Campaigners are lobbying the UN to put pressure on governments around the world to act on disturbing figures which show the prevalence of violence in countries as far apart as Britain - where on average almost two women a week in England and Wales are killed by a partner or ex-partner - and Nicaragua.
The alarming Health Poverty Action (HPA) statistics highlight the fact that 45 per cent of murders of women in the central American state are thought to have been carried out by husbands or former partners.
This reflects the trend in this country, where 45 per cent of serious sexual assaults took place in a woman's home.
In Nicaragua, there were 51 femicides - the killing of women because they were women - in the first half of this year, an increase of nearly 60 per cent since the previous study some 12 months ago.
That country's Red de Mujeres Contra la Violencia - Network Of Women Against Violence - reports that despite the sharp rise in femicide, only two men were convicted by May this year.
The impunity and ignorance within Nicaragua's justice system have led one of the network members, the Nidia White Women´s movement, to approach HPA to jointly draw up a comprehensive four-year project, funded by €300,000 (£250 million) from the European Commission.
The project aims to reduce violence against women in all its forms, including femicide, and the aim is to deliver integrated services for victims of sexual and family violence in the Puerto Cabezas autonomous region.
It will include the training of key figures in the criminal law process as well as supporting governmental and civil organisations in offering women services ranging from medical and psychological support to legal aid, justice and protection.
According to the UN, one in five women globally will become a victim of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime. But HPA points out the negative pressures of impunity and cultural barriers which impede speaking out about the taboo of sexual violence in other countries where the charity works.
It is using its expertise in building integrated health services to bring together multiple providers to help women and girls with their trauma.
HPA cites the case in Somaliland of six-year-old Rooda Hassan Ali, who was severely traumatised by rape, but is now recovering with counselling and psychological support from the charity's local partner WAAPO, the Women's Advocacy And Action Progress.
The charity was recently granted £1m from British and international funding bodies for a three-year project to reduce a 56 per cent rise in the number of reported rapes among internally displaced people in camps in Somaliland.
In a region scarred by war, the UN high commission for refugees pinpoints almost 1.5 million internally displaced people. Four out of 10 of the females attacked in Somaliland's camps since 2008 have been under 16 and the charity warns that the overcrowded, insecure and dark camps put more women and girls at risk.
The grant will go towards preventing rapes through the charity's joint initiatives with health workers, local authorities and community leaders, as well as providing care, treatment and counselling.
After recurrent civil conflict in the African country, rape remains part of daily life in many rural and urban settlements. Both Somaliland and Sierra Leone, where HPA also works, are highly patriarchal societies and strong cultural beliefs have led to gender inequalities being common.
In the latter country, 63 per cent of women and 45 per cent of men in the northern region feel that it is acceptable for a man to beat his wife if she argues with him. These inequalities have led to a lack of respect for women and girls in the communities and allowed for violence against women to prevail.
HPA champions a multi-sectoral approach to help those affected by violence. It combines public education and awareness-raising strategies with supporting local authorities to respond to demands for quality sexual, reproductive and legal services.
The charity provides a holistic approach to tackling violence against women which ensures that women seeking refuge are supported in income-generating activities and that the projects it implements are able to continue developing long after projects close.
Nicaragua has the governing capacity to quickly enact a law which sanctions violence against women and this needs to be done urgently and implemented too. The bigger challenge in many places is the culture of silencing or, as in Somaliland, sometimes forcing a girl to marry her abuser.
We need to work with all affected parties and services to tackle these injustices against women.
If you would like to support women's struggle against sexual violence, please visit: www.healthpovertyaction.org
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