IT goes without saying that gender-based violence against women is one of the most important issues facing the human race today. The violence targeted against the female gender is appalling. It is spreading like a wildfire and needs to be curtailed.
What is gender-based violence?
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), gender-based violence against women refers to any acts of violence that result in or are likely to result in, physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.
Statically one in three women experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. Most times this abuse comes from intimate partners or someone close to them. Gender-based violence isn’t limited to rape and domestic abuse. Other violence women face includes intimate partner violence, sexual harassment, child marriage, female genital mutilation, and domestic and sexual abuse.
Around 44 percent of women in Africa have been subjected to gender-based violence. The survivors of this violence more often than not never get over the pain. These women continue to face constant stigma and are not necessarily given proper care to get better.
Violence from an intimate partner is recorded to be one of the most common types of violence against women. Intimate partner violence refers to behavior by an intimate partner or ex-partner that causes physical, sexual, or psychological harm. This type of violence is rampant in societies. The recent pandemic opened the eyes of many to what women face daily.
COVID-19 and gender-based violence
According to reports, Liberia recorded a 50 percent increase in gender-based violence against women in the first half of 2020, while Nigeria also saw an increase in sexual violence and domestic violence against women during the same period. The Nigerian government recorded a 149 percent increase in reports of gender-based violence from March to April 2020.
Also, the South African police service recorded that every three hours a woman is murdered in the country. The South African national counseling hotline also received a 500 percent increase in the number of calls on gender-based violence in two months. This situation was almost the same in Uganda, which recorded 3,280 cases of gender-based violence in April 2020 in comparison to the monthly average of 1,137 cases in 2019.
There’s no doubt that the isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was a huge disadvantage for women.
The moment of truth
Gender-based violence reflects the inequalities between men and women. It blatantly shows that women’s human rights can be violated without repercussions for the violator.
There has been an alarming increase in domestic abuse in Nigeria. Several videos and truth have been coming to light. Domestic abuse or violence against women is starting to seem like a norm. This issue is a pandemic and it needs to be dealt with. We live in a patriarchal society, so when gender-based violence is reported little or no action is taken.
The low representation of women in power and high places is not helping matters. The governments of these countries are putting little effort to stop this social menace.
People often ask whydon’t they leave?
Women were taught when growing up that they are supposed to withstand hardship for their families. They are supposed to carry their family on their backs. When they face turbulences like abuse, they encourage themselves to stay for the sake of their children. After all, why should she leave her kids with the man that constantly abuses her?
Then there is the issue of society. Society has always had a way of looking at the lifestyle of women under a magnifying glass. A woman that walks away from her marriage is considered weak, inadequate, and not “woman enough”. Such go a long way to curtail their decision on whether to walk away from a marriage despite the spousal abuse.
Let’s not forget that in an African household the“ in-laws” and extended family members will always have a say on what you decide to do. Most often than not the family never supports the decision of the woman to leave the marriage. They would always say “endure it for your children” or “there are always problems in marriage”. These forces will always influence a woman’s decision on whether she should leave an abusive relationship.
How to combat gender-based violence
The measures taken to combat gender-based violence are partially ineffective. But here are things you can do to help alleviate this shadow pandemic
First, give survivors a safe space to be heard. Society has the illusion that all their opinions matter. Sometimes it is unnecessary and it makes survivors shy away from talking about their struggles. An insensitive statement like “why didn’t she leave?” does not need to be said.
The talk about consent should also be taught to the younger generations. That when a woman says NO to sexual activities even when you are in a romantic relationship and you proceed, ignoring her complaints it is rape. Do not make an insensitive statement like “she was asking for it” or “boys will be boys”. These statements blur the line between what is consent and what is not. A straight-up NO is NO. Proudly stand against rape culture and report it if you happen to witness one. There is no code involved when it is at the detriment of someone’s wellbeing.
The conversion of gender roles should be brought up in the early days to avoid the obnoxious notion that a woman’s place is in the kitchen. Also, the examples set for the next generations on the way to think about women and their human rights should be taken seriously. It should be made clear that women are not properties.
Lastly, the government should allocate more funds in the budget to support the welfare of women and girls.
In conclusion, gender-based violence against women is evident in Africa and we need to stand up and say NO to violence.
