Violence against women is characteristically under-reported for a number of reasons, including feelings of shame, fear of scepticism, disbelief or further violence. In addition, definitions of the forms of violence vary widely in different countries, making comparisons difficult.

Many states lack good reporting systems to determine the prevalence of violence against women. The failure to investigate and expose the true extent of violence allows governments, families and communities to ignore their responsibilities.

Global Statistics

• At least one out of every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime, according to a study based on 50 surveys from around the world
• More than 60 million women are "missing" from the world today as a result of sex-selective abortions and female infanticide, according to an estimate by Amartya Sen, the Nobel Laureate
• In the USA, women accounted for 85% of the victims of domestic violence in 1999 (671,110 compared to 120,100 men), according to the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women
• The Russian Government estimates that 14,000 women were killed by their partners or relatives in 1999, yet the country still has no law specifically addressing domestic violence
• The World Health Organisation has reported that up to 70% of female murder victims are killed by their male partners
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The UK Reality

• Domestic violence accounts for nearly a quarter of all recorded violent crime in England and Wales
• One incident of domestic violence is reported to the police every minute
• One in four women will be a victim of domestic violence in their lifetime
• On average, two women per week are killed by a male partner or former partner. Nearly half of all female murder victims are killed by a partner or ex-partner
• The British Crime Survey estimates that approximately three-quarters of a million women (754,000) have been raped on at least one occasion since age 16

Domestic violence

• A Homocide Report from 1998 showed that two women are killed each week by a current or former partner
• An analysis of 10 separate domestic violence prevalence studies by the Council of Europe in 2002 showed consistent findings: one in four women experience domestic violence over their lifetimes and between 6-10% of women suffer domestic violence in a given year
• One woman in nine is severely beaten by her male partner each year (Stanko et al, 1998)
• A Home Office report from 2002 found domestic violence to have a higher rate of repeat victimisation than any other crime
• Every minute police in the UK receive a domestic assistance call - yet only 35% of domestic violence incidents are reported to the police (Stanko 2000 & Home Office 2002)
• The 2001/02 British Crime Survey (BCS) found that there were an estimated 635,000 incidents of domestic violence in England and Wales, 81% of the victims were women and 19% were men. Domestic violence incidents also made up nearly twenty-two percent of all violent incidents reported by participants in the BCS
• On average, a woman is assaulted 35 times before her first call to the police (Jaffe 1982)

Health

• A report from the Royal College of Midwives found that 25% of women experiencing domestic violence are assaulted for the first time during pregnancy
• Foetal morbidity from violence is more prevalent than gestational diabetes or pre-eclampsia (Friend 1998)

Cost to society

• In September 2004, Sylvia Walby of the University of Leeds estimated the total cost of domestic violence to services at over £5.7 billion a year
• In 1996 Professor Elizabeth Stanko estimated the cost of providing services to women and children facing domestic violence in one London borough to be about £90 per year per household and the total cost for Greater London to be £276 million per year

Rape and sexual violence

• There was an 8% increase in recorded rapes between 2002 and 2003. In 2002 11,441 rapes were recorded compared to 14,000 in 2003
• One in 20 women in England and Wales has been the victim of rape
• 167 women are raped every day
• Only one in five attacks is reported to the police
• Women are most likely to be sexually attacked by men they know in some way, most often partners (32%) or acquaintances (22%)
• 'Current partners' (at the time of the attack) were responsible for 45% of rapes reported to the British Crime Survey
• 'Strangers' were only responsible for 8% of rapes.

Information taken from http://www.amnesty.org.uk