Gender-based violence is a human rights violation seminar will be told

One in three women have experienced physical or sexual violence, Rosamond Bennett, chairwoman of the Irish Consortium on Gender Based Violence (ICGBV), said, ahead of its annual seminar.

Former President of Ireland and the UN secretary-general's special envoy for climate change Mary Robinson is among the speakers who will address the seminar on Moving Beyond Fear: Prioritising the Safety of Women and Girls in Societies.

"Often those who experience these crimes are blamed, shamed into silence and left unprotected. Gender-based violence remains a pervasive and dangerous feature of our societies. There should be no acceptable level of violence against women and girls," said Bennett, who is also chief executive of Christian Aid Ireland.

The seminar will hear that gender-based violence is a human rights violation and a serious obstacle to women’s progress in all areas of life including health, education, work and participation in society.