WHAT IS GENDER BASED

VIOLENCE?

Gender based violence: Is a violence which occurs

between men and women in relationships, in the
home, at the workplace and in the community.
▣ Gender-based violence: involves men and
women, in which the female is usually the
target, and is derived from unequal power
relationships between men and women.
▣ Violence is directed specifically against a
woman because she is a woman or affects
women disproportionately.
▣ It includes, but is not limited to, physical,
sexual, and psychological harm.
▣ The most pervasive form of gender-based violence
is abuse of a woman by intimate male partners.
▣ Gender-based violence includes: battering,
intimate partner violence (including marital rape,
sexual violence, and dowry/bride price-related
violence[4]), feticide, sexual abuse of female
children in the household, honour crimes, early
marriage, forced marriage, female genital
mutilation (FBM)/cutting and other traditional
practices harmful to women, sexual harassment
and intimidation at work, in school and elsewhere,
commercial sexual exploitation, and trafficking of
girls and women.
▣ In 1995, the U.N. expanded the definition to
include: violations of the rights of women in
situations of armed conflict, including systematic
rape, sexual slavery, and forced pregnancy; forced
sterilization, forced abortion, and coerced or forced
use of contraceptives; and prenatal sex selection
and female infanticide.
▣ It further recognised the particular vulnerabilities
of women belonging to minorities: the elderly and
the displaced; indigenous, refugee, and migrant
communities; women living in impoverished rural
or remote areas, or in detention.
 The White Ribbon

▣ Is a symbol of commitment to no violence

against women.
▣ You may have heard about the campaign 16
Days of No Violence against Women and
Children that takes place in
November/December each year.
▣ 16 days is not enough and that support should
be shown for no violence every day.
▣ This can be done by wearing a white ribbon
and informing others why this its been done?
 The global community typically groups
these abuses into three categories:
▣ Family Violence: The most widespread type of
violence against women. This includes any abuse
that occurs within the family context where the
perpetrator is known to the girl or woman.
Common examples are spousal beatings; marital
rape; forced marriage; sexual abuse of a girl by a
father, uncle, or stepfather; and verbal abuse and
trauma related to “dowry” and “not giving birth
to a son”.
▣ Community Violence: This includes violence at the
hands of a perpetrator unknown or unrelated to
the woman and often comes in the form of rape,
sexual harassment, forced prostitution or
trafficking, and public humiliation.
▣ State Violence: This includes violations that are
condoned and committed by individuals
associated with the government. This is often seen
in the form of violence at the hands of police,
prison guards, refugee camp guards, border
officials, and even peacekeeping troops. In conflict
regions of the world, systematic rape and sexual
violence is often used as a tool of war.
 Types of Gender based
Violence
Physical violence
▣ Physical violence occurs when someone uses or
threatens to use physical harm to attack another
person. Examples include kicking, slapping,
restraint (preventing someone from leaving),
punching, choking, striking with an object or
striking with a weapon.
Consider:
In general men are violent and women suffer from
their violence.
▣ Violence is often viewed by one or both partners
as an indication of love, especially if it is seen as
an expression of jealousy.
▣ The pressure to be dating can be powerful for
young people.
▣ Many survivors of dating violence may believe
that having an abusive partner is better than
having none at all.
▣ Between 1 in 6 and 1 in 4 women are regularly
abused by their partner.
▣ However this form of violence is actually about
power and control, not love.
Emotional violence
▣ Emotional violence may involve intimidating,
insulting, humiliating, restricting who someone
talks to or spends time with, isolating her/him
from friends and family or other expressions of
extreme jealousy.
▣ Emotional abuse involves objectification, i.e.
viewing someone as an object that you own
rather than as a human being with feelings and
basic human rights.
Consider:
▣ It is often difficult to recognise emotional
violence because the injuries are internal and
thus not visible.
▣ For many women, emotional violence may be
the most painful, humiliating and damaging
aspect of an abusive relationship, as it damages
one’s self- esteem and often takes a long time to
heal.
▣ A woman who suffers verbal abuse may be
brainwashed into believing that the negative
things that her partner says about her are true
(e.g. that no other man will have her, that she is
a whore/ugly/stupid).
Sexual violence
▣ Sexual violence may involve rape, unwanted sexual
touching or being forced into humiliating sexual
activities. Force or the threat of force is often used to
gain control over the victim. Often,
▣ when a sexual assault occurs, the other types of abuse
mentioned above occur as well.

