Violence against women VAW , also known as gender-based violence [1] [2] and sexual and gender-based violence SGBV , [3] is violent acts primarily or exclusively committed by men or boys against women or girls. Such violence is often considered a form of hate crime , [4] committed against women or girls specifically because they are female , and can take many forms. VAW has a very long history, though the incidents and intensity of such violence have varied over time and between societies.
Such violence is often seen as a mechanism for the subjugation of women, whether in society in general or inan interpersonal relationship. The UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women states, "violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women" and "violence against women is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position compared with men.
Violence against women and girls is a problem of pandemic proportions. At least one out of every three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime with the abuser usually someone known to her.
A number of international instruments that aim to eliminate violence against women and domestic violence have been enacted by various international bodies.
These generally start with a definition of what such violence is, and a proposal to combat it. The Istanbul Convention Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence of the Council of Europe describes VAW as "a violation of human rights and a form of discrimination against women" and defines VAW as "all acts of gender-based violence that result in or are likely to result in physical, sexual, psychological, or economic harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life".
