Editing Gender equality (section)

====Violence against women====
{{Main|Violence against women}}
[[File:MURDER-SCALE-4-2019.jpg|thumb|A map of the world showing murders per 100,000 population committed against women, 2019]]
[[File:FGM road sign, Bakau, Gambia, 2005.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Anti-[[FGM]] road sign, Bakau, Gambia, 2005]]
[[File:Bound feet (X-ray).jpg|thumb|An X-ray of two bound feet. [[Foot binding]] was practiced for centuries in China.]]
[[Violence against women]] (VAW) is a technical term used to collectively refer to violent acts that are primarily or exclusively committed against women.{{Refn|Forms of violence against women include [[Sexual violence]] (including [[War Rape]], [[Marital rape]], [[Date rape]] by drugs or alcohol, and [[Child sexual abuse]], the latter often in the context of [[Child marriage]]), [[Domestic violence]], [[Forced marriage]], [[Female genital mutilation]], [[Forced prostitution]], [[Sex trafficking]], [[Honor killing]], [[Dowry killing]], [[Acid attacks]], [[Stoning]], [[Flogging]], [[Forced sterilisation]], [[Forced abortion]], violence related to accusations of witchcraft, mistreatment of widows (e.g. widow inheritance). Fighting against violence against women is considered a key issue for achieving gender equality. The Council of Europe adopted the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention).|group=lower-roman}} This type of violence is gender-based, meaning that the acts of violence are committed against women expressly ''because'' they are women, or as a result of patriarchal gender constructs.{{Refn|The UN [[Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women]] defines violence against women as "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life" and states that:"violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to domination over and discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of the full advancement of women, and that violence against women is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position compared with men."<ref group=upper-roman>{{cite web|url=http://www.un-documents.net/a48r104.htm|title=Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women|publisher=United Nations General Assembly|access-date=14 June 2015|archive-date=4 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804222717/http://www.un-documents.net/a48r104.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>|group=lower-roman}} Violence and mistreatment of women in marriage has come to international attention during the past decades. This includes both violence committed inside marriage ([[domestic violence]]) as well as violence related to marriage customs and traditions (such as [[dowry]], [[bride price]], [[forced marriage]] and [[child marriage]]).

According to some theories, violence against women is often caused by the acceptance of violence by various cultural groups as a means of conflict resolution within intimate relationships. Studies on [[Intimate partner violence]] victimization among ethnic minorities in the United Studies have consistently revealed that immigrants are a high-risk group for intimate violence.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bachman |first=Ronet |date=January 1994 |title=Violence Against Women: A National Crime Victimization Survey Report |url=https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/digitization/145325ncjrs.pdf |publisher=U.S. Department of Justice |access-date=April 25, 2021 |archive-date=August 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190810184521/https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/145325NCJRS.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Prevalence and Impact of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Among an Ethnic Minority Population|first1=Sabine|last1=Hellemans|first2=Tom|last2=Loeys|first3=Ann|last3=Buysse|first4=Olivia|last4=De Smet|date=1 November 2015|journal=Journal of Interpersonal Violence|volume=30|issue=19|pages=3389–3418|doi=10.1177/0886260514563830|pmid=25519236|hdl=1854/LU-5815751|s2cid=5958973|url=https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/5815751|access-date=11 December 2019|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801003835/https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/5815751|url-status=live|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

In countries where gang murders, armed kidnappings, civil unrest, and other similar acts are rare, the vast majority of murdered women are killed by partners/ex-partners.{{Refn|As of 2004–2009, former and current partners were responsible for more than 80% of all cases of [[femicide|murders of women]] in [[Cyprus]], [[France]], and [[Portugal]].<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/H-Research_Notes/SAS-Research-Note-14.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403000428/http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/H-Research_Notes/SAS-Research-Note-14.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 3, 2012|title=Femicide: A Global Problem|date=February 2012|website=Small Arms Survey|publisher=Research Notes: Armed Violence}}</ref>|group=lower-roman}} By contrast, in countries with a high level of organized criminal activity and gang violence, murders of women are more likely to occur in a public sphere, often in a general climate of indifference and impunity.<ref name=":1" /> In addition, many countries do not have adequate comprehensive data collection on such murders, aggravating the problem.<ref name=":1" />

