Stop the violence- that’s what we said, how far is it true? How far human rights are respected at home, in public places or anywhere? Why women and children are the everyday victims?
Victim means weakness; weakness means violence…Can we really stop or reduce violence? Domestic violence should not happen to anybody. But it does. Women and children are often in great danger in the place where they should be safest: within their families. For many, ‘home’ is where they face a regime of terror and violence at the hands of somebody close to them – somebody they should be able to trust. Those victimized suffer physically and psychologically. Their human rights are denied and their lives are stolen from them by the ever-present threat of violence.
A great deal of attention is placed on domestic violence (or violence within the family) and its effects on women and girls. At the same time, violence against women and girls extends into the public sphere (such as sexual harassment, rape, robbery). The violence against women and girls in the public and private spheres are not separate issues and as such, should not be treated separately to eliminate violence against women and girls.
The U.N. Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) reports that “Violence against women worldwide” that up to 70 percent of women experience physical or sexual violence from men in their lifetime – the majority from husbands, partners or someone they know. Among women aged 15–44, acts of violence cause more death and disability than cancer, malaria, traffic accidents and war combined.
Physical violence is estimated to occur in 4 to 6 million intimate relationships each year in the United States and 83 percent of girls aged 12–16 experienced some form of sexual harassment in public schools. In South Africa, a woman is killed every six hours by someone she knows; in Guatemala, two women are murdered, on average, each day. In São Paulo, Brazil, a woman is assaulted every 15 seconds. Rape of women is widespread in armed conflicts such as those of Colombia and Darfur, Sudan. In the European Union between 40 and 50 percent of women experience unwanted sexual advancements, physical contact or other forms of sexual harassment at their workplace.
Victim means weakness; weakness means violence…Can we really stop or reduce violence? Domestic violence should not happen to anybody. But it does. Women and children are often in great danger in the place where they should be safest: within their families. For many, ‘home’ is where they face a regime of terror and violence at the hands of somebody close to them – somebody they should be able to trust. Those victimized suffer physically and psychologically. Their human rights are denied and their lives are stolen from them by the ever-present threat of violence.
A great deal of attention is placed on domestic violence (or violence within the family) and its effects on women and girls. At the same time, violence against women and girls extends into the public sphere (such as sexual harassment, rape, robbery). The violence against women and girls in the public and private spheres are not separate issues and as such, should not be treated separately to eliminate violence against women and girls.
The U.N. Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) reports that “Violence against women worldwide” that up to 70 percent of women experience physical or sexual violence from men in their lifetime – the majority from husbands, partners or someone they know. Among women aged 15–44, acts of violence cause more death and disability than cancer, malaria, traffic accidents and war combined.
Physical violence is estimated to occur in 4 to 6 million intimate relationships each year in the United States and 83 percent of girls aged 12–16 experienced some form of sexual harassment in public schools. In South Africa, a woman is killed every six hours by someone she knows; in Guatemala, two women are murdered, on average, each day. In São Paulo, Brazil, a woman is assaulted every 15 seconds. Rape of women is widespread in armed conflicts such as those of Colombia and Darfur, Sudan. In the European Union between 40 and 50 percent of women experience unwanted sexual advancements, physical contact or other forms of sexual harassment at their workplace.
In Mauritius, violence in the family includes battering by intimate partners and others, sexual abuse of female children and young women, marital rape and traditional practices harmful to women.
Women and young girls face harassment while using public transportation in Kathmandu, Nepal. It is common and tolerated, and there is no law to punish the culprits. WHY? Same in Hungary, existing laws don’t do enough to protect women. “At least one woman a week dies in Hungary as a result of domestic violence,” said Krisztina Morvai to the Central Europe Review in 2001, when she had published her book “Terror in the Family.
Barriers
Women and girls are more afraid in public space due to their experiences of violence at home. Violence against women and girls in public is also perceived as normal and deserved when it is a continuation of violence in the home. How do we bridge this gap? How can we develop a dialogue and awareness-raising strategy that encompasses all forms of violence against women?
Many minority women in Canada who face the issue of abuse have to deal not only with the violence itself but with barriers involving race and gender that prevent them from seeking help.
A moving report titled Gender Violence in India by Prajnya shows that violence against women is on the rise in India. Panay’s report, however, uses new methodology and a variety of reports to provide a more accurate depiction of the crimes being committed against women in India. It draws attention to six kinds of violence: pre‐natal sex selection (at least 10 million missing girls,), child marriage and forced marriage, highest rate in South Asia, honor killing (common in India), dowry death, domestic violence, girls trafficking, and rape.
