Violence can be physical, sexual, verbal, emotional/psychological, stalking, and financial.

Violence affects the lives of millions of women
worldwide, in all socio-economic and educational
classes. It cuts across cultural and religious barriers, impeding the right of women to participate fully
in society

In the core document of the Beijing Conference, Governments declared, "violence against women
constitutes a violation of basic human rights and is
an obstacle to the achievement of the objectives
of equality, development and peace".

The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women provides a definition of gender-based abuse,
calling it "any act of gender-based violence that results
in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life".