In some parts of the world, various forms of violence against women are tolerated and accepted as parts of everyday life.{{Refn|According to UNFPA:<ref group=upper-roman>{{cite web|url=http://www.unfpa.org/gender/practices.htm|title=Gender equality|publisher=United Nations Population Fund|access-date=14 June 2015|archive-date=20 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020025509/http://www.unfpa.org/gender/practices.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
:"In some developing countries, practices that subjugate and harm women – such as wife-beating, killings in the name of honour, female genital mutilation/cutting and dowry deaths – are condoned as being part of the natural order of things."|group=lower-roman}}

In most countries, it is only in more recent decades that domestic violence against women has received significant legal attention. The [[Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence|Istanbul Convention]] acknowledges the long tradition of European countries of ignoring this form of violence.{{Refn|In its [http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/Reports/Html/210.htm explanatory report] at para 219, it states:
:"There are many examples from past practice in Council of Europe member states that show that exceptions to the prosecution of such cases were made, either in law or in practice, if victim and perpetrator were, for example, married to each other or had been in a relationship. The most prominent example is rape within marriage, which for a long time had not been recognised as rape because of the relationship between victim and perpetrator."<ref group=upper-roman>{{cite web|url=http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/Reports/Html/210.htm|title=Explanatory Report to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (CETS No. 210)|website=Conventions.coe.int|access-date=14 June 2015|archive-date=20 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150720234156/http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/Reports/Html/210.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>|group=lower-roman}}{{Refn|In ''Opuz v Turkey'', the [[European Court of Human Rights]] recognized violence against women as a form discrimination against women: "[T]he Court considers that the violence suffered by the applicant and her mother may be regarded as ''gender-based violence which is a form of discrimination against women''."<ref group=upper-roman>{{cite web|url=http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/eng/pages/search.aspx?i=001-92945#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-92945%22]}|title=Case of Opuz v. Turkey|date=September 2009|website=European Court of Human Rights|access-date=14 June 2015}}</ref> This is also the position of the Istanbul Convention which reads:"Article 3 – Definitions, For the purpose of this Convention: a "violence against women" is understood as a violation of human rights and ''a form of discrimination against women'' [...]".<ref group=upper-roman>{{cite web|url=http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/Treaties/Html/210.htm|author=Council of Europe|title=Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (CETS No. 210)|website=Conventions.coe.int|access-date=14 June 2015|archive-date=23 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923210455/http://www.conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/Treaties/Html/210.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>|group=lower-roman}}

