The Poet

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Violence against women is any  act of gender-based violence that results in, or may result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.

There are many forms of violence against women, they may be;

- Sexual physical, or emotional abuse by an intimate partner.

-Physical or sexual abuse by family members or others

-Sexual harassment and abuse by authority figures (such as teachers, police officers or employers)

-Trafficking for forced labour or sex.

-Traditional practices as forced or child marriages.

-Dowry-related violence.

-Honour killings;when women are murdered in the name of family honour.

-Systematic sexual abuse in conflict situations is another form of violence against women a good example is  the recent post election violence.

ABOUT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

• Violence against women is a major public health problem and a violation of human rights.
• A lack of access to education and opportunity, and low social status in communities are linked to violence against women.
• Violence by an intimate partner is one of the most common forms of violence against women.
• A wide range of physical, mental, sexual and reproductive, and maternal health problems can result from violence against women.
•  Many women do not seek help or report their experiences when violence occurs.

Forms of (VAW)

1) Physical violence: Here  a woman is:

  -slapped, or had something thrown at her.

 - pushed,

 -Had her hair pulled.

 -Hit with a fist or something else that could hurt.

 -Choked or burnt.

 -Threatened with a weapon or the same used against her.

2)Sexual violence: Here a woman is;

-physically forced to have sexual intercourse had sexual

intercourse because she was afraid of what her

partner might do.

-Forced to do something sexual that she finds degrading or humiliating.

-Raped

3)Emotional violence: Here a woman is;

-Being humiliated or belittled.

-Being scared or intimidated purposefully.

 4)Intimate-partner violence (domestic violence) Here a woman faces any of the above types of violence in the hands of an intimate partner or ex-partner.

HOW WE CAN FIGHT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN(VAW)

We can fight this (VAW) by six measures they are:

-          Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger

-          Achieving  universal primary education

-          Promoting gender equality and empower women  

-          Improving  maternal health    

-          Combating  HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

-          Ensuring  environmental sustainability

1) Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Violence against women occurs in all social and

economic classes, but women living in poverty

are more likely to experience violence.

Although we need  to fully understand the

connections between poverty and violence

against women, it is clear that poverty and its

associated effects are important major in making women vulnerable.

Men in difficult economic circumstances

e.g. unemployment, poor jobs,

low socioeconomic status or those who fail to advance in education due to poverty may resort to violence out of frustration, and a sense of hopelessness.

At the same time, poor women who experience

violence may have fewer resources to escape

violence in the home.

With respect to these cases  efforts to reduce poverty and hunger may help,to prevent violence against women and should thus be supported; this should be directed to both sexes because if that man will be satisfied he might be less violent.

 Although this economic support  must be strategically planned to address gender

inequality. This they must do by:

-Addressing gender gaps in earnings as well as

barriers to accessing credit for women.

-Promote increased access to post-primary,

vocational and technical education for women;

-Extend and upgrade childcare benefits to

enable women's full participation in the paid

labour market;

-Address issues of occupational segregation

that often translate into inferior conditions of

employment for women.

-Ensure social protection and benefits for

women in specific employment situations such as those involved in informal employment where they tend to be misused.

Eradication of poverty as a tool of fighting (VAW) should aim for decent, productive work for all although, increasing

women’s educational status and economic independence

does not guarantee the elimination of

violence and may actually increase women’s chances of experiencing violence.

Improved economic conditions therefore may provide more opportunities to escape

and avoid violence, but they are only part of the

ways to achieve complete eradication of violence against women.

In summary programmes of  eradicating  extreme poverty and

hunger should be designed specifically to promote

women’s economic participation and

independence of women in ways that do not

expose them to increased violence.

2) Achieve universal primary education

Girls face many barriers to education, some of which involve violence or make them more vulnerable to it. For example, many families place little value on educating girls, and prefer to keep them working at home or for wages elsewhere. Some poor families can only afford to send one child to school, and the selected child is usually a boy. Poor girls who want to attend school, but whose families cannot afford tuition fees  can be pressured into exchanging sex for school fees, uniforms, books, and lunches.

Higher education  empowers women by giving them greater self-confidence, wider social networks, and greater ability to use information and resources, and attain economic independence.

A larger percentage of the world’s children who do not attend school are girls and two thirds of the

world’s illiterate people are women.  There is evidence that women with less education are generally more likely to experience violence than those with higher levels of education.

Enrolment in and completion of secondary education is also a critical area of concern as it is clearly associated with employment opportunities and women’s empowerment.

Some men may react violently to women’s empowerment through education, particularly if educated women then challenge traditional gender roles, thus girls may find little reason to attend school if the curriculum or their schools convey the message that girls are less important

than  boys. In some cases there are high levels of sexual violence and harassment from teachers and male students including rape, assault, and physical and verbal harassment towards girls therefore Social and educational policies should seek to eliminate harmful gender norms that devalue the education of girls, together with practices such as child labour and early marriage.

Educational programmes should include measures that enable girls and women to benefit from their increased educational level without fear of violence.

A number of preventive interventions can be carried out. For example, curricula can be designed to change attitudes towards violence in general and violence against women in particular and school facilities can be designed to reduce opportunities for physical assaults. At the same time, schools must adopt clear policies, including the enforcement of sanctions for perpetrators of violence who may be teachers or students.

In summary educational authorities must ensure that schools are safe places for all students, with special attention to the security of girls.

3)Promote gender equality and empower women  

Promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment is central to the elimination of violence against women. Since violence against women has such serious impacts on women’s lives and their health, productivity and well-being  gender-based discrimination in laws and policies and deeply embedded social and cultural norms that perpetuate gender inequality should be fought.

 Violence against women and gender inequality  result from many factors.

  These include :

-Harmful gender norms and traditions, and social acceptance of violence as an

           accepted means of conflict resolution.

         - Violence against women is often embedded in social customs

that allow it to be perpetrated with impunity  even, in many cases, without       being considered as violence, let alone a crime.

- In many parts of the world, women have no social or legal recourse

            against violence by their husband or partner.

         -Harmful gender roles can be reinforced by traditional

           practices such as widow-cleansing, wife inheritance, child marriage and    

           female genital mutilation.

         -Dowry and bride-price can become a basis for demands, resentment, threats   

           and abuse by husbands and in-laws, and women who try to

           leave abusive marriages may be murdered or driven to suicide.

         -Women and girls are killed because they are thought to have tarnished the

          honour of their husbands or families since such murder is

          considered justified, the perpetrators face no consequences.

Efforts to empower women must address current norms and traditional social customs that legitimize violence against them as well as legislation and enforcement of laws that discriminate against them.

A wide variety of tools and strategies will be

required to overcome deeply embedded gender

norms and systemic discrimination against

women. These include;

         -visible and sustained leadership by politicians and other key figures in  

           society,

         -Communication campaigns aimed at changing  norms and attitudes.

         -Law reforms on issues such as property rights, divorce, and political  

          participation.

      -Credit and skills-building programmes to increase women’s  economic 

        independence.

Greater equality and empowerment will help many women to avoid violence. But the violence

will never disappear unless men also change their attitudes and reject violence against women as

acceptable behaviour in any context including in the home.

Most of the violence experienced by women is perpetrated by someone they know – most often,

their husband or partner.  However, a significant amount of violence is perpetrated by strangers, as well as authority figures such as the police or men in government, and by combatants during armed conflict. The effects on women range from death and injury to psychological trauma, chronic ill health, and reproductive health consequences such as sexually transmitted diseases (STIs), unwanted pregnancy, miscarriages, and increased numbers of induced abortions.

Initiatives to promote gender equality must deal openly and vigorously with the issue of partner violence, because women will never be equal in their public lives until they are equal at home.

A number of interventions specifically aimed at reducing violence and protecting women will be

required. These interventions include:

    -Enactment and enforcement of sanctions against men who perpetrate violence

      against women.

   -Training of the judiciary, police and health care workers to recognize and deal    

     appropriately with violence against women

   -Services for women experiencing violence such as shelters, telephone hotlines; psychological

     and legal advice, and support networks should be availed and a continuous monitoring of such  

     is  important.

Despite doing all these the governments should ensure that statistics

on violence against women, including ongoing cases and  prosecution

and conviction rates, are regularly collected

and disseminated and interventions to address violence are properly evaluated.

4) Improve maternal health    

Partner violence during pregnancy is widespread

and has significant consequences for maternal

health.

Providers of reproductive health care should be trained to recognize signs of violence against women, and referral systems put in place to ensure that appropriate care, follow-up and support services are available.

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Partner violence may have both short-term  and long-term physical and psychological impacts on the victims. Whereas physical injury can be an immediate and visible consequence of violence, STIs and gynecological problems, including chronic pelvic pain are consistently associated with abuse.

