According to the United Nations, violence against women is one of the world’s most prevalent human rights violations. This violation occurs across the boundaries of age, culture, race, wealth and geography and occurs against women everywhere at home, on the streets, at work, or during times of conflict.
There are around 70 percent of women and girls who are beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during their lifetimes. However, this violence against women and girls can be addressed in a systematic manner, reduced as well as eliminated.
The seriousness of this problem prompted the establishment of the UN Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund) which was incorporated by the UN General Assembly resolution in 1996 and is managed by UN Women on behalf of the UN system. The only multilateral grant-making mechanism exclusively dedicated to support local as well as national efforts to curb violence against women and girls, the UN Trust Fund works with partners throughout the world to secure much-needed services for women and girls affected by violence. Through its partners, the Fund also invests in long-term solutions for a world free of violence.
The UN Trust Fund awards grants annually through an open and competitive process. The majority of its grantees are non-governmental organizations, with grants awarded also to governments and UN country teams. Since it initiated its operations in 1997, the UN Trust Fund has delivered more than USD78 million to 339 initiatives in 127 countries and territories.
Population-level surveys based on reports from victims provide the most accurate estimates of the prevalence of intimate partner violence and sexual violence in non-conflict settings. The WHO Multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence against women in 10 mainly developing countries found that, among women aged 15 to 49 years:

* between 15% of women in Japan and 70% of women in Ethiopia and Peru reported physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner;
* between 0.3–11.5% of women reported experiencing sexual violence by a non-partner;
* the first sexual experience for many women was reported as forced – 24% in rural Peru, 28% in Tanzania, 30% in rural Bangladesh, and 40% in South Africa.

Intimate partner and sexual violence are mostly perpetrated by men against girls and women. However, sexual violence against boys is also common. International studies reveal that approximately 20% of women and 5–10% of men report being victims of sexual violence as children.
Population-based studies of relationship violence among young people (or dating violence) suggest that this affects a substantial proportion of the youth population. For instance, in South Africa a study of people aged 13-23 years found that 42% of females and 38% of males reported being a victim of physical dating violence.
Intimate partner and sexual violence have serious short and long-term physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health problems for victims and for their children, and lead to high social and economic costs.
What is even more worrisome is that in many societies instead of the problem being reduced it is escalating at an alarming rate. Our own country is a typical example. While up to date statistics on violence against women might be available, reports in the media seem to indicate that the problem is on the increase here. In any case it has risen to a level of great concern because for this year alone many women have been victims of brutal assaults by their partners. The most recent such attack being the vicious hammering in the head of a mother of 10 by her partner who afterwards attempted suicide.
The severity of the problem in our society makes it imperative that we find lasting solutions and means of curbing/eliminating it. But finding solutions to such social problems is never an easy task without first unearthing its real causes.
In this regard, therefore, we should move swiftly to get experts in the field to do a study and come up with recommendations with a view to curbing this scourge in our society. But even without a study it is clear that one of the approaches is to move towards changing the attitudes of men towards women.