Search results
- Intimate partner violence. We know about domestic violence, which can be perpetrated by any family member and often targets women and girls. Intimate partner violence is linked to domestic abuse, and is even more prevalent for women.
- Sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is any unwelcome sexual advance, verbal or physical, that leaves its target feeling offended, shamed, or embarrassed after the encounter.
- Sexual violence and assault. The UN defines sexual violence as “any sexual act committed against the will of another person, either when this person does not give consent or when consent cannot be given because the person is a child, has a mental disability, or is severely intoxicated or unconscious as a result of alcohol or drugs.”
- Psychological and emotional abuse. Not all abuse is physical. Verbal abuse, threats of harm, manipulation and mind games, and isolating a woman or girl from family, friends, school, or work are all forms of psychological and emotional abuse.
Acts of violence against women and girls are interconnected and part of a spectrum of violence that is underpinned by inequality, male power and control. Each act reinforces that VAWG is a ‘normal’ experience that is tolerated in society.
- Intimate-Partner Violence
- Sexual Violence
- Femicide
- Human Trafficking
- Female Genital Mutilation
- Child, Early and Forced Marriage
- Online Or Technology-Facilitated Violence
Intimate partner violencerefers to behaviour by an intimate partner or ex-partner that causes physical, sexual or psychological harm, including physical aggression, sexual coercion, psychological abuse and controlling behaviours. This is one of the most common forms of violence experienced by women globally. Intimate partner violence is one of the ...
Sexual violenceis any sort of harmful or unwanted sexual behaviour that is imposed on someone. It includes acts of abusive sexual contact, forced engagement in sexual acts, attempted or completed sexual acts with a woman without her consent, sexual harassment, verbal abuse, threats, exposure, unwanted touching, incest, and others. Sexual violence c...
Femicideis the intentional killing of a woman or a girl because she is a woman or a girl. The gender-related motivation of the killing may range from stereotyped gender roles, discrimination towards women and girls, to unequal power relations between women and men in society Gender-related killings of women and girls (femicide/feminicide) are the m...
Human traffickingis a global crime that trades in people and exploits them for profit. Physical and sexual abuse, blackmail, emotional manipulation, and the removal of official documents are used by traffickers to control their victims. Exploitation can take place in a victim's home country, during migration or in a foreign country. Human trafficki...
Female genital mutilation(FGM) refers to all procedures involving partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. It is most often carried out on young girls between infancy and age 15. FGM has no health benefits and can lead to serious, long-term complications and even...
Child marriageis any marriage where at least one of the parties is under 18 years of age. Forced marriage is a marriage in which one and/or both parties have not personally expressed their full and free consent to the union. A child marriage is considered to be a form of forced marriage, given that one and/or both parties have not expressed full, f...
Technology-facilitated violence against womenis any act that is committed, assisted, aggravated, or amplified by the use of information communication technologies or other digital tools, that results in or is likely to result in physical, sexual, psychological, social, political, or economic harm, or other infringements of rights and freedoms. It c...
Nov 21, 2023 · This article provides an overview of the main forms of violence against women and girls, along with other commonly used terms, that any gender equality activist should have in their vocabulary toolkit.
Jul 26, 2024 · The national emergency is really men’s violence against women. Leaving out that important detail leads to interventions that only involve women changing their behaviour – for example, changing...
- Lisa Sugiura
Jun 27, 2024 · Yet in every society in which it occurs, FGM is an expression of deeply rooted gender inequality. In every form in which it is practiced, FGM is a violation of girls’ and women’s fundamental human rights, including their rights to health, security and dignity.
Mar 25, 2024 · Violence against women – particularly intimate partner violence and sexual violence – is a major public health problem and a violation of women's human rights. Estimates published by WHO indicate that globally about 1 in 3 (30%) of women worldwide have been subjected to either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner ...
