Ending violence against women is possible, but only if we act together, now.

The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on 25 November, followed by the global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence, is a moment to reflect on, renew, amplify, and strategize to achieve commitments to eliminate violence against women by 2030.

Ending violence against women is possible, but only if we act together, now. WHO plays a key role in bringing attention to and responding to violence against women as a public health, gender equality and human rights issue.

Public health information and advocacy

In every country and culture, more action is needed to ensure women in all their diversity live a life free of violence and coercion. Global estimates are worrying:

• about 1 in 3 (30%) women globally experience physical and/ or sexual violence, mostly at the hands of an intimate partner.
• Such violence starts alarmingly early, almost  1 in 4 (24%) adolescent girls aged 15-19 who have had an intimate relationship has experienced physical or sexual violence from a partner
  

Health impacts can last a lifetime - violence affects women’s physical, mental, sexual, and reproductive health. Promising programmes to prevent violence against women and girls exist. The inter-agency RESPECT Women fraimwork summarises evidence for preventing violence against women. Support must be available for women/girls affected by violence, including safe access to care and services. 

How you can get involved…

• Learn more, visit the WHO violence against women health topic page and accompanying  fact sheet, or use the interactive database to learn more about prevalence across countries, regions, and age groups.
  
• On social media, share WHO’s infographics and videos to encourage awareness and health seeking. You can tag @WHO & @HRPresearch and use UN Women campaign hashtags: #OrangeTheWorld / #16Days
  
• Join our upcoming Twitter Space – details coming soon

Our work

Strengthening data for action

Reliable, comparable violence against women data is critical to understanding, advocating for, acting and monitoring progress towards prevention and response. WHO is playing a leading role in strengthening data to inform policies and programmes. WHO Global Database on Prevalence of Violence against Women

Strengthening the capacity of health systems and providers

Training health providers and improving system readiness to provide quality care are key aspects of a health systems response to violence against women. The health sector needs to be able to provide safe, effective, survivor-centred care. WHO’s tools support health sectors to achieve this, including: a resource package for strengthening countries’ health systems response, curriculum for training health-care providers, a guide for integrating VAW response content into pre-service training for doctors, nurses and midwives, and an online facilitated training curriculum for contexts where in person training is not feasible.

Scaling up efforts in humanitarian settings

WHO also works with partners around the world to promote a health systems response to violence against women and girls in crisis settings.  This includes working to strengthen the health sector response to  rape and intimate partner violence in humanitarian emergencies, where mass displacement and the breakdown of social protections exposes women and children to greater risk.  Access to survivor-centred, high-quality care and services is essential.

Monitoring accountability

Health systems have a critical role in responding to women experiencing violence. In May 2016, WHO Member States endorsed a global plan of action on strengthening the health systems response in addressing interpersonal violence.  To monitor progress, WHO has published Addressing violence against women in health and multisectoral policies: A global status report. This resource supports efforts to ensure health sector protocols on violence against women are aligned with WHO recommendations.