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GENDER VIOLENCE AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Gender-based Violence (GBV)

Gender-based violence (GBV) is defined as violence that is aimed at an individual on the


basis of his or her sex, gender identity or expression of socially defined norms of masculinity
and femininity [1]. Hence, anyone regardless of their sex, sexual orientation, race, class and
so on can be a victim of GBV [2].

However, the most common interpretation of GBV is the violence inflicted by men on
women [3], because the rate of violence among women is greater than that among men [1].

“The term “gender-based violence” captures the fact that such violence is rooted in unequal
power between women and men [33].”

The December 1993 Declaration of the United Nations on the Elimination of Violence
against Women states that “violence against women shall be understood to encompass, but
not be limited to, the following:

(a) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, including
battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related violence,
marital rape, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to
women, non-spousal violence and violence related to exploitation;
(b) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring within the general community,
including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in
educational institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women and forced prostitution;
(c) Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the State,
wherever it occurs [4].”

The following facts by the World Health Organisation (WHO) highlight the plight of women
worldwide as victims of violence [5]:

i. 35 % of women have suffered from physical and/or sexual partner violence or


non-partner sexual violence.
ii. 7% of the women have been sexually assaulted by a non-partner.
iii. 200 million women have experienced female genital mutilation.
iv. 38 % of the murders of women are committed by a male partner.
v. Violence can adversely impact the mental, physical, reproductive and sexual
health of women.

Categorisation of gender-based violence

Gender-based violence can be classified into the following categories:

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i. Sexual violence
Sexual violence is defined as “any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act,
unwanted sexual comments or advances, or acts to traffic, or otherwise directed,
against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their
relationship to the victim, in any setting, including but not limited to home and
work [7].”

Sexual violence includes the following [6], [7]:


- Rape within marriage
- Rape by strangers
- Rape during armed conflict
- Untoward sexual advances or sexual harassment
- Forced marriage
- Denying the right to contraception
- Forced abortion
- Forced prostitution
- Sexual abuse, exploitation and harassment

Sexual Violence against men

While much has been written and talked about the incidents of sexual violence against
women, in case of menit often goes under noticed, under prosecuted and under punished [8].
Acts of sexual violence directed against men take place in varied settings such as at home,
workplace, schools, during war and in the prisons and police custody. A study commissioned
by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) titled “Sexual violence
against men and boys in the Syria crises” revealed appalling facts of sexual violence against
Syrian refugee men and boys [9]:

i. 19.5 %- 27 % of the male respondents revealed that they had experienced sexual
harassment as boys.
ii. A 2013 assessment of 520 Syrian and Palestine Refugees from Syria (PRS) male
adults and boys (age group 12-24) unveiled that 10.8 % had experienced sexual
harm in the previous three months.
iii. A group of refugee women in Jordan said that approximately 30 %-40% of men of
their community had been victims of sexual violence during their detention in
Syria.

The same report uncovered shocking sexual violence against the LGBT community. This
community is vulnerable to sexual violence. In countries of asylum, they face a double stigma
as refugees and persons with a non-conforming sexual orientation. Armed groups in Syria
were found out to be the main perpetrators.

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Males are even less likely than females to report sexual assault. Some of the reasons for this
are- shame, guilt and fear of not being believed [7]; myths and prejudices that men cannot be
sexually assaulted[9]; men tend to consider the act of violence to be incompatible with their
masculinity [10]; there could be reprisals for actual or perceived sexual orientation [9].

ii. Physical Violence

Physical violence is defined as “bodily harm suffered as a result of the application of


immediate and unlawful physical force often associated with sexual and psychological
violence resulting in injuries, distress and health problems [11].”

