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  Taking action
  on violence against women

No gender equality without halting violence against women. Parliamentarians need to coordinate efforts and work together - women and men parliamentarians - civil society, central and local government, international and national organizations, and ordinary citizens. "Together" is the key word. Extract of the conclusions of the Conference "A Parliamentary Response to Violence against Women", held in Geneva in December 2008 under the auspices of the IPU

Violence against women and girls is a violation of human rights and an extreme form of gender-based discrimination. It may take many forms and is not limited to any culture, region or country, or to any specific group of women. It has enormous social and economic costs, and undercuts the contribution of women to development, peace and security, and human rights. It also poses a serious threat to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

• Parliaments take action on violence against women
  Recognizing that the efforts to eliminate this kind of violence require systematic and sustained action, the IPU launched in 2008 a campaign and a programme of work to support parliaments in their efforts to end violence against women. The commitment also serves to promote and shed light on a parliamentary contribution to the current unprecedented international efforts to end violence against women.   [ More ... ]

• Priority actions for parliaments
  The statistics on violence against women paint an alarming picture. One out of every two women in the world is the victim of violence inflicted by her partner and one out of five is assaulted or threatened with sexual assault. Rife in both the public and the private spheres, this type of violence jeopardizes the rights, liberty, health, quality of life, and in some cases the life of women, irrespective of their nationality, age or social status. How can one put an end to the most widespread violation of human rights in the world? How can one combat this scourge, whose consequences and cost hamper the development of society? These questions force us to examine the unequal power struggle present in all spheres of society, to bring about a change in mentality and to bring into question the social roles and stereotypes.  [ More ... ]

• International Day for the Elimination of violence against Women
  On 25 November, the world mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The IPU encourages all parliaments to organize a special event under the theme: Using legislation to end violence against women and girls.    [ More ... ]