as a result of the Omagh atrocity.

These are times of rapid change in Ireland. In a political landscape notorious for its dogged lack of change, the speed of the current transformation is awe inspiring. The hope over long years by a committed few, sustained in the face of odds beyond imagination, has finally found fertile opportunity in a confluence of factors: an American President who has been persuaded to make peace in Ireland a priority of his administration, and a British Prime Minister who, uniquely, is both interested in solving the problem in Ireland once and for all, and who has the political means to do so.

Once and for all. Or, “over, done with and gone”. The words of resolute men and women, they ring with the finality of the utterly determined. Gerry Adams used just this language two days ago in drawing a line under the violence of the past, and whether or not his motivation sprang from expediency dictated by the prospect of his meeting at last with David Trimble, the leader of the Ulster Unionists and Northern Ireland’s first minister, or from a wish to ingratiate himself further with Bill Clinton who comes to Omagh today, or because Sinn Fein thought such a statement might head off Britain’s emergency legislation, or for all or none of these reasons – the fact remains that he said it. Add that to Sinn Fein’s unique and unequivocal condemnation of Omagh, and the speed of change in current Irish politics becomes apparent.

The problems of Northern Ireland are not solved, of course, but the dreadful events in Omagh on the afternoon of 15 August may just have tipped the scales at a crucial moment. On the following morning, I drove half the length of Ireland, listening on the car radio to seasoned reporters speak in breaking voices of the scenes of desolation all around them. I went that afternoon to Croke Park in Dublin with 50,000 others to watch Waterford play Kilkenny in a hurling match. We stood for a minute’s silence before the game. Men and women wept. The silence could have lasted 30 minutes and no one would have been the first to speak. This was the Irish heartland come to Dublin – and it was shocked and shamed and heartsick to a man.

But mood is ephemeral. Five years ago, in the wake of the Warrington bomb when, in a British newspaper, I called for Ireland to confront the ghost in its psyche and repeal those articles of its constitution repugnant to Unionists, going on a popular Irish radio programme to defend my case, my voice was in a minority of one. Callers to the programme were overwhelmingly opposed to my suggestion, despite Warrington and the deaths of children. Militant Irish republicanism is deeply entrenchedand its followers are never on the back foot for long,

But they are a tiny minority. Moderate republicanism in Ireland is a proud and honourable tradition, but where England is concerned, one which is rooted in mistrust. What has there been in the canon of history between the two countries which might persuade the Irish that England or its justice can be trusted? Not a lot. The cases of the Guildford Four and the Birmingham Six were spectacular failures in the responsibility which the justice system of one sovereign country is obliged to extend to the citizens of another. Trust is slow to grow in such a hinterland.

Bertie Ahern understands this. A canny political operator, already backed by a massive 94% vote in last May’s referendum which at last jettisoned Ireland’s constitutional claims over Northern Ireland, Ahern has now seized the new mood of revulsion which has swept Ireland and has moved ruthlessly into territory which before, due to the historical lack of trust, would never have allowed him a safe passage. Ahern was the first to use the term “draconian” to describe the new legislation, also being debated in Dublin this week in tandem with that at Westminster. The Irish courts will be girded with new powers. Terrorists from now can be arrested on the word of a police officer of, or above, the rank of superintendent and brought to trial on such a basis. The courts may order the seizure of the assets of those so convicted, similar measures to those already successfully introduced in Ireland to curtail drug smuggling. Omagh, designed by the executioners of 28 people to destroy the Good Friday Agreement, has been a tactical disaster for the terrorists. Far from shaking Ahern, the taoiseach’s hand has been strengthened even more.

But for Ahern to have attempted such legislation alone would have been a nonsense. If terrorists could skip across the border to a safe haven in Northern Ireland or in England, finding a sanctuary within the very body politic they are sworn to destroy, then Ahern’s new legislation would have been toothless. And without Ahern’s measures, when the mood of Omagh eventually ebbed, the men and women, for whom no greater ideal exists than the blood sacrifice of 1916, would rise up, or crawl out, again, and the cycle of violence would be resumed.

Like Blair, Ahern is a man for his time. The time is now and it is for a final end to the misery. Over, done with and gone. The people of Ireland have spoken and although only some of them are his people, Blair believes in the integrity of the argument and is prepared to take risks for what he believes in. Recalling parliaments and giving laws both sides of the border a sound footing is another step in the new era of trust between the countries. Anything less from Britain at this moment, and Ireland, a young country with a long memory, will never reach the promised land that the overwhelming majority of her people north and south wish for.

Philip Hodson Last November, a young English boy protested to the highest court in the land that his stepfather had no right to cane him. During his trial, it was noted that the beatings had been frequent and “hurt a lot, particularly when he was beaten on the legs”. He was severely bruised and had several linear scars. He was repeatedly beaten between the ages of five and eight. As expected, this week the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg found in his favour.

The problem for British parents is: what happens next? One of the most perplexed appears to be Paul Boateng, father-of-five and Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Ministry of Health. He gave an undertaking last March that the Government would adopt the European Court ruling as final. He promised that our domestic law would be brought in to line with the general trend where at least eight other European countries, including Austria and most of Scandinavia, have already outlawed the corporal punishment of children. Since July, such punishment has also been banned in British schools by the School Standards and Framework Act.

You might think that today, Mr Boateng would proudly be announcing the death by law of ALL violent parental chastisement in Britain. A recent pamphlet from Boateng’s own department had said: “It’s never OK to shake or smack a baby.” Of course, you’d be wrong. With William Hague and the Tories screaming about Euro interference, what you actually find is Mr Boateng’s department defending a parent’s right to smack to their heart’s content, just so long as they don’t use an “implement”. We are told that “smacking has a place within parental discipline and our law will not be changed to outlaw smacking”.

This is totally confusing for the rest of us, both parents and children alike. It was hoped that the ruling would mark a change in the culture of British childcare which, at present, by the Government’s own research, results in a fifth of children under 16 being hit with implements and three quarters of babies being smacked in the first year of life. What Mr Boateng has now done is the equivalent of introducing a drink-drive law which says it’s all right to drive a car so long as you’re only two- thirds tipsy. On the one hand, Mr Boateng is telling parents that you may smack as hard as you want. On the other, he’s saying that, if like the father of Dennis the Menace, you take a slipper to your son’s backside, you may be prosecuted for assault.

I understand that frustrated parents sometimes lose their rag. I’ve done it. My teachers did the same. But we know that hitting children only causes resentment and inculcates a philosophy that “might is right”. Hitting your child is only justifiable on the basis that it was a mistake in the first place and that you make amends afterwards. You try to learn from your mistakes. Yet here’s the Government giving the oxygen of approval to our worst instincts.

This is all the more serious because a concerted family values campaign already exists to promote parental violence which may become abusive. Perhaps you’re prepared to overlook the odd smacking of a 10-year-old by frustrated parents. It gets more difficult when you see the colour photographs of the bruises and broken skin. But what should the Government do about those who advocate the beating of babies?

Earlier this month, self-styled parenting gurus, Gary and Anne- Marie Ezzo, flew into Britain from California to preach their gospel of childcare. Since the mid-1990s, they claim to have “educated” more than 1.5 million parents worldwide. In America, they run a profitable business called “Growing Families International”. They present a radio show and peddle a 17-cassette audio-pack. But their special message for parents boils down to: they want you to beat your kids, even babies as young as 14 months and children up to 40 months, with a ritual rod or “implement”.

Like Jesuits, the Ezzos favour early propaganda. They believe that “hitting ‘em while still young” is the only way to instill “lifetime obedience”. Parents are even told they can expect “first-time compliance” to their orders. This means that if you command your two-year-old to stop playing in the cupboard and he says “I haven’t finished yet”, you march him upstairs for a beating.

Gary and Anne-Marie explain that smacking by hand is unsuccessful because it lacks sufficient “sting”. You have to use an “instrument”. “Don’t use a wooden spoon,” they say. “It doesn’t have enough `flex’. You need an instrument that has `flex’. The goal is to produce a high sting. The tissue must absorb the impact. Only this produces the type of pain that re-directs the child’s attention.” Then the loving personal touch: “In our household, we use a piece of vinyl leather 10-12 inches long, an inch- and-a-half wide and a quarter-inch thick. This produces a sting but doesn’t cause damage.”

Avoiding damage is a high priority for Gary and Anne-Marie. “If the instrument is too heavy, it will leave marks; if it’s too light, it will be meaningless.” In case of doubt, they say, “anything that cuts the skin is too heavy”. They make a light-hearted reference to nobody wanting the social services getting involved.

In classic cases of abuse, the violator always seeks to isolate the victim. The idea is to rule out witnesses. By an insidious parallel, this is exactly what the Ezzos do. While claiming to be protectors, they advise: “Don’t beat in front of other adults. Don’t beat in front of other children. If Gran and Grandma come over, don’t do it in front of them. Rarely do it in front of other siblings. And don’t do it on bare skin.” But what if it’s a baby? “With a toddler in a diaper you may have to pull off the diaper and hit just below the diaper line.” Or if it’s a well-covered girl? “Suppose there’s a corduroy skirt that you can’t get through, then you may have to drop that down a little bit too.”

Anne-Marie even describes her favourite method of pinning down a child (a difficult phrase in Britain after the Beck scandal) while delivering chastisement. “To keep your kids still, cross your ankles then put their little legs between your legs and that way you won’t miss. Then take their little hands and hold them out here – I’m talking one, two- and three- year-olds – then their little bottoms are right there and you won’t miss”.

You don’t have to be Freud to see that these people are seriously deluded. When they claim that beating a child for them is an “act of love”, you wonder what they mean. Self-righteous relish drips fro their spanking descriptions. In classic abuse, the truth does a headstand. Confront a paedophile and he’ll say “kids like being touched up”. How bizarre to find the Ezzo’s using a similar construction.

The dangers are clear-cut. We do not live in a society where parents are always right. We live in a society where children need to think for themselves. We need to live in a society where children are free to grow without emotional and physical abuse – not to mention the risk of being turned into adults who will probably take sexual pleasure from pain. There is research showing that spanking by parents causes anti-social behaviour in children. It’s not enough that Mr Boateng sits on the fence to defend the old brutal culture. He has an opportunity to think again and improve the culture. With the new ruling from Strasbourg, the Home Office should not only prosecute abusive parents but also deport their vile mentors.

TOKYO, March 13 Kyodo

The government Friday expressed its intention to submit to the Diet within three months bills to legislate domestic laws governing the updated guidelines for defense cooperation with the United States, Foreign Ministry officials said.

During a series of talks in Tokyo of the bilateral Subcommittee for Defense Cooperation and the Security Subcommittee at the bureau deputy director general-level, Japan told the U.S. that it plans to refer the measures to the Diet during the ongoing 150-day ordinary parliamentary session which runs through June 10, the ministry officials said.

The bills being considered include one that would result in a law stipulating under what situations, in undefined “areas surrounding Japan,” the country will provide U.S. forces with logistic support, the officials quoted Japanese negotiators as saying.

The guidelines, updated in September, say Japan will provide logistic support to the U.S. in the event of an emergency in the region.

The law will also specify procedures under which Japan will provide the support.

The Japanese government also envisions submitting to parliament a bill to amend the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) law so that SDF vessels can legally carry Japanese evacuees and refugees in an emergency.

Due to a tight parliamentary schedule, it is uncertain whether the government can submit all of intended bills to the Diet before it wraps up June 10.

However, senior officials of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) said Friday the government is aiming at submission of the bills before the “Golden Week” holidays, which extend from April 29 to May 5.

LDP Secretary General Koichi Kato and LDP Policy Research Council Chairman Taku Yamasaki made the remarks in separate meetings with Kurt Campbell, deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asian and Pacific affairs, who was in Japan to discuss security issues.

Yamasaki was quoted as saying three or four bills are likely to be submitted.

During Friday’s security talks, Japan and the U.S. also vowed to cooperate in updating the June 1996 Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) during the same time period, according to government officials.

The pact currently provides for mutual logistic support of supplies and services only in peacetime.

It therefore needs to be revised or replaced with a new treaty in order to have it apply in an emergency.

Japan also pledged that it will continue efforts to obtain understanding from local residents on the planned construction of a U.S. offshore military heliport in Okinawa Prefecture, the officials said.

The U.S. side agreed to continue supporting the Japanese central government’s stance to search for ways to build a sea-based heliport off the U.S. Marine Corps’ Camp Schwab in the city of Nago in Japan’s southwestern island prefecture of Okinawa despite resistance from local residents.

The heliport construction has been proposed in order to relocate the helicopter operations of the Futemma Marine Corps Air Station, located in the city of Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture.

Washington agreed in December 1996 to close the Futemma base in five to seven years on condition that the helicopter operations be relocated to another site in the prefecture

The issues in dispute 300 miles east of Newfoundland are (as always with fish politics) as slippery as a trawler’s deck. The Canadians have no right to pass domestic laws and enforce them in international waters: Tory MPs who cheered Canada may remember that Britain fought two Cod Wars in the 1970s to assert that principle. On the other hand, the vast Spanish fleet, as large as all other European Union fleets combined, is notoriously ill-disciplined. The Spanish owners’ threat yesterday to send all their deep-water vessels lumbering into the disputed zone was stupidly unhelpful. The once bountiful cod and flounder stocks of the Grand Banks have already been hoovered up (mostly by American boats). The EU should be more sensitive to Canadian anxieties about the remaining stocks of turbot (or, as stubborn European fish experts insist, Greenland Halibut).

The rights and wrongs of the wider issues are more easily grasped. We are fighting with the Canadians over turbot because stocks of the fish we prefer to eat are at desperately low levels. The combination of failed international control policies, increased boat numbers and hi-tech trawling – sonar spotting of fish shoals, powerful engines and huge lightweight nets – have scoured the seven seas of cod, haddock and tuna. According to the UN, 70 per cent of world fish stocks are endangered, the number of fishing boats in the world has doubled in the past 20 years, and the EU has 40 per cent more vessels than its stocks can sustain.

Fish respect no national limits; they must be conserved and managed internationally. Fisheries ministers from 80 nations will meet in Rome next week to discuss a voluntary code for protection of the remaining stocks. A voluntary code, if enforced by national or EU laws, would be a step forward. But a fundamental change of approach is also needed.

International fisheries policies – including the EU Common Fisheries Policy – have had some successes. But mostly they have failed. They have failed because they have been based on the principle of restricting overall catches and dividing them into national catch quotas. This is almost impossible to enforce. It has proved as effective as squeezing fish paste back into the tube. Some sort of overall catch limits are essential but they must be enforced by limiting, and licensing, the numbers of boats: in other words, by establishing quotas of fishermen, not quotas of fish.

Sir: You report (“Ministers `not above the rule of law’ “, 27 February) the Lord Chief Justice in BBC 1′s On the Record as calling for Britain to incorporate the European Convention on Human Rights into domestic law. In the same programme, I warned of the great dangers of such a step, as it would deeply involve judges in the political process.

Article 2 of the Convention, for example, provides: “Everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law.” Interpreting this Article, judges would be called on to decide the legality of abortion.

Lord Taylor deplored the scrutiny of the appointment of individual judges as happens in the US. But if judges are to determine such social and political questions, their views are a proper subject for examination prior to appointment.

More fundamentally, one question is consistently evaded by the proponents of incorporation. Under a Bill of Rights, Acts of Parliament may be declared unconstitutional and invalid by the courts. The democratic process is set aside in favour of the political. Does the Lord Chief Justice subscribe to that?

Yours truly,

JOHN GRIFFITH

Marlow, Buckinghamshire

27 February

Britain ratified the convention, which guarantees basic rights such as free speech, access to courts and protection against any discrimination, 44 years ago, but it has only been enforced by international judges in the European Court in Strasbourg.

Although their rulings are binding on the British Government, citizens can only appeal there after all British courts have been exhausted.

If it was incorporated into domestic law, judges at lower courts could give immediate rulings on alleged breaches. If the bill passes all its hurdles in the Lords, it is likely to reach the Commons later this year.

Lord Lester QC, of Herne Hill, a Liberal Democrat, introduced the bill for a Second Reading last night. He said: “Successive governments have refused to incorporate the conventions’ rights into domestic law . . . British judges are unable to help at home because they have no parliamentary mandate to do so.”

For the Government, Baroness Blatch, Home Office Minister of State, said the Bill would strike at the heart of the principle of Parliamentary sovereignty. She said it was not for unelected judges to decide when laws should be changed.

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
INNOCENTI DIGEST
No . 6 – J u n e 2 0 0 0
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
CONTENTS
EDITORIAL 1
OVERVIEW 2
SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM 3
MAGNITUDE OF THE PROBLEM 4
Physical abuse 4
Sexual abuse and rape
in intimate relationships 4
Psychological and emotional abuse 4
Femicide 6
Sexual abuse of children
and adolescents 6
Forced prostitution 6
Sex-selective abortions, female
infanticide and differential access
to food and medical care 6
Traditional and cultural practices
affecting the health and lives
of women 6
CAUSES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 7
CONSEQUENCES 8
Denial of fundamental rights 8
Human development goals
undermined 9
Health consequences 9
Impact on children 9
CALCULATING THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC
COSTS OF VIOLENCE 12
STRATEGIES AND INTERVENTIONS:
AN INTEGRATED APPROACH 13
The family 14
Local community 15
Civil society 15
The state machinery 17
International organizations 19
LINKS 20
REFERENCES 25
Also includes
COMBATING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE:
OBLIGATIONS OF THE STATE
by Radhika Coomaraswamy 10

EDITORIAL
Women and children are often in great danger in the place where they should be safest:
within their families. For many, ‘home’ is where they face a regime of terror and violence
at the hands of somebody close to them – somebody they should be able to trust. Those
victimized suffer physically and psychologically. They are unable to make their own
decisions, voice their own opinions or protect themselves and their children for fear of
further repercussions. Their human rights are denied and their lives are stolen from them
by the ever-present threat of violence.
This Innocenti Digest looks specifically at domestic violence. The term ‘domestic’
includes violence by an intimate partner and by other family members, wherever this
violence takes place and in whatever form. The Digest builds on the research carried out
by the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre for an earlier Digest on Children and Violence.
In recent years, there has been a greater understanding of the problem of domestic
violence, its causes and consequences, and an international consensus has developed on
the need to deal with the issue. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women adopted by the United Nations General Assembly some
20 years ago, the decade-old Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Platform
for Action adopted at the Fourth International Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995,
all reflect this consensus. But progress has been slow because attitudes are deeply
entrenched and, to some extent, because effective strategies to address domestic violence
are still being defined. As a result, women worldwide continue to suffer, with estimates
varying from 20 to 50 per cent from country to country.
This appalling toll will not be eased until families, governments, institutions and civil
society organizations address the issue directly. Women and children have a right to
State protection even within the confines of the family home. Violence against women
is perpetrated when legislation, law enforcement and judicial systems condone or do not
recognize domestic violence as a crime. One of the major challenges is to end impunity
for perpetrators. So far, only 44 countries (approximately) have adopted specific legislation
to address domestic violence.
As this Digest demonstrates, domestic violence is a health, legal, economic, educational,
developmental and, above all, a human rights issue. Much has been done to create
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.
Mehr Khan
Director, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre
Innocenti Digest no. 6
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
2
Main issues
Violence against women and girls continues
to be a global epidemic that kills, tortures,
and maims – physically, psychologically,
sexually and economically. It is one
of the most pervasive of human rights violations,
denying women and girls equality,
security, dignity, self-worth, and their
right to enjoy fundamental freedoms.
Violence against women is present in
every country, cutting across boundaries
of culture, class, education, income, ethnicity
and age. Even though most societies
proscribe violence against women,
the reality is that violations against
women’s human rights are often sanctioned
under the garb of cultural practices
and norms, or through misinterpretation
of religious tenets. Moreover, when the
violation takes place within the home, as
is very often the case, the abuse is effectively
condoned by the tacit silence and
the passivity displayed by the state and
the law-enforcing machinery.
The global dimensions of this violence
are alarming, as highlighted by studies on
its incidence and prevalence. No society
can claim to be free of such violence, the
only variation is in the patterns and trends
that exist in countries and regions.
Specific groups of women are more vulnerable,
including minority groups,
indigenous and migrant women, refugee
women and those in situations of armed
conflict, women in institutions and detention,
women with disabilities, female
children, and elderly women.
This Digest focuses specifically on
domestic violence – the most prevalent
yet relatively hidden and ignored form of
violence against women and girls. While
reliable statistics are hard to come by,
studies estimate that, from country to
country, between 20 and 50 per cent of
women have experienced physical violence
at the hands of an intimate partner
or family member.1
For the purpose of this Digest, the
term “domestic violence” includes violence
against women and girls by an intimate
partner, including a cohabiting partner,
and by other family members,
whether this violence occurs within or
beyond the confines of the home. While
recognizing that other forms of violence
are equally worthy of attention, this
Digest does not cover the violence inflicted
on women by strangers outside the
home – in public places such as streets,
workplaces or in custody, or in situations
of civil conflict or war. It does not look at
the issue of violence against domestic
workers, as this is perpetrated by individuals
who are not related. In other words,
the term “domestic” here refers to the
types of relationships involved rather than
the place where the violent act occurs.
The Digest attempts to set out the magnitude
and universality of domestic violence
against women and girls, and its
impact on the rights of women and children.
It emphasizes the need for coordinated
and integrated policy responses;
enhancing partnerships between stakeholders;
setting up mechanisms for monitoring
and evaluating programmes and policies;
implementing existing legislation; and
ensuring greater transparency and accountability
from governments in order to eliminate
violence against women and girls.
Women’s groups have long pushed for
OVERVIEW

Definitions and Key Concepts
There is no universally accepted definition of violence against women. Some human rights
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
definition in order not to lose the actual descriptive power of the term.2 In any case, the
need to develop specific operational definitions has been acknowledged so that research
and monitoring can become more specific and have greater cross-cultural applicability.
The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (1993)
defines violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is
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
or in private life.”3
This definition refers to the gender-based roots of violence, recognizing that “violence
against women is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a
subordinate position compared with men.” It broadens the definition of violence by
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
encompassing, but not limited to, three areas: violence occurring in the family, within the
general community, and violence perpetrated or condoned by the State.
Domestic violence, as defined for this Digest, includes violence perpetrated by intimate
partners and other family members, and manifested through:
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
practices harmful to women such as female genital mutilation and wife inheritance (the
practice of passing a widow, and her property, to her dead husband’s brother).
Sexual abuse such as coerced sex through threats, intimidation or physical force, forcing
unwanted sexual acts or forcing sex with others.
Psychological abuse which includes behaviour that is intended to intimidate and
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,
isolation, verbal aggression and constant humiliation.
Economic abuse includes acts such as the denial of funds, refusal to contribute
financially, denial of food and basic needs, and controlling access to health care,
employment, etc.
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
health care amounts to a violation of women’s rights. It should be noted that although the
categories above are listed separately, they are not mutually exclusive. Indeed, they often
go hand in hand.
“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.
such responses, and have placed women’s
rights firmly on the agenda of international
human rights through their advocacy.
The 1990s, in particular, witnessed concentrated
efforts on the part of the world
community to legitimize and mainstream
the issue. The World Conference on
Human Rights in Vienna (1993) accepted
that the rights of women and girls are “an
inalienable, integral and indivisible part of
universal human rights.” The United
Nations General Assembly, in December
1993, adopted the Declaration on the
Elimination of Violence against Women. It
is the first international human rights
instrument to deal exclusively with violence
against women, a groundbreaking
document that became the basis for many
other parallel processes.
In 1994, the Commission on Human
Rights appointed the first UN Special
Rapporteur on Violence against Women,
entrusting her with the task of analyzing
and documenting the phenomenon, and
holding governments accountable for violations
against women. The Fourth World
Conference on Women in Beijing (1995)
included elimination of all forms of violence
against women as one of its twelve
strategic objectives, and listed concrete
actions to be taken by governments, the
United Nations, international and nongovernmental
organizations.
While gender-based violence is not
specifically mentioned in the 1979
Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW), in 1992 the Committee overseeing
CEDAW implementation adopted
General Recommendation 19, which
states that it is a form of discrimination
that inhibits a woman’s ability to enjoy
rights and freedoms on a basis of equality
with men. It asks that governments take
this into consideration when reviewing
their laws and policies.
Under the new Optional Protocol to
CEDAW, adopted by the UN General
Assembly in October 1999, ratifying
States recognize the authority of the
Committee to receive and consider complaints
from individuals or groups within
that State’s jurisdiction. On the basis of
such complaints, the Committee can then
conduct confidential investigations and
issue urgent requests for a government to
take action to protect victims from harm,
bringing the Convention into line with
other human rights instruments such as
the Convention against Torture.
This growing momentum has compelled
a better understanding of the causes
and consequences of violence against
women, and positive steps have been
taken in some countries, including reforming
and changing laws that deal with this
issue. Some regions have developed their
own conventions on violence against
women, examples of which are the Inter-
American Convention on the Prevention,
Punishment and Eradication of Violence
against Women, and the African
Convention on Human and People’s
Rights, including its Additional Protocol
on Women’s Rights.
Main issues
3
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
The family is often equated with sanctuary
– a place where individuals seek love, safety,
security, and shelter. But the evidence
shows that it is also a place that imperils
lives, and breeds some of the most drastic
forms of violence perpetrated against
women and girls.
Violence in the domestic sphere is usually
perpetrated by males who are, or who
have been, in positions of trust and intimacy
and power – husbands, boyfriends,
fathers, fathers-in-law, stepfathers, brothers,
uncles, sons, or other relatives. Domestic
violence is in most cases violence perpetrated
by men against women. Women can also
be violent, but their actions account for a
small percentage of domestic violence.
Violence against women is often a cycle
of abuse that manifests itself in many forms
throughout their lives (see Table 1). Even
at the very beginning of her life, a girl may
be the target of sex-selective abortion or
female infanticide in cultures where sonpreference
is prevalent. During childhood,
violence against girls may include enforced
malnutrition, lack of access to medical care
and education, incest, female genital mutilation,
early marriage, and forced prostitution
or bonded labour.
Some go on to suffer throughout their
adult lives – battered, raped and even murdered
at the hands of intimate partners.
Other crimes of violence against women
include forced pregnancy, abortion or sterilization,
and harmful traditional practices
such as dowry-related violence, sati (the
burning of a widow on the funeral pyre of
her husband), and killings in the name of
honour. And in later life, widows and elder-
SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM

Table 1 – Examples of Violence against Women
Throughout the Life Cycle
Phase Type of violence
Pre-birth Sex-selective abortion; effects of battering during pregnancy on birth
outcomes.
Infancy Female infanticide; physical, sexual and psychological abuse.
Girlhood Child marriage; female genital mutilation; physical, sexual and
psychological abuse; incest; child prostitution and pornography.
Adolescence and Dating and courtship violence (e.g. acid throwing and date rape)
Adulthood economically coerced sex (e.g. school girls having sex with “sugar
daddies” in return for school fees); incest; sexual abuse in the
workplace; rape; sexual harassment; forced prostitution and
pornography; trafficking in women; partner violence; marital rape;
dowry abuse and murders; partner homicide; psychological abuse;
abuse of women with disabilities; forced pregnancy.
Elderly Forced “suicide” or homicide of widows for economic reasons; sexual,
physical and psychological abuse.
(Source: “Violence Against Women”, WHO., FRH/WHD/97.8)
The extent, validity and reliability of the
data available are critical in determining
the magnitude of the problem and in identifying
priority areas for intervention.
Prevalence studies with samples of representative
populations are relatively new in
developing countries. Such studies were
initially conducted in industrialized countries
– the United States, Canada, and
Europe. For example, one very influential
survey conducted in Canada in 1993 under
the auspices of the Canadian government
was developed in consultation with
women’s organizations and ensured adequate
support and services for women participating
in the survey.
When designing research on violence
against women, it is important that the
research itself does not put women at risk.
The World Health Organization (WHO)
has developed specific ethical and safety
recommendations that take into account,
among other issues, the safety of respondents
and the research team, protecting
confidentiality to ensure both women’s
safety and data quality, and specialized
training of interviewers.6
Most of the data available on violence
against women are believed to be not only
conservative, but unreliable. Studies vary
in the sample size of women chosen, and
the ways in which questions have been
posed. It is difficult to compare these studies
because of inconsistency in the definition
of domestic violence and in the parameters
used, which can range from physical
abuse alone, to physical, sexual and
psychological abuse.
Debate regarding the magnitude of the
problem is also clouded by the fact that
domestic violence is a crime that is underrecorded
and under-reported. When
women file a report or seek treatment,
they may have to contend with police and
health care officials who have not been
trained to respond adequately or to keep
consistent records. On the other hand,
shame, fear of reprisal, lack of information
about legal rights, lack of confidence in,
or fear of, the legal system, and the legal
costs involved make women reluctant to
report incidents of violence.
Physical abuse
A growing body of research studies confirms
the prevalence of physical violence
in all parts of the globe, including the estimates
of 20 to 50 per cent of women from
country to country who have experienced
domestic violence7. Statistics are grim no
matter where in the world one looks. Data
from industrialized and developing countries
as well as from transitional countries
(see Table 2) provide an overview of the
global problem. The data in this table
focus only on physical assault. There are
few comparable statistics on psychological
violence, sexual abuse, and murder of
women at the hands of intimate partners
and other family members. As already
mentioned, physical violence is usually
accompanied by psychological abuse, and
in many cases by sexual assault.
Sexual abuse and rape
in intimate relationships
Sexual abuse and rape by an intimate partner
is not considered a crime in most countries,
and women in many societies do not
consider forced sex as rape if they are married
to, or cohabiting with, the perpetrator.
The assumption is that once a woman
enters into a contract of marriage, the husband
has the right to unlimited sexual
access to his wife. Surveys in many countries
reveal that approximately 10 to 15 per
cent of women report being forced to have
sex with their intimate partner.8
Some countries have begun to legislate
against marital rape. These include
Australia, Austria, Barbados, Canada,
Cyprus, Denmark, the Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, Finland, France,
Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Namibia, New
Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Poland,
Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden,
Trinidad & Tobago, the United Kingdom
and the United States of America.
Although provision of such laws represents
considerable progress, it is often difficult
for a woman to press charges because of
the evidential rules concerning the crime.
Psychological
and emotional abuse
Because psychological violence is harder
to capture in quantitative studies, a full
picture of the deeper and more insidious
levels of violence defies quantification.
Victim-survivors report that ongoing psychological
violence – emotional torture
and living under terror – is often more
unbearable than the physical brutality,
with mental stress leading to a high incidence
of suicide and suicide attempts. A
close correlation between domestic violence
and suicide has been established
based on studies in the United States, Fiji,
Papua New Guinea, Peru, India,
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Suicide is 12
times as likely to have been attempted by
a woman who has been abused than by
one who has not.9 In the United States, as
many as 35 to 40 per cent of battered
women attempt suicide.10 In Sri Lanka, the
number of suicides by girls and women
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
4
Main issues
ly women may also experience abuse.
While the impact of physical abuse
may be more ‘visible’ than psychological
scarring, repeated humiliation and insults,
forced isolation, limitations on social
mobility, constant threats of violence and
injury, and denial of economic resources
are more subtle and insidious forms of violence.
The intangible nature of psychological
abuse makes it harder to define and
report, leaving the woman in a situation
where she is often made to feel mentally
destabilized and powerless.
Jurists and human rights experts and
activists have argued that the physical, sexual
and psychological abuse, sometimes
with fatal outcomes, inflicted on women is
comparable to torture in both its nature and
severity. It can be perpetrated intentionally,
and committed for the specific purposes of
punishment, intimidation, and control of
the woman’s identity and behaviour. It takes
place in situations where a woman may
seem free to leave, but is held prisoner by
fear of further violence against herself and
her children, or by lack of resources, family,
legal or community support.5
MAGNITUDE OF THE PROBLEM

