Originally a tool used by military dictatorships, enforced disappearances has been used more and more as a tool of political repression and coercion. Hundreds of thousands of people have vanished in at least 85 countries. There is ongoing harassment of human rights defenders, and their families. In 2010, the United Nations General Assembly declared this day to be the International Day of the victims of forced disappearances. Its purpose is to raise awareness of the effects of these disappearances, the families left behind, and women who are faced with challenges to provide for their families.