New York  - The physical impacts of violence against women are just the tip of an iceberg of sufferings caused by abuse, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday on International Women's Day.

"The consequences of violence go beyond the visible and immediate," Ban told the Commission on the Status of Women, which met at UN headquarters in New York to discuss programmes to end violence against women and girls, from domestic violence to armed conflict.

"Death, injury, medical costs and lost employment are but the tip of an iceberg," Ban said. "Far too often, these crimes go unpunished. Perpetrators walk free. No country, no culture, no women, young or old, is immune."

Ban noted men have begun to speak out against violence against women. He called for unity of action to end the violence.

"Only by standing together and speaking out can we make a difference," he said. dpa