26th November, 2013
At least two million women and girls are trafficking into prostitution, forced slavery and servitude each year while up to 60 per cent of women will experience some form of physical or sexual abuse during their lifetime, according to data released to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on Monday.
Releasing the data, the United Nations Development Programme called for renewed efforts to tackle violence against women which it says hurts women, their families and countries and reinforces inequalities between genders.
The UNDP said marital rape is still not considered a crime in more than 35 countries and added that more than 603 million women live in countries where domestic violence is not a crime.
Helen Clark, administrator of the UNDP, said the statistics were "not acceptable" and called for better laws and better enforcement.
A recent UN study in the Asia Pacific region found that nearly half of the 10,000 men reported using physical and/or sexual violence against a female partner.
– DAVID ADAMS