It includes the following [6], [12]:

- Hitting, hair-pulling, arm-twisting, strangling, burning, stabbing, punching,


pushing, slapping, beating, kicking, choking, biting, or any other rough treatment
- Assault with a weapon or other object
- Slavery

iii. Emotional and psychological violence

It includes the following [6]:

- Abuse and humiliation such as insults


- Cruel behaviour
- Forcing a person to perform humiliating tasks

iv. Harmful traditional practices

They include the following [6]:

- Female genital mutilation (FGM)


- Child marriage
- Honor killings/ killing for dowry
- Infanticide
- Sex-selective abortion
- Denying basic rights such as right to education, health, and economic
opportunities to girls and women

Female genital mutilation (FGM)

FGM is a procedure that involves the deliberate injuring or cutting of female genitals. It is
usually carried out on girls between infancy and adolescence [18]. Atleast 200 million girls

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have been affected by this barbaric practice in about 30 countries of Africa, the Middle East
and Asia [20]. It has severe repercussions for women. It can result in severe pain, bleeding,
infections, complications during childbirth and in severe cases, even death[19].

FGM is considered a violation of the human rights of girls and women that include the rights
to health, physical integrity and security, the right to be free from inhuman and degrading
treatment and the right to life [20].

A combination of social and cultural factors is responsible for the carrying out of FGM. A
few of them are [20]:

i. In many communities, FGM is a social norm and an age-old practice is being


carried out unquestioned and unopposed.
ii. It is considered a means to ensure premarital virginity and marital fidelity.’
iii. It is associated with the cultural ideas of femininity and modesty.

The 2012, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution that called on the
international community to strengthen efforts to eliminate this practice.Goal 5 under the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)(a set of 17 goals set by the United Nations General
Assembly in 2015), is aimed at ending harmful practices such as child, forced marriage and
FGM by 2030 [21]. Several countries such as the UK, Australia, Canada, the US and many
countries of Africa have introduced laws against FGM [22].

The practice of FGM is prevalent in India in the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra and Rajasthan [22]. According to a study conducted on the members of the
Bohra community in India, 75 % of the 94 participants had undergone FGM between the ages
of 7-9 years [23]. There is no law yet in India that prohibits FGM [22].

Child Marriage

Child marriage is defined as “a formal marriage or informal union before age 18, is a reality
for both boys and girls, although girls are disproportionately the most affected [15].”

As per UNICEF data, incidents of child marriage are highest in sub-Saharan Africa (4 in 10
women are married before the age of 18), followed by South Asia (4 in 10 women are
married before the age of 18). Even though the prevalence of child marriage is declining
world over, yet the total number of girls married in childhood is 12 million per year.The level
of child marriages among boys is one-fifth the level of marriages amonggirls [13].

According to National Family Health Survey-4 (NFHS-4), there has been a decline in child
marriages in India from 47.4% in 2005-06 to 26.8% in 2014-15 which is a remarkable
achievement. This has led to the overall decline in child marriages in South Asia. However,
there are still some areas such as Bihar, West Bengal and Rajasthan where the rate of child

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marriages is high (about 40%) [14].

Reasons for child marriage

i. Economic Factors: Girls are often considered a liability and their early marriage
saves the families from paying a huge amount of dowry that increases with the age
and education level of the girls. Child marriage also reduces the burden on
families that already have a large number of children to support [15].
ii. Structural Factors: These include limited educational opportunities, inadequate
infrastructure, and lack of transport facilities that give rise to concerns regarding
girls’safety and encourage child marriage [16].
iii. Social Factors: People’s firm belief in the age-old tradition of child marriage
despite its negative consequences aids in its perpetuation [15].

Consequences

i. Girls are often forced to drop out of school when they are married off during
childhood.This leads to them having a low-paying job and limited decision
making power [16].
ii. They conceive at a young age that puts at risk both the mother’s and the child’s
life. In case the child survives, he/she suffers from low-birth weight, under-
nutrition and delayed physical and mental development [17].
iii. Child brides become victims of violence, exploitation, and are at an increased risk
ofcontracting sexually transmitted diseases [16].

Infanticide and Sex-selective Abortion

Infanticide is the murder of the child in his/her first year of life [24]. In developing countries
the preference for a male child often leads to sex-selective killings [25], [26]. The tradition of
dowry in South Asia makes girls an economic burden that is one of the reasons for female
infanticide [27]. In other cases of infanticide the mothers are unmarried, unemployed, and
victims of abuse [28, 29], have mental issues or consider the child to be abnormal [24].

