Links Between Violence Against Women and Maternal Health

In 2015, UN Women published this consolidated report on the links between violence and maternal health in francophone Africa and Haiti, along with its partners, joint beneficiaries of the French Muskoka Fund, WHO, UNFPA and UNICEF. Indeed, far too many women and children are faced with the risk of maternal mortality due to early marriage and pregnancies, female genital mutilation, physical, sexual, moral, economic and legal violence, as well as poor governance. Far too many women and children in the Central African Republic, Chad, Guinea, Haiti, Mali, Niger, and Togo are dying or are threatened by the consequences of violence during pregnancy or childbirth. This report is an assessment of the current situation and a plea, not only to governments and development partners, but also the main actors in the promotion of women’s rights and health to redouble their efforts to build a political, legal and health environment able to promote women’s health.