The report, Global and regional estimates of violence against women: Prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence, represents the first systematic study of global data on the prevalence of violence against women – both by partners and non-partners.

Some 35 per cent of all women will experience either intimate partner or non-partner violence, according to the report, which was released today by the UN World Health Organization (WHO), in partnership with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the South African Medical Research Council.

It also finds that intimate partner violence is the most common type of violence against women, affecting 30 per cent of women worldwide, according to a WHO news release.

“These findings send a powerful message that violence against women is a global health problem of epidemic proportions,” said WHO Director-General Margaret Chan. “We also see that the world’s health systems can and must do more for women who experience violence.”

The report details the impact of violence on the physical and mental health of women and girls, ranging from broken bones to pregnancy-related complications, mental problems and impaired social functioning.

Among its key findings on partner violence was that globally, 38 per cent of all women who were murdered were killed by their intimate partners. Also, women who have experienced partner violence are almost twice as likely to experience depression or abuse alcohol.

“This new data shows that violence against women is extremely common. We urgently need to invest in prevention to address the underlying causes of this global women’s health problem.” said Professor Charlotte Watts, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

Fear of stigma prevents many women from reporting non-partner sexual violence, the survey finds. Other barriers to data collection include the fact that fewer countries collect this data than information about intimate partner violence, and that many surveys of this type of violence employ less sophisticated measurement approaches than those used in monitoring intimate partner violence.

“The review brings to light the lack of data on sexual violence by perpetrators other than partners, including in conflict-affected settings,” said Naeemah Abrahams from the South African Medical Research Council. “We need more countries to measure sexual violence and to use the best survey instruments available.”

The study highlights the need for all sectors to work together to eliminate tolerance for violence against women and to better support women who experience it. New WHO guidelines, launched with the report, aim to help countries improve their health sector’s capacity to respond to the problem.

“The report findings show that violence greatly increases women’s vulnerability to a range of short- and long-term health problems; it highlights the need for the health sector to take violence against women more seriously,” said Claudia Garcia-Moreno of WHO. “In many cases this is because health workers simply do not know how to respond.”

The guidelines stress the importance of training all levels of health workers to recognize when women may be at risk of partner violence and to know how to provide an appropriate response.

They also point out that some health-care settings, such as antenatal services and HIV testing, may provide opportunities to support survivors of violence, provided certain minimum requirements are met.

WHO will begin to work with countries in South-east Asia to implement the new recommendations at the end of June.

In a post published to the Internet, the writer known as Heba El-Shamiri revealed that the reason she had been missing for several years was because she was imprisoned. She stated that the name she is known by is a pseudonym she uses and that her real name is Hanan El-Meshadani. She added that she is a doctor and not a journalist.

“If her allegations are true, then we are facing a serious violation of human rights and a crime that must not be tolerated,” stated ANHRI, “the writer said she was imprisoned for exercising her right to freely express her opinions and criticize the government of her country. It is not clear whether her imprisonment followed legal procedures or whether she was illegaly jailed, which would add enforced disappearance to the list of crimes allegedly committed against her.”

ANHRI added, “Although the Iraqi government’s record with regards to press freedom and attacks on journalists places Iraq among the most dangerous countries for the press, we will not rush to condemn the government based on allegations that have not been investigated yet. However, we do emphasize that these allegations are serious and require urgent attention and a neutral and transparent investigation in order to reveal the truth.”

ANHRI calls on the Iraqi government to quickly investigate the circumstances of imprisoning El-Meshadani and to publish the details of her trial and allow observers from inside and outside Iraq to participate in the fact-finding committee digging into allegations of rape and torture. The organisation repeats its previous demands of the Iraqi authorities, asking it to respect the Iraqi Constitution and the international treaties of which Iraq is a signatory.

The number of employed persons decreased by 2.4% compared with the previous quarter, and by 8.5% compared with the 1st Quarter of 2011. The number of unemployed persons increased by 9.2% compared with the previous quarter and by 57.3% compared with the 1st Quarter of 2011.

The unemployment rate for females (26,5%) is considerably higher than the unemployment rate for males (19.7%).

By observing the unemployment rate for different age groups, we notice that the highest unemployment rate is recorded among young people in the age group of 15-24 years (52.7%). For young females, the unemployment rate is 60.4%.

As regards the educational attainment level, the unemployment rate is higher among persons who have not attended school (34.3%), for those who did not completed primary education (33.1%) and those who have completed lower secondary education (25.2%). The lowest unemployment rates are observed among persons who have completed post- graduate studies or have doctorate (12.0%), and among those who have completed university (15.7%).

46.8% of those looking for job as employees are looking exclusively for a full time job, while 45.6% are looking for full time job, but, if needed, would accept to work part time. 7.5% are looking for a part time job or they do not care if they found a full or a part time job.

5.7% οf the unemployed persons did not accept a job offer, during the 1st Quarter of 2012, because of various reasons. The main reasons reported were: a) the location of the job was not suitable (30.0%), b) the wage was not satisfactory (24.6%), c) the working hours were not convenient (17.0%).

The percentage of the “new” unemployed, that is the percentage of persons who entered for the first time labour market, is 23.8%. We should note that the percentage of the “long term” unemployed, that is the percentage of persons that have been looking for a job for more than 1 year (irrespectively of being “new” or “old” unemployed), is 56.5%.

The unemployment rate is higher for persons of foreign nationality (30.5%) compared with those of Greek nationality (21.8%). On the contrary, the percentage of the economically active persons with foreign nationality is much higher than the corresponding percentage for persons of Greek nationality (71.7% compared to 51.7%).

The geographical areas (NUTS II regions) with the highest unemployment rate are West Macedonia (28.5%) and Central Macedonia (24.7%). The lowest unemployment rates are observed in South Aegean (13.9%) and Ionian Islands (15.9%).