There are signs of progress, however. A number of governments have criminalized domestic violence and many others are considering similar bills.

• In Mexico, rape used to be defined as a crime against morality. In 1991, rape was redefined as "a crime against a person's freedom". Among other reforms, sentences for convicted rapists were increased and the definition of rape was expanded.

• In 1989, Colombia adopted a Constitution that condemned any form of violence in the family.

Laws must be applied to be effective. While it is now possible to get protection orders in some settings, police and judges often refuse to penalize men who do not comply. Some efforts have been made to help ensure that laws are enforced.

• In Harare, Zimbabwe, the Musassa Project is sensitizing both police and prosecutors to domestic violence and rape. 

• In Costa Rica, the organization ILANUD trains lawyers, judges and others involved in the judicial process in gender-related issues, with an emphasis on violence against women.

• Women-only police stations have been established in some countries. While they have reportedly increased the reporting of abuse in some settings, they have not increased the prosecution of offenders because the status quo prevails at higher levels of the justice system. Low morale is also a problem: The female officers who do this work are not perceived as doing "real police work" by their male colleagues.

The role of reproductive health and family planning programmes in fighting abuse is key: Health care providers are well placed to identify and refer victims of violence because they are very likely to see women at some stage during their lives. In Mexico, for example, most women who go to services related to violence are self-referred or referred by the justice system or police, usually late. The role of such providers is also key insofar as victims are likely to have unmet reproductive health needs -- for example, for emergency contraception, STD screening or access to abortion in cases of rape. Unfortunately, most health care providers do not identify or respond appropriately to women who are victims of abuse.

• At the emergency room in a major United States hospital, only one in eight abused women who passed through the emergency service were identified as having been abused.

• In Alexandra Township, South Africa, health care providers recorded the identity of the abuser in only 22 per cent of the cases of abuse they identified.

In order to respond better to the needs of women, health and family planning professionals must acknowledge the occurrence of violence in women's lives. They should receive training and procedures to improve the identification, proper treatment and referral of victims; to ensure that all necessary information is collected in case it is needed in court; and to ensure sensitive treatment of abused women. Staff members need to serve as resources for help and support while comforting victims and reassuring them that they did not "deserve" to be beaten or raped. All levels of health care and family planning staff should be sensitized. They should not be judgemental of victims, which is too often the reality.

• In Honduras, the Women's Programme of Uraco Pueblo includes discussions and role-playing related to domestic abuse and other issues in training its community health promoters.

Sexuality and family life education should be strengthened by adding components that directly address myths regarding men's and women's sexuality, coercion, sexual communication and assertiveness. Dismantling the belief that "once aroused a man can't stop" is a primary mechanism for preventing sexual abuse.

It is clear that most efforts in this area have focused on abuse after the fact. There are many treatment programmes for abusive men in the developed world, and they are beginning to evolve in the developing world. Some setreatment and the justice system as ways of preventing future violence, but the evidence is mixed on whether or not this is the case.

• One study found that arrest without other sanctions led to more violence. But combined with prosecution and treatment, arrest did reduce future violence.

• One review found that between 53 and 85 per cent of men who complete their treatment programmes are not violent 6 to 18 months later, though these percentages decline as time goes by. It is also important to note that most men do not complete the programmes.
  
• One evaluation indicated that treatment had no effect above and beyond that of the justice system.

A man's investment in his role as a father may reduce the chance of violence. Close early father-child links greatly reduce the likelihood of abusive behaviour in men.

Programmes to prevent violence before it is ever initiated focus on helping boys and men learn how to resolve conflicts in a non-violent way. Others try to challenge gender stereotypes and traditional notions of masculinity. Several countries have had national media campaigns to sensitize the public.

• The Oakland Men's Project in California is devoted to eradicating male violence, racism and homophobia. Male mentors teach boys that violence is unacceptable and work on changing the stereotype that men must be tough, aggressive and in control. The group challenges the notion that males are naturally abusive and that females are natural targets of male abuse.

• HASIK (Harnessing Self-Reliant Initiatives and Knowledge), an NGO in the Philippines, works with other NGOs to develop a model of gender sensitivity training for men. HASIK holds workshops on subordination, gender stereotyping and violence against women, among other issues, working with men to discuss the problems and their causes, and to develop plans of action to combat them.

Cross-cultural ethnographic and anthropological research suggests the following directions for preventive efforts:

• Increase the social costs of abuse: When sanctions or community banishment result from being violent, they have a protective effect. The justice system can play a partial role, but there are other potentially powerful means, such as picketing abusers' places of employment.

• Eliminate the cultural acceptance of using violence to resolve conflict.

• Develop independent income sources for women and promote their power outside the family. Promote more flexible gender roles: Where violence is high, gender roles are more rigid.

• Decouple masculinity from aggression, dominance and honour.

• Create sanctuaries for women when they have nowhere to go. This can be their natal home, for example (there are higher rates of violence against women when they have to move to the households of their husband's families).

As legislators, judges, police officers, health and family planning service providers, teachers, husbands and fathers, men have a key role to play in eliminating violence against women. They must participate in efforts to change the deeply-rooted cultural causes of the problem. This includes fundamental changes in the way they view themselves as men -- and the way they view women. It is essential to help men develop a self-image as nurturing people who can care for their partners. There is growing evidence that the creation of this kind of self-image may lead to a reduction in violence against women.

Until they are able to live in a world where they are free from the fear of violence, women will never be truly empowered.