Why there is no peace time for women

Widney Brown is senior director for international law and policy atAmnesty International. She will attend the diplomatic conference on the arms trade treaty taking place in New York in March.

(CNN) -- That women and girls are singled out during armed conflicts is well documented -- what is less well known is that once hostilities cease the undeclared war on women can continue for years on end.

Even though officially the fighting has ended, the proliferation of weapons, a culture of violence and the objectification of women continue to wreak havoc.