Consider:

▣ Sexual harassment, degrading sexist jokes and name

calling are linked to, and often a precursor to, physical
and sexual violence as these forms of abuse show a lack
of respect for the rights of women.
▣ Survivors of sexual violence are more likely to report
the crime if it is committed by a stranger than by
someone they know.
▣ Many women who have been forced to have sex while
on a date or in a relationship do not identify this as
rape.
▣ Male survivors are often reluctant to report
sexual attacks because of the fear of being
ridiculed or being perceived as homosexual.
▣ Peer pressure can put pressure on young
people to have sex and lead to date rape.
▣ It is estimated that 1 in 2 women in South
Africa will be raped in her lifetime.
▣ Economic abuse

▣ Economic abuse involves using money to

undermine a woman’s rights, e.g. withholding
money, questioning what she does with her money,
denying medical aid, destroying property in the
home
▣ Whenever there is a disagreement.

Consider:
▣ Economic dependency is one of the main barriers
to leaving an abusive relationship.
Spiritual abuse
▣ A woman’s faith may be used to keep her
from finding help or leaving an abusive
relationship.
▣ In the Christian faith, passages from the bible
may be used out of context to glorify suffering,
▣ show that women belong to men and must
obey them, and condemn divorce.
▣ Church leaders should be sensitive to issues of
violence in their congregation and preach a
more tolerant message to help survivors.
 What can be done to prevent
gender based violence?
As an individual you can teach yourself and others
that:
▣ Rape is a crime of violence that is motivated by a
need to control rather than sexual desire.
▣ No one has the right to force sexual activity on
another person regardless of the nature of the
relationship.
▣ Controlling and possessive behaviour between
friends or partners is not appropriate.
▣ Excessive jealousy in a relationship is not a sign of
love. It is a sign of insecurity and a need to
control.
▣ Respect is essential for any relationship.
▣ The use of force and insults are not acceptable
in a caring relationship.
▣ Conflict can be resolved without violence.
▣ We are all responsible for our own actions.
As a community member you can:
▣ Run an awareness and prevention programme by
organising meetings with other community
leaders.
▣ Participate in initiatives to form support groups
for young women and men in the community.
▣ This will create a safe space for both victims and
perpetrators to discuss issues and to provide
support.
▣ Join or form a lobby group for the establishment of
youth development centres and provision of crisis
counselling for victims.
▣ Encourage your local school to develop
educational programmes that promote healthy sex
roles, offer information about sexual violence and
teach young people to resolve conflict without
resorting to violence.
Intimate partner violence
▣ The term intimate partner violence (IPV) is often used
synonymously with domestic abuse or domestic violence,[5]
but it usually refers to abuse occurring within a couple
relation (marriage, cohabitation, though they do not have to
live together for it to be considered domestic abuse).

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines intimate

partner violence as:

▣ Any behaviour within an intimate relationship that causes

physical, psychological or sexual harm to those in the
relationship
▣ To these forms of abuse, the WHO adds controlling
behaviours as a form of abuse.
▣ Intimate partner violence has been observed in heterosexual
and same-sex relationships,[8] and in the former instance by
men against women and by women against men.[9]
 Domestic violence
▣ Traditionally, domestic violence (DV) was mostly associated with
physical violence. For instance, according to the Merriam-Webster
dictionary definition, domestic violence is: "the inflicting of physical
injury by one family or household member on another; also: a
repeated / habitual pattern of such behaviour
▣ Domestic violence is now more broadly defined, often but not
always including "all acts of physical, sexual, psychological or
economic violence that may be committed by a person who is a
family member or a person that has been an intimate partner or
spouse, irrespective of whether they lived together.
▣ In 1993, The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of
Violence against Women identified domestic violence as one of
three contexts in which violence against women occurs, "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
 Family violence
▣ Family violence is a broader term, often used to include
child abuse, elder abuse, and other violent acts between
family members
▣ "Child maltreatment, sometimes referred to as child
abuse and neglect, includes all forms of physical and
emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect, and
exploitation that results in actual or potential harm to
the child’s health, development or dignity.
▣ Within this broad definition, five subtypes can be
distinguished – physical abuse; sexual abuse; neglect
and negligent treatment; emotional abuse; and
exploitation."
▣ Elder abuse is, according to the WHO: "a single, or
repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring
within any relationship where there is an expectation of
trust which causes harm or distress to an older person.
 Physical

