Violence Against Women

National Crime Record Bureau report shows the stark increase in violence against women in India within the sorts of dowry deaths, acts of harassment, torture, rapes and violence.

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6 min readSep 6, 2020

Violence against Women

The United Nations defines violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence that leads to, or is probably going to end in, physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring publicly or private life.” Violence against women may be a social, economic, developmental, legal, educational, right, and health (physical and mental) issue. It is a preventable explanation for morbidity and mortality in women. Violence against women occurs throughout the life cycle from pre-birth, infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood to adulthood.

Facts and Findings

As per the planet Health Organization (WHO), findings of 1 in 3 (35%) women worldwide have experienced either physical or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime. Violence against women — particularly intimate partner violence and sexual violence — may be a major public ill health and a violation of women’s human rights. Globally, 38% of murders of girls are committed by a male intimate partner. Violence can negatively affect women’s physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health, and should increase the danger of acquiring HIV in some settings.

Predisposing Factors

Men are more likely to perpetrate violence if they need low education, a history of kid maltreatment, exposure to violence against their mothers, harmful use of alcohol, unequal gender norms including attitudes accepting of violence, and a way of entitlement over women.

Women are more likely to experience intimate partner violence if they need low education, exposure to mothers being abused by a partner, abuse during childhood, and attitudes accepting violence, male privilege, and women’s subordinate status.
There is evidence that advocacy and empowerment counselling interventions, also as home visitation, are promising in preventing or reducing intimate partner violence against women.
Situations of conflict, post-conflict and displacement may exacerbate existing violence, like by intimate partners, also as non-partner sexual violence, and should also cause new sorts of violence against women.

Causes

Gender Disparity: is one among the deep-rooted explanation for violence against women that put women in danger of several sorts of violence. Discriminatory gender norms and gender stereotypes end in structural inequality.
Psychiatric Morbidity: Generally refers to the incidence of both physical and psychological deterioration as a result of a mental or psychological condition, generally caused thanks to the consumption of alcohol. Regular consumption of alcohol by the husband has been strongly related to the poor psychological state of girls. Alcohol operates as a situational factor, increasing the likelihood of violence by reducing inhibitions, clouding judgment and impairing a person’s ability to interpret cues.
Sociodemographic factors: Patriarchy has been cited because of the main explanation for violence against women. Where women have a better economic status than their husbands and are seen as having sufficient power to vary traditional gender roles, the danger for violence is high.
Family factors: Exposure to harsh physical discipline during childhood and witnessing the daddy beating the mother during childhood may be a predictor of victimization and perpetration of violence against his wife in adulthood.
Traditional and cultural practices:
Female genital mutilation: Can cause death, infertility, and long-term psychological trauma combined with increased physical suffering.
Acid attacks: Acid attacks have emerged as an inexpensive and readily accessible weapon to disfigure and sometimes kill women and girls for reasons as varied as family feuds, inability to satisfy dowry demands and rejection of marriage proposals.
Killing within the name of family honour: In several countries of the planet including Bangladesh, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Turkey, and India, women are killed to uphold the honour of the family thanks to varied reasons such as-alleged adultery, premarital relationship (with or without sexual relations), rape, falling crazy with an individual the family disapproves, which justify a male member of the family to kill the lady concerned.
Early marriages: Early marriage with or without the consent of the girl, constitutes a sort of violence because it undermines the health and autonomy of many girls.
Judiciary and enforcement machinery: An insensitive, inefficient, corrupt and unaccountable judiciary and enforcement machinery fail to discourage against various sorts of crimes.
Sociocultural factors disfavouring women: Stereotypes of gender roles have continued over the ages. The primary roles for ladies are marriage and motherhood. Women must marry because an unmarried, separated or divorced status may be a stigma. The custom of dowry remains prevalent in Indian marriages.

Consequences

Health Issue: Violence in any form affects the not only physical mental sexual and reproductive health of girls but also adversely affects their self-esteem, ability to figure and make decisions about fertility.
Economic Issue: Violence against women can have a significant impact on the economy of the household also as of the state.
Direct cost: loss of income, productivity, healthcare and price of social services.
Indirect cost: Impact on child well being, female and child mortality, intergenerational social and psychological cost.
Development Issue: Violence obstructs participation of girls in development and planning programs both at the micro and macro level. Violence prevents women from experiencing or accessing the advantages of development by restricting their ability to act or move freely. Violence against women is an obstruction to poverty alleviation programs because it impedes the equitable distribution of resources.
Rights Issue: Any sort of Violence against women hinders their realization of fundamental rights under article 14, 21, 19 and 32 of the Indian constitution.

Concerns

Underreporting: consistent with WHO estimates but 40 per cent of the ladies who experience violence seek the assistance of any sort. Among women who seek help, tend to approach family and friends and few look to formal institutions and mechanisms, like police and health services. Less than 10 per cent of these women seeking help for the experience of violence sought help by appealing to the police.
Erring Laws: Most of the day’s laws and legislations for ladies safety are either not in compliance with the International standards or not implemented properly. Laws concerning violence themselves constitute a greater barrier against justice for ladies.
The dearth of knowledge and Statistics: on crime against women. There is a requirement for comprehensive and systematic research and analysis on crime against women at Central, State, district and block level.
Accused are known persons: from the family or neighbourhood. Women aren’t safe among the people they know well and perhaps unsafe with dear and near ones.
Improper implementation: Although many laws and legislations are existing their full implementation in terms of legal literacy, training officials liable for administering legislation, legal support services aren’t up to the mark.

Way Forward

Gender-based legislation: it’s important to enact and enforce legislation and develop and implement policies that promote gender equality by ending discrimination against women in marriage, divorce and custody laws, inheritance laws and ownership of assets.
Financial Independence: Improving women’s access to paid employment. Developing and resourcing national plans and policies to deal with violence against women. Improve the system of collecting crime surveillance data on violence against women. Capacity building and training to service providers and enforcement officers to handle cases of violence against women.
Male Mediated Initiatives: Ensure male involvement in devising a program for abusers.
Prevent recurrence of violence: Through early identification of girls and youngsters who are experiencing violence and providing appropriate referral and support Promote egalitarian gender norms as a part of life skills and comprehensive sexuality education curricula taught to children.
Gender-based surveys: Generate evidence on what works and on the magnitude of the matter by completing population-based surveys, or including violence against women in population-based demographic and health surveys, also as in surveillance and health information systems.