Main issues
5
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
Table 2 – Domestic Violence against Women
Industrialized Countries
Canada
 29% of women (a nationally representative sample of 12,300 women) reported being physically assaulted by a current or former
partner since the age of 16.
Japan
 59% of 796 women surveyed in 1993 reported being physically abused by their partner.
New Zealand
 20% of 314 women surveyed reported being hit or physically abused by a male partner.
Switzerland
 20% of 1,500 women reported being physically assaulted according to a 1997 survey.
United Kingdom
 25% of women (a random sample of women from one district) had been punched or slapped by a partner or ex-partner in their lifetime.
United States
 28% of women (a nationally representative sample of women) reported at least one episode of physical violence from their partner.
Asia and the Pacific
Cambodia
 16% of women (a nationally representative sample of women) reported being physically abused by a spouse; 8% report being injured.
India
 Up to 45% of married men acknowledged physically abusing their wives, according to a 1996 survey of 6,902 men in the state of
Uttar Pradesh.
Korea
 38% of wives reported being physically abused by their spouse, based on a survey of a random sample of women.
Thailand
 20% of husbands (a representative sample of 619 husbands) acknowledged physically abusing their wives at least once in their marriage.
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
a 1994 survey of 2,315 women.
Poland
 60% of divorced women surveyed in 1993 by the Centre for the Examination of Public Opinion reported having been hit at least
once by their ex-husbands; an additional 25% reported repeated violence.
Russia (St. Petersburg)
 25% of girls (and 11% of boys) reported unwanted sexual contact, according to a survey of 174 boys and 172 girls in grade 10 (aged 14-17).
Tajikistan
 23% of 550 women aged 18-40 reported physical abuse, according to a survey.
(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.)
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
6
Main issues
15-24 years old is 55 times greater than
the number of deaths due to pregnancy
and childbirth.11
Femicide
Femicide – murder of women by their batterers
– is another phenomenon that
should be regarded as a separate category
when recording domestic violence. Studies
carried out in Australia, Bangladesh,
Canada, Kenya, Thailand and the United
States of America have documented the
incidence of femicide within the domestic
sphere.12 In Southern Africa, women’s
groups have begun to document the
increasing incidence of femicide, and data
on this issue are available from Botswana,
South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and
Zimbabwe.13 A comparative analysis of
spousal homicide, based on 1991 data,
concluded that Russian women are 2.5
times more likely to be murdered by their
partners than American women. However,
American women are already twice as likely
to be killed by their partners than
women in Western European countries.14
Sexual abuse of children
and adolescents
Considering the taboo in most countries
that surrounds incest or the sexual abuse of
children and adolescents within the family,
this is one of the most invisible forms of
violence. Because the crime is perpetrated
most often by a father, stepfather, grandfather,
brother, uncle, or another male relative
in a position of trust, the rights of the
child are usually sacrificed in order to protect
the name of the family and that of the
adult perpetrator. However, studies have
shown that from 40 to 60 per cent of
known sexual assaults within the family are
committed against girls aged 15 years and
younger, regardless of region or culture.15 A
recent study in the Netherlands showed
that 45 per cent of the victims of sexual violence
within the domestic sphere are under
the age of 18. Of these, girls are far more
likely to be victims of incest than boys.16
Forced prostitution
Forced prostitution or other kinds of commercial
exploitation by male partners or
parents is another form of violence against
women and children reported worldwide.
Destitute families, unable to support their
children, often hire out or sell their children,
who may then be forced into prostitution.
Very often the young girl is sent as
a domestic worker, in which case she may
be physically and sexually exploited by
her employers. For example, in West
Africa – from Senegal to Nigeria – tens of
thousands of children of destitute families
are reportedly sent to the Middle East
each year, many of them ending up as
prostitutes.17 In South Africa, child prostitution
is on the rise and has become an
increasingly organized activity. In certain
hill districts of Nepal, prostitution has
become an almost ‘traditional’ source of
income. Women and girls are tricked or
forced by their husbands and relatives
into being trafficked to India for prostitution.
In the poor rural areas of Thailand,
where poverty has given rise to the phenomenon
of debt bondage, it is believed
that it is the daughter’s duty to sacrifice
herself for the well-being of her family.
Traffickers buy the “labour” of young
women and girls in exchange for money.
The high incidence of HIV/AIDS in the
country has been attributed to this trafficking
in young girls.18 In Northern
Ghana and parts of Togo, girls are “donated”
to priests, and are forced to live as
“wives” and submit sexually to the shrine
priests in return for protection for the
family. A similar practice exists in southern
India where young women and girls
(devadasis) are “donated” to serve a temple;
and very often end up being prostituted.
Sex-selective abortions,
female infanticide
and differential access
to food and medical care
In societies where a higher value is placed
on sons, discrimination towards female
children can take extreme forms such as
sex-selective abortions and female infanticide.
In India, a recent survey reported
10,000 cases of female infanticide annually.
The figure does not take into account
the number of abortions performed to
prevent the birth of a child.19 An official
survey in China revealed that, with its
one-child policy, 12 per cent of all female
embryos were aborted or otherwise unaccounted
for.20 And in many countries the
discrimination that leads to the neglect of
girl children is the greatest cause of sickness
and death among girls between the
ages of two and five years.21 Girls in many
developing countries receive less nourishment
than boys, and they are more likely
to suffer mental or physical disability or
even die, as a result of poor nutrition. Less
access to health care also exacerbates the
much higher mortality rate among girls.
Sex-selective abortion, female infanticide,
and systematic differential access to
food and medical care have led to the
phenomenon known as the “missing millions”
of women and girls. An estimated
60 million women are simply missing
from the population statistics. In other
words there are 60 million fewer women
alive in the world than should be expected
on the basis of general demographic
trends. The phenomenon is observed primarily
in South Asia, North Africa, the
Middle East and China.22
Traditional and cultural
practices affecting
the health and lives
of women
Around the world, women and girls suffer
the harmful and life-threatening effects of
traditional and cultural practices that continue
under the guise of cultural and social
conformism and religious beliefs.
Examples include:
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM): It has
been estimated that nearly 130 million
women worldwide have undergone FGM
and that approximately two million
undergo the procedure every year. FGM
Killing in the Name of Honour
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
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,
vigorously condemns the practice of so-called ‘honour killing’. Such actions do not find
any place in our religion or law.” The killings continue, but steps are now being taken to
address the issue.
takes place in 28 countries in Africa (both
eastern and western), in some regions in
Asia and the Middle East, and in certain
immigrant communities in North
America, Europe and Australia. It can lead
to death and infertility, and long-term
psychological trauma combined with
extreme physical suffering.
Dowry-related violence: Even though India
has legally abolished the institution of
dowry, dowry-related violence is actually
on the rise. More than 5,000 women are
killed annually by their husbands and inlaws,
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
burned, and many more cases go unreported.
Deaths by kitchen fires are also on the
rise, for example, in certain regions of
Pakistan. The Human Rights Commission
of Pakistan reports that at least four
women are burned to death daily by husbands
and family members as a result of
domestic disputes.
Acid attacks: Sulphuric acid has emerged
as a cheap and easily accessible weapon to
disfigure and sometimes kill women and
girls for reasons as varied as family feuds,
inability to meet dowry demands, and
rejection of marriage proposals. In
Bangladesh, it is estimated that there are
over 200 acid attacks each year.
Killing in the name of honour: In several
countries in the world including, but not
limited to, Bangladesh, Egypt, Jordan,
Lebanon, Pakistan, and Turkey, women are
killed in order to uphold the “honour” of
the family. Any reason – alleged adultery,
premarital relationships (with or without
sexual relations), rape, falling in love with
a person of whom the family disapproves –
are all reason enough for a male member
of the family to kill the woman concerned.
In 1997, more than 300 women were victims
of these so-called “honour” crimes in
just one province of Pakistan. In Jordan,
the official toll is rising and in reality the
numbers are higher because many such
murders are recorded as suicides or accidents.
Victim-survivors of attempted murders
are forced to remain in protective custody,
knowing that leaving custody would
result in death at the hands of the family.
The penal codes in Jordan that govern
crimes of honour also sanction killing by
making the penalty disproportionately
lenient, particularly if the crime is committed
by boys under 18 years of age.
Early marriages: Early marriage, with or
without the consent of the girl, constitutes
a form of violence as it undermines
the health and autonomy of millions of
young girls. The legal minimum age of
marriage is usually lower for females than
for males. In many countries, the minimum
legal age for marriage with parental
consent is considerably lower than without
it; more than 50 countries allow marriage
at 16 or below with parental consent.
23 Early marriage leads to childhood/
teenage pregnancy, and can expose
the girl to HIV/AIDS and other sexually
transmitted diseases. It is also associated
with adverse health effects for her children,
such as low birthweight.
Furthermore, it has an adverse effect on
the education and employment opportunities
of girls.
Main issues
7
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
Table 3 – Factors That Perpetuate Domestic Violence
Cultural  Gender-specific socialization
 Cultural definitions of appropriate sex roles
 Expectations of roles within relationships
 Belief in the inherent superiority of males
 Values that give men proprietary rights over women and girls
 Notion of the family as the private sphere and under male control
 Customs of marriage (bride price/dowry)
 Acceptability of violence as a means to resolve conflict
Economic  Women’s economic dependence on men
 Limited access to cash and credit
 Discriminatory laws regarding inheritance, property rights, use of
communal lands, and maintenance after divorce or widowhood
 Limited access to employment in formal and informal sectors
 Limited access to education and training for women
Legal  Lesser legal status of women either by written law and/or by practice
 Laws regarding divorce, child custody, maintenance and inheritance
 Legal definitions of rape and domestic abuse
 Low levels of legal literacy among women
 Insensitive treatment of women and girls by police and judiciary
Political  Under-representation of women in power, politics, the media and in the
legal and medical professions
 Domestic violence not taken seriously
 Notions of family being private and beyond control of the state
 Risk of challenge to status quo/religious laws
 Limited organization of women as a political force
 Limited participation of women in organized political system
(Source: Heise. 1994)
CAUSES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

There is no one single factor to account
for violence perpetrated against women.
Increasingly, research has focused on the
inter-relatedness of various factors that
should improve our understanding of the
problem within different cultural contexts.
Several complex and interconnected
institutionalized social and cultural factors
have kept women particularly vulnerable
to the violence directed at them, all of
them manifestations of historically
unequal power relations between men and
women. Factors contributing to these
unequal power relations include: socioeconomic
forces, the family institution
where power relations are enforced, fear of
and control over female sexuality, belief in
the inherent superiority of males, and legislation
and cultural sanctions that have
traditionally denied women and children
an independent legal and social status.
Lack of economic resources underpins
women’s vulnerability to violence and
their difficulty in extricating themselves
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
8
Main issues
from a violent relationship. The link
between violence and lack of economic
resources and dependence is circular. On
the one hand, the threat and fear of violence
keeps women from seeking employment,
or, at best, compels them to accept
low-paid, home-based exploitative labour.
And on the other, without economic independence,
women have no power to
escape from an abusive relationship.24
The reverse of this argument also holds
true in some countries; that is, women’s
increasing economic activity and independence
is viewed as a threat which leads to
increased male violence.25 This is particularly
true when the male partner is unemployed,
and feels his power undermined in
the household.
Studies have also linked a rise in violence
to the destabilization of economic patterns
in society. Macro-economic policies such as
structural adjustment programmes, globalization,
and the growing inequalities they
have created, have been linked to increasing
levels of violence in several regions, including
Latin America, Africa and Asia.26 The
transition period in the countries of Central
and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet
Union – with increases in poverty, unemployment,
hardship, income inequality,
stress, and alcohol abuse – has led to
increased violence in society in general,
including violence against women. These
factors also act indirectly to raise women’s
vulnerability by encouraging more risk-taking
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 industrialized
and developing countries – provide
‘legitimacy’ for violence against women in
certain circumstances. Religious and historical
traditions in the past have sanctioned
the chastising and beating of wives.
The physical punishment of wives has been
particularly sanctioned under the notion of
entitlement and ownership of women.
Male control of family wealth inevitably
places decision-making authority in male
hands, leading to male dominance and proprietary
rights over women and girls.
The concept of ownership, in turn,
legitimizes control over women’s sexuality,
which in many law codes has been
deemed essential to ensure patrilineal
inheritance. Women’s sexuality is also tied
to the concept of family honour in many
societies. Traditional norms in these societies
allow the killing of ‘errant’ daughters,
sisters and wives suspected of defiling the
honour of the family by indulging in forbidden
sex, or marrying and divorcing
without the consent of the family. By the
same logic, the honour of a rival ethnic
group or society can be defiled by acts of
sexual violence against its women.
Experiences during childhood, such as
witnessing domestic violence and experiencing
physical and sexual abuse, have
been identified as factors that put children
at risk. Violence may be learnt as a means
of resolving conflict and asserting manhood
by children who have witnessed
such patterns of conflict resolution.
Excessive consumption of alcohol and
other drugs has also been noted as a factor
in provoking aggressive and violent male
behaviour towards women and children.
A survey of domestic violence in Moscow
revealed that half the cases of physical
abuse are associated with the husband’s
excessive alcohol consumption.28
The isolation of women in their families
and communities is known to contribute
to increased violence, particularly
if those women have little access to family
or local organizations. On the other hand,
women’s participation in social networks
has been noted as a critical factor in lessening
their vulnerability to violence and in
their ability to resolve domestic violence.
These networks could be informal (family
and neighbours) or formal (community
organizations, women’s self-help groups,
or affiliated to political parties).29
Lack of legal protection, particularly
within the sanctity of the home, is a
strong factor in perpetuating violence
against women. Until recently, the public/
private distinction that has ruled most
legal systems has been a major obstacle to
women’s rights. Increasingly, however,
States are seen as responsible for protecting
the rights of women even in connection
with offences committed within the
home. In many countries violence against
women is exacerbated by legislation, law
enforcement and judicial systems that do
not recognize domestic violence as a
crime. The challenge is to end impunity
for the perpetrators as one means of preventing
future abuse.
Investigations by Human Rights
Watch have found that in cases of domestic
violence, law enforcement officials frequently
reinforce the batterers’ attempts
to control and demean their victims. Even
though several countries now have laws
that condemn domestic violence, “when
committed against a woman in an intimate
relationship, these attacks are more often
tolerated as the norm than prosecuted as
laws….In many places, those who commit
domestic violence are prosecuted less vigorously
and punished more leniently than
perpetrators of similarly violent crimes
against strangers.”30
CONSEQUENCES

Denial of
fundamental rights
Perhaps the most crucial consequence of
violence against women and girls is the
denial of fundamental human rights to
women and girls. International human
rights instruments such as the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR),
adopted in 1948, the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW), adopted in
1979, and the Convention on the Rights of
the Child (CRC), adopted in 1989, affirm
the principles of fundamental rights and
freedoms of every human being. Both
CEDAW and the CRC are guided by a
broad concept of human rights that
stretches beyond civil and political rights
to the core issues of economic survival,
health, and education that affect the quality
of daily life for most women and children.
The two Conventions call for the
right to protection from gender-based
abuse and neglect.
The strength of these treaties rests on
an international consensus, and the
assumption that all practices that harm
women and girls, no matter how deeply
they are embedded in culture, must be
eradicated. Legally binding under international
law for governments that have ratified
them, these treaties oblige governments
not only to protect women from
crimes of violence, but also to investigate
violations when they occur and to bring
the perpetrators to justice.31
Human development goals
undermined
There is a growing recognition that countries
cannot reach their full potential as
long as women’s potential to participate
fully in their society is denied. Data on the
social, economic and health costs of violence
leave no doubt that violence against
women undermines progress towards
human and economic development.
Women’s participation has become key in
all social development programmes, be
they environmental, for poverty alleviation,
or for good governance. By hampering
the full involvement and participation
of women, countries are eroding the
human capital of half their populations.
True indicators of a country’s commitment
to gender equality lie in its actions to eliminate
violence against women in all its
forms and in all areas of life.
Health consequences
Domestic violence against women leads to
far-reaching physical and psychological
consequences, some with fatal outcomes
(see Table 4). While physical injury represents
only a part of the negative health
impacts on women, it is among the more
visible forms of violence. The United
States Department of Justice has reported
that 37 per cent of all women who sought
medical care in hospital emergency rooms
for violence-related injuries were injured by
a current or former spouse or partner.32
Assaults result in injuries ranging from
bruises and fractures to chronic disabilities
such as partial or total loss of hearing or
vision, and burns may lead to disfigurement.
The medical complications resulting
from FGM can range from haemorrhage
and sterility to severe psychological trauma.
Studies in many countries have shown
high levels of violence during pregnancy
resulting in risk to the health of both the
mother and the unborn foetus. In the worst
cases, all of these examples of domestic violence
can result in the death of the woman
– murdered by her current or ex-partner.
Sexual assaults and rape can lead to
unwanted pregnancies, and the dangerous
complications that follow from resorting
to illegal abortions. Girls who have been
sexually abused in their childhood are
more likely to engage in risky behaviour
such as early sexual intercourse, and are at
greater risk of unwanted and early pregnancies.
33 Women in violent situations are
less able to use contraception or negotiate
safer sex, and therefore run a high risk of
contracting sexually transmitted diseases
and HIV/AIDS.34
The impact of violence on women’s
mental health leads to severe and fatal
consequences. Battered women have a
high incidence of stress and stress-related
illnesses such as post-traumatic stress syndrome,
panic attacks, depression, sleeping
and eating disturbances, elevated blood
pressure, alcoholism, drug abuse, and low
self-esteem. For some women, fatally
depressed and demeaned by their abuser,
there seems to be no escape from a violent
relationship except suicide.
Impact on children
Children who have witnessed domestic
violence or have themselves been abused,
exhibit health and behaviour problems,
including problems with their weight,
their eating and their sleep.39 They may
have difficulty at school and find it hard
to develop close and positive friendships.
They may try to run away or even display
suicidal tendencies.
Main issues
9
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
Table 4 – Health Consequences
of Violence Against Women
NON-FATAL OUTCOMES
Physical health outcomes:
 Injury (from lacerations to fractures
and internal organs injury)
 Unwanted pregnancy
 Gynaecological problems
 STDs including HIV/AIDS
 Miscarriage
 Pelvic inflammatory disease
 Chronic pelvic pain
 Headaches
 Permanent disabilities
 Asthma
 Irritable bowel syndrome
 Self-injurious behaviours
(smoking, unprotected sex)
Mental health outcomes:
 Depression
 Fear
 Anxiety
 Low self-esteem
 Sexual dysfunction
 Eating problems
 Obsessive-compulsive disorder
 Post traumatic stress disorder
FATAL OUTCOMES
 Suicide
 Homicide
 Maternal mortality
 HIV/AIDS
(Source: “Violence against Women”, WHO
Consultation, 1996)
Domestic Violence and HIV/AIDS
Nearly 14 million women today are infected with HIV and the rate of female infection is
rising. A forthcoming study from WHO finds that the greatest risk of HIV infection for many
women comes from a regular partner, and is heightened by an unequal relationship that
makes it difficult, if not impossible, to negotiate safe sex. For these women, sex is not a
matter of choice.35
A study of women aged 18 and over in one province in Zimbabwe found that 26 per cent
of married women reported being forced to have sex when they did not want to. It is widely
acknowledged that, even when a woman is aware that her partner has other sexual partners,
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
feel that any attempt to discuss such measures would provoke yet more violence.36
Other studies have found that the spread of HIV/AIDS in some parts of Africa is being
exacerbated by practices that see women as the ‘property’ of men. The tradition of wife or
widow inheritance, for example, is fairly common in eastern and southern Africa. When a
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
AIDS, when they themselves are infected, or when their future husband has AIDS. There are
no laws to address this practice in Kenya.37
Sexual cleansing is a more recent phenomena, resulting from, and contributing to, the
spread of HIV/AIDS. Practised within extended families in western Kenya, Zimbabwe and
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
A new approach is required that acknowledges the links between violence against
women and the spread of HIV/AIDS, and translates this into policies and programmes for
HIV prevention and care.
(continued on page 12)
Domestic violence, whether it is perpetrated
by private or state actors, constitutes a violation
of human rights. It is the duty of states
to ensure that there is no impunity for the
perpetrators of such violence. Often state
policies and inaction perpetuate or condone
such violence within the domestic sphere.
States have a double duty under international
human rights law. They are not only
required not to commit human rights violations,
but also to prevent and respond to
human rights abuses.
In the past, human rights protection was
interpreted narrowly – state inaction to prevent
and punish violations was not viewed as
a failure in its duty to protect human rights.
The concept of state responsibility has now
developed to recognize that states also have
an obligation to take preventive and punitive
steps where rights violations by private
actors occur.
International
legal standards
Three doctrines, developed by human rights
scholars and activists, have to be taken into
account when dealing with the issue of violence
against women by private actors. The
first is that states have a responsibility to
exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate
and punish international law violations
and pay just compensation.
Due diligence
In 1992, the Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW) adopted General
Recommendation 19, in which it confirmed
that violence against women constitutes a
violation of human rights and emphasizes
that “States may also be responsible for private
acts if they fail to act with due diligence
to prevent violations of rights or to investigate
and punish acts of violence, and for providing
compensation”.1 The Committee
made recommendations on measures states
should take to provide effective protection of
women against violence, including:
(1) effective legal measures, including penal
sanctions, civil remedies and compensatory
provisions to protect women against all
kinds of violence, including violence and
abuse in the family, sexual assault and sexual
harassment in the workplace;
(2) preventive measures, including public
information and education programmes to
change attitudes concerning the roles and
status of men and women;
(3) protective measures, including refuges,
counselling, rehabilitation action and support
services for women who are experiencing
violence or who are at risk of violence.
The United Nations Declaration on the
Elimination of Violence Against Women
also calls on States to “pursue by all appropriate
means and without delay a policy of
eliminating violence against women” and,
further to “exercise due diligence to prevent,
investigate and, in accordance with national
legislation, punish acts of violence against
women, whether those acts are perpetrated
by the State or by private persons”.2
The concept of due diligence has been
taken forward by the judgement of the Inter-
American Court of Human Rights in the
case of Velásquez Rodríguez. The Court
required the government to “take reasonable
steps to prevent human rights violations and
to use the means at its disposal to carry out
a serious investigation of violations committed
within this jurisdiction, to identify those
responsible, to impose the appropriate punishment
and to ensure the victim adequate
compensation”.3
Thus, the existence of a legal system
criminalizing and providing sanctions for
domestic assault would not in itself be sufficient;
the government would have to perform
its functions to “effectively ensure” that
incidents of family violence are actually
investigated and punished.4
Equal protection of the law
This doctrine is related to the concept of
equality and equal protection. If it can be
shown that law enforcement discriminates
against the victims in cases involving violence
against women, then the State may be
held liable for violating international human
rights standards of equality.
The Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination Against
Women, in Article 2, requires State parties
to “pursue by all appropriate means and
without delay a policy of eliminating discrimination
against women”, which includes
the duty to “refrain from engaging in any act
or practice of discrimination against women
and to ensure that public authorities and
institutions shall act in conformity with this
obligation” and “to take all appropriate measures,
including legislation, to modify or
abolish existing laws, regulations, customs
and practices which constitute discrimination
against women”.
Domestic violence as torture
This school of thought argues that
domestic violence is a form of torture and
should be dealt with accordingly. The argument
is that, depending on the severity and
the circumstances giving rise to state
responsibility, domestic violence can constitute
torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment or punishment under the
International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, and the Convention
Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
It is argued that domestic violence
involves the very four critical elements that
constitute torture: (a) it causes severe physical
and or mental pain, it is (b) intentionally
inflicted, (c) for specified purposes and (d)
with some form of official involvement,
whether active or passive.
Proponents of this argument call for
domestic violence to be understood and
treated as a form of torture and, when less
severe, ill-treatment. This argument deserves
consideration by the rapporteurs and treaty
bodies that investigate these violations,
together perhaps with appropriate NGO
experts and jurists.
Responses to combat
domestic violence
Today, many States recognize the importance
of protecting women from abuse and
punishing the perpetrators of the crimes.
One of the major questions facing law
reformers is whether to ‘criminalize’ wife
battery. There is a sense that domestic violence
is a crime between those who are
COMBATING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE:
OBLIGATIONS OF THE STATE
by Radhika Coomaraswamy
United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women*

Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
10
Discussion site
linked by bonds of intimacy. The question
of intimacy, i.e. whether wife-battering
should be treated as an ordinary crime or
whether there should be an emphasis on
counselling and mediation, poses a major
dilemma for policy makers.
Criminalization
Advocates of the criminal justice
approach point to the symbolic power of
the law and argue that arrest, prosecution
and conviction, with punishment, is a
process that carries the clear condemnation
of society for the conduct of the abuser and
acknowledges his personal responsibility
for the activity. Research conducted by the
Minneapolis Police Department has shown
that 19 per cent of those involved in mediation
and 24 per cent of those ordered to
leave their matrimonial homes repeated the
assault, but only 10 per cent of those who
were arrested indulged in further violence.5
It is, however, critical that those involved
in policy making in this area take into
account the cultural, economic and political
realities of their countries. Any policy
which fails to acknowledge the singular
nature of these crimes and which is unaccompanied
by attempts to provide support
for the victim-survivor and help for the
abuser is doomed to fail.
Legislation
Legislation with regard to domestic violence
is a modern phenomenon. There is an
increasing belief that special laws should be
drafted, having special remedies and procedures.
The first problem that arises with
regard to legislation is to allow for prosecution
of men who beat their spouses even if
the latter, under pressure, want to withdraw
their claims. In response some countries
have instructed police and prosecutors to
proceed with cases even in situations where
women indicated that they would rather
not proceed.6 In addition, since the spouse
will be the main witness, some jurisdictions
have introduced legislation making the
woman a “compellable witness” except in
certain situations. Other countries, such as
the United States, are moving towards
advocacy support.
Quasi-criminal remedies are also being
utilized by several countries. The most
important of these are the “protection” or
“bound over” orders. These are procedures
by which a person can complain to a magistrate
or a justice that violence has taken
place and the violent party is then “bound
over” to keep the peace or be of good behaviour.
The standard of proof is lower than
with strictly criminal proceedings and this
may provide some women with appropriate
relief, with a court order obtainable on the
balance of probabilities. Breach of the order
is a criminal offence and the police may
arrest, without a warrant, a person who has
contravened a protection order.
Civil law remedies, such as an injunction
which is used to support a primary cause of
action such as divorce, nullity or judicial
separation, can also be utilized. Some jurisdictions
have enacted legislation removing
the requirement of applying for principle
relief and allowing the woman to apply for
injunctive relief independently of any other
legal action.7 Another civil remedy which is
available in certain states in the USA is an
action in tort claiming damages from the
marital partner.8
Police action
In most jurisdictions the power of the
police to enter private premises is limited.
In the context of domestic violence this can
protect the violent man at the expense of
the woman. Some legislations allow the
police to enter if requested to do so by a
person who apparently resides on the
premises or where the officer has reason to
believe that a person on the premises is
under attack or imminent attack.9 In many
cases of domestic violence, immediate
release of the offender on bail may be dangerous
for the woman and, certainly,
release without prior warning may have
serious consequences for her. A number of
Australian jurisdictions attempt to strike a
balance between the interests of the
offender and the woman by specifying conditions
designed to protect her to be
attached to the release of the offender.10
Training and community
support services
Most police, prosecutors, magistrates,
judges and doctors adhere to traditional values
that support the family as an institution
and the dominance of the male party within
it. It is therefore necessary to train law
enforcers and medical and legal professionals
who come in contact with those experiencing
violence to understand gender violence,
to appreciate the trauma of those suffering
and to take proper evidence for criminal
proceedings. Professionals in law and
medicine are often resistant to this type of
training and to learning from anyone outside
their speciality. It would therefore be
more effective to involve other professionals
in the training programme.
The nature of the crime of domestic violence
requires the intervention of the community
to assist and support victim-survivors.
Community workers should be
trained to give them information on the law
and law enforcement, available financial and
other support offered by the State, the procedures
for obtaining such assistance, etc.
Community workers can also play an important
role in identifying violence, raising
awareness about such issues and directing
survivors to the correct procedures for seeking
redress.
Any relief given to domestic violence
victims should also include counselling for
both the battered and the batterers. These
programmes can even serve as alternative
sentencing options especially in cases where
women prefer that their partners “get help”
rather than be punished. In order to be
effective, all these approaches should utilize
formal and informal methods of education
and dissemination of information.
Cooperation at all levels
Overwhelmingly, governments lack the
necessary expertise to develop and implement
policy relating to violence against
women. Therefore, a more cooperative relationship
between governments and civil
society should be built to combat violence
against women.
An integrated, multidisciplinary approach
with lawyers, psychologists, social workers,
doctors and others working together to gain
a holistic understanding of each particular
case and the needs of the individual is the
best option. Giving attention to the real-life
context of the battered woman, her hopelessness,
dependency, restricted options, and
her consequent need for empowerment,
should underpin every approach. The goal is
to work with her to develop her capacity to
decide her own future.
*The Special Rapporteur on Violence Against
Women was appointed by the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights in 1994 with a
mandate to: seek and receive information from
governments, organizations and individuals on
violence against women; recommend measures to
eliminate such violence and remedy its consequences;
and carry out field visits.
1 Committee on the Elimination of Violence
Against Women, Eleventh Session, General
Recommendation 19, Official Records of the
General Assembly, Forty-seventh Session,
Supplement No. 38 (A/47/38), Ch.1.
2 General Assembly Resolution 48/104 of 20
December 1993, Article 4.
3 Veláquez Rodríguez Case (Honduras), 4 Inter.
Am. Ct. HR, Ser. C, No.4, 1988, para 174.
4 Ibid, para 167.
5 Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment.
6 Confronting Violence: A Manual for Commonwealth
Action, Women and Development
Programme, Human Resource Development
Group, Commonwealth Secretariat, London,
June 1992.
7 Australia, Family Law Act, 1975, Sections 114,
70 C’ Hong Kong, Domestic Violence Order,
1986; Matrimonial Causes Act, 1989, section 10.
8 “Developments in the law- Legal responses to
domestic violence”,106 Harvard Law Review,
1993, p.1531.
9 Justices Act, 1959 (Tas) section 106F; Crimes
Act 1900 (NSW), section 349A.
10 Bail Act 1978 (NSW) section 37; Bail Act 1980
(Qld); Bail Act 1985 (SA) section 11.
Discussion site
11
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
12
Main issues
Witnessing and experiencing violence as
a child can also result in internalizing violence
as a form of conflict resolution. Girls
who witness their mother being abused may
*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
DALY, with the value depending on the severity of disability.
CALCULATING THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC COSTS OF VIOLENCE

be more likely to accept violence as the
norm in a marriage than those who come
from non-violent homes. While many children
from violent homes do not grow up to
be violent, those who have witnessed violence
in childhood are more likely to
become adults who engage in violent behaviour
both inside and outside the home.
Violence in the Home Undermines Child Survival
A study in León, Nicaragua reports that children of women who were physically and sexually abused by their partners were six times
more likely than other children to die before the age of five.40 Similarly, children of beaten women were more likely than other children to
be malnourished and to have had a recent episode of diarrhoea, and less likely to have received oral rehydration therapy or be
immunized (see Figure 1). The study was carefully controlled to exclude other possible factors affecting infant and child survival.
A study in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh also found that women who had been beaten were significantly more
likely than non-abused women to have had a pregnancy loss from abortion, miscarriage, or stillbirth, or to have lost an infant. The study
controlled for other influences on infant
mortality such as mother’s education, age, and
parity.41 In rural Karnataka, India, a study found
that children of mothers who were beaten
received less food than other children did,
suggesting that these women could not
bargain with their husbands on their children’s
behalf.42
While the exact manner in which violence
against women affects child survival is not
known, one possible explanation is that
children of mothers who are abused are more
likely to be born underweight, and thus carry a
higher risk factor of dying in infancy or
childhood. Another explanation is that women
in abusive relationships suffer from lower selfesteem,
weaker bargaining position, less access
to food and resources, and are therefore less
able to care for their children.43
Figure 1 – Domestic Violence and Child Health, Nicaragua
Infant mortality Under-5
mortality
Diarrhoea Malnutrition % children
immunized
Mother experiencing
violence
Mother not
experiencing violence
All differences significant
at the level of p<.05;
Source: Rosales Ortiz 1999;
cited in Heise (1999).44 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Calculating the costs of violence is a strategic
intervention to make policy-makers
more aware about the importance and
effectiveness of prevention. Studies carried
out in Canada, the United States,
Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and
Australia calculate costs using different
parameters.45 The Canadian study, which
estimated the costs of violence against
women in the larger context of violence
both within and outside the home, concluded
that the state spends over CDN$1
billion annually on services, including
police, criminal justice system, counselling,
and training.46 For the United States,
according to one study, cost estimates
range between US$5 and US$10 billion
annually.47These studies, it should be noted,
refer only to direct service-related costs and
do not address the human costs of violence.
In 1993, the World Bank estimated
that in industrialized countries health
costs for domestic violence and rape
accounted for nearly one in five disabilityadjusted
life years* lost to women age 15
to 44.48 The health costs of domestic violence
and rape are the same in industrialized
and developing countries, but
because the overall burden of disease is
much higher in developing countries, a
smaller percentage is attributed to genderbased
victimization. In developing countries,
depending on the region, estimates
range from 5 to 16 per cent of healthy
years lost to women of reproductive age
as a result of domestic violence. 49
The Inter-American Development Bank
(IDB) has recently carried out studies in six
countries in Latin America – Brazil,
Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru and
Venezuela – taking a more holistic look at
the socio-economic cost of domestic violence.
50 For analytical purposes, the IDB
has divided the costs of domestic and
social violence into four categories using
the following framework (see Table 5)51:
(i) Direct costs take into account expenditures
on psychological counselling and
medical treatment (emergency room care,
hospitalizations, care in clinics and doctors’
offices, treatment for sexually transmitted
diseases); police services including
time spent on arrests and responding to
calls; costs imposed on the criminal justice
system (prison and detention, prosecution
and court cases); housing and shelters for
women and their children; and social services
(prevention and advocacy programmes,
job training, and training for
police, doctors, the judiciary and the
media).
(ii) Non-monetary costs that do not draw
upon medical services, but in themselves
take a heavy toll on the victim-survivors
by way of increased morbidity and mortality
through homicide and suicide,
increased dependence on drugs and alcohol
and other depressive disorders. These
are the intangible costs that are comparable,
according to World Bank estimates, to
other risk factors and diseases such as
HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, cancer, cardiovascular
disease, and sepsis during childbirth.
(iii) Economic multiplier effects include,
for example, decreased female labour participation
and reduced productivity at
work, and lower earnings. In the United
States, it has been reported that 30 per
cent of abused women lost their jobs as a
direct result of the abuse.52 A study in
Santiago, Chile estimates that women
who do not suffer physical violence earn
an average of US$385 per month while
women who face severe physical violence
at home earn only US$150 – in other
words, less than half the earnings of other
women.53 The study also focuses on the
macro-economic impact as a result of loss
of women’s earnings.
Another effect under this category is
the potential impact of domestic violence
on the future capacity of children to obtain
adequate employment. Apart from the loss
of human capital, there are direct costs on
the school system as children from violent
homes may perform badly and have to
repeat grades. According to an IDB study
in Nicaragua, 63 per cent of children from
families in which women are subjected to
domestic violence repeat a grade at school,
and on average drop out at age 9, compared
with age 12 for children of women
who are not victims of severe abuse.54
(iv) Social multiplier effects include the
inter-generational impact of violence on
children, erosion of social capital, reduced
quality of life and reduced participation in
democratic processes. These effects are difficult
to measure quantitatively, but their
impact is substantial in terms of a country’s
social and economic development.
It is clear that all sectors of society are
deeply affected by, and bear the consequences
of, violence against women. More
studies need to be carried out in both
developing and industrialized countries to
estimate the costs of domestic violence in
order to advocate for national policies to
eradicate this largely preventable crime.
A major knowledge gap also exists on
the cost-effectiveness of interventions for
domestic violence.55 This is an important
area of research that would provide guidance
on effective, workable and replicable
programmes, and thereby help channel
resources and energy in the right direction.
Main issues
13
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
Table 5 – The Socio-Economic Costs of Violence: a Typology
(Source: Buvinic et al, 1999)
 Medical
 Police
 Criminal justice system
 Housing
 Social services
 Increased morbidity
 Increased mortality via homicide and suicide
 Abuse of alcohol and drugs
 Depressive disorders
 Decreased labour market participation
 Reduced productivity on the job
 Lower earnings
 Increased absenteeism
 Intergenerational productivity impacts via grade
repetition and lower education attainment of children
 Decreased investment and saving
 Capital flight
 Intergenerational transmission of violence
 Reduced quality of life
 Erosion of social capital
 Reduced participation in democratic process
Direct costs: value of goods
and services used in treating
or preventing violence
Non-monetary costs:
pain and suffering
Economic multiplier effects:
macro-economic, labour
market, inter-generational
productivity impacts
Social multiplier effects:
impact on interpersonal
relations and quality of life
STRATEGIES AND INTERVENTIONS:
AN INTEGRATED APPROACH

Domestic violence is a complex problem
and there is no one strategy that will
work in all situations. To begin with, violence
may take place within very different
societal contexts, and the degree to
which it is sanctioned by a community
will naturally influence the kind of strategy
needed.
Considering the interconnections
between the factors responsible for
domestic violence – gender dynamics of
power, culture and economics – strategies
and interventions should be designed
within a comprehensive and integrated
framework. A multi-layered strategy that
addresses the structural causes of violence
against women while providing immediate
services to victim-survivors ensures
sustainability and is the only strategy that
has the potential to eliminate this scourge.
When planning strategies and interventions,
there are a variety of stakeholders
that should be borne in mind.
Partnerships with these stakeholders can
operate on several levels at once.
 At the level of the family, the
stakeholders include women, men,
adolescents and children.
 Within the local community, partnerships
have to be developed with
traditional elders, religious leaders,
community-based groups, neighbourhood
associations, men’s groups (e.g.,
village farmers’ associations), local
councils and village level bodies.
 Within civil society, the range of
partners include professional groups,
women’s and men’s groups, NGOs, the
private sector, the media, academia, and
trade unions.
 At the state level, strategies must be
designed in partnership with the criminal
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
14
Main issues
justice system (the police, judiciary and
lawyers); the health care system;
parliament and provincial legislative
bodies; and the education sector.
 At the international level, the
stakeholders include international
organizations (such as the United
Nations agencies, the World Bank, and
the regional development banks).
Domestic violence is a health, legal,
economic, educational, developmental
and human rights problem. Strategies
should be designed to operate across a
broad range of areas depending upon the
context in which they are delivered. Key
areas for intervention include:
 advocacy and awareness raising
 education for building a culture of nonviolence
 training
 resource development
 direct service provision to victimsurvivors
and perpetrators
 networking and community mobilization
 direct intervention to help victimsurvivors
rebuild their lives
 legal reform
 monitoring interventions and measures
 data collection and analysis
 early identification of ‘at risk’ families,
communities, groups, and individuals.
These areas are not mutually exclusive;
interventions may touch upon several
areas at once.
Above all, five underlying principles
should guide all strategies and interventions
attempting to address domestic violence:
 prevention
 protection
 early intervention
 rebuilding the lives of victim-survivors
 accountability
This section of the Digest attempts to
formulate a framework for coordinated
action at the policy and programme level.
An effective strategy is one that is
designed to be culture- and region-specific,
providing victim-survivors easy access
to wide-ranging services, and involving
the community and individual stakeholders
in the design of interventions. By
focusing on the stakeholders and by highlighting
responsibilities of the family, the
local community, the civil society, the
state, and international organizations, this
framework points to relevant areas of
action.
The family
WOMEN Because their life and dignity are
at stake, women have emerged as the most
significant agents of change in the struggle
against gender-based violence. While
women’s organizations have played a critical
role (see section on civil society), the
collective strength and courage of individual
women has been notable in fighting
many forms of violence. Poor and
often illiterate, these women have managed
to mobilize hundreds of other
women, raised resources, designed strategies
and forced policy-makers to revise
laws and policies. A systematic effort has
to be made to listen to the voices of grassroots
women and survivors of domestic
violence, and to incorporate solutions
they have to offer. Their perspectives will
provide valuable lessons in making programmes
and services effective and targeted
to their needs.
Women need to be empowered
through education, employment opportunities,
legal literacy, and right to inheritance.
Human rights education and information
regarding domestic violence
should be provided to them because this is
a matter of their absolute rights.
Integrated supportive services, legal intervention
and redress should be made available
in situations of domestic violence.
Assistance to help women rebuild and
recover their lives after violence should be
part of the intervention strategy, including
counselling, relocation, credit support,
and employment.
Consistent support for women must be
provided by all relevant sectors – the
criminal justice system, health, welfare,
and the private sector. Support must also
be available to women via informal networks
such as family, friends, neighbours,
and local community groups.
Community groups and government
institutions should be trained to identify
women, men, adolescent boys and girls,
and children at risk of domestic violence,
and to refer them to confidential and
accessible services. Where such services
are not available, communities must be
helped to establish local culturally appropriate
mechanisms to support women.
MEN There are a growing number of
male professionals designing and facilitating
training events on gender inequality,
including the issue of violence. Some are
working with other men to review male
behaviour and to develop new models of
masculinity (see section on civil society).
There are examples of male leadership on
gender violence in most parts of the world
and the involvement of men is critical in
changing behaviour.
Men should receive one consistent
message from all sectors and levels of
society – that those who perpetrate violence
will be held accountable. The criminal
justice system must act to reinforce
this message by taking action against perpetrators,
as well as providing rehabilitation
options for those who offend.
Services need to be developed that provide
the possibility to change violent
behaviour. These services, offered at the
local level, also need to address associated
issues of drug and alcohol problems.
Men need to challenge other men to
stop abusing women, and to change the
norms that encourage this violence. This
requires support for men to act as healthy
role models to younger men, and the raising
of boys in a non-violent climate to
respect women.
ADOLESCENT GIRLS AND BOYS Adolescent
girls need all the protection and
support that should be available to adult
women. They need clear messages about
their rights from society and the educational
system. Educational programmes
that equip girls with self-esteem and
negotiation skills, and enhance participation
of girls in leadership roles should
become part of the school curriculum.
Adolescent boys need positive role
models and clear messages from the men
in their families and society in general that
violence against women is not acceptable
and that they will be held accountable.
Like adult men, adolescent boys need
access to services to help them deal with
any violent behaviour they may have.
Support services need to address associated
behaviour patterns such as drug
and alcohol problems, or the risky sexual
behaviour in which adolescent girls and
boys may indulge as a result of being victimized
themselves.
CHILDREN need to be identified as victims
of domestic violence, and their safety
has to be ensured. This requires ensuring
the safety of their mothers and making
childcare facilities available to women in
shelters. Appropriate programmes should
be developed by the community and the
state to assist children to recover from the
violence and abuse they have suffered
and/or witnessed.
Local community
In traditional societies, families have
relied upon community-based support
mechanisms to resolve issues of conflict.
The local community therefore needs to
be mobilized to oppose domestic violence
in its midst. Actions taken by local people
may include greater surveillance of
domestic violence situations, offering support
for victim-survivors, and challenging
men to stop the violence.
Complacency needs to be replaced
with active intervention and education.
Community information and education
programmes regarding the nature and
unacceptability of domestic violence
should be developed. Such programmes
should address cultural forms of behaviour
that uphold male aggression, beating,
punishment and abuse of women as
acceptable. Traditional cultural practices,
such as FGM, that violate women’s
integrity need to be re-examined and
challenged. Culture is not static, and
newer forms of cultural norms need to be
developed that respect women and promote
their dignity and safety.
Community elders and religious leaders
have the responsibility to demonstrate
leadership in this area. For example, religious
leaders should be encouraged to reexamine
doctrines and cultural practices
that lead to the subordination of women
and violation of their rights. Local council
bodies (e.g., the ‘panchayat’ system in
India) should play a strong role in creating
a culture of non-violence, in setting up
sanctions, negotiating appropriate local
cultural responses to preventing violence,
and monitoring respect for, and implementation
of, the sanctions that are in place.
Creating awareness about the impact
of domestic violence on communities
conveys the importance of preventing
such violence against women and children.
Developing integrated responses to
domestic violence through involvement
of local community groups, community
health workers and women serves to create
sustainability and accountability,
which in itself is a significant step.
However, since adapting to change is difficult,
protection should be provided to
activists, human rights advocates and
community workers. Ultimately, human
and financial resources are key to any programme
development and delivery.
Civil society
WOMEN’S ORGANIZATIONS For nearly a
quarter of a century, women’s organizations
have provided leadership in boosting
the visibility of violence against
women; giving victim-survivors a voice
through tribunals and personal testimonies;
providing innovative forms of
support to victims of violence; and forcing
governments and the international community
to recognize their own failure to
protect women. From local, collective
Main issues
15
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
Female Genital Mutilation
As a “traditional practice prejudicial to the health of children”, governments now have
to take measures to abolish FGM in accordance with their obligations under the
Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 24.3).
While legislation to address FGM is important, cooperation at the community level is
essential to the process of FGM eradication. The most successful campaigns of recent
years have had their roots very firmly in the villages and communities where FGM is
traditionally practised.
One of the most striking examples of change has taken place in Senegal, where the
movement to end FGM began with the women of one village – Malicounda Bambara.
As a result of their courage, 148 communities have now publicly renounced the
practice and national legislation is in place banning FGM.
In 1995, the women of Malicounda discussed the previously hidden subject of FGM
during debates on human rights and public health issues organized by the NGO Tostan
(Breakthrough). Once the discussion began there was no stopping it, with friends,
husbands, village leaders, the local midwife and the “cutters”, drawn into the debate
and the entire village acknowledging, for the first time, the scale of the problem.
Religious leaders also played an active and crucial role. By mid-1997, the practice had
been abolished in Malicounda and former cutters were being given encouragement and
support to find alternative sources of income.
Spurred on by this success, the women spread the word to other villages, with
continued support from Tostan, UNICEF and the Government. These efforts
culminated in the Diabougou Declaration of February 1998, when the representatives
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
island of Niodior to celebrate the end of FGM. The traditional cutters from the islands
wrapped their mystical cutting knives in cloth to hide them from the public eye. Then,
in formal procession, they put the knives into a traditional straw basket, symbolizing
the end of FGM.57
Children’s Views on Domestic Violence
A recent study by four universities in the United Kingdom examined how children and
young people perceive domestic violence, and how those who have lived with such
violence cope with it and make sense of their experiences. The research, which covered
1,395 children aged 8-16, found that:
 The vast majority of children at secondary school, and just over half at primary age, want
to learn more about domestic violence – what it is and how to stop it – as well as to
understand why it happens.
 Children who live with domestic violence cope in a variety of ways, ranging from
keeping themselves safe and trying to protect their mothers and siblings, to getting help
and intervening directly, by calling the police, for example.
 Most children who had lived with domestic violence said that professionals, with the
exception of refuge workers, either ignored or disbelieved them. Children want to be
listened to, to be taken seriously and to be involved in decisions about their lives. They
want support, understanding and reassurance, to be in safety with their mothers and
have their own belongings, and even their pets, around them.
This is a rare example of research focusing on the views of children and young
people, and found that children were not silent or passive victims of violence. Children
of all ages were quite active in their responses to, and methods of coping with, violence,
sometimes with understanding and initiative well beyond their age.
The study concluded that the perspectives and understanding of children and young
people should inform the development of appropriate policy and practice in health,
welfare, education and the criminal justice system as well as in specialist services for
women and children. Children’s tenacity and resilience are key resources with which
agencies can work.56
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
16
Main issues
action, women have transformed their
struggle against violence into a global
campaign.
Women’s advocacy has prompted the
formal sectors (legal and judicial system,
criminal justice system, and the health
sector) to begin to respond to the needs
of women who suffer violence. Women
have pushed for policy change and institutional
mechanisms to be set up – be it
legal reform, training of police, or providing
shelter to women and their children.
In attempting to address the structural
causes of such violence, women’s organizations
have sought to empower women
through human rights education, credit
programmes, and linking women to larger
networks. It is crucial that women’s advocates
continue to lead the process, particularly
in playing a monitoring and
accountability role, and that governments
increase partnerships with them.
MEN’S ORGANIZATIONS can also provide
leadership in the local community to
oppose violence against women, working
in collaboration with women’s organizations
that have expertise in this area.
Service organizations can use their
resources and networks, and men’s national
and local sporting organizations have a
particular place in raising men’s awareness
of this issue.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS for doctors,
lawyers, psychologists, nurses, social
workers, welfare workers and other professionals
are key players in opposing violence
against women. Their members may
come into contact with situations of
domestic violence on a regular basis, but
may not recognize the signs because of
their own biases, background or lack of
training. It is critical that such organizations
build domestic violence and human
rights curricula into their professional
training, and that professionals in the field
receive regular training on these areas.
Such associations need to develop protocols
for identifying and referring cases of
domestic violence to appropriate bodies,
and screening measures for detection and
early intervention. These protocols must
be developed in collaboration with
experts in the domestic violence field.
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
(NGOs), like women’s organizations,
have worked in partnership with government
agencies and international organizations
to provide a diversity of services,
and education and awareness programmes.
Their capacity to continue to
deliver a range of services should be
strengthened, particularly in collaboration
with state agencies.
NGOs have a fundamental role to play
in bringing pressure on governments to
ratify, or withdraw their reservations to,
the international human rights instruments
such as the UDHR, CEDAW and
the CRC. NGOs have played a critical
role in monitoring implementation of
non-treaty instruments such as the UN
Declaration on the Elimination of
Violence against Women, the Vienna
Declaration and Programme of Action,
and the Beijing Declaration and Platform
for Action. NGO leadership has to continue
in its role of lobbying and advocating
for legislation that protects the rights
of women, girls and children.
THE PRIVATE SECTOR has a vested interest
in addressing this problem since the
costs of domestic violence to society, and
industry in particular, are phenomenal in
terms of low productivity, absenteeism, and
staff turnover. The private sector would
benefit by identifying and supporting staff
suffering from, or perpetrating, domestic
violence. It should build gender and domestic
violence awareness into corporate training,
and develop organizational cultures free
of abuse, including sexual harassment, in the
workplace. The private sector should also
be encouraged to finance preventive and
support services in the local community.
TRADE UNIONS must support these
actions by the private sector, using their
resources to promote non-violence
towards women among their members
and encouraging members to seek appropriate
support and assistance.
THE MEDIA plays a pivotal role in both
influencing and changing social norms and
behaviour. Repeated exposure to violence
in the media has been associated with
increased incidence of aggression, especially
in children. In the area of domestic
violence, media campaigns can help to
reverse social attitudes that tolerate violence
against women by questioning patterns
of violent behaviour accepted by
families and societies.59 Collaboration with
the media needs to focus on creating new
messages and new responses to reduce
domestic violence. Hence a conscious
effort to make media professionals aware of
the issues, can play an important role in
addressing violence against women.
Alternative media channels such as theatre
groups, puppeteers, community radio
stations, musicians and performers of all
sorts have a role to play in raising public
awareness of the issue, and creating role
models for men and young people in the
community.
RELIGIOUS LEADERS AND SCHOLARS
need to re-examine interpretations of religious
texts and doctrines from the perspective
of promoting equality and dignity
for women. Many men who abuse
women justify such behaviour on a religious
basis, and many cultural practices
that abuse and violate women are justified
in the name of religion. Religious leaders
at all levels have a responsibility to ensure
that religious interpretations are not used
to oppress women.
Rethinking Male Roles
Many men are re-evaluating their own role in the family and in society. Some are asking
themselves why some men are violent, and how can they be helped to end their violent
behaviour. UNICEF has launched initiatives to work with men on improving knowledge
about the male role in the family.58 And men’s groups in many countries are taking the
lead to examine cultural and social assumptions on masculinity, and develop strategies to
help men curb violent behaviour.
In 1993 in Mexico, for example, the Collective of Men for Egalitarian Relationships
(CORIAC) was set up by a group of men to give aggressive men the space for selfexamination
and re-education. Participants are helped to understand their violence, take
responsibility for their actions, and express their emotions in non-violent ways.
The White Ribbon Campaign (WRC) in Canada is an organization of men working to
end men’s violence against women. WRC has developed education and action kits that
have been distributed to schools, universities, corporations, and labour unions. Their
work has expanded to other countries, including countries in Europe.
In Australia, a variety of initiatives are helping men to stop their violence, including:
media campaigns speaking to men about the need to take responsibility; a men’s hot
line with male volunteers who are trained and supervised to help men and refer them to
services available; and programmes that assist men to overcome violent and abusive
behaviour.
ACADEMIA AND RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS
should address the chronic lack of
statistics on domestic violence that acts as
a barrier to policy change on this issue.
The lack of adequate data and documentation
about violence against women, and
domestic violence in particular, reinforces
governments’ silence. In the absence of
concrete data, governments have been
able to deny the fact of, and their responsibility
to address, such violence.60
In the area of research, there are several
priorities. Reliable data on the magnitude,
consequences, and the economic
and health costs of gender-based violence
will help to place the issue on the policymakers’
radar screen. Researchers need to
identify best practices in prevention and
treatment, and evaluate them for effectiveness
and replicability.
Greater collaboration is required
between research and academic institutes,
women’s organizations, NGOs, and service
providers when conducting qualitative
research to deepen understanding of
the causes of domestic violence, and its
physical and psychological impact on
women. Such research needs to be fed
back to the community so that it can lead
to awareness and transformation.
The state machinery
Violence against women cuts across all
government sectors, with implications for
all programming. It demands new levels of
coordination and integration between a
variety of government sectors including
the criminal justice system, health, education,
and employment.
The criminal justice system
LEGAL REFORM It is the responsibility of
governments who have ratified international
conventions and human rights
instruments to harmonize their national
laws in line with these instruments. One
step towards upholding the right of
women to equal protection under the law
is to enact domestic violence legislation
that specifically prohibits violence against
women. Under this legislation, a woman
should have protection from threats and
acts of violence, safety and security for
herself, her dependents and property, and
assistance in continuing her life without
further disruption.
In conformity with their obligation
under the Convention on the Rights of
the Child (Article 24.3), governments
should also denounce and reform all laws,
practices and policies that allow harmful
cultural practices such as female genital
Main issues
17
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
Legislation on Domestic Violence
In the 1990s, several factors contributed to significant changes in domestic violence
legislation in many countries. Women’s successful campaigning raised the profile of the
issue of violence against women; and several United Nations conferences (Vienna, 1993;
Cairo, 1994; and Beijing, 1995) recognized women’s rights as an inalienable part of
universal human rights. As a result of the new awareness generated, laws on domestic
violence were adopted in many countries.
To date, around 44 countries have adopted specific legislation on domestic violence, of
which 13 are in Latin America: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El
Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Venezuela. The signing of the
Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence
Against Women in 1994 provided the momentum to enact such legislation.
The South African Domestic Violence Act of 1998 contains a particularly innovative
feature – granting of a temporary Protection Order in cases where the court is satisfied
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
provision for the aggressor to be evicted from the matrimonial home while continuing to
provide monetary relief to the applicant.
Women’s Police Stations
Special women’s police stations, staffed with multi-disciplinary female teams equipped to
respond to the different needs of victim-survivors, have been set up in several countries as
