Violence Against Women

Course Title: Gender and Development (PA-413)

Submitted To:
Md. Rashidul Islam Sheikh
Associate Professor & Head
Dept. of Public Administration
Comilla University, Cumilla

Submitted By:
Md Akteruzzaman
Class ID:11603066
Session: 2016-17

Date of submission: 28th June 2021

Table of Contents
Introduction:..................................................................................................................................1
Scope of the problem:....................................................................................................................1
Global and Regional estimates of violence against Women:.................................................1
Factors associated with intimate partner violence and sexual violence against women:........1
Risk factors for both intimate partner and sexual violence include:....................................2
Factors specifically associated with intimate partner violence include:...............................2
Factors specifically associated with sexual violence perpetration include:..........................2
Health consequences:.....................................................................................................................2
Impact on children:.......................................................................................................................3
Social and economic costs.............................................................................................................3
Prevention and response...............................................................................................................3
Conclusion:.....................................................................................................................................4
References.......................................................................................................................................4
Introduction:
The UN defines violence against women as "Each act of gender-based violence, including
threats, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life,
that causes or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women.
Intimate relationship abuse refers to actions, including physical aggression, sexual coercion,
abuse and control of behaviour, by an intimate partner or a former spouse that results in bodily,
sexual or psychological harm. There is sexual abuse "any sexual act or attempt by anybody to
achieve a sexual act or another act aimed at the sexuality of a person by coercion[ CITATION
WHO13 \l 1033 ]

Scope of the problem:

The most precise estimates of the prevalence of domestic abuse and sexual violence in partner
countries through surveys based on testimonies from survivors. A study carried out by the United
Nations (WHO), on behalf of the UN Interagency Working Group on violence against women in
2018 of the 2000-2018 prevalence figures in 161 countries and regions found that almost 1 in 3
or 30 percent of women throughout the world were the victim of physical or sexual violence by
an intimate partner, sexual violence or the two of them[ CITATION Uni93 \l 1033 ].

Global and Regional estimates of violence against Women:

More than a quarter of women aged 15-49, who have had sexual and physical abuse at least once
in their lives, are subjected to intimate partner violence (since age 15). Estimates range from
20% in the western Pacific, 22% in countries of high revenue in Europe and 25% in WHO
Regions in the Americas to 33% in World Trade Organization in Africa , 31% in the Eastern
Mediterranean region of the WHO and 33% in the Southeast Asian area of the WHO.

Intimate partners commit over the globe as much as 38 percent of the murders of women.
Besides intimate partner abuse, global reporting 6% of women that someone else than a partner
has sexually assaulted, although data on sexual abuse are more restricted. Men and women are
usually involved in intimate relationship and sexual violence.

Lock-downs and its social and economic repercussions during COVID-19 have increased
women's exposure to abusive partners and known risk factors while limiting women's access to
resources. Humanitarian crisis and displacement situations can worsen the violence currently
being committed, including intimate partners, and sexual violence against non-partners, and can
also lead to new kinds of violence against women[ CITATION WHO21 \l 1033 ].

1|Page
Factors associated with intimate partner violence and sexual violence against
women:
Individuals, families, communities and a broader society interact to enhance or reduce risk, are a
consequence of the intimate partner and sexual violence (protective). Some are linked to being a
violent perpetrator, others are associated with violence and some with violence.

Risk factors for both intimate partner and sexual violence include:
 lower levels of education (sexual abuse perpetration and sexual abuse);
 History of child abuse (perpetration and experience) exposure;
 family violence (perpetration and experience); family violence;
 antisocial personality disorder (perpetration);
 harmful use of alcohol (perpetration and experience); 
 harmful masculine behaviour, including having multiple partners or attitudes that
condone violence (perpetration);
 community norms that privilege or ascribe higher status to men and lower status to
women; 
 low levels of women’s access to paid employment; and
 low level of gender equality (discriminatory laws, etc.).

Factors specifically associated with intimate partner violence include:

 past history of exposure to violence;
 marital discord and dissatisfaction;
 difficulties in communicating between partners; and
 male controlling behaviour towards their partners.

Factors specifically associated with sexual violence perpetration include:

 beliefs in family honor and sexual purity;
 ideologies of male sexual entitlement; and
 weak legal sanctions for sexual violence.

