ASSIGNMENT ON

DOMESTIC VOILENECE AGAINST WOMEN ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE

Submitted By: Sunny bhushan Roll No.1043

Introduction
Violence against women nullifies the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedom of women. Yet it is perhaps the most unrecognized human rights issue. All over the world, in all life situations, women are more vulnerable than men in public and private life. Though the manifestation of this evil varies from culture to culture, the fact remains that these are the reflection of a deep rooted Gender Ideology. Violence subjects women not only to servitude and subordination but also keeps them in a state of despair and dehumanization; indignity and intimidation; terrorization and humiliation. The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (1993) defined violence against women as any act, omission, controlling behaviour or threat in any sphere which results in or is likely to result in physical, sexual or psychological Injury of women. In their life cycle women are subjected to violence in different forms such as foeticide, infanticide, homicide, child marriage, sati, rape and sexual assault including incest, domestic violence, witch hunting, trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, pornography, abduction, forced confinement, communal and caste riots, forced pregnancy, or forced sterilization.

CAUSES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: There is no one single factor to account for violence perpetrated against women. Increasingly, research has focused on the inter-relatedness of various factors that should improve our understanding of the problem within different cultural contexts. Several complex and interconnected institutionalized social and cultural factors have kept women particularly vulnerable to the violence directed at them, all of them manifestations of historically unequal power relations between men and women. Factors contributing to these unequal power relations include: socioeconomic forces, the family institution where power relations are enforced, fear of and control over female sexuality, belief in the inherent superiority of males, and legislation and cultural sanctions that have traditionally denied women and children an independent legal and social status. Lack of economic resources underpins womens vulnerability to violence and their difficulty in extricating themselves from a violent relationship. The link between violence and lack of economic resources and dependence is circular. On the one hand, the threat and fear of violence keeps women from seeking employment, or, at best, compels them to accept low-paid, home-based exploitative labors and on the other, without economic independence, women have no power to escape from an abusive relationship. The reverse of this argument also holds true in some countries; that is, womens increasing economic activity and independence is viewed as a threat which leads to increased male violence.25 this is particularly true when the male partner is unemployed, and feels his power undermined in the household. Studies have also linked a rise in violence to the destabilization of economic patterns in society. Macro-economic policies such as structural adjustment programmes, globalization, and the growing inequalities they have created, have been linked to increasing levels of violence in several regions, including Latin America, Africa and Asia.. The transition period in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union with increases in poverty, unemployment, hardship, income inequality, stress, and alcohol abuse has led to increased violence in society in general, including violence against women. These factors also act indirectly to raise womens vulnerability by encouraging more risk-taking behaviour, more alcohol

and drug abuse, the breakdown of social support networks, and the economic dependence of women on their partners.

Cultural ideologies both in industrialized and developing countries provide

legitimacy for violence against women in certain circumstances. Religious and historical traditions in the past have sanctioned the chastising and beating of wives. The physical punishment of wives has been particularly sanctioned under the notion of entitlement and ownership of women. Male control of family wealth inevitably places decisionmaking authority in male hands, leading to male dominance and proprietary rights over women and girls. The concept of ownership, in turn, legitimizes control over womens sexuality, which in many law codes has been deemed essential to ensure patrilineal inheritance. Womens sexuality is also tied to the concept of family honour in many societies. Traditional norms in these societies allow the killing of errant daughters, sisters and wives suspected of defiling the honour of the family by indulging in forbidden sex, or marrying and divorcing without the consent of the family. By the same logic, the honour of a rival ethnic group or society can be defiled by acts of sexual violence against its women. Experiences during childhood, such as witnessing domestic violence and experiencing physical and sexual abuse, have been identified as factors that put children at risk. Violence may be learnt as a means of resolving conflict and asserting manhood by children who have witnessed such patterns of conflict resolution. Excessive consumption of alcohol and other drugs has also been noted as a factor in provoking aggressive and violent male behavior towards women and children. A survey of domestic violence in Moscow revealed that half the cases of physical abuse are associated with the husbands excessive alcohol consumption. The isolation of women in their families and communities is known to contribute to increased violence, particularly if those women have little access to family or local organizations. On the other hand, womens participation in social networks has been noted as a critical factor in lessening their vulnerability to violence and in their ability to resolve domestic violence. These networks could be informal (family and neighbors) or formal (community organizations, womens self-help groups, or affiliated to political parties).Lack of legal protection, particularly within the sanctity of the home, is a strong factor in perpetuating violence against

