Sexual and reproductive health

Seven governments adopt statement on violence against women and girls at 66th World Health Assembly

Photo showing a document being distributed during the event.
Infographic

21 May 2013 - Ministers of health from the governments of Belgium, India, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, United States of America, and Zambia issued a statement to declare violence against women and girls "a major global public health, gender equality and human rights challenge, touching every country and every part of society" and proposed an agenda item on the topic for the next Assembly. The statement underlines the key role of the health sector in preventing and responding to the problem in an approach that engages governments and civil society from local to international level.

Prevalence, patterns, consequences, risk factors & strategies

Image of several information sheets

25 November 2012 - International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women - For women in many parts of the world, violence is a leading cause of injury and disability, as well as a risk factor for other physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health problems. WHO and the Pan American Health Organization have developed a series of information sheets on violence against women that summarizes what is known about the prevalence, patterns, consequences, risk factors and strategies to address the different forms of VAW. This series is for programme managers, practitioners, researchers, policy-makers and others working in a wide range of sectors and in every country.

Prevention and response

A female student in Southern Tanzania reads about violence against girls during a youth festival.
Photoshare/Felicity Thompson

To help ensure better care and support for those who have experienced partner violence or sexual violence, WHO works, among other things, to strengthen the health sector response to violence against women.

Intimate partner violence in pregnancy

A pregnant woman walks through the maternity ward of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital in the city of Lagos, Nigeria
UNICEF/Christine Nesbitt

Intimate partner violence during pregnancy has been found to be associated with fatal and non-fatal adverse health outcomes for the pregnant woman and her baby due to the direct trauma of abuse to a pregnant woman’s body, as well as the physiological effects of stress from current or past abuse on fetal growth and development.

Publications

Sexual violence

Sexual violence is a serious public health and human rights problem with both short- and long-term consequences on women's physical, mental, and sexual and reproductive health.

VAW and HIV

Image of a red HIV ribbon

Growing evidence shows that violence increases women's vulnerability to HIV. HIV can also be a risk factor for violence, since disclosure can put some women at risk of violence by their partners, family or community members.

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