Gender-based violence (GBV) is prevalent in every society around the world and takes many forms. As a violation of human rights, it is a moral imperative to stop all forms of violence against women and girls. In crisis, whether conflict or natural disaster, the risk of GBV increases, necessitating the need to act to prevent GBV before it happens.
Gender-based violence is an umbrella term for harmful acts of abuse perpetrated against a person’s will and rooted in a system of unequal power between women and men. This is true for both conflict and non-conflict settings. The UN defines violence against women as, ‘any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.’
Over one-third of women and girls globally experience some form of violence in their lifetime. However, this rate is higher in emergencies, conflict, and crisis, where vulnerability and risks are increased and most often family, community, and legal protections have broken down.
GBV has proven to be a reality in different scenarios whereby victims have been abused, raped, sexually harassed, forced into early marriage, exploited, assaulted, domestically violated and other cases where perpetrators devour on weak and helpless victims. Many victims of GBV have silently endured everything out of fear of speaking out and fear of the empty threats the perpetrator throws at them. To some extent, some victims are accustomed to the pain and adapt it as part of life.
These victims are denied the pleasure of peace, comfort and a stable state of mind. Most of them are traumatised. They lack peace because they’re always tensed and apprehensive. This causes sanity, emotional and psychological well being to the state of becoming victims with post traumatic disorder.
GBV can happen to anyone. However, it disproportionately affects women and girls. Those in crisis settings are at a double disadvantage due to their gender and their situation. Women and girls from other diverse and marginalised communities face an even greater risk where gender inequality intersects with other forms of oppression. Women and girls are likely to be victims of GBV during insurgency and while living at the IDP camps. Women and children are prone to GBV because they vulnerable and defenceless. Perpetrators tend to use their vulnerability against them, causing women and girls harm in different ways due to their feeble nature.
GBV can manifest in a variety of ways. Some of these include: physical violence, such as assault or slavery; emotional or psychological violence, such as verbal abuse or confinement; sexual abuse, including rape; harmful practices, like child marriage and female genital mutilation; socio-economic violence, which includes denial of resources; and sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse.
Gender-based violence has effects such as homicide, injury and shock, disability and sleeping disorders, reproduction problems, emotional and psychological problems and social and economic problems such as increased gender inequalities. Long-term cognitive, behavioural and emotional changes can occur, including insomnia, phobia, aggression, low self-esteem, and impaired problem-solving skills. After witnessing violence, children sometimes direct their anger towards their abused mothers. It affects physical and mental health and may lead to self-harm, isolation, depression and suicide. Rape and sexual assault can also result in unwanted pregnancies, complications during pregnancy and birth, and STIs, including HIV.
The economic costs of domestic violence are higher during downturns and could make recovery more challenging. For many women around the world, no place is more unsafe than their own homes. As the world marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, it has become clear that the pandemic has made this violence worse. Violence against women and girls has a multi-dimensional effect on the overall health of an economy both in the short-term and long-term. In the short term, women from abusive homes are likely to work fewer hours and be less productive when they work. In the long run, high levels of domestic violence can decrease the number of women in the workforce, minimise women’s acquisition of skills and education, and result in less public investment overall as more public resources are channeled to health and judicial services.
Violence against women and girls is one of the world’s most prevalent human rights violations, taking place every day, many times over, in every corner of the globe. It has serious short and long-term physical, economic and psychological consequences on women and girls, preventing their full and equal participation in society. The magnitude of its impact, both in the lives of individuals and families and society as a whole, is immeasurable.
As the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women carries out 16 days of activism, it is expected that the public should be well enlightened about GBV in order to end violence against women and girls. The actions you take at home, school, workplace and community can make a difference and an impact. Many victims of violence usually remain silent on their abuse and experiences for diverse reasons including fear and stigmatisation. When people are bold enough to share their stories, make time to listen and believe them, support and stand with them in their recovery process through the justice system. Providing a safe space for survivors is the first step to ensuring that the cycle of abuse and violence is broken. When a victim of abuse shares their story, consider making them aware of the various resources available to help them. There are agencies and trained personnel available to help victims of violence. To be able to give out such advice, the responsibility lies on each one of us to arm ourselves with as much information as we can on violence related issues and abuse, know the signs and how to help end it.
I call on governments and humanitarian organisations to keep fighting gender-based violence and ensure that the sanity of victims is restored through providing them shelter, comfort, welcoming and listening ears and most importantly sharing in their pain and enforcing judgement on perpetrators. Government should create an advocacy through seminars or public lecture on GBV signs and ways to be safe from violence especially vulnerable person’s such as women and children. Government should promote gender equality and strive towards eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls.
Say NO to GBV.
Juliana Pius Birma,
Department of Mass Communication,
University of Maiduguri, Borno state
