Charlotte Watts comments: “There are many potential perpetrators, including spouses and partners, parents, other family members, neighbours, and men in positions of power or influence. Most forms of violence are not unique incidents but are ongoing, and can even continue for decades. Because of the sensitivity of the subject, violence is almost universally under-reported. Nevertheless, the prevalence of such violence suggests that globally, millions of women are experiencing violence or living with its consequences.”
In a Commentary article to launch the series (p 1172), Sarah Venis and Richard Horton from THE LANCET comment: “According to the World Bank, gender-based violence accounts for as much death and ill-health in women aged 15-44 years as cancer, and is a greater cause of ill-health than malaria and traffic accidents combined. G8 leaders have set ambitious targets for reducing the global burdens of disease caused by tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV/AIDS by 2010, but why does violence against women, a massive cause of morbidity and mortality, remain overlooked by governments?” They conclude: “Violence against women is the extreme end of a sliding scale of discrimination and prejudice against women, and must be addressed as a priority by governments if we are to achieve a just world. But first, doctors and other health-care professionals need to face up to the problem and debate a strategy to deal with it-which is the aim of this series.”
Contact: Dr Charlotte Watts, Health Policy Unit, Department of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT,UK;T) +44 (0) 207 927 2412;F) +44 (0) 207 637 5391;E) charlotte.watts@Ishtm.ac.uk
Journal
The Lancet