▣ Physical abuse is abuse involving contact intended

to cause pain, injury, or other physical suffering or
bodily harm.
▣ It includes hitting, slapping, punching, choking,
pushing, throwing objects, burning and other types
of contact that result in physical injury to the
victim.
▣ The victim may be abused by several perpetrators:
for instance the victim may be held down by a
person so that someone else can assault the victim.
▣ The victim may be locked in a room or tied down
 Sexual
▣ Sexual violence, or sexual abuse, is defined by
World Health Organization 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.
▣ It also includes obligatory inspections for virginity
and female genital mutilation.
▣ Aside from initiation of the sexual act through
physical force, sexual abuse occurs if a person is
unable to understand the nature or condition of the
act, unable to decline participation, or unable to
communicate unwillingness to engage in the sexual
act.
▣ This could be because of underage immaturity,
illness, disability, or the influence of alcohol or
other drugs, or due to intimidation or pressure
▣ In many cultures, victims of rape are
considered to have brought 'dishonour' or
'disgrace' to their families and face severe
violence, including honor killings, from their
families and relatives.
 Verbal abuse

▣ Verbal abuse is a form of emotionally abusive

behavior involving the use of language, which
can involve threats name-calling, blaming,
ridicule, disrespect, and criticism.
▣ Less obviously aggressive forms of verbal
abuse include statements that may seem benign
on the surface that are thinly veiled attempts to
humiliate, falsely accuse, or manipulate others
to submit to undesirable behaviour, make
others feel unwanted and unloved, threaten
others economically, or isolate victims from
support systems
Parental abuse by children
▣ Abuse of parents by their children is a common
but under reported and under researched
subject.
▣ Parents are quite often subject to levels of
childhood aggression in excess of normal
childhood aggressive outbursts, typically in the
form of verbal or physical abuse.
▣ Parents feel a sense of shame and humiliation
to have that problem, so they rarely seek help
and there is usually little or no help available
anyway.
 Parental abuse of children
(child abuse)
▣ Parental abuse of children (child abuse)
▣ Main articles: Parental abuse of children and Parental
bullying of children
▣ Child abuse is the physical, sexual or emotional
maltreatment or neglect of a child or children.[99] In the
United States, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) and the Department for Children and
Families (DCF) define child maltreatment as any act or
series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or
other caregiver that results in harm, potential for harm,
or threat of harm to a childChild abuse can occur in a
child's home, or in the organizations, schools or
communities the child interacts with.
▣ There are four major categories of child abuse: neglect,
physical abuse, psychological or emotional abuse, and
sexual abuse.
 Elder abuse
▣ Elder abuse is "a single, or repeated act, or lack of
appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where
there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress
to an older person.
▣ This definition has been adopted by the World Health
Organization from a definition put forward by Action on
Elder Abuse in the UK.
▣ Laws protecting the elderly from abuse are similar to, and
related to, laws protecting dependent adults from abuse.

