VAW database




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Statistical Commission

Overview

In 2006, the General Assembly, in resolution 61/143, requested the Statistical Commission to develop and propose, in consultation with the Commission on the Status of Women, and building on the work of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, a set of possible indicators on violence against women in order to assist States in assessing the scope, prevalence and incidence of violence against women.

In March 2008, the Statistical Commission approved the formation of a Friends of the Chair group to conduct an in-depth technical review of proposed indicators to measure violence against women, and report back to the Commission at its fortieth session in 2009.  In July 2008, the Chairperson of the Statistical Commission, Mr. Pali Lehohla (South Africa), reported on progress in this work in a statement during the ECOSOC event “The role of ECOSOC in addressing violence against women in all its forms and manifestations: A dialogue with the chairpersons of the functional commissions”.  The Friends of the Chair group consists of experts from Botswana, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Ghana, Italy and Thailand. Observers consist of representatives from United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the Division for the Advancement of Women of the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs, and the World Health Organization. Mexico was entrusted to take the substantive lead in this effort and to chair the group.

In February 2010, the Friends of the Chair of the Statistical Commission issued a report on its meeting on statistical indicators on violence against women. To read the report, please click here.