On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, observed on 25 November each year, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and women advocates, recognizing the urgency of dealing effectively with human rights violations, called upon Governments to muster their moral, legal and economic power behind efforts to end violence against women.

In her opening remarks, Nane Annan reiterated what her husband, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Anan, said in 1999 at a world conference on ending violence against women: "Violence against women is perhaps the most shameful human rights violation. And it is perhaps the most pervasive."

The litany of violence against women has become a norm, rather than an exception, and remains undervalued by the public and policy makers who have failed to create and fund programmes to eradicate this "pandemic". UNIFEM Executive Director Noeleen Heyzer said that the scale of the problem vastly exceeded the resources. "There are countless overworked and understaffed women's organizations that are still the main actors in the struggle to end violence against women. For us to sustain the progress that has been achieved, it is critical that the international community--Governments, foundations, the private sector--match the level of resources with the scale of the problem."

The International Day recalls the 1960 murder of three sisters from the Dominican Republic, who were assassinated for their political activism--an act that came to symbolize violence against women. Through the years, persistent campaigning by international women's groups has resulted in advances and awareness in preventing the brutality that devastates women's lives, Ms. Heyzer said.

Organizations worldwide are creating alternative and mainstream media campaigns through posters, flyers, music videos and educational curricula to get the message across. However, Ms. Heyzer added that girls in some countries are still afraid to go to school, and women are routinely attacked in their homes and workplaces. "We are also confronted with a paradox", she said at the launch of the UNIFEM publication, Not a Minute More, Ending Violence against Women. "Clearly the efforts so far have brought results. Nevertheless, women do not appear to be substantially safer from the ravages of violence than they were when the work began."

Even as attitudes and assumptions have had an overhaul in the modern era, gender-based violence continues, remaining unabated. "The answer is deceptively simple", Ms. Heyzer said, "but the solution is deeply complex: Gender inequality fuels violence against women, and the power imbalances it creates are not easily rectified".

The scope of violence, according to women advocates, would remain behind closed doors if proper emphasis is not placed on employment and equal wages, as well as government representation and education. Changing societies overnight is unrealistic, but the campaign for women's equality must go hand in hand with work to end violence, she said.

"Step by step, every day of the year, we will continue to work towards our goal: the complete elimination of violence against women, Ms. Heyzer asserted that at the end of the day, to eliminate violence against women, concerted action has to be embarked on to ensure that women have the voice, influence and resources to assert their priorities for achieving peace and security in an increasingly violent world.