Violence against women and girls is one of the most pervasive and systemic human rights violations in the world. Up to seven in ten women worldwide report having experienced physical and/or sexual violence at some point in their lifetime,2 and up to 50 percent of sexual assaults are committed against girls under 16.3 In several countries across Asia and the Pacific the rates of violence against women and girls are disproportionately high, indicating that the situation requires urgent attention in these two regions. Violence against women is ‘any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women [or girls], including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation.