Violence against women (VAW) is a violation of women’s fundamental human rights and is both a cause and a consequence of women’s inequality. 

Violence against women is widespread, and may affect women of any age, class, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, or ability. Across all forms of violence and abuse, women are most at risk from men they know.

Violence against women includes:

• domestic violence,
• rape and sexual violence,
• female genital mutilation,
• forced marriage,
• crimes in the name of 'honour',
• sexual harassment,
• trafficking, and
• prostitution / sexual exploitation.

Significant numbers of women experience more than one type of violence. Recurring themes in women's descriptions of male violence include the use of tactics of control, humiliation and degradation, the abdication of responsibility by the male abuser, and the attribution of blame to the woman. Other commonalities between all forms of violence against women include the high levels of under-reporting and extremely low conviction rates; long-term social, psychological and economic consequences, and the historic failure by states to prevent violence violence against women.

Read more for an overview of the international and national context, the extent and cost of violence against women, and links to selected publications