International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

At least one out of every three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime — with the abuser usually someone known to her. Violence against women and girls is a universal problem of epidemic proportions. Perhaps the most pervasive human rights violation that we know today, it devastates lives, fractures communities, and stalls development.

- United Nations Development Fund for Women

Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Read more about the history of this day, and include your thoughts, after the jump.