Violence "towards" or "against"?

[AyeAmarok]

Could someone please explain which one of these is correct? Or, if both are correct, when each should be used? I've seen both written and used, but I remember seeing a complaint about a sign on a train saying about not tolerating violence towards/against staff, and whichever it was, the pedant said it should be the other (can't remember which way round it was!).

Is it Violence AGAINST Women, or Volience TOWARDS Women?

Thanks in advance.

Or is it violence against, and violent towards?

Violence towards and against both sound OK (!)
Violent against sounds a bit odd. So I would use violent towards.

But is it towards or toward?

(either/both)

The sign is written informally and has the verb missing. Were the verb present all would be clear.
Example:
We will not tolerate passengers who commit violence against staff.
We will not tolerate passengers who threaten violence toward staff.

As the sign means both options, then against/toward is probably correct.

In the US, we have the Violence Against Women Act and the Office on Violence Against Women in the US Justice Department.