What is Violence Against Women?
Violence Against Women is, as the United Nations defines it[1]:
“Any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.”
Violence against women includes (but is not limited to):
- Gender-based domestic violence
- Rape, marital rape and incest
- Forced marriage
- Female genital mutilation
- Murder and assault including dowry-related violence and honour killings
- Human trafficking including cross-border prostitution rings and bride kidnappings
- War crimes including rape as a weapon of war
Violence Against Women – Some Key Facts:
Violence Against Women is a huge public health issue and a violation of human rights.[2] It results in a wide range of physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health issues for both men and women, compounded by women who are afraid to report the violence she faces. With little access to healthcare, education and opportunity, many women are left open to abuse.
Up to one in three women experience physical or sexual violence in their lives. This means your mother, sister, daughter, niece, granddaughter, cousin, or even you, may be or have been abused in some manner in your lives.
Do not be deceived: Violence against women is all about power. It is the attempted domination over your life by your abuser.
Violence against women is also a national health concern. Intimate partner abuse, or Domestic Violence, was estimated to exceed US$5.8 billion a year in the United States alone.[3] The majority went into direct medical and healthcare services, something most women lack access to until something serious happens.
Violence against women is NOT a private of family issue. It is a community and public health issue affecting not only the abuser and his victim but everyone around them.
How big is the problem of Violence Against Women?
Violence Against Women, at its core, is about subjugating women. It is the domination of a woman by another human being. One in three women have been abused or subjected to gender-based violence in their lives.
Here are some hard facts:
- The most common persistent act of Violence Against Women is violence by an intimate partner, aka domestic violence. In a 10-year study conducted by the WHO (World Health Organisation), between 15% to 75% of women report physical and/or sexual violence by a husband or partner. Marital rape, a common aspect of domestic violence, is often not seen as a criminal offence, but a domestic dispute, something that could lead to a woman’s death.
- 5,000 women die each year in the dubious name of honour.[4] Most times they are killed to protect the “honour” of the men who abused them. These women were raped, molested, or impregnated against their will. They were then subsequently murdered in cold blood. Some girls were guilty of simply being girls. They too, were murdered because their fathers and uncles thought they needed to be taught a lesson.
- Women and girls are still being forced into marriages against their will, particularly in Asia, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa.[5] Many of these women are seen as being merely chattels and are discouraged (sometimes violently) from pursuing their education.
- Worldwide, up to 1 in 5 women report being sexually abused as children.[6] These children are more vulnerable to other forms of abuse in their lives compared to most.
Who is at risk?
All women and girls across all levels of society, culture and nationality are at risk.
However, poorly-educated women with low social status in their community are at a higher risk of being abused and violated. Often they do not know their own rights. The lack of healthcare access and education often hamper efforts for these women to make lives better for them and their children.
What are the health consequences of Violence Against Women?
Injuries[7]
Physical and sexual abuse by a partner is closely associated with injuries including (but not limited to):
- Bruising
- Broken Limbs
- Sprained limbs
- Head and neck injuries
- Concussions
- Open wounds
Death
Deaths from violence against women include:
- Honour killings (by families for cultural reasons)
- Suicide
- Female infanticide (murder of infant girls)
- Maternal death from unsafe abortion and battery
- Death from battering and other physical violence
Physical health[8]
Abuse can result in many health problems, including:
- Headaches
- Back pain
- Abdominal pain
- Fibromyalgia
- Gastrointestinal disorders
- Limited mobility
- Poor overall health status
Sexual and reproductive health
Violence against women is associated with:[9]
- Sexually transmitted infections such as HIV/AIDS
- Unintended pregnancies
- Gynaecological problems
- Induced abortions
- Adverse pregnancy outcomes, including miscarriage, low birth weight and fetal death
Risky behaviours
Sexual abuse as a child is associated with:
- Higher rates of sexual risk-taking such as first sex at an early age, multiple partners and unprotected sex
- Substance use
- Additional victimisation
Each of these behaviours increases the risk of health problems.
Mental health
Violence and abuse increase the risk of:
- Depression
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Sleep difficulties
- Eating disorders
- Emotional distress
To view country-specific fact sheets on the health consequences for Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, Japan, Namibia, New Zealand, Peru, Samoa, Serbia Montenegro, United Republic of Tanzania, and Thailand, go here.
So what are we doing about Violence Against Women?
Various grassroots, non-profit and non-governmental organisations around the world including Women’s Aid Organisation Malaysia and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence provide support, education and counselling to abused women and children.
These services include but aren’t limited to:
- Shelters for abused women and children
- Legal and emotional counselling for victims
- Lobbying various governments to recognise gender-based violence as a human rights issue and to pass laws and legislation to safeguard women and children,
- Providing women with the practical means to escape their abusers.
In addition, the United Nations and its various agencies including the United Nations Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have launched a major campaign in February 2008: “UNite to End Violence against Women,” a 7-year effort ending in 2015 aimed at preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls in all parts of the world.
The Pixel Project is a launch partner for UNIFEM’s “Say NO” campaign.
So where does The Pixel Project fit in in the fight against Violence Against Women?
We believe that men and women need to work together to end violence against women. We also believe that while men are the major part of the problem, they are also the integral part of the solution to this pressing issue.
Our work is 3-pronged:
- We are educating and raising awareness amongst men about gender-based violence and their role in ending it as well as sounding the clarion call for men and women to work together to stop violence against women.
- For our 2010 campaign, we are raising US$1 million in aid of Malaysia’s Women’s Aid Organisation and the USA’s National Coalition against Domestic Violence to help them continue their services through the global recession.
- We are raising volunteer time from men and women across 4 continents, 7 timezones and 10 cities to actively step up to stop violence against women via this project.
Find out more about what we are attempting to do here.
Would you like to know more about Violence Against Women?
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it is a start. If you would like to find out more, go here.
Sources:
- “Violence Against Women.” World Health Organisation.
- “Women and Violence.”United Nations Department of Public Information.
- “Facts & Figures on Violence Against Women.” United Nations Development Fund for Women.
- ‘Honour’ Crime.” Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation.
- “Forced and Early Marriage.” Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights.
- “Child Sexual Abuse.” Wikipedia.
- “About Domestic Violence.” United States Department of Justice.
- “Domestic Violence.” Wikipedia.
- “Effects and Aftermath of Rape.” Wikipedia.
Sunday, 10 October 2010
About Violence Against Women « The Pixel Project
