Violence against women affects women’s well-being and prevents them from fully participating in society.
White Ribbon Australia uses the definition of violence against women found in the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women.

“Any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivations of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life”

Violence against women is a gendered issue – To prevent violence against women, we must understand its gendered nature:

• Women are far more likely than men to experience sexual violence and violence from an intimate partner, and with more severe impacts.
• Women are more likely than men to be afraid of, hospitalised by, or killed by an intimate partner.
• Around 95% of all victims of violence, whether women or men, experience violence from a male perpetrator.
  Source White Ribbon Australia