women. Until recently, the public private distinction that has ruled most legal systems has been a major obstacle to womens rights. Increasingly, however, States are seen as responsible for protecting the rights of women even in connection with offences committed within the home. In many countries violence against women is exacerbated by legislation, law enforcement and judicial systems that do not recognize domestic violence as a crime. The challenge is to end impunity for the perpetrators as one means of preventing future abuse. Investigations by Human Rights Watch have found that in cases of domestic violence, law enforcement officials frequently reinforce the batterers attempts to control and demean their victims. Even though several countries now have laws that condemn domestic violence, when committed against a woman in an intimate relationship, these attacks are more often tolerated as the norm than prosecuted as laws.. In many places, those who commit domestic violence are prosecuted less vigorously and punished more leniently than perpetrators of similarly violent crimes against strangers.

Indicators on violence against women

Policymakers and activists have called on States, intergovernmental agencies and others to develop a set of international indicators on violence against women. These are needed for three main purposes: (a) To persuade policymakers of the need to take action to address violence against women: the most compelling evidence has been based on household surveys that measure the extent and characteristics of different forms of violence against women. There are numerous examples around the world in which the presentation of survey data on violence against women has galvanized political will and resulted in legislative and policy reforms; (b) To measure access and quality of services to survivors of violence: this information is generally derived from the administrative records of the criminal justice system, health and social services or of NGOs that provide services to survivors of violence or from research on womens perceptions and use of services. Evaluation research, using both qualitative and quantitative methods, is key to

assessing the effectiveness of programmes; (c) To monitor the progress of States in meeting their international obligations to address violence against women: relevant indicators would measure the impact of policies through changes in the prevalence and incidence of violence, progress in the establishment of legal and policy reforms, availability of services and budgetary allocations to address violence against women. There is still no consensus as to the best approach for measuring the global occurrence of violence against women, despite several proposals for a set of international indicators. There has also been discussion of including an indicator on violence against women in a composite index on the gender equality dimensions of human development, such as the Gender Development Index or the Gender Empowerment Measure. This approach would highlight the issue of violence against women as a critical dimension of womens empowerment and place it within the broader context of human development. Including violence against women as part of a composite index would also encourage Governments to collect data on the issue. For a composite index, a single indicator must be selected that is both simple and easy to interpret and for which robust, comparable data are available. It must also be possible to measure changes in the situation within a medium to long-term time frame. To date, the most widely available indicator is the prevalence of physical intimate partner violence, defined as the proportion of women who have ever had a partner who have experienced such violence within the last 12 months or in their lifetime. There is fairly broad consensus among researchers about how to measure physical partner violence, and it is currently included in most surveys on violence against women. For the purpose of policy development, other indicators are necessary, such as the lifetime prevalence of violence, the number, frequency and severity of violent incidents and the prevalence of other forms of violence such as sexual and emotional violence. With sufficient investment of resources and effort, an internationally comparable database could be built within the next five to seven years showing 12-month prevalence estimates of physical intimate partner violence for the majority of countries.

CONSEQUENCES OF VOILENCE Denial of fundamental rights Perhaps the most crucial consequence of violence against women and girls is the denial of fundamental human rights to women and girls. International human rights instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted in 1948, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), adopted in 1989, affirm the principles of fundamental rights and freedoms of every human being. Both CEDAW and the CRC are guided by a broad concept of human rights that stretches beyond civil and political rights to the core issues of economic survival, health, and education that affect the quality of daily life for most women and children. The two Conventions call for the right to protection from gender-based abuse and neglect. The strength of these treaties rests on an international consensus, and the assumption that all practices that harm women and girls, no matter how deeply they are embedded in culture, must be eradicated. Legally binding under international law for governments that have ratified them, these treaties oblige governments not only to protect women from crimes of violence, but also to investigate violations when they occur and to bring the perpetrators to justice. Human development goals undermined There is a growing recognition that countries cannot reach their full potential as long as womens potential to participate fully in their society is denied. Data on the social, economic and health costs of violence leave no doubt that violence against women undermines progress towards human and economic development. Womens participation has become key in all social development programmes, be they environmental, for poverty alleviation, or for good governance. By hampering the full involvement and participation of women, countries are eroding the human capital of half their populations. True indicators of a countrys commitment to gender equality lie in its actions to eliminate violence against women in all its forms and in all areas of life.