▣ The core element to the harm of elder abuse is the

"expectation of trust" of the older person toward their abuser.
▣ Thus, it includes harms by people the older person knows or
with whom they have a relationship, such as a spouse,
partner or family member, a friend or neighbor, or people
that the older person relies on for services.
▣ Many forms of elder abuse are recognized as types of
domestic violence or family violence.
 Domestic violence and
pregnancy
▣ During pregnancy a woman may begin to be
abused or long-standing abuse may change in
severity, which may have negative health
affects to the mother and foetus
▣ Pregnancy can also lead to a hiatus of domestic
violence when the abuser does not want to
harm the unborn child.
▣ The risk of domestic violence for women who
have been pregnant is greatest immediately
after childbirth.
Domestic violence against men
▣ Domestic violence against men is abuse against
men or boys in an intimate heterosexual or
homosexual relationship.
▣ It can include physical, emotional and sexual
forms of abuse.
▣ Signs of abuse may be difficult to anticipate
initially in a relationship and may begin as the
relationship grows increasingly controlling.
▣ An abusive relationship may involve mutual
violence or require a man to leave with his
children if his wife or partner is abusive to their
children.
▣ Determining how many instances of domestic violence
actually involve male victims is difficult.
▣ Male domestic violence victims may be reluctant to get
help for various reasons. Some studies have shown that
women who assaulted their male partners were more
likely to avoid arrest even when the male victim
contacts police.
▣ Another study examined the differences in how male
and female batterers were treated by the criminal justice
system.
▣ The study concluded that female intimate violence
perpetrators are frequently viewed by law enforcement
and the criminal justice system as victims rather than
the actual offenders of violence against men.
▣ 2014 study of intimate partner violence by the British
Psychological Society concluded that women are more
likely to be physically aggressive in domestic scenarios
than men.
 Alcohol abuse
Alcohol consumption and mental illness can be co-morbid
with abuse.

