Gender-Based

Violence:
Survivor, Victim,
Perpetrator, and
Human Rights
Lesson 15
Gender-based violence
any harmful act that is perpetrated
against a person’s will and that is based on
socially-ascribed (gender) differences
between males and females (inter-agency
Standing Committee Guidelines for
integrating gender based violence in
interventions in Humanitarian Action
2015).
Gender-based violence has devastating consequences
not only for victims, but also for society as a whole.
(Sigal et.al 2013)
 It results in physical, sexual, and psychological harm
to both men and women and includes any form of
violence or abuse that targets men or women on the
basis of their sex.
In the Philippines, gender-based violence has clearly
been placed in the realm of women’s human rights
over the past decade. Prior to 1993, most governments
regarded violence against women largely as a private
matter between individuals.
CONSEQUENCES OF GENDER-
BASED VIOLENCE
These consequences include serious,
immediate, and long-term impacts on the sexual,
physical, and psychological health of survivors.
Health consequences include unwanted
pregnancies, complications from unsafe
abortions, sexually transmitted infections
including HIV, injuries, mental health, and
psychosocial effects (depression, anxiety, post-
traumatic stress, suicide and death.
Violence also affects children's
survival, development, and school
participation. Social consequences
extend to families and
communities.’
Families can also be stigmatized
as a consequence of gender-based
violence.
Economic consequences include the
cost of public health and social welfare
systems and the reduced ability of
many survivors to participate in social
and economic life. (World Health
organization, Global and Regional
Estimates of Violence against Women
2013, http://bit ly/to 10TfGVG
SURVIVOR, VICTIM, AND
PERPETRATOR
Survivor is the preferred term (not a
"victim") of a person who has lived through
an incident of gender-based violence. A
perpetrator is a person, group, or
institution that inflicts, supports, or
condones violence or other abuse against a
person or group of persons.
Characteristics of perpetrators
include:
•persons with real or perceived
power;
•persons in decision-making
positions; and
•persons in authority.
Remember: The words we use communicate a
message to people who are listening. Survivor is the
preferred term for those who have lived through a
GBV incident. A perpetrator is person who commits
an act of GBV. There might be only one perpetrator,
or there might be more. In any act of GBV, there is a
survivor and a perpetrator. All actions in prevention
must address potential survivors and potential
perpetrators. Also, all actions in response need to
address both the survivor and the perpetrator.
 Human Rights
These include the following, among others:
•the right to life, liberty, and property of person’s.
•the right to the highest attainable standard of physical
and mental health.
•The right to freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman, or
degrading treatment or punishment;
•The right to freedom of opinion and expression and to
education (UNFPA 2014).