Where battery begins at home.

The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State

- Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 16(3)

When development is perceived and examined as enlarging choices, violence against women emerges as one of the most disturbing and prevalent obstacles to the exercise of choice - chipping away at the process of self-affirmation needed to make independent decisions affecting women's lives. It emerges as a serious violation of human rights that abrogates the women's right to dignity, equality, autonomy, and physical and mental well being. Moreover, violence is not only a manifestation of unequal, disempowering and unjust power relations, but is also a costly economic phenomenon resulting in significant losses of productive potential. Fully cognizant of this morally unacceptable reality, the United Nations system has joined together in this special year for human rights in an inter-agency campaign on violence against women and girls, which focuses on Latin America and the Caribbean, an area which registers a striking trend of increasing incidences of violence against women and girls. Studies indicate high incidences of violence within families, and in some countries such violence is cited as the leading cause of hospitalization of women.

Anywhere from 25 to more than 50 per cent of Latin American and Caribbean women, depending on the country in which they live, are victims of some kind of domestic violence. The phenomenon has powerful implications for women and for society, generating problems that often start as early as birth and continue throughout the life cycle of females. Another problem associated with violence is that it is most often transmitted inter-generationally through children who have either been witnesses to, or subjects of, abuse.

Like their parents, they grow to be both abusers and victims, perpetuating the cycle of violence through generations. In many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, the legal standards and implementation of justice continue to remain discriminatory against women, especially with respect to both family-related issues, such as marriage, divorce, property rights, violence and labour issues such as differential salary scales, unequal work conditions, and hiring and firing practices.

In Guatemala for example, Article 114 of the Civil Code grants a husband the right to prohibit his wife from working outside the home, which drastically limits a woman's ability to gain financial independence that she needs to escape an abusive relationship. Likewise, until a 1989 legal reform, a husband in Ecuador had the right to force his wife to live with him no matter how abusive he may have been. In many countries, 70 to 80 per cent of all crimes reported to the police involve women battered by their partners; Latin America and the Caribbean data confirms that 6 out of 10 women have suffered physical or psychological abuse by their intimate partner.

Governments in Latin America and the Caribbean agreed to adopt and implement national legislation to end violence against women and to work actively to ratify all international agreements that relate to such violence. In particular, the Organization of American States (OAS) adopted the Convention of Belem do Paro, a legally binding international instrument that recognizes all gender-based violence as an abuse of human rights. Governments agreed that there should be shelters, legal aid and other services for girls and women at risk, and counselling and rehabilitation for perpetrators.

Governments also pledged to adopt appropriate measures in the field of education to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women. Translating agreements and pledges into concrete actions is the most challenging objective. According to a World Bank study, one work day in every five lost by women for health reasons is the result of problems associated with violence, specifically domestic violence. In Canada, a study concluded that domestic violence costs the country $1.6 billion per year. An Inter-American Development Bank's study concluded that domestic violence is costing 2 and 1.6 per cent of the gross domestic product in 1996 in Chile and in Nicaragua, respectively. Clearly this has a direct impact on earning capacity.

But the Latin America and Caribbean region is on the threshold of being able to affect massive social change on the issue of violence against women and girls since public awareness has been raised significantly over the years. The 1998 United Nations Campaign on Violence against Women and Girls, working with a wide range of partners, will seek to provide substantial efforts in eliminating the scourge of violence in this region; its slogan is: "A Life Free of Violence: This is our right".

Activities in Alliance

To reaffirm the United Nations commitment to the global women's movement, and agreements produced by major global conferences and treaties, several United Nations agencies - the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as co-coordinators, as well as the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) - have jointly initiated the 1998 United Nations Inter-Agency Campaign on Violence against Women and Girls in Latin America. In the Campaign, each agency is committed to raise public awareness that violence against women is an endemic and unacceptable problem. Moreover, this inter-agency alliance will create collaborative strategies for promoting and protecting the human rights of women, with particular focus on violence issues.

The Campaign's activities include: facilitating awareness and training workshops for judges and police; providing seed money for shelters; assisting in the drafting and passage of national legislation; supporting civil society organizations for data collection and preparation of needs assessment; and promoting multi-media and public education campaigns.

Trauma's Cycle

Prenatal: Battering during pregnancy (emotional and physical effects on the woman; effects on birth): coerced pregnancy; deprivation of food and liquids; sex-selective abortion.

Infancy: Female infanticide; emotional and physical abuse; differential access to food and medical care for girl infants.

Childhood: Child marriage; genital mutilation; sexual abuse by family members and strangers; differential access to food and medical care; child prostitution.

Adolescence: Rape and marital rape; sexual assault; forced prostitution; trafficking in women; courtship violence; economically coerced sex; sexual abuse in the workplace.

Adulthood: Abuse of women by intimate partners; marital rape; dowry abuse and murders; partner homicide; psychological abuse; sexual abuse in the workplace; sexual harassment; rape; abuse of women with disabilities; legal discrimination.

Old Age: Abuse and exploitation of windows.