A/HRC/7/6 page 8 A. Indicators 1. Definition 26. An indicator is “an item of data that summarizes a large amount of information in a single figure, in such a way as to give an indication of change over time”.8 It differs from statistics in that it is usually connected to a norm or benchmark, which in the case of violence against women, is necessary for eliminating it. The role of an indicator is to provide guidance on policy, enable measurement and monitoring of progress and stimulate regular, systematic data collection. Indicators are not, however, substitutes for in-depth research, especially since many rely on extrapolation from more detailed studies. Abstraction and accessibility means that indicators offer relatively little with respect to processes and causalities; gender analysis and social research thus complement indicators and provide explanatory frameworks. 2. Current initiatives 27. There are numerous proposals for violence against women indicators across United Nations agencies, regional bodies, Governments and civil society organizations. While there is no consensus, the general focus has been on measuring intimate partner violence, largely because the international knowledge base is strongest here. Transnational approaches include reviews by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Co-ordination Action on Human Rights Violations9 and two multi-country prevalence studies.10 28. Work is also under way to develop global human rights indicators with efforts to link human rights and development indicators, perhaps best illustrated by the Millennium Development Goals. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has also proposed a helpful typology within the context of human rights indicators, which has been adopted in the present report (however, the term “structural” is replaced by “institutional” to avoid confusion with the more common socio-economic usages of the former):11 • Structural indicators reflect the ratification/adoption of legal instruments and existence of basic institutional mechanisms necessary for the realization of human rights 8 Beck, T. (1999), Using Gender-Sensitive Indicators: A Reference Manual for Governments and Other Stakeholders. Kent: Commonwealth Secretariat: 7. 9 UNECE Taskforce on Violence against Women (2006), www.cahrv.uni-osnabrueck.de. 10 WHO Multi-country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence; the International Violence Against Women Survey, HUENİ, Finland (to be published in 2008, Violence against Women: An International Perspective, Johnson, H; Ollus, N. & Nevala, S.). 11 OHCHR, Indicators for Monitoring Compliance with International Human Rights Instruments: Second Expert Consultation Conclusions and Recommendations, 2006.