1. Violence against Women and Reproductive Health
Shiv Chandra Mathur
Professor of Preventive and Social Medicine.
Director, State Institute of Health and Family Welfare, Rajasthan, Jaipur, India
Dr.Shiv Chandra Mathur is a public health specialist. He has taught epidemiology in Medical Colleges of Rajasthan for more than two decades. Currently he is Director of apex level training and research institute in the Health sector in the largest sttate of India.
Dr.Shiv Mathur is deeply involved in implementing the HRD component of RCH project (funded by World Bank/UNFPA/European Commission) in India. He has earlier contributed two lecture to the supercourse on different components of Reproductive Health which are available on the same website.
Violence against Women is present in most societies but it often goes unrecognized, acepted as part of the order of lifestyles. In different part of the World, between 16% and 52% of women suffer physical violence from their male partners. Acording toWHO, one in five women suffer rape or attempted rape in their lifetimes. Thus the subject needs a thoroughunderstanding..

2. Gender Perspective in Health
Individual Health and Well being of both Male and Female is integral to development.
Right to Health is a basic human right.
Gender inequality and health care are inter-related.
The issue of violence against women should always be seen in the context of Gender. Unless an equity between male and females is established, scope of violence against women would always exist.

3. What is Violence against Women
Any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in private or public life.
As defined by United Nations
Comparatively limited social and economic power possessed by women makes them vulnerable to violence on universal basis. It is characterized byhigh prevalence of violence within families, its aeptance by society and its long term impact on women’s health and well being.

4. Significance of Violence against Women
Unequal status of women in society
Serious violation of human rights
Leads to range of health problems (Often in silence)
Pressure on medical care resources
Health care institutions can make significant contributions to addressing violence against women by supporting clinicians and clients.

5. Various forms of Violence against Women
Rape/Sexual Violence in Refugee camps
Forced sexual initiation or abuse
Sex-selective abortion
Acid throwing/honor killing (dowry related deaths)
Undue virginity examination
Forced caesarian section deliveries
Trafficking in women and Girls

6. Data published by Govt. of India

7. Illustration drawn from OUTLOOK (path), Vol.20,p.2,Sept.2002.

8. Violence against Women – Health Issues
Fatal outcome: Suicide / Homicide
Non-fatal outcome:
Physical - Injury, PID, Unwanted Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Gynaec diseases
Mental - Depression, Anxiety, Sexual dysfunction, personality disorders.

9. Factors contributing to Violence against Women
Strictly enforced Gender roles
Association of masculinity with toughness and dominance
Punishment of women and children as an accepted value
Violence accepted as a standard way to resolve conflicts
Stress associated with poverty

10. Landmark events to resolve Violence against Women
1987 : Safe Motherhood
1993 : World Conference on Human Rights
1994 : IPD, Cairo
1995 : 4th World Conference on Women
1996 : World Health Assembly*
1997 : FIGO Resolutions**
2001 : Special session of UN General Assembly on HIV/AIDS
W.H.O. established a Women’s Health and Development Unit in 1980 to promote and coordinate women’s health and development activities in all WHO programs.
*49th World Health Assembly’s resolution no endorsed recommendations made at prior international conferences to tackle the problems of violence against women and girls, and to address its health consequences.
** FIGO resolutions include:
Women educate themselves;
concerned agencies work to understand causes/consequences;
assist in legal prosecution of cases of sexual abuse/rape;
careful documentation
support the groups working for VAW.

11. Empowering Women to prevent VAW by Informing/Educating her
On provision of penalties against different types of crimes.
On Police agencies and their working.
On scientific steps in crime investigations.
On functioning of Judiciary.
On fundamental rights and duties.
On security measures.
Empowerment attributes to providing rights to weak. Eventually providing social, economic, political and religious rights to women which may bring her at par with men is empowerment of women. Thus it is imparting social justice in gender context.

12. NGO’s Working on VAW International:
ARROW, Kualalampar (
Coordination of Women’s Advocacy, Switzerland (
Health and Development Policy Project,, Maryland, USA (
Isis-Women’s International Cross Cultural Exchange, Uganda (
There are several governmental and non-governmental agencies working in this field. The activists are expected to search one losest to their area of work,
Sweden is one of the advanced countries in ontextof gender issues, yet with initiative in 1994, a National Center for battered and raped women was started tp provide support to victims in Uppsala.
The Government of Sweden has released a website on issues related to VAW located at

13. NGO’s Working on VAW cont
International:
Latin American and Caribbean Women’s Network against Domestic and Sexual Violence, Chile (
Match International Centre, Canada (
Women in Law and Development, Africa, Zimbabwe
National:
Chetna(Ahmedabad); Shakti (Jaipur)
There are several governmental and non-governmental agencies working in this field. The activists are expected to search one losest to their area of work,
Sweden is one of the advanced countries in ontextof gender issues, yet with initiative in 1994, a National Center for battered and raped women was started tp provide support to victims in Uppsala.
The Government of Sweden has released a website on issues related to VAW located at