Many countries such as Australia, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, New
Zealand, Sweden, and the United Kingdom have infanticide laws in place [30], [31].

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India has one of the highest incidents of female foeticide in the world [27]. Statistics show
that more than 63 million women are “missing” across India. The skewed sex-ratio can be
attributed to sex-selective abortions and better care of boys [32].

The government has enacted the Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention
of Misuse) Act, 1994 (PNDT Act) to address the issue of sex-selective abortion. The Medical
Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act was enacted in 1971 to regulate access to safe
abortions. This Act was amended in 2002 to allow abortion upto 20 weeks of pregnancy. The
government has made concerted efforts to encourage families to save the girl child and
educate her through the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign and schemes such as Balika
Samriddhi Yojana and Dhanalakshmi Scheme [27].

v. Socio-economic violence

It includes the following [6]:

- Discrimination and denial of opportunities on the basis of sex, gender, or sexual


orientation
- Social exclusion
- Denial of the exercise of social, economic and political rights

Various factors that contribute to Gender-based Violence [6]

i. Physical Factors
-Situations where there is absence of law and order
-Presence of armed forces
-Poverty, lack of education, inaccessibility to food, shelter, income can lead to
increased vulnerability to GBV.

ii. Social, cultural, political factors


- Age old practices, social, cultural norms that are mostly not in favour of women
and are in direct violation of their rights
- Lack of confidence in social/public institutions that discourage victims from
seeking redress and fail to provide protection to them.

iii. Judicial Barriers

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- Lack of access to institutions of justice, encouraging a culture of exemption from
the punishment for violence
- Lack of affordable legal services and adequate protection mechanisms for
victims/witnesses

iv. Individual Barriers


- The victims of violence have fear of being isolated and socially excluded.
- They also fear beingafflicted by the perpetrator, community and the authorities in
the future.
- Lack of knowledge about human rights and the redressal mechanisms leads to
perpetuation of gender violence.

Consequences of Gender Based Violence

Gender based violence can have dire consequences for the victims. They are listed below [6]:

Physical Consequences

- Fractures, bruises, disability, gastrointestinal problems, infections

Reproductive Consequences

- Miscarriage, unsafe abortion, infertility, unwanted pregnancy, sexually


transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS

Emotional and Psychological Consequences

- Feelings of shame and guilt


- Depression and anxiety
- Poor self –esteem
- Suicidal thoughts
- Mental illness

Economic Consequences

GBV results in huge economic losses for women and their families for the society at large.

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Studies reveal that women in India can lose a minimum of five paid days of work in each
case of intimate partner violence which means that the affected woman would get 25 per cent
less of her salary following an incident of violence. Women who are victims of gender
violence are employed mostly in casual and part-time work and earn 60% lower than women
who haven’t been affected by violence. On the larger scale the cost of violence against
women could add up to around 2 % of the global gross domestic product (GDP). GBV poses
an obstacle to women’s participation in education and employment. Loss of productivity,
potential, and drain of resources from the justice system, health-care agencies and employers
are other negative consequences of GBV [34].

Gender-based Cyber Violence

The increasing ease of access and the widespread use of the Internet and of social media has
resulted in growing concern over cyber violence against women and girls [35], [37].
According to a UN report about 73 % of the women online have experienced some form of
cyber violence and women are 27 times more vulnerable than men online harassment [36].
According to experts cyber violence should not be seen distinct from real world violence, but
rather as its extension [38]. Women who have been victims of violence from an intimate
partner ‘offline’ may also be victims of violence from the same person online [35].

Cyber Violence against women and girls (CVAWG) around the world

Source: Networked Intelligence for Development 2015

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Forms of Cyber Violence

Cyber violence against women can be broadly classified into the following 6 forms [41]:

1. Hacking
This involves the use of technology to illegally access to systemsor resources for
gathering personal information about the victim in order to modify it or blackmail or
defame her.

