Violence against women perpetrated by a state and its agents

Despite the obligation of the states to act with due diligence to prevent violence against women - violence against women and girls in many societies is met with governmental silence or apathy or lack of interest.

The violence against women by agents of the state goes largely unreported and unscrutinized.

Women continue to face violence at the hands of state agents.

Key points

All governments have the responsibility under international human rights law to:

• Prevent, investigate and punish acts of all forms of violence against women whether in the home, workplace, the community or society, in custody or in situations of armed conflict.
• Take all measures to empower women.
• Condemn violence against women and not invoke customs, traditions or practices in the name of religion or culture to avoid their obligations to eliminate violence against women.
• Develop and/or utilize legislative, educational, social and other measures aimed at the prevention of violence against women.

What Amnesty International is doing

For example, 

• Tens of thousands of women in Georgia are hit, beaten, raped and in some cases even killed by their husbands or partners.  Only a very small percentage of women are able to seek help and demand justice in the face of violence.  Many stay with their partners because they have nowhere else to go and are lacking financial independence.
• The government's ongoing failure to tackle violence against women in Papua New Guinea means this violence is becoming so pervasive that it contributes to the spread of HIV/AIDS, impedes national development and debilitates women's social and economic progress.