O level Notes : FRS - Religion And Gender Roles - Gender Based Violence
Gender-based violence (GBV) is any harm or suffering that is perpetrated against a woman or girl, man or boy and that has a negative impact on the physical, sexual or psychological health, development or identity of the person.
Gender Based Violence (GBV)
Gender Based Violence mostly affects women and girls. However, men and boys can also be subject to GBV, and women can be perpetrators. GBV against women and girls is linked to gender inequalities and gender norms according to which the 'female' and the 'feminine' is associated with weakness, inferiority and victimisation. Likewise, GBV against men and boys often builds on different norms for masculinity and femininity. For instance, men and boys who are subject to GBV can be punished at home, by peers and by the society at large for not being 'real' men, not complying with social expectations on manhood and masculinity norms.
Apart from that, there are men who are abused by women in the world. Some women are raping some teenager boys whom they take advantage over their poor situation. They take them to satisfy their sexual needs and some of the women happen to be HIV positive. Most of the young men who fall victim to circumstances are young street fathers. Furthermore, there are cases of older women sexually abusing the young men as reported in various media the world over.
Forms of gender based violence
GBV takes on many forms and can occur throughout a person's life. Gender violence is about power and control. It takes the form of physical, emotional, sexual, economic or spiritual abuse, for example, rape, domestic violence, sexual harassment. It creates fear, breaks down self-esteem, and makes people do things they don't want to do, limit behaviour and movement and it physically harms. Gender based violence occurs in all racial, clan, religious, ethnic and political groups. Generally, there is a focus on the abuse of women by men whilst incidents of violence against men do occur. Violence against women is more common and usually more severe.
Many people experience multiple episodes of violence that may start in the prenatal period and continue through childhood to adulthood and old age. This approach to GBV helps us to understand the continuum of violence and its cumulative impact in terms of physical and mental health consequences for women and girls, boys and men. This shows that “mild” and severe forms of violence are part of the same continuum. Not only the most severe forms of violence are hurtful, but even more so the everyday presence of violence throughout a person's life.
- Physical violence
Physical violence occurs when someone uses force physically to attack and harm another person. Examples include kicking, slapping, restraint (preventing someone from leaving), punching, choking, striking with an object or striking with a weapon. Generally, men are violent and women suffer from their violence. Although a larger number of abusers are men, nowadays there are some men who are also being physically abused by their wives or women in general.
- Emotional violence
Emotional violence may involve intimidating, insulting, humiliating, and restricting someone's social associations, isolating her or him from friends and family or other expressions of extreme jealousy. Emotional abuse involves objectification that is, viewing someone as an object that you own rather than as a human being with feelings and basic human rights. It is often difficult to recognise emotional violence because the injuries are internal and 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.
- 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. When a sexual assault occurs, the other types of abuse mentioned above occur as well. 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. Men are also abused by women sexually especially by night street walkers in cities like Harare, Bulawayo and Mutare among others who can take advantage of poor men or street kids and give them money after abusing them. These victims are at a higher risk of contracting diseases as they will be forced into sexual activity without using contraceptives. However, it should be noted that some are night street walkers due to different reasons. Some do it by choice, some because of poverty, love of money or high sexual 'appetite'. Peer pressure can influence young people to have sex and lead to gang rape.
- Economic abuse
Economic abuse involves using money to undermine a woman's rights, for example, withholding money, questioning what she does with her money, denying medical aid, destroying property in the home whenever there is a disagreement. However, it should be noted as well that men are also victims of this type of abuse. Some women withhold their husbands' salary; the husband surrenders all the money to the wife. The husband is denied his right to a social life and is sometimes not allowed to go and enjoy with his friends. 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, and that women belong to men and must obey them, and condemn divorce. Church leaders should be sensitive to issues of violence in their congregations and preach a more tolerant message to help victims. Spiritual abuse might be between churches or organizations where some churches will force other members of a certain church to join them. A good example is the case of Boko Haram in Nigeria where women and children are abducted and some girls are taken from school in the name of religion.
- Conflict-Related Gender-Based and Sexual Violence
When violence in general is more present in a society, subordinated groups become more vulnerable in public arenas as well as in private. Displacement and heightened tensions within communities and households exacerbate the risk of gender- based violence, including men's violence against their intimate partners and other forms of violence in the family. Poor welfare services and the breakdown of social networks and justice systems make it more difficult for victims of violence to escape, and leave the perpetrators unpunished. In times of crisis traditional gender norms are often emphasised, but might also lead to changed gender roles. When men are absent during war, women are forced to uphold men's duties.
- Psychological abuse
Psychological abuse may include deprivation of freedom, forced marriage, sexual harassment among others. This form of abuse is dangerous since victims may not reveal that they are being abused for a long period of time because signs are not easily recognised. The following are some of the signs of psychological abuse:
- Imitation or mockery
- Yelling
- Ignoring each other
- Emotional stress
- Swearing at them
- Name calling
- Insulting each other
- Isolation
The life cycle of gender-based violence
Gender-based violence occurs in homes but also in schools, at workplaces, parks and other public places. GBV is sometimes random but often, particularly when the perpetrator knows the victim, repeated and systematic. While GBV cuts across one’s economic status, culture, religion, sexual orientation and age, some groups are particularly vulnerable. They include for example women in war and conflict, refugee and migrant women, women and men in prostitution, women belonging to minority and indigenous groups, women with disabilities and elderly women.
The life cycle of gender-based violence
|
Female |
Male |
Prenatal: |
Prenatal sex physical/sexual/ psychological child abuse during pregnancy, coerced/ forced pregnancy. |
Prenatal sex selection |
Infancy: |
Female infanticide, sexual, child abuse, living with domestic violence, neglect including access to food and medical care |
Physical/sexual/psychological child abuse, socialisation into violent behaviour, living with domestic violence neglect including access to food and medical care. |
Childhood: |
Sexual, physical and emotional abuse, prostitution, living with domestic violence, child/forced marriage, femicide, upbringing that does not allow deviation from traditional gender norms and discrimination in nourishing food distribution, medical care and education |
Sexual, physical and emotional abuse, prostitution, living with d o m e s t i c v i o l e n c e , m a l e c i r c u m c i s i o n , f o r c e d recruitment of child soldiers, upbringing that does not allow deviation from traditional gender norms. |
Adolescence: |
Prostitution and pornography, trafficking, sexual harassment at school and in the street, forced marriage, forced recruitment of child soldiers, rape and sexual assault by relatives, known persons or strangers. |
Forced recruitment of child soldiers, gang violence, expectations of violent behaviour as the norm into violence. |
Adulthood: |
Sexual harassment at work and in the public space, intimate partner violence, rape and sexual assault, femicide, forced pregnancy, dowry and bride price abuse, sexual exploitation and trafficking, stalking. |
Gang violence, witnessing or forced to conduct rape exploitation, violence in the army and in conflict, gun violence |
Old age: |
Elder abuse, intimate partner violence, rape, abuse of widows, sexual harassment in public space, institutional abuse. |
Elder abuse. |
Causes of Gender Based Violence
The cause of the violence is founded in gender-based power inequalities and gender-based discrimination. Gender equality is achieved when women and men, girls and boys, have equal rights, life prospects and opportunities, and the power to shape their own lives and contribute to society. The opposite of this, gender inequality, unequal power relations and discrimination based on gender is the root cause of gender-based violence. This violence is also a main obstacle to the achievement of gender equality. Unequal power relations are upheld through gender-based violence.
Below is a diagram illustrating the causes of gender based violence at four levels – individual, relationship, community, and societal.
