The global community observes the "16 days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence", from November 25 to 10 December.
This is the time to reflect on the causes of violence against women and girls, and on the possible ways to prevent it.
Despite significant improvement in the status of women and girls in the last few decades, most women are still not treated as equals in their families or in society and the conventional beliefs that women are inferior to men make them easy targets for anger, frustration and violence.
Even strong legal remedies and enforcement mechanisms have had little effect.
The denial to women of full equality with men sharpens the challenge of dealing with violence.
It is the Bahá'í view that a commitment to the establishment of full equality between men and women in the family, work place, and in the society will be central to the success of efforts to end violence against women and girls.
According to the Bahá'í Writings "Women and men, have been and will always be equal in the sight of God".
The human soul has no gender, and the social inequities that may have been dictated by the survival requirements of the past cannot be justified at a time when humanity stands at the threshold of maturity.
It is the requirement of justice that everyone is treated equally and with dignity. But this has often not been the case when treating women.
For the equality of women and men to become a reality, there must be a shift in the values, outlook, and conduct of both women and men.
There is need for profound changes in the minds and hearts of both, and partnership between them. The problem of violence cannot truly be resolved unless men are educated to value women as equal partners.
In the Bahá'í view, creating violence-free families and communities requires new skills and approaches, and commitment to equality, which encourages communication, mutual trust and respect.
It involves consciously moving away from using force and violence to impose one's will and fulfil his desires, and instead using cooperation and consultation.
Furthermore, according to the Bahá'í International Community, "the empowerment of women and girls is key to protecting their human rights and breaking the cycle of violence.
Empowerment is a process of recognition, capacity building and action.
Individuals become empowered as they come to recognise their inherent worth, the fundamental equality of all human beings, and their ability to improve their own condition and that of the wider society.
At the collective level, empowerment involves the transformation of relationships of dominance into relationships of equality and mutuality".
Raising younger generation free from gender-based prejudice.
In our endeavours to prevent violence against women and girls, we must begin by educating children, both at home and in school, with values that promote justice and equality.
We as parents, or teachers, as well as the institutions, must make sure that younger generations are raised free from gender-based prejudice.
In the Bahá'í view, "violence arises from ignorance - the failure to understand such fundamental realities as the oneness of the human race and the mistaken notion that force is the only honourable way to resolve conflicts.
Education (moral, material and practical) is therefore not only a fundamental right but a practical necessity in today's world. Any attempt to curb societal violence that does not educate individuals to overcome gender prejudice will certainly fall short".
The need to follow moral and spiritual principles
While it is important to have appropriate laws, and the mechanisms for their enforcement, they are not sufficient to prevent gender-based bias and violence.
There is need to follow moral and spiritual principles that facilitate the shift in individual values required to put into practice gender equality and justice towards all.
The Baha'i International Community states: "Efforts to eradicate the epidemic of violence against women and girls must proceed from and be reinforced by every level of society from the individual to the international community.
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However, they must not be limited to legal and institutional reforms, for this address only the manifest crime and are incapable of generating the deep-rooted changes needed to create a culture where justice and equality prevail over the impetuousness of authoritarian power and physical force.
Indeed, the inner and outer dimensions of human life are reciprocal one cannot be reformed without the other.
It is this inner, ethical and moral dimension which now stands in need of transformation and, ultimately, provides the surest foundation for values and behaviour which raise up women and girls and, in turn, promote the advancement of all of humankind."
Therefore, to end gender-based bias and violence it is essential to deal not only with the outward and legal aspects of the problem, but also with the inward dimension that concern moral and spiritual aspects of life.
It is also vital to put into practice gender equality and justice towards every member of our human family.
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