Gender-based violence leading cause of death for women aged 15-44

The ministry announced in July that they would soon be implementing a national action plan to combat violence against women. The national plan announced by the ministry also included important statistics regarding gender-based violence.

The number of women between the ages of 15 and 44 who lose their lives to gender-based violence outstrips deaths due to traffic accidents, malaria, cancer and war, revealed one of the surprising statistics.

The United Nations also recently conducted a study on violence against women on a global scale. The UN study revealed that 8 percent of women in Canada, 11 percent in Sweden, 14 percent in Italy, 15 percent in Japan, 20 percent in Denmark and 27 percent of women in Australia had been subjected to physical violence at least once in their lives. The UN described violence against woman as an act that physically, sexually or psychologically hurts or might hurt a woman, or threatening a woman with such acts, forcing her to do something or depriving a woman of her freedom.