According to UN report, 35% of women and girls globally experience some form of physical and or sexual violence in their lifetime with up to seven in ten women facing this abuse in some countries. Up to 30 million girls under the age of 15 remain at risk from female genital mutilation or cutting, and more than 130 million girls and women have undergone the procedure worldwide and more than 700 million women alive today were married as children, 250 million of whom were married before the age of 15. Girls who marry before the age of 18 are less likely to complete their education and more likely to experience domestic violence and complications in childbirth.

A woman holds a double image showing her late daughter, a victim of a violent crime, during a demonstration marking International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, in La Paz, Bolivia, Nov 25, 2014. A press release by the Bolivian ombudsman states eight out of 10 women in Bolivia suffer some kind of violence and most cases occur within households. [Photo/IC]