La violence à l'égard des femmes traduit des rapports de force historiquement inégaux entre hommes et femmes, lesquels ont abouti à la domination et à la discrimination exercées par les premiers et freiné la promotion des secondes, et elle compte parmi les principaux mécanismes sociaux auxquels est due la subordination des femmes aux hommes (Nations unies, 1993).
Violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to domination over and discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of the full advancement of women, and that violence against women is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position compared with men (United Nations 1993).