Domestic violence against women & girls
“Violence against
women is a
manifestation of
historically unequal
power relations
between men and
women, which have
led to
domination over and
discrimination against
women by men and to
the prevention of the
full advancement of
women...”
Violence in the domestic sphere is
usually
perpetrated by males who are, or who
have been, in positions of trust and
intimacy
and power – husbands, boyfriends,
fathers, fathers-in-law, stepfathers,
brothers,
uncles, sons, or other relatives.
Domestic
violence is in most cases violence
perpetrated
by men against women. Women can
also
be violent, but their actions account
for a
small percentage of domestic violence.
Types of domestic abuses
Physical abuse
• hitting; choking; slapping; burning;
shoving; using a weapon
•physically restraining; intentional
interference with basic needs (e.g. food,
medicine, sleep)
•Isolation: Restricting Freedom -
controlling contacts with friends and
family, access to information and
participation in groups or organizations
•locking up in a room / restricting mobility;
monitoring telephone calls
•Femicide
•Forced prostitution
Psychological & Emotional Abuse
•constantly criticizing, ridiculing (self, family,
friends, past)
•trying to humiliate or degrade; lying;
undermining self-esteem Stalking / Harassing
Behavior
•turning up at workplace or house
•repeated phone calls or mail to victim and/or
family, friends, colleagues
•Threats & Intimidation - threatening to harm
partner, self or others (children, family,
friends, pets); threatening to make
•threatening to reveal sexual orientation to
family, friends, neighbors, and/or employers
Economic Abuse
• controlling or stealing money
• fostering dependency
•making financial decisions
without asking or telling partner
Sexual
Abuse/Harassment
• forcing sex or specific acts,
pressuring into unwanted sexual
behavior
•criticizing performance
Sexual abuse of children and
adolescents
Considering the taboo in most countries
that surrounds incest or the sexual abuse of
children and adolescents within the family,
this is one of the most invisible forms of
violence. Because the crime is perpetrated
most often by a father, stepfather, grandfather,
brother, uncle, or another male relative
in a position of trust, the rights of the
child are usually sacrificed in order to protect
the name of the family and that of the
adult perpetrator. However, studies have
shown that from 40 to 60 per cent of
known sexual assaults within the family are
committed against girls aged 15 years and
younger, regardless of region or culture.
Neeta, a 9-year-old girl living in a slum cluster quietly wept as she washed
her blood-stained clothes after being raped by her own father. Since her
mother had gone out to work it was the neighbours who raised an alarm. A
case was registered but the medical report was manipulated and the man
was released. Neeta’s mother says, “he has committed a grave wrong but
he has already been punished enough. If he lands up in jail who will fend
for us”. The scar that has been caused to Neeta will continue to haunt her
all her life, but many jhuggi-dwellers feel it could have been just someone
else because there is hardly any security for young girls in the jhuggi.
CAUSES OF DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE
Cultural
•Gender
•specific socialization
•Cultural definitions of appropriate sex
roles
• Expectations of roles within
relationships
•Belief in the inherent superiority of
males
•Values that give men proprietary
rights over women and girls
•Notion of the family as the private
sphere and under male control
•Customs of marriage (bride
price/dowry)
•Acceptability of violence as a means
to resolve conflict
Cultural practices
affecting the health
and lives of women
•Female Genital
Mutilation
•Dowry-related
violence
•Acid attacks
•Killing in the name
of honor:
•Early marriages
Economic causes
• Women’s economic dependence on men
• Limited access to cash and credit
• Discriminatory laws regarding inheritance, property rights
•communal lands
•maintenance after divorce or widowhood
• Limited access to employment in formal and informal sectors
• Limited access to education and training for women
Legal causes
•Legal Lesser legal status of women either by written law and/or by
practice
• Laws regarding divorce, child custody, maintenance and
inheritance
• Legal definitions of rape and domestic abuse
• Low levels of legal literacy among women
• Insensitive treatment of women and girls by police and judiciary
Health Consequences
of Violence Against Women
Non-FATAL OUTCOMES
Physical health outcomes:
• Injury (from lacerations to fractures and internal organs injury)
• Unwanted pregnancy
• Gynecological problems
• STDs including HIV/AIDS
• Miscarriage
• Pelvic inflammatory disease
• Chronic pelvic pain
• Headaches
• Permanent disabilities
• Asthma
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Self-injurious behaviors(smoking, unprotected sex)
Mental health outcomes:
•Depression
• Fear
• Anxiety
• Low self-esteem
• Sexual dysfunction
• Eating problems
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Post traumatic stress disorder
FATAL
OUTCOMES
• Suicide
•Homicide
•Maternal
mortality
•HIV/AIDS
Our contribution to stop domestic violence
•advocacy and awareness raising
• education for building a culture of nonviolence training
• resource development
• direct service provision to victim survivors and
perpetrators
• networking and community mobilization
• direct intervention to help victim survivors
•rebuild their lives
• legal reform
• monitoring interventions and measures
• data collection and analysis
• early identification of ‘at risk’ families,
•communities, groups, and individuals.