Causes

▣ The causes of domestic violence are not made clear

through research, but there are several factors that can
result in violence.
▣ One of the most important is a belief that abuse,
whether physical or verbal, is acceptable.
▣ Related to that, growing up in a violent home or living
within a culture that accepts domestic violence are
factors.
▣ Other factors are substance abuse, unemployment,
psychological problems, poor coping skills, isolation,
and excessive dependence on the abuser.
 Gender Based Violence at the
different levels
▣ At the individual level these factors include the
perpetrator being abused as a child or
witnessing marital violence in the home,
having an absent or rejecting father, and
frequent use of alcohol.
▣ At the level of the family and relationship,
cross-cultural studies have cited male control of
wealth and decision-making within the family
and marital conflict as strong predictors of
abuse.
▣ At the community level women's isolation and
lack of social support, together with male peer
groups that condone and legitimize men's
violence, predict higher rates of violence.
▣ At the societal level studies around the world
have found that violence against women is
most common where gender roles are rigidly
defined and enforced and where the concept of
masculinity is linked to toughness, male honor,
or dominance.
 Effects of Gender-Based
Violence
▣ The effects of violence on women vary widely.
▣ It depends on the nature of the particular
incident, the woman’s relationship with her
abuser, and the context in which it took place.
▣ Gender-based violence typically has physical,
psychological, and social effects. For the
survivors, these are interconnected.
 The impact of gender-based
violence on women’s health:
Gender-based violence has been linked to many serious
health problems, both immediate and long-term.
These include physical and psychological health problems:
Physical
▣ Injury,
▣ Disability,
▣ Chronic health problems (irritable bowel syndrome,
gastrointestinal disorders, various chronic pain
syndromes, hypertension, etc.)
▣ Sexual and reproductive health problems (contracting
sexually transmitted diseases, spread of
▣ HIV/AIDS, high-risk pregnancies, etc.)
▣ Death
Psychological
Effects can be both direct/ indirect
▣ Direct: anxiety, fear, mistrust of others, inability
to concentrate, loneliness, post-traumatic stress
disorder, depression, suicide, etc.
▣ Indirect: psychosomatic illnesses, withdrawal,
alcohol or drug use.
Economic and social impact
▣ Rejection, ostracism and social stigma at
community level;
▣ Reduced ability to participate in social and
economic activities;
▣ Acute fear of future violence, which extends
beyond the individual survivors to other
members in community;
▣ Damage to women’s confidence resulting in
fear of venturing into public spaces (this can
often curtail
▣ Women’s education, which in turn can limit
their income-generating opportunities);
▣ Increased vulnerability to other types of
gender-based violence;
▣ Job loss due to absenteeism as a result of
violence;
▣ Negative impact on women’s income
generating power;
The impact on women’s family
and dependants:
Direct effects:
▣ Divorce, or broken families;
▣ Jeopardized family’s economic and emotional
development
▣ Babies born with health disorders as a result of
violence experienced by the mother during
pregnancy (i.e. premature birth or low birth
weight); increased likelihood of violence
against children growing up in households
where there is domestic violence;
▣ Collateral effects on children who witness
violence at home (emotional and behavioral
disturbances, e.g. withdrawal, low self-esteem,
nightmares, self-blame, aggression against
peers, family members, and property; increased
risk of growing up to be either a perpetrator or
a victim of violence)
Indirect effects:
▣ Compromised ability of survivor to care for her
children (e.g. child malnutrition and neglect
due to constraining effect of violence on
women’s livelihood strategies and their
bargaining position in marriage)
▣ Ambivalent or negative attitudes of a rape
survivor towards the resulting child.
 The impact of violence on the
perpetrators:
▣ Sanctioning by community, facing arrest and
imprisonment.
▣ Legal restrictions on seeing their families,
divorce, or the break up of their families.
▣ Feeling of alienation from their families;
minimizing the significance of violence for
which they are responsible.
▣ Deflecting the responsibility for violence onto
their partner and failure to associate it with
their relationship ; increased tension in the
home
 The impact of violence on
society:
▣ Burden on health and judicial systems
▣ Hindrance to economic stability and growth
through women’s lost productivity.
▣ Hindrance to women’s participation in the
development processes and lessening of their
contribution to social and economic
development.
▣ constrained ability of women to respond to
rapid social, political, or economic change.
▣ breakdown of trust in social relationships
▣ weakened support networks on which
people’s survival strategies depend.
▣ strained and fragmented networks that are of
vital importance in strengthening the
capabilities of
▣ communities in times of stress and upheaval
 Social Responses to
Gender-Based Violence
Health Care
▣ Training health care providers to recognize and
respond to gender-based violence is one of the
most important ways of identifying and
assisting victims.
▣ Not just obstetrician/gynecologists but all
health care professionals must learn to
recognize the signs: hospitals (especially
emergency room staff); public and private
health clinic staff; general/family practitioners;
internists; pediatricians; psychiatrists; nurses
and the staff of family planning clinics.
 Victim Assistance Services
▣ These are services created or incorporated to
respond to gender-based violence , such as:
battered women shelters; homeless shelters;
financial assistance programs; women's police
stations or services; victim advocacy programs;
rape crisis, domestic violence and suicide
prevention hotlines; legal services; runaway
programs; social welfare programs;
psychological support services (including
individual counselling and support groups)
and teen sexuality programs/health services.
More information:
 Support Groups
▣ While support groups can fall under the
heading of victim assistance services.
▣ They merit special mention because they are
not always externally organized services.
▣ Support groups can be a important way for
victims themselves to organize pro-actively and
take charge of their own situation.
▣ Beyond emotional support, group members
can also provide one another with a sense of
security and even, if needed, a place to go.
 Working with Perpetrators

▣ Working with the perpetrators of violence

(batterer-intervention programs) has been a
controversial and occasionally successful
response.
▣ While victim assistance services are a useful
bandaid to address an existing problem, this
approach targets efforts at the source of the
problem, attempting to change violent men's
behaviour.
 Exploring Masculinities