Health consequences Domestic violence against women leads to far-reaching physical and psychological consequences, some with fatal outcomes. While physical injury represents only a part of the negative health impacts on women, it is among the more visible forms of violence. The United States Department of Justice has reported that 37 per cent of all women who sought medical care in hospital emergency rooms for violence-related injuries were injured by a current or former spouse or partner. Assaults result in injuries ranging from bruises and fractures to chronic disabilities such as partial or total loss of hearing or vision, and burns may lead to disfigurement. The medical complications resulting from FGM can range from hemorrhage and sterility to severe psychological trauma. Studies in many countries have shown high levels of violence during pregnancy resulting in risk to the health of both the mother and the unborn fetus. In the worst cases, all of these examples of domestic violence can result in the death of the woman murdered by her current or ex-partner. Sexual assaults and rape can lead to unwanted pregnancies, and the dangerous complications that follow from resorting to illegal abortions. Girls who have been sexually abused in their childhood are more likely to engage in risky behaviour such as early sexual intercourse, and are at greater risk of unwanted and early pregnancies. Women in violent situations are less able to use contraception or negotiate safer sex, and therefore run a high risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. The impact of violence on womens mental health leads to severe and fatal consequences. Battered women have a high incidence of stress and stress-related illnesses such as post-traumatic stress syndrome, panic attacks, depression, sleeping and eating disturbances, elevated blood pressure, alcoholism, drug abuse, and low self-esteem. For some women, fatally depressed and demeaned by their abuser, there seems to be no escape from a violent relationship except suicide. Impact on children Children, who have witnessed domestic violence or have themselves been abused, exhibit health and behavior problems, including problems with their weight, their eating and their sleep. They may have difficulty at school and find it hard to develop close and positive friendships. They may try to run away or even display suicidal tendencies.

Main issues

Legislations and Women

Legislation with regard to domestic violence is a modern phenomenon. There is an increasing belief that special laws should be drafted, having special remedies and procedures. The first problem that arises with regard to legislation is to allow for prosecution of men who beat their spouses even if the latter, under pressure, want to withdraw their claims. In response some countries have instructed police and prosecutors to proceed with cases even in situations where women indicated that they would rather not proceed. In addition, since the spouse will be the main witness, some jurisdictions have introduced legislation making the woman a compellable witness except in certain situations. Other countries, such as the United States, are moving towards advocacy support. Quasi-criminal remedies are also being utilized by several countries. The most important of these are the protection or bound over orders. These are procedures by which a person can complain to a magistrate or a justice that violence has taken place and the violent party is then bound over to keep the peace or be of good behavior. The standard of proof is lower than with strictly criminal proceedings and this may provide some women with appropriate relief, with a court order obtainable on the balance of probabilities. Breach of the order is a criminal offence and the police may arrest, without a warrant, a person who has contravened a protection order. Civil law remedies, such as an injunction which is used to support a primary cause of action such as divorce, nullity or judicial separation, can also be utilized. Some jurisdictions have enacted legislation removing the requirement of applying for principle relief and allowing the woman to apply for injunctive relief independently of any other legal action. Another civil remedy which is available in certain states in INDIA is an action in tort claiming damages from the marital partner.

Indian Laws and Women

(A) Constitutional and legal rights of women: The Constitution of India not only guarantees equality to women but also empowers the State to adopt measures of positive discrimination in favour of women for neutralizing the cumulative socio-economic, educational and political disadvantages faced by them. The Preamble to the Constitution resolves to secure for all its citizens, justice, social, economic and political; liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; equality of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all, fraternity, assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation. The Constitution guarantees fundamental rights to all India citizens. The Constitution also enumerates in the directive principles of state policy, the major goals of a welfare state with gender equity as a core objective. While the fundamental rights are enforceable in the courts of justice, the state is charged with the duty to apply the directive principles in making laws. Article 14 confers equal rights and opportunities on men and women in the political, economic and social spheres. While Article 15 prohibits discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex etc., a provision under Article 15 (3) enables the state to allow affirmative discrimination in favour of women. Article 16 guarantees equality of opportunity in public employment. Article 39 (a) further mentions that the State shall direct its policy towards securing for all citizens, men and women, equally, the right to a means of livelihood, while Article 39 (c) ensures equal pay for equal work. Article 42 directs the State to make provision for ensuring just and humane conditions of work and maternity leave. Above all the constitution imposes a fundamental duty on every citizen through Article 51 (a) to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women.