In some cultures, acts of violence against women are seen as crimes against the male 'owners' of the woman, such as husband, father or male relatives, rather the woman herself. This leads to practices where men inflict violence upon women in order to get revenge on male members of the women's family.<ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite web|url=http://www.unwomen.org/~/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2012/12/unw-legislation-supplement-en%20pdf.pdf|title=Supplement to the Handbook for Legislation on Violence Against Women: Harmful Practices Against Women|date=2012|website=UN Women|access-date=2015-06-10|archive-date=2015-06-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610131259/http://www.unwomen.org/~/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2012/12/unw-legislation-supplement-en%20pdf.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Such practices include [[Types of rape#Payback rape|payback rape]], a form of rape specific to certain cultures, particularly the [[Pacific Islands]], which consists of the rape of a female, usually by a group of several males, as revenge for acts committed by members of her family, such as her father or brothers, with the rape being meant to humiliate the father or brothers, as punishment for their prior behavior towards the perpetrators.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://waaiabulletin.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/png_activist_toolkit_16_days_2009_-_iwd_2010.pdf|title=Many Voices One Message: Stop Violence Against Women in PNG|date=2009–2010|website=Activist Toolkit, Amnesty International|access-date=2017-03-28|archive-date=2017-10-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020153358/https://waaiabulletin.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/png_activist_toolkit_16_days_2009_-_iwd_2010.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Richard A. Posner]] writes that "Traditionally, rape was the offense of depriving a father or husband of a valuable asset — his wife's chastity or his daughter's virginity".<ref>''Sex and Reason'', by Richard A. Posner, page 94.</ref> Historically, rape was seen in many cultures (and is still seen today in some societies) as a crime against the [[Family honor|honor of the family]], rather than against the self-determination of the woman. As a result, victims of rape may face violence, in extreme cases even honor killings, at the hands of their family members.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/honourcrimes/crimesofhonour_1.shtml|title=Ethics: Honour crimes|website=Bbc.co.uk|access-date=14 June 2015|archive-date=21 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921053506/http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/honourcrimes/crimesofhonour_1.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13760895|title=Libya rape victims 'face honour killings'|website=BBC News|access-date=14 June 2015|date=2011-06-14|last1=Harter|first1=Pascale|archive-date=2013-09-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921101600/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13760895|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Catharine MacKinnon]] argues that in male dominated societies, sexual intercourse is imposed on women in a coercive and unequal way, creating a continuum of victimization, where women have few positive sexual experiences.{{Refn|She writes "To know what is wrong with rape, know what is right about sex. If this, in turn, is difficult, the difficulty is as instructive as the difficulty men have in telling the difference when women see one. Perhaps the wrong of rape has proved so difficult to define because the unquestionable starting point has been that rape is defined as distinct from intercourse, while for women it is difficult to distinguish the two under conditions of male dominance."<ref group=upper-roman>''Toward a Feminist Theory of the State'', by Catharine A. MacKinnon, pp 174</ref>|group=lower-roman}} Socialization within rigid gender constructs often creates an environment where sexual violence is common.{{Refn|According to the World Health Organization: "Sexual violence is also more likely to occur where beliefs in male sexual entitlement are strong, where gender roles are more rigid, and in countries experiencing high rates of other types of violence."<ref group=upper-roman>{{cite web|url=https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/world_report/en/summary_en.pdf|title=World report on violence and health: summary|website=World Health Organization|date=2002|access-date=2020-10-04|archive-date=2019-03-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190305201126/https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/world_report/en/summary_en.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>|group=lower-roman}} One of the challenges of dealing with sexual violence is that in many societies women are perceived as being readily available for sex, and men are seen as entitled to their bodies, until and unless women object.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/32000/ior530012011en.pdf|title=Rape and Sexual Violence: Human rights law and standards in the international criminal court|date=1 March 2011|website=Amnesty International|access-date=14 June 2015|archive-date=13 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613020021/https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/32000/ior530012011en.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/64000/eur270022007en.pdf|title=Hungary: Cries Unheard: The Failure To Protect Women From Rape And Sexual Violence In The Home|publisher=Amnesty International|date=2007|access-date=14 June 2015|archive-date=13 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613012347/https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/64000/eur270022007en.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Refn|Rebecca Cook wrote in ''Submission of Interights to the European Court of Human Rights in the case of [[M.C. v. Bulgaria]], 12 April 2003'': "The equality approach starts by examining not whether the woman said 'no', but whether she said 'yes'. Women do not walk around in a state of constant consent to sexual activity unless and until they say 'no', or offer resistance to anyone who targets them for sexual activity. The right to physical and sexual autonomy means that they have to affirmatively consent to sexual activity."|group=lower-roman}}

=====Types of VAW=====

Violence against women may be classified according to different approaches.
* '''WHO's life cycle typology''':