an attempt to make police stations more accessible to women. The first such station was
established in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1985 in response to women’s complaints that they
could not report violations in regular police stations because they were treated with
disrespect and disbelief. Brazil’s success encouraged Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela to set up their own specialized units.
Malaysia, Spain, Pakistan, and India, too, have introduced their own versions. In
India, each station has female civilian workers attached, who provide advice and
support, referring women to support networks and suggesting other options. Because
these stations are designed to provide comprehensive support to women, including
social, legal, psychological, housing, health, and day-care services, they respond to the
many levels of support that a victim of domestic violence needs.
However, a recent study in India points to several problems with these stations, the
most notable being that women are discouraged from registering complaints at other
police stations. As a result, victim-survivors have to travel great distances to register their
complaints at the special women’s police stations, and are no longer assured of
protection from the regular police stations in their neighbourhood.61
mutilation, crimes committed in the name
of honour, and discrimination based on
son preference. Once such legislation is
passed, implementation and enforcement
become a priority. Enforcement requires
the cooperation and sensitization of the
police and the judicial system.
THE POLICE are particularly well-positioned
to provide assistance to victim-survivors,
but very often their own prejudices,
lack of training, and reluctance to intervene
hinder them from dealing with
domestic violence. Training and sensitization
of police at all levels must be instituted,
and guidelines must be developed to
monitor police response. Police must be
held accountable for their own behaviour
towards victim-survivors in order to prevent
secondary victimization of women at
their hands.
THE JUDICIARY can strongly reinforce
the message that violence is a serious
criminal matter for which the abuser will
be held accountable. The judge sets the
tone in the courtroom and makes the most
critical decisions affecting the lives of the
victim, perpetrator, and children, and
must therefore be sensitive to the dynamics
of domestic violence in order to pass
equitable verdicts. Sensitization of the
judiciary to gender issues is, therefore,
critical and law schools should include
relevant courses in their programmes.
PROTECTIVE MEASURES The protection
and safety of victim-survivors should
be the prime focus of legal systems. It is
important that protective measures are
provided so that victim-survivors are not
left without adequate protection, and are
not re-victimized. In industrialized counInnocenti
Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
18
Main issues
tries, women’s shelters have provided support
to victims of domestic violence since
the 1970s, usually providing a 24-hour
hotline, support groups for the victims,
basic child-care, and social and legal services.
Similar centres have been created in
many developing countries since the early
1980s, mostly run by NGOs. Given that
shelters are expensive, NGOs in developing
countries are hard-pressed to provide
shelter for victims, and focus instead on
providing legal advice and psychological
and social support.
This is an area where support from
municipal and provincial governments is
needed to provide viable, short-term and
long-term shelters, referral services to
other sectors (health, justice, police) and
assistance in related needs such as housing,
employment, and child care.
Increasingly, governments are creating
such support services in partnership with
NGOs as part of an integrated response to
domestic violence.
In Namibia, for example, women and
child protection units have been established
in partnership with the Namibian
police, ministries of health and social services,
and NGOs. The role of social workers
stationed at the units is to ensure the
protection and safety of the abused women
and children during and after the crisis; and
assist in preparation of court reports,
appearance in court, and medical examinations
needed for evidentiary purposes.
Helping women rebuild their lives and
self-esteem has been a particular focus of
NGO efforts. Many adopt an empowerment
approach for women through education,
legal literacy, and economic selfreliance
programmes within shelter
homes to help women take charge of their
own lives and personal security. Such programmes
also provide counselling and a
connection to existing networks of
women. It is clear that when victim-survivors
have the opportunity to interact
with other women experiencing the same
problems, they are able to escape their
isolation, shame and fear, and are able to
rebuild their lives at a faster pace.
Telephone hotlines, usually set up by
NGOs, have also expanded in many
countries of Latin America (Argentina,
Chile, El Salvador, Uruguay) and in South
Asia. However, given the scarcity of telephones
in most rural areas, such hotlines
can only reach the urban population.
It is critical that every woman who has
been abused or who is at risk has immediate
and ongoing access to support services
that provide non-judgemental and nondirective
service. At all times, the woman
must be helped to be an active agent in
her interaction with the civil and criminal
justice systems so that she can examine
options available to her and make choices
about her safety.
The health care system
The health care system is well-placed to
identify women who have been abused
and refer them to other services, as the
vast majority of women visit a health facility
at some point in their lives – during
pregnancy, for example, or to get treatment
for themselves or their children. The
reality, however, is that far from playing a
proactive role, the health care system has
usually been unresponsive to women suffering
from domestic abuse. Training for
health care providers is necessary to guide
them on the early screening and identification
of women who are suffering domestic
violence. Such training, as far as possible,
should be integrated into existing training
programmes rather than be created as separate
programmes. WHO has identified the
following issues that need to be addressed in
sensitizing health care providers:
 their possible negative feelings,
including inadequacy, powerlessness
and isolation, particularly in areas with
few referral services;
 some cultural beliefs, including the idea
that domestic violence is a private matter;
 possible misconceptions about victimsurvivors,
including the belief that
women provoke violence.62
Training should be supplemented with
protocols to guide health care providers
to implement standards. Protocols should
include procedures for documentation for
legal, medical and statistical purposes;
legal, ethical and privacy issues; and upto-
date information on local referral services.
Protocols need to be culture-specific
with special attention paid to respecting
the rights of women.63
Education
Curricula that teach non-violence, conflict
resolution, human rights and gender
issues should be included in elementary
and secondary schools, universities, professional
colleges, and other training settings.
Violence against women can be prevented
and eliminated only when the underlying
causes of violence are addressed and cultural
norms and attitudes are challenged.
Curriculum reform that works towards
eliminating the gender stereotyping in
schools (teaching about women’s contributions
in history class, eliminating sexstereotypes
in textbooks, promoting girls’
participation in sports) are important steps
in achieving gender equality.
A more fundamental problem – that of
girls’ enrolment in schools – has to be
addressed by governments alongside cur-
Training the Judiciary to be Gender-Sensitive
Training of the judiciary – from Supreme Court justices to public defenders and
prosecutors to social workers and support personnel – has been successfully carried out
in Costa Rica, India, and the USA. In Costa Rica, the training has been part of the action
taken by the government to deal with domestic violence, while in India and the USA
efforts have been led largely by non-governmental organizations.
These training workshops have focused on the dynamics of domestic violence and
specific types of abuse; gender and power relationships; analysis of relevant laws; legal
procedures and legal services available to victims of domestic abuse; and strategies for
helping both victims and their abusers. In examining these programmes, it is clear that
participation at all levels, including the highest officials within the judiciary is necessary if
laws and actions dealing with domestic violence are to be promoted, implemented, and
monitored.
Women’s Access to Health Services
Lack of access to health services is a critical constraint to medical examination for women
experiencing domestic violence. In Pakistan, for example, the two major cities of Karachi
and Lahore have only one medico-legal centre where examinations for evidence of sexual
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
opens from 9 am to 2 pm, limiting women’s access. Elsewhere, rural victims of violence
may have to travel for days to reach a centre. Moreover, in many countries abused and
violated women are uncomfortable with male doctors. These are generally the same
countries with extreme shortages of female doctors.
riculum reform. In South Asia, the Middle
East and Africa, for example, girls’ enrolment
in primary schools is well below that
of boys, a phenomenon that perpetuates
female subordination.
International organizations
International organizations such as the
United Nations, its bodies and specialized
agencies, the World Bank, and the Inter-
American Development Bank have placed
the issue of violence against women on
their agendas. Their programmes articulate
the links between human rights, health, and
women’s participation in political and economic
arenas within the larger context of
violence against women as a development
issue. These organizations can play a critical
role by using their expertise and credibility
to garner support for eliminating violence
against women. By advocating with
national governments, and by supporting
programmes run by both government and
non-governmental organizations, these
organizations are already working at many
levels to prevent and reduce domestic violence
in different regions of the world.
The following examples outline some
initiatives led by these inter-governmental
organizations.
 UNICEF works with different partners to
address domestic violence in many
countries. Examples include: facilitating
creation of Bolivia’s National Plan for the
Prevention of and Eradication of
Violence Against Women (1994) and the
adoption of Law 1674 against Family or
Domestic Violence (1995); work with
the National Jordanian Television to
develop TV spots on violence against
women; and support for the development
of an active movement against genderbased
violence in Afghanistan and other
countries in South Asia.67
 The United Nations regional campaigns,
coordinated by UNIFEM, to eliminate
violence against women have spurred
new partnerships between a number of
UN agencies (including UNICEF),
governments, national and regional
NGOs, and community-based groups
and media organizations since 1998.68
 UNFPA supports research on the
prevalence of domestic violence and has
helped to create women’s health centres
in areas where such violence is common.
It also works in partnership with
governments, NGOs and local
communities to support programmes to
eliminate FGM.
 WHO is coordinating a multi-country
study on women’s health and domestic
violence, which aims to develop
methodologies to measure violence
against women and its health
consequences cross-culturally in six
countries.69
 The Pan American Health Organization
(PAHO) and the Inter-American
Development Bank (IDB) are
collaborating to pilot a coordinated,
multi-sectoral response to violence
against women in Latin America.70
 The Trust Fund in Support of Actions to
Eliminate Violence against Women,
established at UNIFEM in 1996 by a UN
General Assembly resolution, has
supported innovative projects around
the world that address all forms of
gender-based violence.71
Main issues
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Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
Availability of Guns: a Growing Concern
One of the major risks linked to social and domestic violence is the availability of
weapons. With the increase of civil conflicts after the end of the Cold War, and the easy
availability of drug money in many countries, small arms have become more accessible.
The role of firearms in domestic violence can be illustrated by data from the USA, where
a woman is 2.5 times more likely to be shot by her male intimate partner than she is to
be killed in any other way by a stranger. 64
Firearms can also be used for other purposes – to coerce a woman into sex, for
example, and intimidate and control her.
Efforts to market firearms specifically to women have met with little success in the
USA 65 and most US residents have favoured stricter controls on guns for decades.66
Several recent firearm-related incidents have provided the impetus for broad-based
social action. An estimated 750,000 protestors, most of them women, participated in
the Million Mom March in Washington DC on 11 May, 2000. Simultaneous marches
also took place elsewhere in the USA on this date, which is traditionally celebrated as
Mother’s Day, in a public call for greater controls on guns.
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
20
Links
This section contains information
about some of the major intergovernmental
organizations, and
international and regional NGOs
working on issues related to domestic
violence. It is not meant to be a
comprehensive listing, nor does it
prioritize or rank the organizations
listed. These contacts should serve as
links to other types of organizations,
particularly national and local NGOs,
professional and community organizations,
academic and other institutes
and government bodies, whose work is
relevant either to the issue of domestic
violence or to the empowerment of
women and girls through education,
employment or training. Website
information is listed and is as current
as possible. Such information is, of
course, subject to change.
UNITED NATIONS AND
ITS SPECIALIZED AGENCIES
United Nations Children’s
Fund (UNICEF)
3 UN Plaza
New York
NY 10017
USA
Tel: +1 212 326 7000
Fax: +1 212 888 7465
Activities
As part of its mandate, and guided
by the CRC and CEDAW, UNICEF
promotes the equal rights of women
and girls and supports their full
participation in the development of
their communities. It works with
partners to end violence against
women and girls; widen their access
to health-care, education, and
affordable credit; and promote
awareness of their rights.
Website: www.unicef.org
United Nations Development
Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
304 East 45th Street, 15th floor
New York
NY 10017
USA
Tel: +1 212 9066400
Fax: +1 212 9066705
E-mail: unifem@undp.org
Activities
UNIFEM has made women’s human
rights the centrepiece of its
empowerment approach to
programming. It is coordinating
regional campaigns to eliminate
violence against women, aiming to
highlight the problem. Nine UN
agencies, several national and
regional NGOs, and 22 governments
in Africa, Asia and Latin America
are partners in this effort. Since 1996,
UNIFEM has managed the Trust
Fund in Support of Actions to
Eliminate Violence against Women,
established by the United Nations
General Assembly, providing funds
for innovative projects on this issue.
UNIFEM facilitates an internet
working group on violence against
women (http://www.unifem.undp.org/
campaign/violence). Past discussions
are available on-line and the site
also contains instructions for joining
this virtual working group.
Website: www.unifem.undp.org
Contains information about the
United Nations regional campaigns
to eliminate violence against women;
links to other UN organizations that
are part of the campaign; and
information on applying to the Trust
Fund for funding.
United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP)
1 UN Plaza
New York
NY 10017
USA
Tel: +1 212 906 5558
Fax: +1 212 906 5001
Activities
As one part of its contribution to the
United Nations Inter-Agency
Campaign on Women’s Human
Rights, UNDP’s Regional Bureau for
Latin America and the Caribbean
has developed a website containing
informational materials from partner
agencies including UNDP’s own
country offices. Currently, eight of the
19 reports under preparation by
UNDP are posted on the site:
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile,
Jamaica, Nicaragua, Trinidad &
Tobago and Venezuela.
Website: ww.undp.org/rblac/gender
United Nations Division for the
Advancement of Women (DAW)
2 UN Plaza, DC2-12th Floor
New York
NY 10017
USA
Fax: +1 212 963 3463
E-mail: daw@un.org
Activities
DAW conducts research, develops
policy options and provides gender
policy advisory services, including
needs assessment, diagnostic studies
and evaluations and support for
capacity-building to enhance the
participation of women in developing
countries. The Division also publishes
research and data on women and
gender issues and works closely with
intergovernmental and nongovernmental
organizations. It assists
the Commission on the Status of
Women (CSW) and the Committee on
the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women (CEDAW) in their
mandated tasks.
Website:
www. un.org/womenwatch/daw
Contains information on CEDAW and
its monitoring Committee; the full text
of the Convention, ratification
information and country reports; the
work of CSW; the text of the Platform
for Action; information about the
Fourth World Conference on Women
and the Beijing +5 review meeting.
United Nations
High Commissioner
for Human Rights (UNHCHR)
Special Rapporteur
on Violence Against Women
Office of the High Commissioner
for Human Rights
United Nations
1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 917 9150
Fax: +41 22 917 0212
E-mail: srvaw@sltnet.lk
Contact Ms Radhika Coomaraswamy
Activities
The Special Rapporteur seeks and
receives information on violence
against women from a wide variety
of sources, including governments,
treaty bodies, other Special
Rapporteurs, specialized agencies
and women’s organizations.
The Special Rapporteur recommends
measures at the national, regional
and international level to eliminate
violence against women and its
causes, and to remedy its
consequences.
Website: www. unhchr.ch/huridocda
Contains United Nations ECOSOC
resolutions on violence against
women, and reports of the Special
Rapporteur to the Commission on
Human Rights (in English, French
and Spanish).
United Nations Population
Fund (UNFPA)
220 East 42nd Street
New York
NY 10017
USA
Tel: +1 212 297 5020
Fax: +1 212 557 6416
Email: ryanw@unfpa.org
Activities
UNFPA supports research and
surveys to assess the prevalence of
domestic violence, including the
development of methodologies to
identify local and regional problems
linked to violence against women. It
assesses the impact of violence on
women’s ability to exercise their
reproductive rights and access
reproductive health care. It has
helped to establish women’s health
centres providing integrated
packages of services and support in
areas where abuse of women is
widespread. In cooperation with
governments, NGOs and local
communities, UNFPA supports
programmes to reduce and
eventually eliminate female genital
mutilation.
Website: www.unfpa.org
World Health Organization
(WHO)
Global Programme on Evidence
for Health Policy (GPE)
CH-1211 Geneva 27
Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 791 4353
Fax: +41 22 791 4328
E-mail: garciamorenoc@who.ch
Activities
WHO’s activities in the area of
violence against women, initiated in
1995, focus on the role of the health
sector in preventing violence against
women and managing its
consequences, with increasing
attention given to rape and sexual
assault. WHO is conducting a multicountry
study of prevalence, health
consequences, and risk and
protective factors for domestic
violence; has established a database
of existing research on violence
against women; and has initiated
reviews of interventions to prevent
violence, to identify and assist
abused women, and of various
training approaches and materials.
Website: www.who.ch/frh-whd
Contains global health facts related
to issues such as violence against
women, female genital mutilation,
and HIV/AIDS; fact sheets on women;
resources including documents,
publications, databases and press
releases; and links to other resources
and organizations.
OTHER UN AGENCIES
The work of a number of other United
Nations agencies is relevant to this
issue, including the International
Labour Organization (ILO), the Joint
United Nations Programme on
HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the United
Nations Education, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
and the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
For information about these
organizations, visit their websites as
follows:
ILO: www.ilo.org
UNAIDS: www.unaids.org
UNESCO: www.unesco.org
UNHCR: www.unhcr.ch
OTHER INTERGOVERNMENTAL
ORGANIZATIONS
Inter-American Development
Bank (IDB)
1300 New York Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20577
USA
Tel: +1 202 6231000
Activities
The IDB has undertaken regional
technical cooperation projects to
combat domestic violence against
women. It focuses both on prevention
of abuse and on treatment for
women who have been abused. Its
projects include working with the
media for public education; training
of judges and other judicial
personnel; creation of national
networks to provide support to
affected women and support for
regional efforts to design projects to
reduce domestic violence.
Website: www.iadb.org
Contains information in English,
French, Portuguese and Spanish on
the organization, its programmes,
publications, and relevant data.
Pan American Health
Organization (PAHO)
525 23rd Street, NW
Washington DC 20037
USA
Tel: +1 202 9743458
Fax: +1 202 9743143
E-mail: publinfo@paho.org
Activities
PAHO, the regional office of WHO in
Latin America and the Caribbean, is
working closely with grassroots and
national organizations on the issue of
violence against women in 10
countries across the region. At the
local level, it is creating coordinated
community networks involving the
health and legal systems, churches,
NGOs, and community-based
groups. At the national level, it is
strengthening institutional capacity
and promoting adoption of legal
norms and policies.
Website: www.paho.org
Contains information in English and
Spanish about its programmes,
services and publications, with links
to databases on health.
INTERNATIONAL
AND REGIONAL NGOS
Center for Health and Gender
Equity (CHANGE)
6930 Carroll Ave., Suite 910
Takoma Park, MD 20912
USA
Tel: +1 301 2701182
Fax: +1 301 2702052
E-mail: change@genderhealth.org
Links
21
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
22
Links
Activities
The Centre coordinates the International
Research Network on
Violence Against Women (INRVAW),
a group of investigators and
advocacy experts sharing their
experiences on research into
physical and sexual abuse. As well
as monitoring the implementation of
the Programme of Action of the 1994
International Conference on
Population and Development (ICPD),
the Centre conducts country casestudies
of policy and programmes,
initiates research and demonstration
projects, collaborates with
researchers and advocates and
publishes articles and papers.
Website: www.genderhealth.org
Contains information about the
Center’s programmes and
publications, with links to other
relevant sites.
Center for Women’s Global
Leadership
Rutgers, The State University of New
Jersey
160 Ryders Lane
New Brunswick,
NJ 08901
USA
Tel: +1 732 9328782
Fax: +1 732 9321180
E-mail: cwgl@igc.org
Activities
The Center develops and facilitates
women’s leadership for women’s
human rights and social justice
worldwide, through women’s global
leadership institutes, strategic
planning activities, international
mobilization campaigns, UN
monitoring, global education
endeavours, publications, and its
resource centre.
Website: www.cwgl.rutgers.edu
Contains information about the
Center’s programmes, publications,
relevant articles and resources, and
links to related organizations.
CHANGE: Non-Consensual Sex
in Marriage Programme
106 Hatton Square
16 Baldwins Gardens
London EC1N 7RJ
UK
Tel: +44 20 7430 0692
Fax: +44 20 7430 0254
E-mail: ncsm.change@sister.com
Activities
CHANGE produces and disseminates
information on gender inequalities in
law, practice and custom, builds
international networks and coalitions
to exchange strategies, and
advocates for the recognition of the
human rights of women. The
organization is currently conducting
a worldwide survey of laws and
public policies relating to nonconsensual
sex in marriage as well
as specific local customs, campaigns
