Violence against women at alarming rates globally
Tuesday, November 25, 2008 at 3:11PM
Tala Dowlatshahi in United Nations
Inés Alberdi, Executive Director of UNIFEM ( the United Nations Development Fund for Women) and UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador Nicole Kidman gave an update on the current global financial commitments to the U.N. Trust Fund to Eliminate Violence against Women and to ask for more government support to UNIFEM's "Say No to Violence against Women" campaign.

For women aged 15 to 44 years, violence is a major cause of death and disability.  Globally, there are increasing links between violence against women and HIV/AIDS. UNIFEM says women who have experienced violence are at a higher risk of HIV infection: a survey among 1,366 South African women showed that women who were beaten by their partners were 48 percent more likely to be infected with HIV than those who were not abused.

Trafficking, honor killing and harassment are included in the list of violent acts committed against females across the globe.

In the United States, four women die every day as a result of domestic violence.

The "Say No to Violence against women" campaign is a global advocacy and awareness-raising effort on ending violence against women, designed to support UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s multi-year united to end violence against women initiative.  UNIFEM aims to develop a global movement of people to demand that ending violence against women be a top priority for governments everywhere.
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