The report is grounded in stories from around the world of individual woman's and groups of women's experiences of torture and abuse including: so called "honor crimes" of violence for ostensibly bringing shame on the family; domestic violence; sexual abuse in the workplace; experiences when purchased for forced labor, sexual exploitation, forced marriage; accusations of zina (fornication), and a range of torture and systematic indifference by state/government actors in prisons, police stations, during war and in daily life.
These stories of torture of females, and the social and cultural norms in which this torture is operated, illuminates how globally individuals are systematically denied basic human rights because they are female. They show how social and cultural norms increase a woman's risk of physical, sexual and mental abuse. Amnesty International make clear that governments which systematically fail to take action to prevent and protect women from violence share responsibility for the torture and abuse of females.
Recommendations include that all governments states implement laws and practices that improve the conditions of women. Specific steps include publicly condemning violence against women, investigating allegations, and prosecution and punishment of perpetrators - whether individual, group, or state actors.
Amnesty International (AI) describes that it "is a voluntary, democratic, self-governing movement". Its work is based on research and standards agreed by the international community. "AI is independent of any government, political persuasion or religious creed. It does not support or oppose any government or political system, nor does it support or oppose the views of the victims whose rights it seeks to protect. It is concerned solely with the impartial protection of human rights." [from AI's report release]
