The term violence against women has been used to describe a wide range of acts, including murder, rape and sexual assault, physical assault, emotional abuse, battering, stalking, prostitution, genital mutilation, sexual harassment, and pornography. There is little consensus in the still-evolving field on exactly how to define violence against women. The major contention concerns whether to strictly define the word ”violence” or to think of the phrase “violence against women” more broadly as aggressive behaviours that adversely and disproportionately affect women.
What causes violence against women?
Gender Disparity is one of the deep-rooted causes of violence against women that put women at risk of several forms of violence.
Discriminatory gender norms and gender stereotypes result in structural inequality.
Psychiatric Morbidity: It generally refers to the incidence of both physical and psychological deterioration as a result of a mental or psychological condition, generally caused due to the consumption of alcohol.
Regular consumption of alcohol by the husband has been strongly associated with poor mental health in women. Alcohol operates as a situational factor, increasing the likelihood of violence by reducing inhibitions, clouding judgment, and impairing an individual’s ability to interpret cues.
Sociodemographic factors: Patriarchy has been cited as the main cause of violence against women. Where women have a higher economic status than their husbands and are seen as having sufficient power to change traditional gender roles, the risk for violence is high.
Family factors: Exposure to harsh physical discipline during childhood and witnessing the father beating the mother during childhood is a predictor of victimization and perpetration of violence against the wife in adulthood.
Traditional and cultural practices like: Female genital mutilation: This can lead to death, infertility, and long-term psychological trauma combined with increased physical suffering.
Acid attacks: Acid attacks have emerged as a cheap and readily accessible weapon to disfigure and sometimes kill women and girls for reasons as varied as family feuds, inability to meet dowry demands and rejection of marriage proposals.
Killing in the name of family honor: In several countries of the world including Bangladesh, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Turkey, and India, women are killed to uphold the honor of the family due to varied reasons such as-alleged adultery, premarrelationshipsnship (with or without sexual relations), rape, falling in love with a person the family disapproves, which justify a male member of the family to kill the woman concerned.
Early marriages: Early marriage with or without the consent of the girl, constitutes a form of violence as it undermines the health and autonomy of millions of girls.
Judiciary and law enforcement machinery: An insensitive, inefficient, corrupt, and unaccountable judicial system and law enforcement machinery fails to deter various forms of crimes.
Sociocultural factors disfavouring women:
Stereotypes of gender roles have continued over the ages.
The primary roles for women have been marriage and motherhood.
Women must marry because an unmarried, separated, or divorced status is a stigma.The custom of dowry is still prevalent in Indian marriages.
Forms of violence against women
Rape, sexual harassment eve teasing, molestation, and abuse of women act as a function of limiting women’s freedom and perpetuate the nation women need male protection at various stages of life. There how been cases of gang rape in colleges and incidents of acid throwing on young girls for defacing them in several parts of India. Sexual harassment and abuse at the workplace are least challenged or reported for fear of losing employment and stigmatization. It is futile to agree that provocative dresses worn by women are responsible for sexual harassment or molestation. In many cases Saree and salwar-kameez-clad women have been sexually harassed It is scant regard for women is responsible for sexual harassment of women besides their being regarded as commodities with no feeling, to be played with.
Rape is violent sexual intercourse performed against the will and consent of the woman. It demonstrates a powerful relationship betwwomenen and women. It diminishes the identity of women as an individual and objectifies them. In India every two hours, a rape occurs. What is most frightening and disgusting about rape is that a large percentage of these rape victims are children below the age of 12. Paradoxically in our society, the victim of rape is stigmatized in the society. The woman who is the victim of rape is blamed because the nation is that, “she must have invited it”.
Curative Measures
First, to meet the needs of protection, support, and advice to the victims through Financial support, Voluntary organization schemes, Short term accommodation to victims.
Providing them assistance in finding employment and child care facilities and immediate financial support.
Establishment of cheaper and less formal courts-courts to handle only female cases. The scope of existing family courts should be enlarged to include all types of domestic and non-domestic problems of women. Judges, magistrates, and lawyers with knowledge and interests in female matters should be appointed.
Strengthening and increasing voluntary organizations which could take up individual women’s problems with their in-laws, police, the courts, or the concerned individuals. The voice of individual women has fewer effects Voices of women organized for a cause are more effective.
Publicity has to be given to those organizations which provide free legal aid to women. So needy women can approach them. Change in parent’s attitude-helping attitude towards daughters being victimized.
It is important to remember that violence against women is not only a women’s issue, it is a human issue. We need to stand together to fight this burning issue and ensure that every woman in our society lives with dignity and respect.