Societal |
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Community |
|
Relationship |
|
Individual |
Conflict and crisis |
|
Poverty |
|
Poor parenting practices |
|
Poor parenting practices |
Rapid social change |
|
High crime levels |
|
Marital discord |
|
Marital discord |
Gender, social and |
|
High residential mobility |
|
Violent parental conflict |
|
Violent parental conflict |
economic inequalities |
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High unemployment |
|
Low socioeconomic household |
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Low socioeconomic household |
Poverty |
|
Local illicit drug trade |
|
status |
|
status |
Weak economic safety nets |
|
Situational factors |
|
Friends that engage in violence |
|
Friends that engage in violence |
Not observing rule of law Cultural norms that support violence |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Causes of gender based violence in levels
Other causes of gender based violence
- Norms granting men control over female behaviour
- Acceptance of violence as a way to resolve conflict
- Notion of masculinity linked to dominance, honour and aggression
- Rigid gender roles
- Isolation of women and family
- Marital conflict
- Male control of wealth and decision-making in the family
- Witnessing marital violence as a child
- Absent or rejecting father
- Being abused as a child
POSSIBLE WAYS OF SOLVING GENDER BASED VIOLENCE
The government
The government has a huge task to ensure that issues of GBV are addressed and people are educated. The following are possible ways the government can use:
(i) Women, Citizenship and Peace Building
One of the ways is to make women alert by creating women's organisations where there will be a collective action and voice, for the prevention of violence. The organisations will create a community- based dialogue consisting of both men and women which will lead to community cohesion, first within the groups and then within families and between female participants. Addressing issues related to gender equality including gender-based violence and obstacles to women's political participation in a constructive way, the dialogue groups can change discriminatory norms and behaviour such as men's attitudes towards sending girls to school, decision making around household budget, and participation by women in public spaces.
(ii) Engaging Young Men for Gender Equality
The government needs to engage young men and their communities in critical reflections about rigid norms related to manhood. It includes group educational activities, community campaigns, and an evaluation model for assessing the programme's impact on gender-related attitudes.
(iii)Gender-Based Violence Prevention Programmes
Incorporate men and boys as perpetrators, as victims or survivors and as agents of change. Men and boys are often neglected as survivors of GBV. Hence, there is a need to recognise and address men's and boys' particular vulnerabilities and needs in relation to GBV. Rather than simply 'bringing men in' to work against violence against women, there is a need to work towards transformed norms around gender relations and masculinity. Such a approach acknowledges that men and boys are also restricted by expectations linked to masculinity and can also be victims of violence. A failure to recognise and address this can contribute to the perpetuation of cycles of GBV.
POSSIBLE RELIGIOUS WAYS OF SOLVING GENDER BASED VIOLENCE
A lot can be done by religious leaders to do away with the monster called violence. Religious leaders should conduct multi-religious seminars targeting different groups on topics related to GBV and use the Bible to refer to texts which condemn violence.Churches can also intervene by building centres to offer shelter and counselling services to victims of violence. Religious leaders should educate their church members on the causes and effects of GBV and the members will cascade the information to the communities. Role plays and dramas can be performed to show that violence is not good. Religious leaders should preach a gospel which will make people responsible citizens who respect the dignity of all persons.
Here is what we have discussed in this topic
The issue of gender and gender roles depend on the environment and society in which one lives. Gender roles are the activities and duties which are expected to be done by both men and women in society. Judaism, Islam and Christianity regard both men and women as equal before God. Although their roles sometimes are different, it has been noted that sometimes men and women play the same roles, for example when they both prophesy and acted as judges in the case of Deborah, Miriam, Moses and Aaron. Gender based violence is caused by rigid societal norms among other reasons. Spiritual abuse, physical abuse and emotional abuse are examples of forms of gender based violence. The government and religious leaders can do a lot to solve the problem of gender based violence. Awareness campaigns can be conducted to benefit victims and to educate the society on the effects of gender based violence.
Definition of terms used in this topic
Exacerbate - to make worse.
Gender - Gender is the state of being male or female and is typically used with special reference to cultural beliefs rather than biological ones.
Gender based violence - any harm or suffering that is perpetrated against a woman or girl, man or boy and that has a negative impact on the physical, sexual or psychological health, development or identity of the person.
Nun - a member of Christian religious community of women who live by certain vows
Religion - the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods. It is a system of faith and worship, which provides adherents with meaning and purpose in their lives.