The Life Cycle and Violence

Women and girls are at risk of different forms of violence at all ages, from prenatal sex selection before they are born through abuse of widows and elderly women. While sexual violence affects women of all ages, the changing nature of women and girls’ relationships (with family members, peers, authorities, etc.) and the different environments (at home, in school, at work, within the community, etc) in which they spend time expose women and girls to specific forms of violence during each phase of their life. (Council of Europe, 2000)

Life Cycle of Violence against Women and Girls

Source: Adapted from Ellsberg and Heise, 2005.Researching Violence against Women: A Practical Guide for Researchers and Activists. WHO and PATH, Geneva: 10; adapted from Watts and Zimmerman. 2002. “Violence against Women: Global Scope and Magnitude,” Lancet 359 (9313): 1233, and Shane and Ellsberg. 2002. Violence against Women: Effects on Reproductive Health, Report No 20 (1), PATH, UNFPA, Washington: 2.

Fonte: UN Women - Virtual Knowledge Centre to End the Violence Against Women