Using data to tackle violence against women

UNFPA’s Asia-Pacific Regional Office and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) have launched kNOwVAWdata - a landmark three year initiative to help countries in the region to measure violence against women.

A 2013 World Health Organisation study estimated that more than a third of all women globally will experience physical or sexual violence at some point in time – most of it caused by intimate partners.

Across Asia and the Pacific, survey data shows that between 15 and 68 percent of women have experienced violence, including sexual violence, often from an intimate partner.

Quality data on violence against women is critical to understand the extent and nature of the problem and to inform good policy decisions to tackle it, but it is often lacking and difficult to obtain.

The kNOwVAWdata initiative supports countries in training researchers and field workers to collect and analyze data on the extent and the nature of violence that women experience, using robust and reliable methodologies, and will help countries use the data to bring about policy and behaviour change to stop violence against women.

It will also support countries in training researchers and field workers to collect and analyze data on the extent and the nature of violence that women experience, using robust and reliable methodologies and will help countries use the data to bring about policy and behaviour change to stop violence against women.

Launch Event

The official launch of the joint kNOwVAWdata initiative was held on 24 August 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand. Read the event Press Release and an editorial; Breaking the silence, knowing the data: essential to ending violence against women.

Yoriko Yasukawa, UNFPA Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific said:

“We have estimates that globally about one out of three women suffers physical or sexual violence at some point in her life, usually at the hands of her spouse or intimate partner. We’ve made progress in recent years in documenting this violence in a number of countries. Now, under this initiative, we’ll expand this work, ultimately benefitting millions of women, helping us move closer to fulfilling one of the most important targets under the Sustainable Development Agenda -- that of bringing about an end to the scourge of violence against women.”

Australia’s Ambassador to Thailand Paul Robilliard said:

“Reliable and robust evidence about the extent and nature of violence against women is a cornerstone of our response to this challenge both domestically and internationally. We need to have accurate data so we can provide the best possible services to women who have been subjected to violence. Having access to quality data reinforces the extent of the problem and the devastating impact violence has on individuals, families and communities. This helps us spur action to find causes and develop solutions.”