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Gender stereotypes also shape how women andmen allocate their time between paid and unpaidcare and domestic work as well as between workand leisure. Stereotypes that define caregivingas quintessentially female (and maternal) seemto be much harder to dislodge than those aroundbreadwinning, previously seen as a male domain. 117Increasing numbers of women are adoptingwhat are widely seen as masculine lifestyles andpatterns of work by engaging more intensivelyin the labour market. However, men are not, tothe same extent, taking on greater responsibilityfor unpaid care and domestic work, widelyseen as ‘feminine’. Gender gaps in unpaid workare narrowing in developed countries, but theyremain starker than those in market-based workvirtually everywhere. 118Described as ‘a process of dehumanizing,degrading, discrediting and devaluing people incertain population groups’, 119 stigma is a weaponemployed by the powerful to define what is‘normal’ or ‘acceptable’, as a means to uphold theirposition in relation to a subordinate group. Stigmaand even violence are often used to enforcestereotypes and social norms about ‘appropriate’female and male behaviour. 120 Stigma is frequentlyinvoked where gender intersects with othercharacteristics including disability and sexualityas well as poverty, race, caste, ethnicity andimmigrant status. For example, immigrant, ethnicminority women working in domestic serviceare often stigmatized as being backward, dirtyor carrying diseases, thereby justifying theirsubordinate position vis-à-vis their employers. 121Stigmatization has far-reaching consequencesfor the realization of economic and social rights: itrenders the needs of certain groups and individualsinvisible, pushes them to the margins of societyand excludes them from access to resources andservices, as Chapter 3 shows. 122Addressing violence against womenMen’s use of violence against women iswidespread across all countries and socioeconomicgroups. Globally, one in three womenreports having experienced physical and/orsexual violence at some point in their lives, usuallyperpetrated by an intimate partner. 123 Changes inthe prevalence of violence against women overtime are hard to assess given a paucity of reliableand comparable data, but there is no doubt that itcontinues to be a very widespread problem.Over many decades, women’s rights activistsand researchers have documented how genderinequality and men’s power over women createa conducive context for the perpetration ofviolence against women. As girls and women haveentered schools, workplaces, public transportand marketplaces in greater numbers, theyare frequently subject to unwelcome scrutiny,harassment and even assault. Violence is also usedas a way to punish nonconformity with dominantgender stereotypes, for example in relation tosexual orientation (see Box 1.5).Violence against women also tends to increaseduring periods of upheaval and displacementassociated with armed conflict and naturaldisasters, as well as in times of crisis and instability,when people are dealing with uncertainty.For example, domestic violence may increasewhen men are unemployed even if—sometimesespecially if—women are bringing in income. 124In response to the massive mobilizations ofwomen’s movements from the 1970s onwards, arange of countries has adopted legislation thatcriminalizes violence against women, as shown inFigure 1.1. However, the implementation of theselegal provisions is rarely supported by adequateinvestments in services, in capacity building ofservice providers and in the public campaignsneeded to effectively prevent violence againstwomen. Addressing these deficits requires asignificant investment in making homes and publicspaces safe for women and girls and ensuringaccess to justice. It also requires a commitmentfrom policy makers to prevent violence before ithappens by changing community attitudes thataccept it. 125Police services in some countries are startingto respond more effectively to violence againstwomen, especially intimate partner violence. In