Health consequences:
Women suffer major short- or long-term physical, mental, sexual and reproductional health
problems with an intimate relationship (physical, sexual and psychological) and sexual violence.

2|Page
They also affect the health and well-being of your children. This violence results to huge
consequences for women, their families and their societies. Violence of this nature can:
 Have fatal outcomes like homicide or suicide.
 Lead to injuries, with 42% of women who experience intimate partner violence reporting
an injury as a consequence of this violence (3).
 Conduct unwanted pregnancies, abortion, gynecology and sexually transmitted diseases,
including HIV. In the WHO 2013 study on violence against women's health burden,
women who were physically or sexually identified abused were 1.5 times more likely to
have a sexually transmitted infection and, in some regions, HIV, compared to women
who had not experienced partner violence. They are also twice as likely to have an
abortion (3).
 The probability of errors, death, premature delivery and low birth weight kids are also
increased by intimate partner abuse during pregnancy. The same study in 2013 indicated
that women who experience violence with intimate partners were 16% more likely to
have a miscarriage and 41% more likely to be born before age (3).
 These forms of violence can result in depression, post-traumatic stress, other anxiety
disorders, sleeping problems, food conditions and attempts at suicide. In the 2013
investigation, women with intimate partner abuse suffered depression and drinking
problems almost twice as probable.
 Health effects can also include headaches, pain syndromes (back pain, abdominal pain,
chronic pelvic pain) gastrointestinal disorders, limited mobility and poor overall health.
 Increased smoking, substances use, and unsafe sexual behavior might result from sexual
trauma, particularly during infancy. It is also linked to the perpetration of violence (for
men) and violence (for females).

Impact on children:
 Children who grow up in families with violence may experience a variety of behavioral
and emotional disorders. They may also be linked to later in life violence or violence.
 Intimate partner violence has also been associated with higher rates of infant and child
mortality and morbidity (through, for example diarrhoeal disease or malnutrition and
lower immunization rates)[ CITATION WHO21 \l 1033 ].

Social and economic costs

Intimate partner and sexual abuse have tremendous social and economic costs that have
devastating impacts in society. Women can be isolated, unable to work, loss of money, lack of
regular work and restricted care for themselves and their children.

3|Page
Prevention and response
There are more and more evidence of how violence against women is being prevented, based on
well-designed assessments. In 2019, RESPECT women, a framework for preventing violence
against women aimed at policy makers, were published by WHO and UN Women, supported by
12 other UN and bilateral agencies.

One of seven tactics is to be found in each letter of RESPECT: Enhancing relationships;

empowering women; ensuring service; reducing poverty; creating environment for the
enablement of children, workers and youth; preventing child and youth abuse; and changing
attitudes, beliefs and standards. Relationship skills enhanced.

There is a variety of interventions in low- and high-resource environments for each of these
seven techniques with different levels of evidence. Examples of successful interventions include
psycho-social support and psychology for survivors of intimate partner violence. Combined
programs for economic and social empowerment. Cash transfer; work with couples to increase
skills in communication and relationships; interventions on community mobilization to change
unequal gender standards. .

RESPECT also emphasizes that the priority of successful treatments is women's safety and the
fundamental elements of these are challenges of uniform gender power; participatory; combined
programming addresses many risk factors and begins at an early age.

In order to accomplish permanent change, legislation and policies that promote gender equality
must be enforced and enforceed; resources must be allocated to prevention and response; and
women's rights organizations must be invested in.

Conclusion:
The violence of men to women is not "natural" or unavoidable. Attitudes can and must change;
women's standing can and must be strengthened; men and women can and should be convinced
that violence is not an acceptable element of human connections.

References
LSHTM, W. S. (2013). Global and regional estimates of violence against women. Geneva:
revalence and health impacts of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual
violence.

United Nations. (1993). Declaration on the elimination of violence against women. New York:
UN press.

WHO. (2021). Violence against women Prevalence Estimates, 2018. Global, regional and
national prevalence estimates for intimate partner violence against women and global
and regional prevalence estimates for non-partner sexual violence against women.
Geneva: World Health Organization.

4|Page
5|Page