Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women

It wasn't until 1993, that the world recognized that violence against women, was part and parcel of the discrimination of women.  On December 20 of that year, the United Nations adopted the "The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women" -- a complimentary declaration to "The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women", which was instituted twelve years earlier, and ratified by 189 countries.  From the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, comes the most widely cited definition of violence against women:

Article 1

For the purposes of this Declaration, the term "violence against women" means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.

Article 2

Violence against women shall be understood to encompass, but not be limited to, the following:

(a) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence and violence related to exploitation;

(b) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring within the general community, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women and forced prostitution;

(c) Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the State, wherever it occurs.

A few things come to mind after reading articles 1 & 2.

• 189 countries ratified this -- yet in great parts of the world, women suffer a consequence for their gender.  In some of the countries that have ratified the declaration, genital mutilation is still accepted; rape as a weapon of war still practiced; forced prostitution and trafficking in women and girls is still prevalent; and honour killings is still the norm.
• Women have made great progress in the developed countries of the world, but even here sexual harassment is still accepted as a sport.

This is only possible because it continues to be accepted by both men and women in society.