2. Impersonation
The perpetrator feigns to be the victim or someone else with the aim of gaining access
to private information, shame the victim or create fake identity documents. E.g. -
calling the victim from unknown numbers to prevent being blocked; sending
derogatory emails from the account of the victim.

3. Surveillance/Tracking
It can be defined as “online monitoring or tracking of someone’s actions with
illegitimate intent [39].” E.g.: tracking the location of the victim via GPS; recording
key strokes to monitor the victim’s activities on the computer.

4. Harassment/Spamming
Technology is used to unceasingly contact, threaten and/or scare the victim. E.g.:
Continuous phone calls and/or text messages; unsolicited sexually explicit emails;
hate speech- insults, derogatory talk targeted at the victim on the basis of her gender
identity and/or other traits such as disability [38].

5. Recruitment
This form of cyber violence makes use of technology to trap potential victims into
threatening situations. E.g.: deceiving advertisements and employment opportunities.

6. Malicious Distribution
Manipulating and distributing malicious content related to the victim. E.g.:
threatening to share intimate videos or photos of the victim.

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In addition to the above six types, non-consensual pornography also known as revenge porn
also amounts to cyber violence. It involves sharing of intimate/sexually graphic photographs,
videos without the permission of the victim with the aim of publically shaming the
person[38] because she (the victim is a woman in most cases) has turned down a marriage
proposal, ended a relationship or dismissed advances [42].

Consequences of Gender Based Cyber Violence

Gender based cyber violence has severe impacts on a woman’s identity, livelihood, dignity
and well-being [46]. Some of them are listed below:

i. Online harassment discourages women from participating in online discourse,


leading to the discontinuation of their blogs and shut down of their websites [47].
ii. It also affects the women’s offline lives. For example in one of the incidents, a
woman stopped going to the gym because her harassers asked her school mates
from law school to take her pictures and post them online [48].
iii. It creates hurdles for women to achieve their professional goals. It can sabotage
their careers as recruiters use search engines to gather information about job
applicants and may come upon negative postings about them [46].
iv. Cyber violence harms the identities of women as women. They may be inclined to
give up on their female identity and pose as men to avoid discrimination [50].
Female bloggers take on gender-disguising names to prevent online harassment
[49].This has serious repercussions. Pretending to be what one is not can lead to
feelings of alienation [51]. In extreme cases it can result in the slow death of “ the
psyche, the soul and the persona”[52]

Legal provisions for gender based cyber violence in India

In India incidents of cyber violence fall under two laws- The Indian Penal Code and the
Information Technology Act. Some of the main remedies available are as follows:

S.No. Sections of IPC Offences


1. Section 354A It covers sexual acts of direct and indirect nature such as sexual
harassment in the form of unwelcome physical contact, demand
for sexual favours, showing pornography against the will of a
woman, making sexually coloured remarks [43].

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2. Section 354 C It covers acts of voyeurism, i.e. when a woman engaged in a
private act is observed when she would not have expected to have
been observed and her images under such circumstances are
captured and circulated when she agreed to the capture of her
pictures but not to their distribution [45].
3. Section 354 D It deals with the acts of stalking. It includes monitoringthe use of
the internet, email or any other form of electronic communication
by a woman and watching or spying the woman in any manner by
a man. It also covers cases wherein a woman is followed and
repeatedly contacted to foster interaction despite a clear
expression of lack of interest by the woman [43].
4. Section 499 This section covers cases of defamation which includes false or
disparaging statements (oral, written or visual) without any
legitimate justification by one person against another because of
which the latter’s reputation is compromised [44].
6. Section 507 This provision covers instances of criminal intimidation by
anonymous communication[45].
7. Section 509 This provision addresses instances wherein word, gesture, act or
exhibition of an object is intended to insult the modesty of a
woman [45].
Sections of the IT Act
8. Section 66 E It covers the offence of the non-consensual capture and electronic
transmission of images of private parts of a person, without
his/her consent [45].
9. Section 67 It includes the offence of publishing or transmission of obscene
material in electronic form [45].
10. Section 67A It includes the offence of publishing or transmission of sexually
explicit content in electronic form [45].

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