8 th March

The United Nations General Assembly, composed of delegates from every Member State, celebrates International Women's Day to recognize that peace and social progress require the active participation and equality of women, and to acknowledge the contribution of women to international peace and security.

Progress has been made Women's access to education and proper health care has increased Women’s participation in the paid labour force has grown Legislation that promises equal opportunities for women and respect for their human rights has been adopted in many countries The world now has an ever- growing number of women participating in society as policy-makers.

However, nowhere in the world can women claim to have all the same rights and opportunities as men.

When you educate a girl you educate a whole nation Nelson Mandela What do you think Mandela means by this?

You might think that women's equality benefits mostly women, but for every 1% increase in girls going to secondary school leads to in a 0.3 % growth in the economy of developing countries. Yet girls are often kept from receiving education in the poorest countries that would best benefit from the economic growth.

There are 130 million children worldwide who are not in school. Two out of every three of these are girls.

If a poor family has to pay even a small amount (such as for books and paper) for a child's schooling, it may think twice. A family might think that a daughter can help around the house to clean and cook, to collect wood and water, and look after younger children. Even if she does go to school, the family might consider how little opportunity there will be for her to get a paying job. Part of the decision is also based on the idea that sons should be educated, because they will be the breadwinners of their future families and the supporters of their aging parents.

Out of 1.3 billion people in the world living in absolute poverty, over 70 per cent are women Worldwide, on average, women receive between 30 and 40 per cent less pay than men earn for the same work In 2011 men in the UK earned 10.2% more in full-time work, £13.01 an hour compared to £11.68 for women. (ONS)

Only 24 women have been elected heads of state or government in this century. In 1995 there were 10 women heads of state. Although women's representation at the highest level of government is generally weakest in Asia, four of these 10 held office in this region. Only 14.1 percent of representatives elected to Parliaments around the world are women, up from 11.7 in The percentage of female cabinet ministers worldwide has risen from 3 in 1987 to 6.2 percent in In early 1995, Sweden formed the world's first cabinet to have equal numbers of men and women. Of the 189 highest ranking diplomats to the United Nations, only eleven are women.

600,000 women die each year from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Some 201 million women, most of them in developing countries, still have no access to contraceptive services. Meeting their needs would prevent an estimated 23 million unplanned births, and 1.4 million infant deaths.

And everywhere, women continue to be victims of violence, with rape and domestic violence listed as significant causes of disability and death among women of reproductive age worldwide.

Across the world over 60 million girl babies are ‘missing’ – killed, aborted for being a girl, or deliberately under- nourished and neglected. Each year, 2 million girls aged 5 to 15 are trafficked (sold or coerced into prostitution). More than a third of the world’s women and girls have been beaten, raped or sexually abused during their lifetimes. About 130 million girls and women worldwide have suffered female genital mutilation (FGM). Another two million girls are subjected to this every year. FGM is a traditional practice in some countries and involves cutting part of a girl’s genitals.

In Europe domestic violence is the biggest cause of death and disability for women between the ages of 16 and 44. A quarter of European women experience domestic violence in their lifetimes. Every year 6-10 per cent of the women in Europe suffer domestic violence. In Britain more than one in four women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime after the age of 16; this is equivalent to approximately four and a half million women. Between six and ten percent of women suffer domestic violence in a given year. There were over one million female victims of domestic violence in England and Wales in the last year. The vast majority of domestic violence is perpetrated by men on women. In 2009/10, women were the victim of over seven out of ten (73 per cent) incidents of domestic violence. Brighton & Hove Domestic Violence Needs Assessment, portal.co.uk/GroupDownloadFile.asp?GroupId=892926&ResourceId=

In 2006/7 65 per cent of female murder victims were killed by their partner, ex-partner or lover. In comparison 11 per cent of male murder victims were killed by their partner, ex-partner or lover. In the USA one woman is battered every 15 seconds, usually by her partner.

During the genocide of Tutsis and others in Rwanda from April 1994 to April 1995, over 250,000 women and girls were raped. In the conflict in Bosnia between 1992 and 1995 over 40,000 women are estimated to have been victims of war-rape. In India, around 15,000 women a year are murdered in ‘dowry deaths’ at the hands of husbands or in-laws, dissatisfied with the marriage settlement. These crimes are often disguised as ‘kitchen fires’ – the victim is doused in kerosene and set alight. In Pakistan over 1,000 women a year are murdered in the name of ‘honour’. In Bangladesh, acid attacks on women because of dowry disputes are frequent, often leading to blindness, disfigurement, and death.

British research A third of girls experience daily sexist/sexual bullying at school, which influences attendance and attainment. 45% of teenage girls had experienced groping against their wishes 40% of young people know girls who have been coerced or pressured into sex by their boyfriends 42% know girls whose boyfriends had hit them 75% of girls and 14% boys experience emotional abuse in teenage relationships 33% girls and 16% boys experience sexual abuse in teenage relationships; and girls suffer higher levels of victimisation and longer lasting effects Over three-quarters of boys aged years think that women deserve to be hit if they make men angry, and at aged they are even less clear of who is at fault in cases of domestic violence. Quoted in - Brighton & Hove Domestic Violence Needs Assessment,