(B) Legislative measures:

To safeguard the various constitutional rights, the State has enacted the following women-specific and women-related legislation: I. The Equal Remuneration Act of 1976 provided equal pay to men and women for equal work.

II. The Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, amended in 1976, provided the rights for a girl to repudiate a child marriage before attaining maturity whether the marriage has been consummated or not. III. The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act (ITPA) of 1956 as amended and renamed in 1986 makes the sexual exploitation of male or female, a cognizable offence. IV. An amendment brought in 1984 to the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 made womens subjection to cruelty a cognizable offence. The second amendment brought in 1986 makes the husband or in-laws punishable, if a woman commits suicide within 7 years of her marriage and it has been proven that she has been subjected to cruelty. V. Also, a new criminal offence of Dowry Death has been incorporated in the Indian Penal Code. VI. The Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1976 raised the age for marriage of a girl to 18 years from 15 years and that of a boy to 21 years and made offences under this Act cognizable. VII. The Factories Act of 1948 (amended up to 1976) provided for establishment of a crche where 30 women (including casual and contract laborers) are employed. VIII. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1971 legalizes abortion by qualified professionals on humanitarian or medical grounds. IX. Amendments to Criminal Law 1983 provide a punishment of seven years in ordinary cases of rape and 10 years in custodial rape cases. The maximum punishment may go up to life imprisonment. X. The enactment of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act of 1986 and the Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act (1987) have been passed to protect the dignity of women and prevent violence against them as well as their exploitation. XI. The National Commission for Women Act, 1990 was passed to set up the National Commission for Women, a national apex statutory body to review the constitutional and legal safeguards for women and recommend remedial legislation.

XII. The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts passed in 1992 provide for reservation of one third of seats in rural panchayats (local self-government units) and urban local bodies for women as members and as chairpersons. XIII. The Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994 has been enacted to prevent misuse of sex-determination tests and resultant female foeticide.

CALCULATING THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC COSTS OF VIOLENCE

Calculating the costs of violence is a strategic intervention to make policy-makers more aware about the importance and effectiveness of prevention. Studies carried out in Canada, the United States, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Australia calculate costs using different parameters. The Canadian study, which estimated the costs of violence against women in the larger context of violence both within and outside the home, concluded that the state spends over CDN$1 billion annually on services, including police, criminal justice system, counseling, and training. For the United States, according to one study, cost estimates range between US$5 and US$10 billion annually. These studies, it should be noted, refer only to direct service-related costs and do not address the human costs of violence. In 1993, the World Bank estimated that in industrialized countries health costs for domestic violence and rape accounted for nearly one in five disability adjusted life years lost to women age 15 to 44. The health costs of domestic violence and rape are the same in industrialized and developing countries, but because the overall burden of disease is much higher in developing countries, a smaller percentage is attributed to gender based victimization. In developing countries, depending on the region, estimates range from 5 to 16 per cent of healthy years lost to women of reproductive age as a result of domestic

violence. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has recently carried out studies in six countries in Latin America Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela taking a more holistic look at the socio-economic cost of domestic violence. For analytical purposes, the IDB has divided the costs of domestic and social violence into four categories using the following framework I. Direct costs : Which take into account expenditures on psychological counseling and medical treatment (emergency room care, hospitalizations, care in clinics and doctors offices, treatment for sexually transmitted diseases); police services including time spent on arrests and responding to calls; costs imposed on the criminal justice system (prison and detention, prosecution and court cases); housing and shelters for women and their children; and social services (prevention and advocacy programmes, job training, and training for police, doctors, the judiciary and the media). II. Non-monetary costs: Which that does not draw upon medical services, but in themselves take a heavy toll on the victim-survivors by way of increased morbidity and mortality through homicide and suicide increased dependence on drugs and alcohol and other depressive disorders. These are the intangible costs that are comparable, according to World Bank estimates, to other risk factors and diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and sepsis during childbirth. III. Economic multiplier effects: This includes, for example, decreased female labor participation and reduced productivity at work, and lower earnings. In the United States, it has been reported that 30 per cent of abused women lost their jobs as a direct result of the abuse. A study in Santiago, Chile estimates that women who do not suffer physical violence earn an average of US$385 per month while women who face severe physical violence at home earn only US$150 in other words, less than half the earnings of other women. The study also focuses