▣ Programs which address masculinities attempt

to explore what "makes a man".
▣ The central idea is to educate boys from the
earliest age that violence (against anyone) is
wrong, that the prevailing definition of
masculinity in any society is not the only
alternative, and that even though they are
physically different, girls are entitled to the
same rights and opportunities as men.
 Media Information and
Awareness Campaigns
▣ The media is a key conduit for making GBV visible,
advertising solutions.
▣ Informing policy-makers and educating the public
about legal rights and how to recognize and
address GBV.
▣ Newspapers, magazines, newsletters, radio,
television, the music industry, film, theatre,
advertising, the internet, posters, leaflets,
community notice boards, libraries and direct mail
are all channels for providing information to
victims and the general public about GBV
prevention and available services.
 Education
▣ School systems are instrumental to stopping GBV
before it starts.
▣ Regular curricula, sexuality education, school
counselling programs and school health services
can all convey the message that violence is wrong
and can be prevented.
▣ Suggest alternative models of masculinity, teach
conflict-resolution skills and provide assistance to
children/adolescents who may be victims or
perpetrators of violence.
▣ Integrating GBV as a subject into psychology,
sociology, medicine, nursing, law, women's studies,
social work and other programs enables providers
to identify and tend to this problem.
 Faith-Based Programs and
Services
▣ Religious counselling, support groups,
education programs, study groups and
assistance programs can address GBV with
their participants/worshippers.
▣ Most religions emphasize the importance of
peace and tolerance.
▣ Framing a discussion of GBV in the context of
religious tenets is one way to foster awareness
and discussion of the problem .
▣ It may also be a way to identify and assist
victims who do not feel comfortable talking to
a health care provider or police officer.
 Legal Responses
▣ The criminalization of all forms of GBV - domestic
violence, rape, sexual harassment, psychological
violence etc. has been an important step in
eliminating it. What remains is the consistent
application of these laws, the implementation of
penalties, and a greater focus on rehabilitating
convicted perpetrators.
▣ Other legal responses to GBV have included: legal
aid services; training of police and judicial
personnel; women's police stations; legal advocacy
and lobbying; training of family, criminal,
immigration and juvenile court lawyers and bar
association advocacy.
International Conferences and
Conventions
▣ The international community has come
together to address gender-based violence
through a variety of conferences, conventions
and agreements.
▣ Though these do not have the same binding
force as domestic law, international
conventions such as the Declaration on the
Elimination of Violence Against Women can be
demonstrative of a state's willingness to
acknowledge the problem of GBV and seek
solutions.
▣ International conventions also hold states
accountable to an international and externally
monitored standard. International conferences
on GBV bring together groups and actors from
all over the world, giving them the opportunity
to share their own experiences, and learn from
others.
 Community Networks and
Intervention
▣ A number of studies have shown that
involving entire communities in recognizing,
addressing and working to prevent GBV is one
of the surest ways of eliminating it.
▣ To be optimally effective, community networks
must bring together all of the responses
outlined above, integrating members from all
sectors of the community.
▣ Families; businesses; advocacy groups/civil
society; public services such as police, fire
fighters and medical examiners; social services
such as welfare, unemployment, public
housing and health; education; the media and
officials from national, state/provincial and
local/municipal governments.
▣ Community interventions must send a clear
message about what gender-based violence is,
the different forms it can take, why it is wrong
and how to prevent it. More information:
 Consequences of violence
against women:
▣ Globally, 38% of all murders of women are
reportedly committed by intimate partners.
▣ Out of all women who experienced physical
and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner, 42%
experienced injuries, as a result.
▣ Compared to women who have not experienced
partner violence, women survivors of such violence
face a 16% higher risk of having a low-birth weight
baby, are more than twice as likely to have an
induced abortion, and are more than twice as likely
to experience depression.
▣ In some regions, women who experienced sexual
intimate partner violence are 1,5 times more likely
to acquire HIV and 1,6 times more likely to have
syphilis, compared to women have not
experienced such violence.
▣ Women who have experienced non-partner sexual
violence are 2,3 times more likely to have alcohol
use disorders and 2,6 more likely to have
depression or anxiety, compared to women have
not experienced such violence (WHO et al 2013).
 Services offered at the GBV
Unit
▣ Individual therapy for women and children
▣ Group sessions for young women
▣ Support groups for women
▣ Family therapy
▣ Group therapy
▣ Play therapy
▣ Forensic assessments
▣ Court support
▣ Referrals
▣ Workshops and trainings on GBV, child abuse,
Trauma Counselling, HIV/AIDS,
▣ Education and awareness sessions on GBV and
Child Abuse at schools
▣ Parenting skills programme
 Partner organisations

▣ People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA)

▣ SONKE Gender Justice
▣ National Children and Violence Trust (NCVT)
▣ Childline Gauteng
▣ Teddy Bear Clinic