What are some of the best practices in preventing trafficking?” and “How do we protect victims from further abuse and violence?”How to reduce the existing problems?
Facts and figures:
• At least 60 million girls are "missing" from various populations, mostly in Asia, as a result of sex-selective abortions, infanticide or neglect.
• One in three women and girls is beaten or sexually abused in her lifetime. (UN Commission on the Status of Women, 2/28/00).
• 4 million women and girls are trafficked annually. (United Nations).An estimated one million children, mostly girls, enter the sex trade each year (UNICEF)
• The most common act of violence against women is being slapped—an experience reported by 9% of women in Japan and 52% in provincial Peru. Rates of sexual abuse also varies greatly around the world—with partner rape being reported by 6% of women from Serbia and Montenegro, 46% of women from provincial Bangladesh, and 59% of women in Ethiopia. (WHO Multi-country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence Against Women, 2005)
• More than 90 million African women and girls are victims of female circumcision or other forms of genital mutilation. (Heise: 1994)
Stop the violence
• Through education and awareness campaigns, media communication and laws
• Across Central America, online campaigns and activities to raise awareness about the issue of violence against women are taking place across the region. In Guatemala, the Multi-Annual Campaign (extended from 2008 to 2015) of the Regional Chapter, “JOIN together to put an End to Violence against Women” was recently launched, and Radio Feminista is reporting on the event at the collaborative space Fin a la Violencia (End to Violence).
So where to start? Whom to be blamed? Who is responsible? When are we going to understand others hurt?
Concept Map
Domestic violence is a serious problem that is also a common cause of injury. Victims may suffer physical injuries as well as emotionally from depression, anxiety or social isolation.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to know exactly how common domestic violence is, because people often do not report it. There is no typical victim. It happens among people of all ages. Victims can be of any age, sex, race, culture, religion, education, employment or marital status.
Although both men and women can be abused, most victims are women. Children in homes where there is domestic violence are more likely to be abused and/or neglected. Most children in these homes know about the violence. Even if a child is not physically harmed, they may have emotional and behaviour problems.
Some people believe that domestic violence is a private matter to be dealt with by the family. But domestic violence is a crime and families have the right to be protected against it.
But very often, people feel embarassed, frightened and terrified to admit they are victims of domestic violence and to seek help.
Social networking sites can come into play here. These sites can become a platform where victims can anonymously express themselves, seek help and advice. Let us not forget that one of the aims of social networking sites is that they allow people to connect and communicate with one another so that it fosters interaction and activity within communities. In the case of domestic violence, through comments, responses, encouragements and advice, victims can easily be surrounded by a support community because connections are exponential and therefore, victims can realise that they are not alone and that it is not their fault. This can help them to empower them emotionally and prepare them psychologically to refuse to accept domestic violence any more. Therefore, such communities help solve real world problems.
Ironically, social networking sites help us see not only hidden connections among people but also problems hidden in real world. Through blogs, we are connected to people who are interested, directly or indirectly, to us and our problems, be it domestic violence or any other one.
Blogs also trigger thoughtful responses and after having gone through the article, a disturbing thought came to my mind but which is a reality for many: it is a terrible fact that the home is the least safe place for many people and children!
Domestic violence is indeed a very serious issue, where there are a huge number of victims, and unfortunately, there is a hidden number who are unreported due to fear and taunts from society.
ReplyDeleteDomestic violence is a barbaric act. I do not agree with the fact that it is the victim who is weak, but the one committing the act, because he is too weak to understand the value of human life, he is too weak to be able to bear the same beatings as he is inflicting on the victim, he is too weak to be able to control his anger and violent nature...
We pity him, but we also pity the victims who may lose their lives...
Laws should be enforced in every country, where severe punishments should be the reward for such acts. And if necessary, death penalty should prevail, at least they will fear for their own lives before taking that of others.
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ReplyDeleteThis topic really sparked my interest; something needs to be done about it. Domestic Violence is not a new subject. It has been occurring for years, and the problem is not getting any better. Victims of such abuse need help.
ReplyDeleteWhen we talk about domestic violence, I remember this statement of the magistrate in a local court, quoted in L'Express, in Mauritius on Friday, 28th April 1995. The statement refers to a miserable wife who was alone with her children, constantly subjected to violence by her husband. When the wife, after a hard day's work, was boiling water to bathe her tired feet and the drunken husband entered the kitchen with a knife and threatened her: "Mo pou coupe toi azaordi [I will stab you today]." The panic-stricken wife threw the boiling water at her husband who was advancing towards her with the knife in his hand. The husband eventually died of his injuries and the wife was prosecuted by the police for manslaughter.
