Causes of Gender-Based Violence
Gender-based violence is a problem that is experienced in every corner of the world and causes damages to more than the physical body of an individual. Gender-based violence is an act of abuse that is perpetrated against someone hinged on their gender status and inflicting harm on them because of their lopsided power relationships. Gender-based violence affects both men and women without consideration of their age and background. Even though men are also usually targeted, girls and women are the principal victims of gender-based violence; females become more vulnerable to cases of rape and other sexual assaults during the period, and in some cases, they are separated with their families. Perpetrators are often those who have a position of control and power, and they can either be from public or private sectors. Members of armed forces, police, peacekeepers and humanitarian workers have been held responsible for such cases, especially during armed conflicts. Consequently, the significant causes of gender-based violence include; socio-cultural activities that are discriminative, environmental degradation, violence in disasters and emergencies, social media platforms, inadequate programmes for gender sensitivity and empowerment.
Both traditional and modern Socio-cultural and religious practices and laws that are discriminatory to a specific gender in society fuels gender-based violence. In most instances, women and girls are the victims of such norms in society. Example of such practices includes child marriage, child soldier and female genital mutilation, forced prostitution and trafficking. UNPFA has been working in more than one hundred countries to permanently eliminate harmful cultural practices and gender-based violence across the world (United Nations Population Fund, 2020). Many women all over the world have been abused physically and sexually, and have reported cases of acquiring unwanted pregnancies and HIV during the ordeal. In a report given by the World Health Organization, some communities consider wife battering a cultural practice that helps to instill respect in women. Such is an extreme case that describes how much gender-based violence has caused more harm to women and girls. The government, Humanitarian organizations and non-governmental organizations should, therefore, come together and join forces in eliminating cultural practices that are gender discriminative in their nations.
Environmental degradation, as like wisely acted as a driver to gender-based violence. Environmental destruction has been an issue that has resulted due to the growing modern industrialization and has fuelled societal problems such as gender-based -violence. Several natural resources have been diminishing on the earth’s surface due to environmental irresponsibility and extravagant manufacturing that has resulted in various social problems such gender-based violence and lopsidedness (“Fact Sheet: Update On Addressing Gender-Based Violence In Development Projects”, 2020). Consequently, the remaining few numbers of natural resources become the source of gender-based violence; in most countries, men are the primary holders of power and authorities. Women then become vulnerable because men can, therefore, exploit them. An example is a CNN news report of fish for sex in South Africa where women are forced into sexual relationships in exchange for buying fish from the fishermen. Overfishing cases in South Africa have created the gender-based violence of fish for sex. It has been experienced for years without proper actions against the actions being implemented. Women who desperate in need of the fish often end up in trap which later causes them extreme cases of depression and suicidal cases. Societal norms and customary laws should, therefore, generate codes on resources management.
Conflicts in disasters and other emergency cases have also contributed to creating breeding grounds for gender-based violence. In an occurrence of conflict disasters and other emergencies that involve the intervention of armed forces and the police, a good number of sexist acts of violence such as rape cases and forced involvement in conflicts have been reported. Disasters and emergencies have often resulted in mass population movement and forced displacement making the victims more vulnerable to instances of sexual assaults and insecurity issue (“Protection, gender and inclusion in emergencies: toolkit”, 2015). Global human rights organization has developed treaties that require state action to generate against gender discrimination cases in every state. Nevertheless, the agreements do not provide precise guidelines on how to handle gender-discriminatory issues in situations of emergencies and disasters. It is therefore vital for Global Human Rights authorities to create proactive laws and procedures that should protect people and reduce cases of gender-based violence during the conflict in disasters and emergencies.
Use of social media platforms has also resulted in a digital form of gender-based violence. Due to increased advanced development of technology, the use of social media as a platform for communication and self-expression has gone rampant all over the world. In BBC’s 100 Women program, Zoe Quinn, a female video-game developer explains how she suffered social media gender-based abuse after developing her video-game and joining a male influenced world (BBC WORLD NEWS, 2015). Zoe Quinn explained that she became the epicentre of social media harassment because of her gender after her ex-boyfriend leaked photos and videos of her private life. Various women and men have also suffered gender-based violence via social media platforms that have often occurred in the form of cyberbullying when their privacy is leaked to the whole world in the digital space. It is appropriate that social media authorities should establish rules and regulations against gender-based -violence in social media platforms.
Lack of programmes that educate people on gender sensitivity while empowering them creates unawareness of gender-related violence hence making the victims more vulnerable. Lack of information and proper education on gender issues in society can cause a lot of harm as a result of naivety. Implementing redress for gender-based violence in the community is one of the essential tools to empower gender-based violence victims as it makes them people more alert and informs on how to survive when the ordeal comes (Inter-Agency Standing Committee, 2020). People who know about gender-based violence often do not fall victims of the deal, unlike the others who have no information what it could actually be. Creation of awareness also lessens the level of depression that comes after the ordeal but instead makes the victim more empowered to fight their way out. Therefore, humanitarian organizations should conduct a series of educative programmes and inform the vulnerable population about gender-based violence and how it can be avoided.
In conclusion, it is clear with no doubt that gender-based violence is a global problem that knows no bound concerning age, gender and background. Gender-based violence is mainly caused by bias socio-cultural practices, lack of adequate natural resources, disasters and emergencies, social media platforms and undersigned gender sensitivity programmes. Gender-based violence affects more women and children, even though men are also victims of the same. In some cases, extreme experiences of gender-based violence have led to the committing of suicides by the victims or victims succumbing to the wounds from the ordeal. Global Human Rights authorities should, therefore, come up with proactive laws against gender-based violence that should apply to all communities regardless of their cultural beliefs and practices. Both modern and traditional socio-cultural practices that are discriminative to a specific gender group should be banned everywhere across the globe.
References
BBC WORLD NEWS. (2015). Social media ‘fuels gender violence’. Retrieved 9 April 2020, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-34911605
Fact Sheet: Update on Addressing Gender-Based Violence in Development Projects. (2020). Retrieved from https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/factsheet/2018/08/30/fact-sheet-update-on-addressing-gender-based-violence-in-development-projects
Inter-Agency Standing Committee. (2020). Retrieved from https://gbvguidelines.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Unicef-GBV-Print.pdf
Protection, gender and inclusion in emergencies: toolkit. (2015). Retrieved 9 April 2020, from https://media.ifrc.org/ifrc/theme/programmes-services/sexual-and-gender-based-violence/
United Nations Population Fund. (2020). Gender-based violence. Retrieved from https://www.unfpa.org/gender-based-violence