Global Burden of Armed Violence - The Geneva Declaration on ...

Chapter Six
<strong>Armed</strong> <strong>Violence</strong> Against Women
<strong>Armed</strong> violence affects women, men,
girls, and boys in different ways—as both
perpetrators and targets <strong>of</strong> armed violence.
Across cultures, most acts <strong>of</strong> violence are committed
by men, and men and boys also account
for the majority <strong>of</strong> firearm-related deaths and
injuries. In Rio de Janeiro, for example, young
men are 24 times more likely than women to be
killed by armed violence, while men between the
ages <strong>of</strong> 15 and 29 are twice as likely to die from
armed violence as the rest <strong>of</strong> the male population
(Dreyfus et al., 2003; CICS, 2005, p. 14).
<strong>The</strong> present report has focused on the main indicators
used to capture and quantify the burden
<strong>of</strong> armed violence and its impact on development,
including homicide, direct conflict deaths, indirect
conflict deaths, and economic costs. While
these indicators provide valuable information on
the burden <strong>of</strong> armed violence at the population
level, they are limited when we turn our attention
to women’s experience <strong>of</strong> armed violence.
Women and girls are affected by armed violence
in different ways, including by direct and indirect
conflict violence, and by lethal and non-lethal
non-conflict violence. <strong>The</strong>y are also more likely
than men and boys to die through intimate partner
violence (IPV). <strong>The</strong> World Health Organization
(WHO) suggests that 40–70 per cent <strong>of</strong> all female
homicides are committed by an intimate partner
(Krug et al., 2002, p. 93).
A number <strong>of</strong> forms <strong>of</strong> gender-based violence specifically
target women and girls because <strong>of</strong> their
sex; this chapter refers to them as ‘violence
against women’. Such violence, including rape,
domestic violence, murder, and sexual abuse, is
a significant cause <strong>of</strong> female mortality and a leading
cause <strong>of</strong> injury for women aged 15 to 44 years
(UNIFEM, 2007). <strong>The</strong> severe impact <strong>of</strong> violence
against women has prompted the United Nations
Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) to describe
it as ‘a universal problem <strong>of</strong> epidemic proportions’
(UNIFEM, n.d.). And violence against women, in
its many forms, is responsible for ‘more than 100
million missing women’ due to ill-treatment, lack
<strong>of</strong> access to food and health care, and genderbased
violence such as female infanticide and
sex-selective abortion (Sen, 1990).
This chapter examines some <strong>of</strong> the specific gender
dimensions <strong>of</strong> the global burden <strong>of</strong> armed violence
and provides an overview <strong>of</strong> forms <strong>of</strong> violence
specifically directed at women. It complements
the examination <strong>of</strong> gender issues in previous
chapters. Its main findings are:
<strong>The</strong> majority <strong>of</strong> victims <strong>of</strong> IPV are women, and
IPV is the most common form <strong>of</strong> violence
against women.
A number <strong>of</strong> forms <strong>of</strong> violence specifically
target women and have significant physical,
psychological, social, and economic costs.
Data collected on violence against women is
sparse and unsystematic; significant investments
in improved data collection and analysis
should be made.
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A R M E D V I O L E N C E AG A I N S T WOMEN
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