The Women's Peace Train has traditionally been used by women's groups as a means of protesting war, militarization, and the impact of violence on women and children. The idea of what peace means has evolved over decades of protest. Initially ending or preventing war was the primary goal of these protests, but in the nuclear era, it became evident that weapons had the power to devastate environments and populations leading to expansion of concerns. Ethnic and racial tensions, as well as disruption of sustainable development goals have also been addressed in peace train actions. There have been numerous women's peace trains on almost every continent since the early 20th century.