on the macro-economic impact as a result of loss of womens earnings. Another effect under this category is the potential impact of domestic violence on the future capacity of children to obtain adequate employment. Apart from the loss of human capital, there are direct costs on the school system as children from violent homes may perform badly and have to repeat grades. According to an IDB study in Nicaragua, 63 per cent of children from families in which women are subjected to domestic violence repeat a grade at school, and on average drop out at age 9, compared with age 12 for children of women who are not victims of severe abuse. IV. Social multiplier effects : This includes the inter-generational impact of violence on children, erosion of social capital, reduced quality of life and reduced participation in democratic processes. These effects are difficult to measure quantitatively, but their impact is substantial in terms of a countrys social and economic development. It is clear that all sectors of society are deeply affected by, and bear the consequences of, violence against women. More studies need to be carried out in both developing and industrialized countries to estimate the costs of domestic violence in order to advocate for national policies to eradicate this largely preventable crime. A major knowledge gap also exists on the costeffectiveness of interventions for domestic violence. This is an important area of research that would provide guidance on effective, workable and replicable programmes, and thereby help channel resources and energy in the right direction.

Economic costs of violence against women

Violence against women impoverishes individual women and their families, as well as their communities, societies and nations at many levels. It reduces the capacity of victims/survivors to contribute productively to the family, the economy and public life; drains resources from social services, the justice system, health-care agencies and employers; and lowers the overall educational attainment, mobility and innovative potential of the victims/survivors, their children and even the perpetrators of such violence.

Analyzing the costs of violence against women is useful for understanding the severity of the problem as it shows its economic impact on businesses, the State, community groups and individuals. It emphasizes the pervasiveness of such violence and confirms that it is a public concern, not a private issue. Such analysis can provide important information for specific budgetary allocations for programmes to prevent and redress violence against women and demonstrates that much more should be invested in early intervention and prevention strategies, rather than allowing such violence to continue unabated. There are several types of costs, in the short and long term: first, the direct cost of services in relation to violence against women; second, the indirect cost of lost employment and productivity; and third, the value placed on human pain and suffering. The direct cost of services in relation to violence against women include the actual expenditure by individuals, Governments and businesses on goods, facilities and services to treat and support victims/survivors and to bring perpetrators to justice. Services include the criminal justice system (such as for the police, prosecution, courts, prisons, offender programmes, the administration of community sentences and victim compensation); health services (such as for primary and hospital health care for both physical and mental harm); housing (such as shelters, refuges and re-housing); social services (especially in relation to the care of children); income support; other support services (such as rape crisis counseling, telephone advice lines); and civil legal costs (such as those for legal injunctions to remove violent men from the home or otherwise restrain them and for legal separation and divorce proceedings). The cost of these services is mostly borne by the State/public sector. While the criminal justice system is almost universally funded by the State, the funding for other services varies. In some countries, support services and refuges are primarily provided by volunteers or the community sector, while in others such services are provided by the public sector either directly or through State funding for service providers. In some countries, health care is provided by the public sector, while in others, individuals carry the costs directly or through private insurance. The second major category of costs relates to reduced employment and productivity, a category sometimes described as the cost to the private or business sector. Women may