The [[World Health Organization]] (WHO) has developed a typology of violence against women based on their cultural life cycles.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
| '''Phase''' || '''Type of violence'''
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| Pre-birth || Sex-selective abortion; effects of battering during pregnancy on birth outcomes
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| Infancy || Female infanticide; physical, sexual and psychological abuse
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| Girlhood || Child marriage; female genital mutilation; physical, sexual and psychological abuse; incest; child prostitution and pornography
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| Adolescence and adulthood || Dating and courtship violence (e.g. acid throwing and date rape); economically coerced sex (e.g. school girls having sex with "sugar daddies" in return for school fees); incest; sexual abuse in the workplace; rape; sexual harassment; forced prostitution and pornography; trafficking in women; partner violence; marital rape; dowry abuse and murders; partner homicide; psychological abuse; abuse of women with disabilities; forced pregnancy
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| Elderly || Forced "suicide" or homicide of widows for economic reasons; sexual, physical and psychological abuse<ref name="WHO_VAW">{{cite book | last = WHO | author-link = World Health Organization | title = Violence against women: Definition and scope of the problem, 1, 1-3 | url = https://www.who.int/gender/violence/v4.pdf | publisher = [[World Health Organization]] | date = July 1997 | access-date = 30 November 2013 | archive-date = 30 November 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181130173014/http://www.who.int/gender/violence/v4.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref>
|}

Significant progress towards the protection of women from violence has been made on international level as a product of collective effort of lobbying by many women's rights movements; international organizations to civil society groups. As a result, worldwide governments and international as well as civil society organizations actively work to combat violence against women through a variety of programs. Among the major achievements of the women's rights movements against violence on girls and women, the landmark accomplishments are the "[[Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women]]" that implies "political will towards addressing VAW " and the legal binding agreement, "the Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women ([[CEDAW]])".<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Rosche | first1 = Daniela | last2 = Dawe | first2 = Alexandra | title = Oxfam Briefing Note: Ending violence against women the case for a comprehensive international action plan | page = 2 | publisher = [[Oxfam|Oxfam GB]] | location = Oxford | year = 2013 | url = http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/bn-ending-violence-against-women-action-plan-220213-en.pdf |isbn=978-1-78077-263-9 | access-date = 2 December 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170925212852/https://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/bn-ending-violence-against-women-action-plan-220213-en.pdf | archive-date = 25 September 2017 | url-status = dead }}</ref> In addition, the UN General Assembly resolution also designated 25 November as [[International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women]].<ref>{{cite book | last = UN | author-link = United Nations | title = International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women | url = https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/news/vawd.html | via = un.org | publisher = [[United Nations]] | date = 17 December 1999 | access-date = 3 April 2016 | archive-date = 13 February 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210213161934/https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/news/vawd.html | url-status = live }}</ref>
* '''''The Lancet'''s over time typology''':

A typology similar to the WHO's from an article on violence against women published in the academic journal ''[[The Lancet]]'' shows the different types of violence perpetrated against women according to what time period in a women's life the violence takes place.<ref name="VAM: Global scope & magnitude">{{cite journal | last1 = Watts | first1 = Charlotte | last2 = Zimmerman | first2 = Cathy | title = Violence against women: global scope and magnitude | journal = [[The Lancet]] | volume = 359 | issue = 9313 | pages = 1232–1237 | publisher = [[Elsevier]] | pmid = 11955557 | doi = 10.1016/S0140-6736(02)08221-1 | date = 6 April 2002 | s2cid = 38436965 }}</ref> However, it also classifies the types of violence according to the perpetrator. One important point to note is that more of the types of violence inflicted on women are perpetrated by someone the woman knows, either a family member or intimate partner, rather than a stranger.
* '''Council of Europe's nine forms of violence''':

