ABSTRACT

Viewing violence against women as a cause and consequence of women's inequality links it to men's power in society. Although there exists debate as to the usefulness of the term 'patriarchy' in modern society, few would doubt that there exists what Connell and Messerschmidt call a 'gender hierarchy'. Men's violences in relationships are sometimes called 'domestic violence' summarised to 'DV' (most common in the UK), wife battering (common in the USA), or 'intimate partner violence', summarised to IPV, or simply 'partner violence'. Men's fatal violence against women in relationships also known as domestic homicides refer to the offences of murder, manslaughter, and infanticide. Women with disabilities may be at a higher risk of experiencing partner violence including physical partner violence. Forced marriages continue across the world despite being outlawed by a number of international human rights instruments. Female genital mutilation refers to the altering or injuring of a girl or woman's genitals for non-medical reasons.