AIDS need to be seen through a gender perspective, but this is not always the case. 24. Society has much to gain from investments in education, health, family planning and child- and dependant-care services, for they are investments in the future of both women and men. Experience has shown that when such services are available, women are able to contribute their creativity and skills to the public good. C. Violence against women 25. Violence against women is a global problem. It takes various forms in both public and private life, and has been recognized as a violation of basic human rights, instilling fear and insecurity in women’s lives. 26. Violence against women derives essentially from the lower status accorded to women in the family and in society. Physical, psychological or sexual violence, whether occurring in the home or in society, is linked to male power, privilege and control. It is abetted by ignorance, lack of laws to prohibit violence, inadequate efforts by public authorities to enforce existing laws, and absence of educational and other means to address its causes. The absence of adequate statistics about incidence make elaboration of programmes and monitoring of changes difficult. 27. Violence against women has entered public debate and is now condemned as a violation of the human rights of women. It is a growing concern of men and women alike and has been condemned internationally in the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, in general recommendations 12 and 19 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and by other international bodies. 28. Experience in a number of countries shows that women and men can be mobilized to fight against violence in all its forms and that effective public measures can be taken to address both the consequences and the causes of violence. D. Effects of armed or other kinds of conflict on women 29. Women seldom perpetrate national and international armed and other kinds of conflict, and are almost never involved in the decisions leading to such conflict. Nevertheless, they bear a disproportionate share of the consequences of these conflicts, and conflict resolution at this level has remained largely a male domain. 30. Everyone caught up in armed conflicts is affected, but women are affected in particular ways, largely as a reflection of their status in society. They are seldom combatants themselves, lack protection and are often left with the responsibility of maintaining families when conflict disrupts or destroys social and economic life. They have been victims of such practices as torture, disappearance and systematic rape as a weapon of war. Women are disproportionately represented, with their children, among refugees and displaced persons. They are subject to violence or threats of violence or sexual abuse. -35-