The Gender Equality Commission of the [[Council of Europe]] identifies nine forms of violence against women based on subject and context rather than life cycle or time period:<ref name="Hagemann-White">{{cite web |url=https://rm.coe.int/16805915e9 |title=Analytical study of the results of the 4th round of monitoring the implementation of Recommendation Rec(2002)5 on the protection of women against violence in Council of Europe member states |first=Carol |last=Hagemann-White |pages=7, 8, 11 |publisher=Council of Europe Equality Division |date=February 2014 |access-date=5 April 2020 |archive-date=3 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803211102/https://rm.coe.int/16805915e9 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://edoc.coe.int/en/fundamental-freedoms/5949-state-of-democracy-human-rights-and-the-rule-of-law-in-europe.html |title=State of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe (2014) |first=Thorbjørn |last=Jagland |author-link=Thorbjørn Jagland |work=Report by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe |page=48 |publisher=Council of Europe |date=May 2014 |access-date=5 April 2020 |archive-date=24 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200424094422/https://edoc.coe.int/en/fundamental-freedoms/5949-state-of-democracy-human-rights-and-the-rule-of-law-in-europe.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 'Violence within the family or domestic violence'
* 'Rape and sexual violence'
* 'Sexual harassment'
* 'Violence in institutional environments'
* 'Female genital mutilation'
* 'Forced marriages'
* 'Violence in conflict and post-conflict situations'
* 'Killings in the name of honour'
* 'Failure to respect freedom of choice with regard to reproduction'

=====Violence against trans women=====
{{further|Transgender women}}

Killings of [[transgender]] individuals, especially transgender women, continue to rise yearly. 2020 saw a record 350 transgender individuals murdered, with means including suffocation and burning alive.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiewareham/2020/11/11/350-transgender-people-have-been-murdered-in-2020-transgender-day-of-remembrance-list/?sh=e5a18d965a61 |title=Murdered, Suffocated and Burned Alive - 350 Transgender People Killed in 2020 |last=Wareham |first=Jamie |date=November 11, 2020 |website=Forbes |access-date=April 25, 2021 |archive-date=February 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220219142029/https://gum.criteo.com/syncframe?origin=publishertag&topUrl=www.forbes.com |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2009, United States data showed that transgender people are likely to experience a broad range of violence in the entirety of their lifetime. Violence against trans women in Puerto Rico started to make headlines after being treated as "An Invisible Problem" decades before. It was reported at the 58th Convention of the Puerto Rican Association that many transgender women face institutional, emotional, and structural obstacles. Most trans women do not have access to health care for [[STD prevention]] and are not educated on violence prevention, mental health, and social services that could benefit them.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Rodríguez-Madera|first1=Sheilla L.|last2=Padilla|first2=Mark|last3=Varas-Díaz|first3=Nelson|last4=Neilands|first4=Torsten|last5=Guzzi|first5=Ana C. Vasques|last6=Florenciani|first6=Ericka J.|last7=Ramos-Pibernus|first7=Alíxida|date=2017-01-28|title=Experiences of Violence Among Transgender Women in Puerto Rico: An Underestimated Problem|journal=Journal of Homosexuality|volume=64|issue=2|pages=209–217|doi=10.1080/00918369.2016.1174026|issn=0091-8369|pmc=5546874|pmid=27054395}}</ref>

[[Trans woman|Trans women]] in the United States have been the subject of anti-trans stigma, which includes criminalization, dehumanization, and violence against those who identify as transgender. From a societal standpoint, a trans person can be victim to the stigma due to lack of family support, issues with health care and social services, [[police brutality]], discrimination in the work place, cultural marginalisation, poverty, sexual assault, assault, bullying, and mental trauma. The [[Human Rights Campaign]] tracked over 128 cases{{Clarify|reason=so it was 129 cases? or...?|date=April 2019}} that ended in fatality against transgender people in the US from 2013 to 2018, of which eighty percent included a trans woman of color. In the US, high rates of [[Intimate partner violence|Intimate Partner violence]] impact trans women differently because they are facing discrimination from police and health providers, and alienation from family. In 2018, it was reported that 77 percent of transgender people who were linked to sex work and 72 percent of transgender people who were homeless, were victims of intimate partner violence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hrc.org/resources/a-national-epidemic-fatal-anti-transgender-violence-in-america-in-2018/|title=A National Epidemic: Fatal Anti-Transgender Violence in America|last=Campaign|first=Human Rights|website=Human Rights Campaign|language=en|access-date=2019-02-25|archive-date=2019-03-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190301202408/https://www.hrc.org/resources/a-national-epidemic-fatal-anti-transgender-violence-in-america-in-2018|url-status=live}}</ref>