History of Violence Against Women (VAW) in the West, Recognition and Emerging Interventions

Raazia Hassan Naqvi, Muhammad Ibrar, Basharat Hussain & Christine Walsh

Abstract
The recorded history of VAW dates back to 753 BC when wife beating
was a conventional practice and an accepted norm as the law of chastisement
allowed and made men responsible for all the crimes committed by their wives.
The period of 1600 AD saw women taking refuge in convents to escape from
violence in their homes. The paper uses qualitative approach to discuss the
historical laws of West that supported wife beating. The women’s right movement
was generated as a result in West and the paper will then indicate how and when
the VAW was being recognized as a social problem. At the end of this paper, the
feminist movement involvement in developing VAW interventions and global
recognition of discrimination and VAW is outlined.

Key Words: Violence Against Women, history, laws, recognition, interventions.