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The International Day For The Elimination Of Violence Against Women: Brave Survivors Share Their Stories

Survivor Stories: 'He Beat Me So Hard My Skin Split'
Rachel Moss

Up to 7 in 10 women around the world will experience physical or sexual violence at some point in their lifetime.

The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women aims to raise awareness of these crimes and work towards stopping them forever.

As part of the United Nations Campaign UNiTE, brave women from around the world share their stories.

"The worst time was when I was pregnant with my first child. I had a huge tummy and he pushed me so hard that I flew over the bench," says a woman named Sabine. "He followed me and continued to beat and kick me."

Sadly, Sabine's story is not that unusual - as many as one in four women who experience domestic violence will do so during pregnancy.

Shockingly, 603 million women live in countries where domestic violence is not yet considered a crime.

Another survivor, named Noor, says: "He beat me so hard that my skin split open and my blood splattered all over."

SEE ALSO:

LOOK: Why We Need International Day For The Elimination Of Violence Against Women

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A teenage girl named Katianna also appears in the video, she describes how a man put one hand round her neck, the other on her mouth and told her to take off her underwear.

Worldwide up to 50% of sexual assaults are committed against girls under the age of 16.

What's more, 30 million girls under the age of 15 remain at risk from FGM/C, and more than 130 million girls and women have undergone the procedure worldwide.

More than 700 million women alive today were married as children, 250 million of whom were married before the age of 15.

As the UNiTE campaign video says, violence against women (or men) is neither acceptable nor inevitable.

The UN are inviting us all to make a stand by sharing the UNiTE campaign on social media and with our neighbours, family and friends.

To find out more visit their website.

20 Countries That Don't Outlaw Domestic Violence
Algeria(01 of20)
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An Algerian woman looks at the headlines of newspapers at a news stand in Algiers, Algeria, Thursday, June 13, 2013.(AP Photo/Sidali Djarboub) (credit:AP)
Armenia(02 of20)
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A picture taken on November 19, 2013, shows a woman with child walking past a building left half destroyed by the 1998 devastating earthquake in Gyumri, the second largest city in Armenia, around 125 km ( miles) north of Yerevan. (KAREN MINASYAN/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Burkina Faso(03 of20)
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A woman waits on January 25, 2014 to see an ophthalmologist in Leo, Burkina Faso. (LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Cameroon(04 of20)
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A woman walks in a street of Douala, Cameroon on December 3, 2013. (FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Congo(05 of20)
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Democratic Republic of Congo Fardc regular army soldiers sit at the back of a pick-up truck as they head towards the Mbuzi hilltop, near Rutshuru, on November 4, 2013, after the army recaptured the area from M23 rebels. (Junior D. Kannah/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Ivory Coast(06 of20)
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A hairdresser braids a woman hair at a salon on July 17, 2013 in a popular area of Abidjan, Ivory Coast. (ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Egypt(07 of20)
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Women walk under a placard bearing the portrait of Egypt's army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in a street in the northern port city of Alexandria, on January 31, 2014. (STR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Haiti(08 of20)
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A woman walk past a wall displaying Haitian paintings for sale on a street of Petion-Ville, Port au Prince, February 6, 2014. (HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Iran(09 of20)
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Iranian women visit the shrine of the founder of Iran's Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on February 1, 2014 at Khomeini's mausoleum in a suburb of Tehran during the festivities marking the 35th anniversary of his return from exile. (ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Latvia(10 of20)
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A woman sells traditional grass compositions and wreaths at a Grass Fair in Riga on June 22, 2010. (ILMARS ZNOTINS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Kenya(11 of20)
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Women from the Rendile tribe (C) and Turkana tribe (L) dance during a ceremony in the Sibiloi national Park in the Turkana region on November 2, 2013. (CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Lebanon(12 of20)
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A woman walks through a poor neighborhood with a high concentration of Syrian refugees on June 30, 2013 in Beirut, Lebanon. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Lesotho(13 of20)
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Basotho women from the Mokhotlong district pose for a photograph in the mountains ahead of the opening ceremony of the new Sentebale Mateanong Herd Boy School on October 14, 2013 in Mokhotlong, Lesotho. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Mali(14 of20)
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People smoke cigarettes to celebrating the liberation on January 29, 2013 in Ansongo, a town south of the northern Malian city of Gao, as Niger troops entered the city. (KAMBOU SIA/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Niger(15 of20)
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A woman in Niger digs on May 28, 2012 a trench to collect rainwater near the village of Tibiri in the southern Zinder region. (ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP/GettyImages) (credit:Getty Images)
Pakistan(16 of20)
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Pakistani residents walk with a child along a street in Rawalpindi on January 18, 2014. (FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Russian Federation(17 of20)
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A woman enjoys the weather along the Black sea on day six of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics on February 13, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Syria(18 of20)
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A Syrian woman walks with her child in the Baba Amr neighborhood of the central Syrian city of Homs on February 11, 2013. (SARKIS KASSARJIAN/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Uzbekistan(19 of20)
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An Uzbek woman begs sitting on the steps in front of the central mosque Kukaldosh in Tashkent, 21 May 2005. AFP PHOTO / DENIS SINYAKOV (Photo credit should read DENIS SINYAKOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Yemen(20 of20)
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Yemeni women attend the showing of a film in Sanaa March 3, 2014 about 'child brides.'(MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)

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