Violence against Women in the International Agenda, 1975-1995

The essay consists of two main sections. The first section describes and examines the problem of violence against women discussed in the Conference of Beijing and during the preceding years. The author emphasizes the growing international attention that the subject where considered since the Nairobi Conference in 1985, which caused that the subject were considered an area of special concern in the Beijing Conference in 1995. The second section brings into focus the domestic violence against women. The author examines the relationship between violence and power, stressing that domestic violence, in which women are victims, it the result of asymmetrical relations of power in society which gives preeminence to the masculine. The paper identifies the social and political foundations of violence and highlights the extreme need of progress towards the full achievement of women’s human rights, above any kind of discrimination. The conclusions put forward recommendations in order to prevent and eliminated discrimination and violence against women.