New UN Database on Violence Against Women. 5/3/09

On 5 March 2009, the new database on violence against women was launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. The database offers a comprehensive and systematic way to search for data on gender-based violence.

The primary source of information for the database is the responses received from Member States to a questionnaire on violence against women from September 2008, and subsequent updates.  It also includes sources such as states parties’ reports to human rights bodies, information provided by Member States in follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women (1995), as well as information available through relevant United Nations entities.

Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro, at the launch, called the database the first global ‘one-stop shop’ for information on measures undertaken by Member States to address violence against women in terms of legal, policy and institutional frameworks.

“It contains information on services for victims and survivors.  You will also find relevant data on capacity-building and awareness-raising activities for public officials.  It also provides data on the prevalence of violence and the criminal justice sector response to it.  In this database, everyone will have access to an extensive global body of information on violence against women - all at the click of a mouse,” she said.

There are different ways in which the database can be used; either with an advanced search, through the Country pages, or through an unguided search. The database also has a section of ‘good practices,’ which provides a full listing of measures identified as promising practices, with a particular focus on good practices in law; service provision; and prevention. This page will be developed over time.

The database can be used in the six official languages of the UN.

The UN database available at http://webapps01un.org/vawdatabase/home.action