Mental health problems resulting from violence that would affect maternal health include:

-Depression,

-Post-traumatic stress syndrome.

-Feelings of helplessness.

-Alcohol and substance abuse

Generally efforts to improve maternal health should include measures to reduce partner-violence against women.

5) Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

As of 2003, women and girls represented approximately 50% of those living with HIV/AIDS globally. Traditional prevention strategies that rely on male compliance, such as condoms, do not always protect women and girls. This is especially true in societies where violence against women is condoned and where gender norms restrict or deny sexual autonomy for women and girls.

 Abused women and girls have a greater risk of contracting HIV infections and other STIs because they lack autonomy to decide when, with whom and under what circumstances they will have sex. Fear of violence can prevent women suggesting that their male partner use a condom, still less insisting on It.

Violent or forced sex, especially among adolescent girls, may be more likely to lead to transmission of the virus through tears in the vagina or anal canal. Thus, violence against women is a significant factor impeding effective prevention of HIV in women and young girls.

Risk in marriage is especially relevant where cultural norms condone male promiscuity or where husbands control the couple’s sexual activity. The majority of countries have no laws against marital rape - Therefore

National HIV prevention strategies should include components that aim to reduce violence against women, challenge social norms that condone such violence and empower women and girls to protect themselves against unwanted or forced sex.

Violence against women in the form of childhood sexual abuse has been shown to increase the probability of risky sexual behaviour later in life. Such behaviours include consensual sex at an earlier age, multiple partners, transactional sex, and

heavy use of alcohol or drugs. These behaviours also increase the risk for HIV, other STIs and unintended pregnancies – Therefore  HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns should include information about the relationship between violence against women and HIV/AIDS, and the HIV-related health risks

of harmful traditional and formal practices.

Fear of violence is a reason why many women do not seek testing for HIV In some cases, women whose positive status becomes known may be beaten, abandoned or thrown out of the home by their male partner or family. Since testing is a prerequisite for access to antiretroviral treatment, it is essential that women can be tested without fear of violence – Therefore  AIDS treatment initiatives should address intimate-partner violence as an obstacle to both testing and

treatment, and ensure confidentiality and support for women who seek either.

6) Ensure environmental sustainability

Environmental degradation, such as deforestation and pollution, is making

wood for fuel and safe drinking-water increasingly scarce in large areas of Africa and Asia, with the result that women have to walk ever-greater

distances and incur increasing risk.

In many societies, both rural and urban, gathering fuel and fetching water are among the most important domestic tasks that women and girls

are expected to carry out. Fulfilling these tasks often requires women to walk long distances, often by themselves, through isolated areas, this can put them at risk of physical and sexual assault.

Therefore efforts to provide sustainable access to drinking-water

and fuel should take into account the safety needs of women, both by reducing the distances they have to travel and increasing their security as they make the journey.

Competition for resources is at the heart of

much of violent conflict and displacement of populations which bring conflict situations which are generally associated with high rates of physical and sexual assault of women. Thus, efforts to reduce environmental degradation can contribute to reducing conflict which will in turn also reduce women’s risk from

war, civil unrest and involuntary migration.

The benefits of increasing security for women  not only include reducing violence-based injury and death, but also give women the independence to pursue economic and social activities. Improving policing, including providing training on how to deal appropriately with violence against women (as well as tough sanctions against

police who abuse women), can contribute to increasing safety for women in urban areas. Improvements to the environment such as good lighting, and designing streets and buildings to eliminate areas in which assaults can occur without

being seen or heard, are also relevant - Therefore efforts to improve the lives of slum dwellers should include interventions to reduce the risk of violence against women through designs and services that enhance security in public places.

In summary advocacy for sustainable development should emphasize its importance in preventing violentconflict, thereby protecting non-combatant

women and children.

Conclusion

We should be aware that violence against women hinders development in society and governments should be ready to make policies  that fight violence against women and inequalities in society as they  make development plans these policies should be about about creating more dignified living conditions for all.

If we as a society  will approach development goals while ignoring  gender dimensions we risk leaving existing inequalities unchanged or only slightly improved. The politicians, decision-makers and all other relevant players in society should  remember that women and men live different lives, and that women's lives often include violence for no other reason than that they are women they should also know that for a society to develop comprehensive approaches that

acknowledge the links between gender inequality

and violence against women must be observed if we are to go ahead as a society.