Understanding Gender Violence and Its Impact on Women
The term “gender violence” is often used synonymously with violence against women, but in reality, it refers to an action carried out by one person against another of a different sex, producing a non-accidental injury, with the purpose represented by the same difference between the sexes.
Because violence against women is primarily exercised by men responding to gender constraints, we use the term “male violence” to refer specifically to the type of gender-based violence against women. It is also referred to as “domestic violence” as it is common for violence against women to occur in domestic settings.
Roots of Violence Against Women
The abolition of the right of mothers could be seen as a great defeat for the female sex.
Today, things are very different due to centuries of efforts by emancipating women. Women were once considered the property of men, belonging to material goods and family members. They transitioned from the hands of their fathers to the hands of their husbands, both having full authority over them, including decisions about their lives. Women were excluded from society and relegated to reproductive and domestic work.
At certain moments, women achieved some emancipation, gaining the ability to divorce on equal terms with men. The portrayal of women as selfless, sacrificial, and submissive in relationships was challenged, and the authority of husbands was tempered. This occurred mainly in the upper classes and did not prevent violence from continuing within marriage, where men managed to control and subjugate women through physical assault or murder.
Religions have played an important role in this history, providing moral justification for the patriarchal model: “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord, because the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the Church and the savior of his body.” [13]
Another consequence has been the historical exclusion of women from society, being barred from all fields: cultural, artistic, political, economic… This exclusion is another form of violence against women.
It was not until the Industrial Revolution in the West that women were allowed to participate in social life, marking the beginning of a path toward emancipation. However, the abuses committed against women for centuries have proven difficult to eradicate.
Current Account
Violence Against Women in the Family
Violence against women often begins in childhood and is primarily exerted within the family. Children are particularly vulnerable to violence, and girls suffer disproportionately because they are female. Female genital mutilation, widespread in some communities, is inextricably linked to the female sex.
Over 80% of rapes are perpetrated by family members of the victims, often at very early ages, when the victim is still a girl. Parents, grandparents, uncles, and other trusted adults become the aggressors. This is a global problem that often transcends the limits of the family, leaving children to suffer in silence, shame, and guilt. [21]
The sale of girls represents another form of violence suffered by women in childhood and within the family. These sales may have various purposes, but the lucrative business of prostitution, unhealthy sexual orientations of clients, and the poverty that many families face have extended the trade of girls under ten years old in many cases for sexual exploitation.
According to UNICEF, there are around two hundred thousand followers of sex tourism (four out of ten tourists visiting Thailand do so for this purpose). [22]
In addition to these severe forms of violence, many other lesser forms exist, ranging from authoritarian parenting to forced marriages. Violence against women, regardless of its nature, is most often perpetrated within the family. [23]
Violence Against Women in Couples
Violence against women by an intimate partner or former partner is widespread globally, occurring in all social groups regardless of economic, cultural, or other considerations. Although difficult to quantify, as not all cases transcend the couple’s scope, it is assumed that a significant number of women suffer or have suffered such violence. Studies in developing countries show rates of abuse at about 20%, with the lowest rates in European countries, the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Japan, where figures are around 3%. [24]
It is a fact that in relationships, interactions among members can become aggressive. Conflicts can arise in all human relationships, and discussions, even heated arguments, can be part of the relationship. In troubled relationships, quarrels and physical aggression can occur. This could escalate to levels of violence that are reprehensible and punishable, representing part of the difficulties faced by couples.
In contrast, abuse, while taking similar forms of verbal and physical aggression, is unilateral; it is always the same person who receives the blows.
The most visible features of abuse are beatings and murders, which often transcend the couple’s scope. However, the abuse of lower intensity, such as psychological abuse sustained over time, undermines women’s self-esteem and is more common. [26] When a case of abuse escalates, women can take years to recover. Abuse can occur at any stage in the couple’s history, but it is often during the breakup and afterward that it flares up.
The psychopathological model explains violence as a result of deviant behavior in certain individuals whose personal history is characterized by severe disturbances. This approach, while reassuring, speaks of an “other,” a “sick” or “delinquent” individual who may be penalized or treated medically. From the feminist perspective, male violence is seen as a social control mechanism that maintains the subordination of women to men. Violence against women stems from a social system whose values and representations assign women the status of a dominated subject.
Violence Against Women
Violence against women is violence against women due to their status as women.
This violence has many facets, ranging from discrimination and contempt to physical or psychological aggression and murder.
It occurs in very different contexts (family, work, education, etc.), and is especially dramatic in the family and household, where women are killed annually by their partners in the tens or hundreds in various countries worldwide.
At least one in every three women worldwide has experienced an act of violence (abuse, rape, harassment, etc.) throughout her life. Various international organizations have emphasized that this type of violence is a leading cause of death and disability for women between 15 and 44 years old.
The United Nations, at its 85th plenary meeting on December 20, 1993, endorsed the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, recognizing it as a serious attack on human rights and urging that every effort be made to ensure it is universally known and respected.
Currently, states, international organizations, and many different groups, mainly feminist, are devoting significant efforts to eradicate it. Violence against women is global and occurs in all societies and cultures, affecting women regardless of race, ethnicity, social origin, wealth, nationality, or status.