be absent from employment as a result of injury or trauma, or may work at a level of reduced productivity because of injuries and stress. Further costs arise when women lose jobs either as a result of absence and reduced performance, or because they have been compelled to relocate. Both workers and employers face costs as a result of such disruption to employment. While women may lose earnings, employers may lose output and may face the costs of sick leave and of recruiting and training replacements. Some studies include the lost revenue to the State in taxation as a consequence of lost employment and output. The third category of cost is that of the value placed on the pain and suffering inflicted on women. This is an intangible cost borne by the victim/survivor. Increasingly, government cost-benefit analyses include the value of pain and suffering in a range of areas. For example, they include such costs in their calculations of the impact of crime or when they assess the costs of road traffic accidents when planning new roads (see annex for a summary of studies, including the costs calculated). There are other costs that are imposed by violence against women, but which are very difficult to estimate. Some studies note them as a category, but do not include a figure in the estimates. One important such cost is that of the consequences for children who witness violence, such as their need for counseling, given the psychological damage they endure, and the long-term costs of lower levels of educational and employment achievement. While some studies on the cost of violence against women focus on specific types of cost, the majority includes both the cost of services and lost earnings. Some more recent studies additionally include the cost of pain and suffering. The first study on the economic costs of violence against women was conducted in Australia in 1988. The costs of violence against women are enormous. They impoverish not only individuals, families, communities and Governments, but also reduce the economic development of each nation. Even the most comprehensive surveys to date underestimate the costs, given the number of factors not included. Nonetheless, they all show that the failure to address violence against women has serious economic consequences, highlighting the need for determined and sustained preventive action.

Conclusions:
Violence against women is a widespread and serious problem that affects the lives of countless women and is an obstacle to the achievement of equality, development and peace in all continents. It endangers womens lives and impedes the full development of womens capabilities. It obstructs the exercise of their rights as citizens; it harms families and communities and reinforces other forms of violence throughout societies, often with deadly consequences. Violence against women is a violation of human rights, rooted in historically unequal power relations between men and women and the systemic discrimination against women that pervades both the public and private spheres. The broad context from which it emerges includes disparities of power in the form of patriarchy, socio cultural norms and practices that perpetuate gender-based discrimination and economic inequalities. Its scope and prevalence reflect the degree and persistence of gender-based discrimination that women face, which is often compounded by other systems of domination. Violence against women must therefore be addressed in the context of seeking to end all forms of discrimination, to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and to create a world in which all women enjoy all their human rights. Violence against women are carried out in a wide range of settings, including the family, the community, State custody and institutions, armed conflict and refugee and internally displaced persons situations. Such violence constitutes a continuum across the lifespan of women, it cuts across both the public and the private sphere and one form of violence often reinforces another. Violence against women often takes a direct physical form, but can also be psychological abuse and economic deprivation. Despite the growing acknowledgment of the multiple forms and manifestations of violence against women, comprehensive data to establish the scope and magnitude of the various forms of such violence remains inadequate. While violence against women is universal and present in every society and culture, it takes different forms and is experienced differently. The forms of violence to which women are subjected and the ways in which they experience

this violence are often shaped by the intersection of gender with other factors such as race, ethnicity, class, age, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, legal status, religion and culture. Therefore diverse strategies that take these intersecting factors into account are required in order to eradicate violence against all women. Over the past two decades, there has been significant progress in elaborating and agreeing on international standards and norms to address violence against women. These form a baseline of commitment by States and other stakeholders, including the United Nations system, to work to end violence against women. States responsibility and obligations to address violence against women are concrete and clear and encompass violence committed both by State agents and non-State actors. States have a duty to prevent acts of violence against women; to investigate and prosecute such acts when they occur and punish perpetrators; and to provide remedies and redress to those against whom acts of violence have been committed. To an unacceptable extent, these obligations are not being met. Impunity for violence against women compounds the effects of such violence as a mechanism of male control over women. When the State fails to hold the perpetrators of violence accountable and society explicitly or tacitly condones such violence, impunity not only encourages further abuses, it also gives the message that male violence against women is acceptable or normal. The result of such impunity is not solely the denial of justice to the individual victims/survivors, but also the reinforcement of prevailing gender relations and replicate inequalities that affect other women and girls as well. There is a significant and unacceptable gap between the international standards on violence against women and the concrete commitment of political capital and resources to implement these standards. The specificities of the States obligations need to be clarified in the diverse contexts in which violence against women occurs. Varying circumstances and constraints allow for different actions to be taken by individual States, but do not excuse State inaction. The State has a responsibility for the prevention, punishment and elimination of violence against women that it cannot relegate to other actors. However, there are significant advantages to engaging in partnerships with NGOs and other actors in civil society and the private sector, especially since womens organizations often pilot programmes that Governments can support and replicate or

institutionalize. Further, the development of State strategies to address violence should be based on womens experiences and requires their involvement.

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