November 25 is the annual International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
In a statement, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: "Millions of women and girls around the world are assaulted, beaten, raped, mutilated, or even murdered in what constitutes appalling violations of their human rights.”
The UN chief called for action to “fundamentally challenge the culture of discrimination that allows violence to continue.”
The UN’s Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women says 125 countries now have laws that penalize domestic violence against women -- a significant increase from over a decade ago.
But it says that up to seven out of every 10 women globally will be targeted for physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime, and 603 million women live in countries where domestic violence is not a crime.