Ban Ki-moon: All women have fundamental right to live free of violence
"We declare that we will prosecute crimes against women - and never allow women to be subjected to punishments for the abuses they have suffered," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message on the International Women's Day - March 8, the UN Department of Public Information (UN DPI) Office in Azerbaijan reported on Monday.
The message says that one must look back on a year of shocking crimes of violence against women and girls and ask ourselves how to usher in a better future.
"One young woman was gang-raped to death. Another committed suicide out of a sense of shame that should have attached to the perpetrators. Young teens were shot at close range for daring to seek an education. These atrocities, which rightly sparked global outrage, were part of a much larger problem that pervades virtually every society and every realm of life," Ban Ki-moon's message says.
He said all women and girls have a fundamental human right to live free of violence.
According to Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations system is advancing UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign.