Women and gender studies: gender violence
Gender violence is a common issue when it comes to gender related problems. Even though, there are a few cases where men are the victims of gender violence, it is the women who suffer most from this problem. 95 percent of the cases of gender violence reported are usually female victims. The women who fall victims of gender violence include the married women, female children who are abused by their parents, dating women and at times women who experience gender violence at their places of work. Women are mostly the victims of gender violence because in most cases they are referred to as the weaker sex. Therefore, men tend to use this wrong mentality to abuse women by assuming they are superior and therefore can do anything against women.
Description
Gender violence is experienced everywhere. Across all social classes, the rich, middle class and the poor have all reported cases of gender violence in the past. Gender violence can be in many forms. Gender violence is defined as the physical, mental, emotional, sexual, neglect, stalking or economic deprivation of a partner against another in a relationship like family, marriage, cohabitation, dating or work. The common factor among all these possible cases of gender violence is that there is the domination of one partner over the other. Therefore, one can draw a conclusion that gender violence occurs in relationships characterized by poor communication, inequality and/ or rivalry.
The gender violence is not a good thing because it leads to depression, unhappiness, emotional and mental problems and in some cases physical injuries. The effects of gender violence vary with the type of violence a victim goes through. A woman victim of physical violence usually suffers physical injuries. This is the most common kind of gender violence reported. In most cases, it is usually experienced in the low income and the less educated groups of people. In poor countries such as in Africa, gender violence cases are very rampant. Most of these cases go unreported because some women fear reporting the case due to various reasons. Some fear being subjected to further violence as they are always threatened, some fear for their lives, some do not report because they depend on the same partners who abuse them. They cannot report their breadwinner because they will end up worse off than they were before.
Other forms of gender violence include sexual violence where the woman is sexually abused by their partner often. This can be equated to rape because it is sex against the woman’s will. Sexual abuse can lead to physical abuse as well as emotional and mental issues. Emotional and mental abuse includes subjection to threats, domineering, arguments, and deprivation of things like sex and money and neglect. Gender violence of all forms has a negative impact on victims. Women who are subjected to violence are more likely to have depression, stress or other deformities.
Analysis
There are various reasons why women are mostly the victims of gender violence. First, women are naturally regarded as an inferior sex to the men. This mentality has had very negative effects on society because women are looked down upon; they are mistreated by their partners simply because they are women. This is mostly the case in the developing countries where levels of literacy are very low. Gender imbalances are rampant with women being regarded as mere servants of men. Women are also prone to gender violence because they do not have resources to support themselves.
Research shows that a big percentage of women in the world are not independent. Most of them depend on their parents, relatives or husbands for financial assistance. When a woman is heavily reliant on her partner, it is probable that she will be abused, neglected and mistreated. This is because the partner will reach a point where he will not be willing to support his partner. Such women are either illiterate or just lack the mechanisms and financial muscle to support themselves and their children. Culture is also to blame for the ever increasing cases of gender violence. For instance, in most African cultures, gender violence is part of the culture. Some even believe violence against women is one way of expressing love for a partner. These are misleading cultural beliefs that should be abandoned. Gender equality should be upheld and women given the same respect and treatment as men. This will promote relationships between couples because they will share ideas as equals and not as the man giving the woman orders as it is the case in most relationships today.
Vision
Gender violence is an archaic and shameful act that is against the victims’ human rights, whether men or women. Gender violence goes against the right of expression and right to association. People, women specifically, face violence because they express their ideas to their partners. Partners who do not agree end up fighting or engaging in face offs, whether verbal or physical. A woman who is subjected to violence is likely to have few or no people to associate with. Therefore, it is imperative that gender violence should be stopped in order to give women the freedom to express themselves and associate with other people. Furthermore, stopping gender violence will ensure that relationships last long and people are happy together. Those who will find it difficult will simply part ways or find appropriate ways to solve their problems rather than engage in violence.
Gender equality should be pursued by all means to ensure that men and women are all equal. Cultural beliefs and archaic mentalities where women are seen as inferior to men should be discouraged and stopped. This will provide a good platform for women to become self sufficient financially and socially. The culture of equity and peaceful coexistence should be a priority for all societies. The society should also reduce illiteracy levels by ensuring that education is given priority for all young people. This will help them to learn how to exist peacefully with people of the opposite gender. Education will also raise the women’s confidence in terms of handling extra responsibilities without the help of their partner.
Strategies
There are many strategies that can be formulated and enforced to ensure that gender violence is no longer an issue in today’s society. These strategies are aimed at ensuring that there is peaceful coexistence between male and female partners of all kinds. More so, it is aimed at ensuring that conflict resolution between partners is embraced and that gender violence is a thing of the past. These strategies include educating both men and men on peaceful relationships, effects of gender violence and conflict resolution. The strategies will also aim at promoting new cultural mentalities to do away with the existing ones where women suffer because of wrong and false beliefs.
Educating the public through social campaigns in commercial advertisements and through other forms of communication helps them to be aware of effects of gender violence. The awareness programs should target both the grown up and young individuals. This will help in curbing gender violence both in the short term and long term. The campaign should exhaustively focus on the negative impact of gender violence on women, children and the relationship in general. This should extend to the importance of peaceful coexistence, advantages of peaceful coexistence and conflict resolution. The awareness program should also include the best procedures of conflict resolution.
Another strategy is the introduction of new legislations that will protect women from gender violence. These laws should be strictly implemented to ensure those who take part in gender violence against women are punished. The punishments should be as severe as possible so as to discourage any potential violent individuals from mistreating their partners. The punishments should include jail terms and heavy fines.
In conclusion, gender violence is a wrong and backward tendency that leads to the degradation of the violence victims, mostly women. Gender violence should be stopped by employing the most appropriate strategies to discourage the act and educate the public on how to live peacefully in harmony without engaging in violence. The strategies should also include punishments for those found guilty of taking part in violence. The proper implementation of this project would ensure that gender violence is no longer one of the major social violence facing the society and the world as a whole.
References
Bautista, V., & Sobritchea, C. I. (2001). Gender violence: its socio-cultural dimensions (illustrated ed.). Boston: UP-Center for Women's Studies.
Green, D. (1999). Gender Violence In Africa: African Women's Responses. Palgrave: Palgrave Macmillan.
Schiffman, J. R. (1997). Gender Violence: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. New York: NYU Press.
Terry, G. (2007). Gender-Based Violence. London: Oxfam.
