Biblioteca Digital

One in three women worldwide experience physical or sexual violence mostly by an intimate partner. Violence against women and girls is a human rights violation. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, emerging data and reports from those on the front lines, have shown that all types of violence against women and girls, particularly domestic violence, has intensified. This is the Shadow Pandemic growing amidst the COVID-19 crisis and we need a global collective effort to stop it. As COVID-19 cases continue to strain health services, essential services, such as domestic violence shelters and helplines, have reached capacity. More needs to be done to prioritize addressing violence against women in COVID-19 response and recovery efforts. Everyone has a role to play.

**UN Women is providing up-to-date information and supporting vital programmes to fight the Shadow Pandemic of violence against women during COVID-19.

The present study investigates the prevalence and incidence of violence against female micro-entrepreneurs in Ecuador. It then explains how this violence negatively affects Ecuador's economic development. 

This study investigates the degree to which violence directed against female employees interferes with the actions of private companies and what their financial losses are accordingly. 

With the aim of demonstrating the costs and impacts of VaW in intimate partner relations for Bolivian businesses, the German Cooperation implemented by GIZ through its regional program “Combating violence against women in Latin America – ComVoMujer”, commissioned the first research study of this kind in Bolivia. The study includes the participation of 31 medium and large enterprises which are pioneers in recognizing the importance of this grave problem which impacts both their organization and employees. 

In 2003, the United Nations (UN) called for an in-depth study on all forms of violence against women. This was intended to be, “A statistical overview on all forms of violence against women, in order to better evaluate the scale of such violence, while identifying gaps in: 1 - Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, UN Doc A/RES/48/104, 20 December 1993; 2- Fourth World Conference on Women Platform for Action, Strategic Objective D.2, No. 129(a), 1995. 3 - Violence in the Americas - A Regional Analysis Including a Review of the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women: Executive Summary, 2000.