Search / Search Results Date Added to Site: 17th March 2006     Short Summary Title WHO Multi-country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence Against Women Publication Date September 2005 Publisher World Health Organisation (WHO) Short Summary Violence against women by their male partners is common, wide-spread and far-reaching in its impact. For too long hidden behind closed doors and not mentioned in public discussions, such violence can no longer be denied as part of everyday life for millions of women. This is the conclusion of this WHO study which analyses data from interviews with over 24,000 women in countries representing diverse cultural, geographical and urban/rural settings - Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, Japan, Peru, Namibia, Samoa, Serbia and Montenegro, Thailand and the United Republic of Tanzania. The study uncovers the forms and patterns of violence against women across these locations and finds that violence from intimate male partners is a major contributor to women's ill-health. WHO recommends that the public health sector can play a vital role in preventing violence against women, helping to identify abuse early, providing victims with the necessary treatment and referring women to appropriate and informed care. Health services must be places where women feel safe, are treated with respect, are not stigmatized and where they can receive quality, informed support. A comprehensive health sector response to the problem is needed, in particular addressing the reluctance of abused women to seek help. Summary report available in English http://www.who.int/gender/violence/who_multicountry_study/summary_report/summary_report_English2.pdf French http://www.who.int/gender/violence/who_multicountry_study/summary_report/summaryreportfrenchlow.pdf Spanish http://www.who.int/gender/violence/who_multicountry_study/summary_report/summaryreportSpanishlow.pdf Summary Source Adapted from author Complete Document http://www.who.int/gender/violence/who_multicountry_study/en/index.html