ch 4.1 gender based violence

• GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE (GBV) – Any harmful act perpetrated against a person’s will that is based on socially-ascribed (gender) differences between males and females. 

  • one of the most widespread human rights abuses but least recognized in the world 
• Violence against Women (VAW) is an act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm to women including threats, reprisals, exploitation, harassment, and other forms of control.
• • Physical Violence: 6.4%
  • Sexual Violence: 2.3%
  • Emotional violence: 15.2%
• Consequences of Gender- based violence

  • Victim
  • society
• Gender-based violence results in;

  • Physical harm
  • Sexual harm
  • Psychological harm
• orms of Gender-based violence:

  • Battering
  • Marital rape, sexual violence
  • Dowry-related violence
  • Female infanticide
  • Sexual abuse of female children in the household
  • Honor crimes
  • Early marriage
  • Forced marriage
  • Female genital cutting
  • Sexual harassment in the workplace and educational institutions
  • Commercial sexual exploitation
  • Trafficking girls and women
  • Violence perpetrated against domestic workers
• GBV occurs in these areas:

  • Home
  • School
  • Workplace
  • During peace and conflict
• Consequences of GBV:

  • Health
  • Social
  • Economic
• SURVIVOR - (not a victim) person who has lived through an incident of GBV
• • PERPETRATOR person, group, or institution that inflicts, supports, or condones violence or other abuse against a person/group 
• Characteristic of perpetrators:

  • Has real power or perceived power
  • Has decision-making positions
  • Has authority
• Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedom without distinction of any kind e.g. race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinions, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status.
• • These include the following, amongst others:  
  • The right to life, liberty, and property of persons;  
  • The right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health;  
  • The right to freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment;  
  • The right to freedom of opinion and expression and to education
• Perpetrators can have "real" or "perceived" power
• Example of types of power and powerful people:

  1. Social
  2. Economic
  3. Political
  4. Physical
  5. Gender-based (social)
  6. Age related
• SOCIAL – peer pressure, bullying (eg. leader, teacher, parents)
• ECONOMIC – perpetrator controls money or access to goods/services/money/favors; sometimes the husband or the father 
• POLITICAL – elected leaders, discriminatory laws, (eg. President of the Republic of the Philippines)
• PHYSICAL – strength, size, use of weapons, controlling access or security (eg. soldiers, police robbers, gangs)
• GENDER-BASED (Social) – males are usually in a more powerful position than females
• AGE-RELATED – often, the young and elderly people have the least power
• Power is directly related to choice

  • The more power one has, the more choice they have
  • The less power one have the less choice they have
  • More vulnerable to abuse
• Gender based Violence involves abuse of power

  • Unequal power relationships are exploited or abused
• FORCE

  • Force might be physical, emotional, social, or economic in nature
  • May involve coercion or pressure
  • Force also includes intimidation, threats, persecution, or other forms of psychological or social pressure 
• VIOLENCE

  • Violence consists of the use of physical force or other means of coercion such as threat, inducement, or promise of a benefit to obtain something from a weaker or more vulnerable person
  • Using violence involves forcing someone to do something against her/his will – the use of force. 
• Power and Control Physical Violence Sexual Cycle 

  • Using coercion and threats
  • Using intimidation
  • Using emotional abuse
  • Using economic abuse
  • Using male privilege
  • Using isolation
  • Using children
  • Minimizing, denying, and blaming
• CONSENT

  • agreeing to something
  • means making an informed choice freely and voluntarily by a person in an equal power relationship 
  • Saying “yes”
• Acts of GBV occur without informed consent:

  • “Yes” under stress
  • Perpetrators use force for them to say “yes”
• Children (below 18 y.o.) are deemed unable to give informed consent for acts such as female genital cutting (FGC), marriage, sexual relations, etc.
• Cycle of Violence – Refers to repeated acts of violence in a relationship

  • starts with minor incidents and moves on to more serious levels of violence
  • May start in a child who is a victim or witness to violence and may be repeated when the child becomes an adult 
• The impact of being a victim or a witness to violence on a child is traumatic.

  • can make a child scared, unhappy, lonely, lose self-confidence, blame themselves, lose sleep, and pick up fights with peers. 
• Children should understand that having conflict is all right, but resolving conflict through violence is not right.

  • When children understand that violence is not acceptable, they will grow up into adults who respect other people.  
• CYCLE OF VIOLENCE:

  1. PHASE 1 – tension, anger, blaming, arguing
  2. PHASE 2 – battering, hitting, slapping, kicking, chocking, use of objects as weapons, sexual abuse, verbal abuse, threats
  3. PHASE 3 – calm, abuser may deny violence, make excuses, “I was drunk”, says they are sorry
• WHY STAYED:

  • Socio-economic well-being of parents
  • Hegemonic ideals/ romanticizing marriage and marital responsibilities
  • Weak enforcement of anti-VAW law
• WHY LEFT:

  • Victim and children’s well being
  • Economic independence
  • Available social, institutional, and legal support