and research.
Website: www.ncsm.net
European Policy Action
Centre on Violence
Against Women
LEF
18, rue Hydraulique
B1210 Brussels
Belgium
Tel: +32 2 2179020
Fax: +32 2 2188451
E-mail:
Centre-violence@womenlobby.org
Activities
The Centre provides a forum for
women’s NGOs to enable them to
persuade policy and decisionmakers
to take responsibility for the
issue of violence against women. It
serves as a central coordinating
point for information, studies,
research and the exchange of good
practice among European Union
member states, as well as lobbying
for political action to address
violence against women in Europe.
The Centre has created a database
of NGOs working on this issue,
published as a directory, “Action
Against Violence Against Women”
and has conducted a study,
“Unveiling the Hidden Data on
Domestic Violence,” containing
official data on domestic violence in
the 15 member states of the EU.
Website: www.womenlobby.
org/en/themes/violence/centre.html
Contains position papers, a listing of
publications and a news page. In
French and English.
Human Rights Watch –
Women’s Rights Division
1630 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.,
Suite 500
Washington DC 20009
USA
Tel: +1 202 6124321
Fax: +1 202 6124333
E-mail: hrwdc@hrw.org
Activities
The Division addresses human rights
abuses directed at, or particularly
concerning, women. Its recent work
has included combating the trafficking
of women and girls into brothels in
Thailand, sexual abuse of female
prisoners in the USA, rape as a war
crime in Bosnia and Rwanda, control
of women’s virginity in Turkey,
violence against women refugees,
and sex discrimination in Mexican
maquiladoras, in addition to its Global
Report on Women’s Human Rights.
Website: www.hrw.org
Contains information about its
publications and press releases on
current human rights news. Provides
in-depth information on issues of
concern to Human Rights Watch, and
includes links to relevant internet
resources.
International Center for
Research on Women (ICRW)
1717 Massachusetts Avenue, NW,
Suite 302
Washington DC 20036
USA
Tel: +1 202 7970007
Fax: +1 202 7970020
Email: info@icrw.org
Activities
The Center gathers information and
provides technical assistance on
women’s productive and
reproductive roles, their status in the
family, their leadership in society,
and their management of
environmental resources.
It advocates with governments and
multilateral agencies, brings experts
together, and engages in an active
publications and information
programme to advance women’s
rights and opportunities, principally
in developing and transition
countries. The Center is currently
conducting a three-year research
programme on domestic violence in
India in partnership with researchers
from Indian organizations, aiming to
identify and replicate effective
responses.
Website: www.icrw.org
Contains information on research,
publications and programmes and a
synthesis of the India study. Also
provides links to other organizations
working on gender issues.
International Women’s Rights
Action Watch Asia Pacific
(IWRAW-AP)
2nd Floor, Block F, Anjung Felda,
Jalan Maktab
Off Jalan Semarak
54000 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Tel: +60 3 2913292
Fax: +60 3 2984203
E-mail: iwraw@po.jaring.my
Activities
IWRAW-AP is a collaborative
programme to facilitate and monitor
the implementation of the CEDAW,
with projects in 13 Asian countries.
Website: ww.womenasia.com/iwraw
Isis-Women’s International
Cross Culture Exchange
(Isis-WICCE)
Plot 32 Bukoto Street
Kamwokya
PO Box 4934
Kampala
Uganda
Tel: +256 41 543953
Fax: +256 41 543954
E-mail: isis@starcom.co.ug
Activities
Isis gathers and disseminates genderrelated
information on a wide
selection of topics to promote women’s
empowerment, gender equality,
development and peace in Africa. It
provides opportunities for African
women to network on a global basis,
sharing their experiences and gaining
access to information.
Website: www.isis.or.ug
Contains research reports;
magazines that can be downloaded;
current news from the region; a
section on women in armed conflict;
and links to other organizations.
Latin American and
Caribbean Women’s Network
against Domestic and Sexual
Violence (ISIS-Chile)
Casilla 2067
Correo Central
Santiago
Chile
Tel: +562 633 4582
Fax: +562 638 3142
E-mail: isis@reuna.cl
Activities
ISIS-Chile works in most countries of
the Latin American and Caribbean
region. It has drawn attention to the
issue of violence against women by
organizing seminars, coordinating
regional campaigns, and advocating
with governments and international
organizations.
Website: www.isis.cl (Spanish)
Women in Law and
Development in Africa
(WILDAF)
2nd Floor Zambia House
Box 4622
Harare
Zimbabwe
Tel: +263 4 751189 / 752105
Fax: +263 4 781886
E-mail: wildaf.org.zw
Activities
WILDAF promotes and strengthens
strategies which link law and
development to increased women’s
participation and influence at the
community, national and
international levels. It provides
opportunities for networking among
members through workshops and
seminars and through collaboration
with organizations from all parts of
the world working in the field of
women, law and development.
WILDAF’s publications include a
quarterly newsletter and training
manuals for legal rights advocacy
groups. It conducts training and
provides technical assistance to build
the capacity of women’s rights
groups. It is engaged in advocacy
and lobbying efforts at the regional
and international levels.
Website: www.wildaf.org.zw
Contains information about
membership and focal points, as well
as publications. Also provides a
channel for discussion on the internet
on women’s human rights.
Links
23
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
ADDITIONAL WEB RESOURCES
The Global Reproductive
Health Forum South Asia
www.hsph.harvard.edu (English,
French and Spanish)
The Global Reproductive Health
Forum (GRHF) at Harvard seeks to
bring together discourses on
reproductive health and women’s
rights related to the South Asian
region. Its site provides access to
current research originating from
South Asian organizations and
universities. In partnership with the
Centre for Women’s Development
Studies, New Delhi and the SNDT
Women’s University, Mumbai, the site
provides in-depth modules on
domestic violence, dowry, and other
forms of violence against women. It
includes listings of organizations,
recommended readings and other
resources, as well as a discussion site
providing a forum for current debate.
Human Rights Web
www.hrweb.org
Human Rights Web contains an
overview of human rights, providing
a definition of the term, outlining the
latest issues, full-text international
human rights documents, and
information on how to report on
human rights emergencies. It also
includes resources and information
for those wanting to contribute to the
promotion of human rights.
International Women’s Rights
Action Watch
www.igc.apc.org/iwraw
International Women’s Rights Action
Watch monitors and publicizes the
work of the UN Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination Against
Women. It provides technical
assistance and research support for
women’s human rights projects and
produces Women’s Watch newsletter,
a quarterly publication that covers
law and policy developments
affecting women worldwide and
information resources. The site
contains information about its
publications, and guides for NGOs, as
well as information about CEDAW, the
Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights and the Human Rights
Committee sessions.
Women’sNet
www.womensnet.org.za
Women’sNet aims to make
information and communication
technology accessible to women in
South Africa, particularly those who
have been historically
disadvantaged, providing training
and supporting relevant projects,
people, tools and resources to create
a platform for women’s voices and
issues. It works to disseminate
information in formats accessible to
women who are not directly linked to
the internet, as well as providing
internet training for women and
establishing regional technical
support centres. The site contains
resources on the prevention of
violence against women, including
statistical and background
information, services and resources
for those needing help, listings of
organizations working in the field,
information on relevant laws and
policies, and a directory of women’s
organizations.
WomenWatch
www.un.org/womenwatch
The United Nations electronic
gateway for information about
women, launched in 1997, is
managed through a collaborative
partnership between UNIFEM, the
UN Division for the Advancement of
Women (DAW) and the International
Institute for Research and Training
for the Advancement of Women
(INSTRAW). It provides information
on the work of the UN and
intergovernmental agencies dealing
with women’s issues; preparations for
Beijing +5; national action plans
prepared by governments as followup
to the Fourth World Conference
on Women; reports prepared for the
CEDAW committee; and official
documentation from the Commission
on the Status of Women. It is
currently hosting a series of global
electronic discussion forums on
issues raised in the Beijing Platform
for Action (PFA) to share lessons
learned and effective strategies.
The University of Minnesota
Human Rights Library –
Women’s Human Rights Site
www.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/auoe
.htm
The site contains full texts of women’s
human rights instruments in English,
French and Spanish, plus ratification
information. It also includes a
reference guide to UN documents,
listing the articles relevant to
women’s rights.
Women’s Human Rights
Resources – DIANA database
www.law-lib.utoronto.ca/Diana
The website is designed to assist
individuals and organizations in
using international women’s human
rights law to promote women’s rights.
It is part of the DIANA international
human rights database, which
contains a comprehensive list of
electronic materials essential to
human rights research. This site has
a select bibliography of women’s
human rights documents with some
annotations.
Women’s Human Rights Net
(WHRNet)
www.whrnet.org
(English, French and Spanish)
The site provides an overview of
human rights issues, information on
advocacy strategies, news and
events in the area of women’s human
rights, and information on capacity
building resources and training. It
also contains useful links to relevant
organizations and human rights
documents and has an on-line
discussion facility.
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
24
Links
References
1. World Health Organization (1996) ‘Violence Against Women’.
WHO Consultation, Geneva: WHO.
2. Heise L.L., Pitanguy J. and Germaine A. (1994) Violence
against Women. The Hidden Health Burden. Discussion
paper No 225, p.46. Washington DC: The World Bank.
3. General Assembly Resolution 48/104 of 20 December 1993.
4. Hayward, Ruth F. (In Press) Breaking the Earthenware Jar:
Lessons from South Asia to End Violence against Women.
New York: UNICEF.
5. United Nations ECOSOC, Report of the Special Rapporteur
on Violence Against Women, E/CN.4/1996/53.
6. WHO (1999) ‘Putting Women’s Safety First: Ethical and Safety
Recommendations for Research on Domestic Violence
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7. WHO (1996).
8. Heise (1994).
9. ‘Violence against Women in the Family’, United Nations
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10. Back et al. (1982) A Study of Battered Women in a Psychiatric
Setting, in Women and Therapy, 13.
11. Hayward (1999).
12. United Nations ECOSOC, Report of the Special Rapporteur
on Violence Against Women, E/CN.4/1996/53.
13. Watts C., Oslam S., and Win E. (1995), The Private is Public:
A Study of Violence in Southern Africa, Harare: Women in
Law and Development in Africa.
14. UNICEF (1999) Women in Transition, Regional Monitoring
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15. The World’s Women 1995: Trends and Statistics. United
Nations, 1995.
16. The Netherlands Department of Justice, 1997.
17. ‘La Situation de la Femme Malienne: Cadre de Vie,
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(APDS) et Fondation Friedrich Ebert – Bureau Mali, 2000.
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Women: A Report. Geneva: World Organisation Against
Torture.
19. The U.S. State Department’s annual survey of human rights,
published 25 February, 2000.
20. United Nations ECOSOC, Report of the Special Rapporteur
on Violence Against Women, E/CN.4/1995/42.
21. State of the World’s Children 2000, New York: UNICEF, 2000.
22. UNICEF (1997), Progress of Nations.
23. Benninger-Budel C., et al. op. cit. (1999).
24. Schuler S.R., Hashemi S.M., Riley A.P., and Akhter S., Credit
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25. ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America and the
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26. UNICEF (1989), ‘The invisible adjustment: Poor women and
economic crisis’, UNICEF, The Americas and Caribbean
Regional Office, Santiago. ‘La situation de la femme malienne:
cadre de vie, problèmes, promotion’ op. cit.
Mazumdar, V. et al. (1995) Changing Terms of Political
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Economic and Political Weekly, vol. XXX: 29, pp 1866-1878.
27. UNICEF (1999).
28. Ibid.
29. Sen P., Enhancing Women’s Choices in Responding to
Domestic Violence in Calcutta: A Comparison of
Employment and Education. The European Journal of
Development Research, Vol 11, No 2, December 1999, pp. 65-
86.
30. The Human Rights Watch Global Report on Women’s
Human Rights, New York,1995.
31. United Nations ECOSOC, Report of the Special Rapporteur
on Violence Against Women, E/CN.4/1996/53 para 33.
32. US Department of Justice, ‘Violence by Intimates: Analysis of
Data on Crimes by Current or Former Spouses, Boyfriends,
and Girlfriends’, March 1998.
33. Heise (1994).
34. Ibid.
35. García-Moreno C., and Watts C., Violence against Women:
its importance for HIV/AIDS prevention. WHO, March 2000
36. Ibid.
37. Macharia J. K., Women, Law, Customs and Practices in East
Africa: Laying the Foundation.
38. From research carried out by Henry Maina for the Daily
Nation, Kenya, February 2000
39. Jaffe P.G., Wolfe D.A. and Wilson S.K. (1990) Children of
Battered Women. Developmental Clinical Psychology and
Psychiatry, Volume 21, Sage Publications, California.
40. Asling-Monemi, et al. (1999) ‘Violence against women
increases the risk of infant and child mortality. A case reference
study in Nicaragua, 1999’. Cited in Population Reports,
Series L, No 11. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University.
41. Jeejeebhoy S. J. (1998) Associations Between Wife-beating,
and Foetal and Infant Death. Impressions from a survey in
rural India, Studies in Family Planning 29 (3), pp 300-308.
Cited in Population Reports, 1999.
42. Ganatra B. R. et al. (1998) Too Far, Too Little, Too Late. A community-
based case-controlled study of maternal mortality in
rural-west Maharastra, India, Bulletin of the World Health
Organisation, 76 (6), pp 591-598. Cited in Population Reports,
1999.
43. Heise L., Ellsberg M. and Gottemoeller M. (1999) Ending
Violence against Women. Population Reports, Series L, No
11. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University School of Public
Health.
44. Ortiz R. et al. (1999), ‘Encuesta Nicaraguense de demografia
y salud’, 1998 (SPA) p. 319 (1998 Nicaraguan demographic
and health survey). Managua, Nicaragua: Instituto Nacional
de Estadisticas y Cebsos.
45. For studies on costs see:
Blumel D.K. et al. (1993). Who Pays? The Economic Costs of
Violence Against Women. Queensland, Australia: Women’s
Policy Unit, Office of the Cabinet.
Day T. (1995) The Health-related Costs of Violence Against
Women in Canada: The Tip of the Iceberg. London, Ontario:
Centre for Research on Violence Against Women and
Children.
Kerr R. et al. (1996) Paying for Violence: Some of the Costs of
Violence Against Women in B.C. Ministry of Women’s
Equality, British Colombia, Canada.
Stanko A. et al. (1998) Counting the Costs: Estimating the
Impact of Domestic Violence in the London Borough of
Hackney. Crime Concern, London.
Yodanis C.L. and Godenzi A. (1999) Report on the economic
costs of violence against women. Fribourg Switzerland:
University of Fribourg.
46. Greaves, Lorraine (1995) ‘Selected Estimates of the Costs of
Violence against Women’. London, Ontario: Centre for
Information sources
25
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
26
Information sources
Research on Violence aginst Women and Children
47. Laurence L. and Spalter-Roth R. (1996) ‘Measuring the costs
of domestic violence against women and the cost-effectiveness
of interventions: an initial assessment and proposals for
further research’. Washington DC: Institute for Women’s
Policy Research.
48. World Bank (1993) World Development Report 1993: Investing
in Health. New York: Oxford University Press.
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 masculinity
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 murder:
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.
66. Smith T. W., (1980) The 75% Solution: an Analysis of the
Structure of Attitudes on Gun Control, 1959-1977. Journal of
Criminal Law and Criminology, 71, pp 300-316. Also Smith, T.
W., (2000)1999 Gun Policy Survey of the National Opinion
Research Center: Research Findings. Chicago: University of
Chicago.
67. For information, see www.unicef.org
68. For information, see www.unifem.undp.org.
69. WHO (1999) ‘WHO Multi-country study of women’s health and
domestic violence. Core protocol’. WHO/EIP/GPE/99.3
Geneva: WHO.
70. WHO (1996) ‘Violence against Women: WHO Consultation’, p
26- 27. Geneva: WHO.
71. For information, contact The United Nations Development
Fund for Women (UNIFEM) at tfvaw.unifem@undp.org, or
visit web site at www.unifem.undp.org.
Selected key readings
While not included in the list of references, the following
materials are invaluable resources on gender issues and/or
domestic violence
Bauer H., and Rodriguez M.A. (1995), Letting Compassion Open
the Door: Battered Women’s Disclosure to Medical Providers.
Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, Vol 4, pp 459-465.
Brasileiro A. M. (1997), Women Against Violence: Breaking the
Silence. New York: UNIFEM.
Bunch C. (1997) The Intolerable Status Quo: Violence against
Women and Girls, in The Progress of Nations. New York:
UNICEF.
Carillo R. (1992) Battered Dreams: Violence against Women as
an Obstacle to Development. New York: UNIFEM.
Clarke R. (1998) Violence Against Women in the Caribbean:
State and Non-State Responses. Barbados: UNIFEM.
Cook R. (ed.) (1994) Human Rights of Women: National and
International Perspectives. Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Press.
Corrin C. (1996) Women in a Violent World: Feminist Analyses
and Resistance Across Europe. Edinburgh: Edinburgh
University Press.
Davies M. (ed.) (1994) Women and Violence: Realities and
Responses Worldwide. London: Zed Books.
Edelson J.L. (1999) Children Witnessing Adult Domestic Violence,
Journal of Interpersonal Violence No 14 (8), pp 839-870.
Ellsberg M. et al. (1997) The Nicaraguan Network of Women
Against Violence: Using Research and Action for Change.
Reproductive Health Matters, No. 10, pp 82-92.
Human Rights Watch (1999) Crime or Custom? Violence against
Women in Pakistan. New York: Human Rights Watch.
International Women’s Tribune Centre (1998) Rights of Women:
A Guide to the Most Important United Nations Treaties on
Women’s Human Rights. New York: International Women’s
Tribune Centre.
Kabeer N. (1998) Money Can’t Buy Me Love? Evaluating
Gender, Credit and Empowerment in Rural Bangladesh. IDS
Discussion Paper 363. Brighton: University of Sussex.
Kelly L. (1996) When Woman Protection is the Best Kind of Child
Protection: Children, Domestic Violence and Child Abuse.
Administration, Vol 44, No. 2 pp 118-135.
Konishi T. (2000) Cultural Aspects of Violence against Women in
Japan, article in The Lancet, Vol. 355, No 9217, pp 1810-12.
Landsberg-Lewis I. (1998) Bringing Equality Home.
Implementing the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women. New York: UNIFEM.
Latin American and Caribbean Women’s Health Network (1996)
The Right to Live Without Violence: Women’s Proposals and
Actions. Santiago: Latin American and Caribbean Women’s
Health Network.
Mertus J., Flowers N. and Dutt M (1999) Local Action, Global
Change. Learning about the Human Rights of Women and
Girls. New York: UNIFEM and the Center for Women’s Global
Leadership.
Segal L. (1997) Slow Motion: Changing Masculinities, Changing
Men. London: Virago.
Sen A. (1990) More than One Million Women are Missing. New
York Review of Books, December 20, 1990.
United Nations (1993) Strategies for Confronting Domestic
Violence: A Resource Manual. New York: United Nations.
UNICEF (1999) Programming for Safe Motherhood: Guidelines
for Maternal and Neonatal Survival. New York: UNICEF.
UNIFEM (1999) Women @ Work against Violence: Voices in
Cyberspace. New York: UNIFEM.
WHO (1997) ‘Violence Against Women. Information Kit’.
WHO/FRH/WHD/97.8. Geneva: WHO.
Women, Law and Development International (1996) ‘State
Responses to Domestic Violence: Current Status and Needed
Improvements’. Washington, D.C: Women, Law and
Development International.
Information sources
27
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
Innocenti Digest 6 – Domestic Violence
28
Clipboard
THE INNOCENTI DIGESTS
The UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, in Florence, Italy, was established in 1988 to
strengthen the research capability of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and
to support its advocacy for children worldwide. The Centre (formally known as the
International Child Development Centre) helps to identify and research current and future
areas of UNICEF’s work. Its prime objectives are to improve international understanding of
issues relating to children’s rights and to help facilitate the full implementation of the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in both industrialized and developing
countries.
The Innocenti Digests are produced by the Centre to provide reliable and accessible
information on specific child rights issues.
This issue of the Innocenti Digest has been researched and written by Sushma Kapoor,
Consultant to the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. It has benefited from the input of
more than 20 international experts who attended the Consultation on Domestic Violence,
held at the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre in April 2000.
With special thanks to:
Radhika Coomaraswamy, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against
Women.
The Centre is grateful for input from:
Shahida Azfar, Rosa Bernal, Kiran Bhatia, Misrak Elias, Ruth Finney Hayward, Nigel
Fisher, Claudia Garcia Moreno, Srilakshmi Gururaja, Dale Hurst, Tomoko Ishii, Takako
Konishi, Soledad Larrain, Nicoletta Livi-Bacci, Neill McKee, Zaynab Nawaz, Njoki
Ndung’u, Monica O’Connor, Michael Rodriguez, Rima Salah, Lavinia Shikongo, Fatoumata
Siré Diakité, Susan B. Sorenson, Stephen H. Umemoto, Rukhsana Zia.
The Digest was prepared under the overall guidance of Nigel Cantwell, Maryam
Farzanegan and Mehr Khan.
Previous Digests have addressed:
 Ombudswork for Children
 Children and Violence
 Juvenile Justice
 Intercountry Adoption
 Child Domestic Work
For further information and to download these and other publications, visit the website
at: www.unicef-icdc.org
To order publications contact orders@unicef-icdc.it
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The opinions expressed are those of the authors and editors and do not necessarily reflect the policies or views
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Extracts for this publication may be freely reproduced provided that due acknowledgment is given to the source
and to UNICEF:
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an information tool.
Editor: Angela Hawke
Cover design: Miller, Craig & Cocking, Oxfordshire – UK
Layout and phototypesetting: Bernard & Co, Siena – Italy
Front cover picture: © Bernard Chazine, 2000
Printed by Arti Grafiche Ticci, Siena – Italy
June 2000
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
This Digest focuses on domestic violence as one of the most prevalent
yet relatively hidden and ignored forms of violence against
women and girls globally. Domestic violence is a health, legal, economic,
educational, developmental and, above all, a human rights
issue. The Digest looks at the magnitude and universality of domestic
violence, and its impact on the rights of women and children. It
emphasizes the need for coordinated and integrated policy responses;
implementation of existing leglisation; and greater accountability
from governments in order to eliminate this violence. Information
on regional and international NGOs working in this area, and suggestions
for further reading are also provided.
UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre
Piazza SS. Annunziata, 12
50122 Florence, Italy
Tel.: (+39) 055 203 30
Fax: (+39) 055 244 817
E-mail (general information): florence@unicef-icdc.it
E-mail (publication orders): orders@unicef-icdc.it
Website: www.unicef-icdc.org
ISSN: 102-3528

