According to a poll by Amnesty International Scotland, the vast majority of respondents believe violence against Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights is still a problem in Scotland. The results are launched today (Wednesday 8 March) to mark International Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights’s Day and are from a postcard poll Amnesty launched in November last year.

The Imagine a World…without violence against Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights and girls postcard booklet was launched during the Sixteen Days of Action on Gender Violence in November 2005 as part as Amnesty International’s Imagine a world…without violence against Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights and girls campaign.

The overwhelming majority of respondents (95%) believing that violence against Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights is a problem in Scotland and nearly two-fifths (39%) think that it is a problem amongst their friends. With one in five Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights in Scotland suffering domestic abuse at some point in their life, it is likely that these Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights are amongst our friends, family and work colleagues.

Amnesty International’s Programme Director, Scotland, Rosemary Burnett said: “Violence against Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights is still a problem in Scotland but it continues to be a hidden problem which many people refuse to confront.”

“With so many of those polled stating that violence against Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights was a problem amongst their friends, it demonstrates how we can all bring about a change in society by confronting this problem in our own lives.”

Similar questions were put to a street poll in November 2004 and there is an encouraging change in attitudes. In November 2004, 14% of those polled felt violence against Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights was justified in some circumstances. A year later, only 4% think that violence against Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights is ever justified.

The postcards that carried this poll featured artwork made by Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights survivors of men’s violence from Red Road Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights’s Centre and Phoenix House, Glasgow in collaboration with artist Jaki troLove and Glasgow Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights’s Library. They featured poems by four of Scotland’s leading female poets; Bashabi Fraser, Magi Gibson, Elspeth Murray and Janet Paisley with additional artwork by Catherine Street.

52,000 copies of this booklet were distributed as inserts in The Big Issue Scotland and the Amnesty Journal during the November 2005 Sixteen Days of Action on Gender Violence.

Images from the postcards and report available on request.