This kind of violent scene is very common in most families in Mauritius. The violence can be of different forms: physical and verbal, rape, stabbing, burning with cigarettes, with hot oil, or hot water. In some extreme cases the wife has been burnt to death by fire, and this is then described as accidental fire or suicide.
It is to be noted that domestic violence is confined not only to families on low incomes. Strangely, in Mauritius, domestic violence is a regular feature in better-off families where both couples are well educated, and may be professionals or have a high social status. In fact, the wives in the high-class families are embarrassed to protest openly against violence by their husbands, who have a good position in society. They keep the whole matter to themselves. Often the bruises on their bodies reveal the truth. These battered women prefer to maintain their social status rather than go to the courts and ask for a divorce on grounds of violence. For this reason, reliable statistics of domestic violence are not available.
Found this interesting article on the web, which states that every school pupil in England by 2011, will be taught that domestic violence is unacceptable as a compulsory part of the curriculum. Lessons will be introduced from 2011 which will teach young people how to prevent violent relationships. Children will learn about gender equality and domestic violence as part of their personal, social and health education. In addition, officials will produce new rules for teachers on tackling "sexist, sexual and transphobic bullying" in the classroom.
Schools will then be marked by inspectors on how well they are teaching children about preventing violence aimed at women. Hope same will be introduce in our school curriculum to tackle the issue.
Time is evolving but the behavior of some people is still intact. As seen in the article, the number of hardships undergone by women and girls is quite significant. To be able to stop domestic violence, I think it is equally important to consider the other factors which could be at its roots as well. Some examples are cigarettes, alcohol, gambling or even drugs. Sensitizing campaigns alone are not enough to combat domestic violence if the issues mentioned are prevailing in a society. Moreover, sometimes it is only after the act has been done that emphasis is put on the problem. It would be better if some preventing measures are taken and severe regulations put in place, thus compelling people to think twice before committing any blunder. It is true that in Mauritius, as per an article in the defi [http://www.defimedia.info/articles/153/1/Domestic-violence-worries/Page1.html], several services (like counseling, legal advice, rehabilitation, social aid, amongst others) to the victims of domestic violence. But these do not offset the pain the victims have gone through. So, adequate solutions should be devised. Via the net, many people meet each other online to discuss their problems, bad experiences, relate their pain and they receive advices, guidelines how to survive domestic violence, and support. Many blogs and sites pertaining to domestic violence have been created, enabling people to share their ideas and this may help in decreasing the number of violence occurring.
ReplyDeleteThat is true, as we wished we had a world without any violence! It is such a pity to see so many children and women being harassed physically, mentally and morally. Something needs to be done to eradicate such domestic violence. The laws must be enforced for people doing such barbaric acts on children and women. Next, there is also a need to inculcate moral values education, still when the children are at a younger age, at primary level so that their emotive and affective phase of early development is enriched, and they may become adults who can understand the pains of others. We are evolving with new technologies, but it's a pity to see that such violent, animalistic still exist.
ReplyDeleteUsing blogs in social networking sites can help suppressed and illtreated women and children to voice out their pains, but still keeping their anonymity, they can get help about how to fight for their rights, and live a life peaceful and happily.Everyone has the right to live a respectful life.
That is true, as we wished we had a world without any violence! It is such a pity to see so many children and women being harassed physically, mentally and morally. Something needs to be done to eradicate such domestic violence. The laws must be enforced for people doing such barbaric acts on children and women. Next, there is also a need to inculcate moral values education, still when the children are at a younger age, at primary level so that their emotive and affective phase of early development is enriched, and they may become adults who can understand the pains of others. We are evolving with new technologies, but it's a pity to see that such violent, animalistic still exist.
ReplyDeleteUsing blogs in social networking sites can help suppressed and ill treated women and children to voice out their pains, but still keeping their anonymity, they can get help about how to fight for their rights, and live a life peaceful and happily. Everyone has the right to live a respectful life. It can also depend on how we use social sites, sometimes social network sites too can be a cause of domestic violence, for example if a possessive husband, who cannot see his wife chatting on a site, even if she is doing nothing wrong, the husband may misunderstand all, some husbands do not like their wife to have friends online!
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ReplyDelete