A – Went the same way as “The one Bite Rule” for dogs only it is harder to put a muzzle on a wife-beater.

 And you thought that “Wife-Beater” wa a kind of undershirt for – what else” -ignorant sons of bitches with big fists.

Bruce Fein The CIA is headed for irrelevancy or redundancy if it continues the reorientation recently charted or acquiesced to by its new director, James Woolsey.

According to the new thinking, the agency’s exertions should be directed substantially to counterterrorism, international drug trafficking, arms proliferation, international economics, industrial espionage and domestic law enforcement. But compared with sister government departments or agencies, the agency lacks any unique expertise or capability to discharge these important tasks.

The CIA’s prime mission should follow its prime skill — namely, analytical studies of foreign governments and politics, the cultivation of Western-style democracy abroad, human source intelligence collection, research and analysis and covert action. Achieving this mission would largely make moot the problems addressed by the agency’s recent redirection.

The FBI is best suited to combat international terrorism. FBI agents possess the experience, investigatory expertise and knowledge required to identify terrorists and build the evidence for successful prosecutions. The latter requires mastery of complex legal rules regarding searches, seizures, interrogation, hearsay and chain-of-custody evidence.

The FBI enjoys a worldwide network of agents and cooperation agreements with foreign and international organizations, such as Interpol. Its criminal jurisdiction extends to terrorism directed against U.S. citizens both at home and abroad.

If the CIA happens upon evidence of terrorism that could assist the FBI or foreign governments, it certainly should share the information. But nothing in the agency’s charter, historical experience or skills suggests that counterterrorism, in isolation, should be a primary mission.

The same can be said of international drug trafficking. The FBI, the U.S. Customs Service and even the military are dedicated to international drug issues. Why duplicate these exertions using scarce CIA resources? Its agents, moreover, are generally unschooled in law enforcement complexities.

Chemical, biological and nuclear weapons proliferation could threaten the United States and international peace, but the magnitude of the threat seems somewhat exaggerated. The CIA should pay close attention to those issues. But weapons proliferation concerns generally seem under the natural purview of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency or the United Nations. The CIA should provide information to assist ACDA and seek destruction of menacing weapons, plants, equipment or substances through covert action.

The CIA should help in identifying arms control treaty violations with clandestine sources and methods, as it did, for example, in the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. The agency should scrutinize any nation’s weapons capability in conjunction with evaluating its offensive and defensive military strengths and forecasting its foreign policy posture.

CIA tracking of weapons proliferation, however, should not, simpliciter, be a chief objective. Historically, arms control violations and proliferation have become problems not because of international ignorance of growing threats, but because of an unwillingness of the international community to act. Germany’s blatant World War II violation of the Versailles Treaty in collaboration with the Soviet Union is illustrative.

CIA preoccupation with international economics is for the most part a waste of resources. The Federal Reserve Board and the Treasury Department possess a wealth of expertise and experience to gauge international economic trends. Anything the CIA might contribute would be marginal to national security. Ditto with regard to industrial espionage. Any nation that must steal technology or business secrets to boost its economy is doomed for penury. Substantial KGB resources dedicated to economic espionage on behalf of the Soviet economy were virtually wasted. When the CIA puts an emphasis on industrial espionage, it is at the nadir of its agenda.

The CIA’s charter expressly bans the exercise of domestic “law-enforcement powers.” To relax that prohibition would seem improvident. CIA agents would need to master the criminal code and rules of evidence. They might be compelled to testify in court or reveal intelligence sources and methods to satisfy the Constitution.

A pair of bank scandals implicating foreign governments and personages — BCCI and BNL — have propelled the agency into domestic law enforcement commitments to mollify Congress. The CIA seems pledged to collaborate with the Justice Department, the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve Board and other law enforcement agencies in the gathering of evidence abroad to prove a violation of domestic law. Without amending the CIA charter, the contemplated partnerships in domestic law enforcement would be illegal. And an authorizing amendment would seem unwise. Schooling CIA agents in the criminal code and rules of evidence would distract them from their chief tasks of intelligence collection and analysis and the planning and execution of covert action.

CIA analysts are uniquely situated to pursue deep understanding of the domestic and international politics of every foreign nation. Their chief task should be understanding the prevailing political personalities and institutions of foreign countries and foreseeing changes likely to prompt friendly or unfriendly relations with the United States. For instance, CIA covert action helped save France, Germany, Italy and the Philippines from communism after World War II.

The CIA should not dissipate its resources seeking a new mission. Even though Soviet communism disintegrated in 1991, it is still important to use human agent sources, research and analysis and covert action change international affairs.

These tasks should predominate the CIA.