World Health Organization

In May 2007 WHO convened an international Expert Meeting on Primary Prevention of Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence to inform WHO's future work in this area. The purpose of the meeting was to review the effectiveness of current approaches for preventing new occurrences of intimate partner and sexual violence; to identify WHO's role on primary prevention; and to identify potential activities and products for WHO. Participants discussed strategies, implementation in resource-constrained settings, and obstacles and opportunities for scaling up. The group agreed that WHO should issue guidance on how to implement primary prevention strategies and monitor their impact, process and guiding principles. Hide

WHO, with other partners, is developing a framework of interventions for prevention of intimate partner violence and sexual violence that can be integrated into HIV prevention activities. A consultation on addressing violence against women in HIV testing and counselling took place in January 2006 and a meeting report with recommendations and good practices is available.WHO convenes the working group on violence against women of the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS to promote advocacy and communication activities on the intersections of violence against women and HIV/AIDS. WHO has undertaken advocacy and awareness-raising initiatives on violence against women, including sensitization of multidisciplinary groups. Hide