Title: Violence against women - Timeline of change

Violence against women has been accepted and often even condoned throughout history.
In this interactive timeline we explore the steps taken in the global movement towards a convention on women’s rights and legally binding instruments that create international norms and standards, which governments who ratify agree to meet.
Select the arrow on the right of the timeline to see the key events in the past 50 years.

1979: Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women

The 1979 Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women does not explicitly mention violence against women and girls, but General Recommendations 12, 19, and 35 clarify that the Convention includes violence against women and makes detailed recommendations to States.

1993: World Conference on Human Rights

The 1993 World Conference on Human Rights recognized violence against women as a human rights violation and called for the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on violence against women in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action.

1993 to 1993: Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women

The 1993 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women was the first international instrument explicitly addressing violence against women, providing a framework for national and international action.

1994: International Conference on Population and Development

The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development drew links between violence against women and reproductive health and rights.

1995: Beijing Platform for Action

The 1995 Beijing Platform for Action identifies specific actions for governments to take to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. Ending violence is one of 12 areas for priority action. In 2020, a major stock-taking UN Women report revealed that more than 80 per cent of countries (of 166 in total) reported that action to implement, and enforce, violence against women laws had been achieved in the previous five years, and 87 per cent of countries reported introducing, or strengthening, services for survivors of violence.

2006: Secretary-General’s In-Depth Study on All Forms of Violence against Women

In 2006 the Secretary-General’s In-Depth Study on All Forms of Violence against Women was released, the first comprehensive report on the issue.

2011: Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence

The 2011 Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence became the second legally binding regional instrument on violence against women and girls.

2012 to 2022: UN General Assembly - biannual resolutions on the issue of violence against women

The UN General Assembly adopts biannual resolutions on the issue of violence against women. The resolutions, first adopted in 2012, include the intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women, trafficking in women and girls, and intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilations. These resolutions are renegotiated biannually, and the most recent reports were submitted on these resolutions during the 75th session of the UN General Assembly.

2012: UN Human Rights Council resolution

The UN Human Rights Council first adopted a resolution on accelerating efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women in 2012.

2022: 64th session of the Commission on the Status of Women

In 2020, at the 64th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, leaders pledged to ramp up efforts to fully implement the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, including ending all forms of violence and harmful practices against women and girls.