Introduction
Gender-based violence is considered to be one of the most persistent issues affecting women around the world, and many literary masterpieces were oriented on the massive spread of this problem. Wirtz et al. (2018) posit that gender-based violence has immediate and long-term consequences, including missed work, poor physical and mental health, out-of-pocket expenses for obtaining therapies, and replacement prices. The existing literature has majored in gender-based violence in the home context, in the form of domestic violence or intimate partner abuse (Watson, 2016). Previous experiences of the gender research were not successfully analyzed, and the flaw of progression was minimal. This global problem has been studied for many years by evaluating the experiences of the past generations. The socio-economic effects of gender-based violence were under-researched, and specialists are reviewing these aspects in more depth. This paper will outline the major problems of Gender-based violence by describing the main types of sex forces and causes of this global issue. Moreover, it will present its effects on people’s lives and how these consequences can be avoided. Every finding is supported by relevant research conducted by specialists in their fields of study.
Overview of Gender-Based Violence
Gender-based violence, wherever it occurs, is a severe impediment to achieving gender justice, endangering democratic development and public health, and standing in the way of attaining sustainable development, economic prosperity, and peace. According to Stanley and Devaney (2017), this violence has a significant impact on development since it mostly affects productive demographic segments. Women are prone to threats in unsafe environments or persecuted because of their race, language, literacy, ethnic group, culture, age, opinion, religion, or minority group membership. In addition, physical, cognitive, and interpersonal effects result from gender-based violence.
Gender-based violence is any form of physical, sexual, mental, social, or economic abuse directed at a person because of their gender. Individuals are categorized according to their gender identity or perceived conformance to socially defined masculine and femininity ideals. According to Stanley and Devaney (2017), threats, coercion, arbitrary restriction of liberty, and economic deprivation are other examples of physical, sexual, and emotional or psychological abuse. Sexual abuse of minors, sex trafficking and forced labor, abuse, domestic violence, and harmful cultural practices such as forced marriage are examples of gender-based violence.
Universally, the rates of gender-based violence are high in developing countries. Beyene et al. (2019) posit that gender-based violence is a serious public health issue that diminishes women’s vitality, impairs physical health, and undermines self-esteem. In addition to causing harm, violence increases women’s long-term risk of a range of other health conditions, such as physical impairment, drug and alcohol addiction, and despair (Beyene et al., 2019). Women who have experienced sexual abuse are prone to unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted illnesses (STIs). Despite the severe costs, cultures all over the world have created social systems that conceal and deny the abuse. This has played a major role in women’s protection.
For many years now, women’s advocacy groups across the globe have worked to bring attention to economic distress, physical, psychological or emotional abuse, and sexual abuse of women. Moreover, these females’ coordination were developing possible solutions (Rai et al., 2019). They have obtained shelters for battered women, lobbied or campaigned for lawful reforms, and challenged conventional attitudes and beliefs that encourage and condone violence against women or gender-based violence. These efforts have yielded and continue to provide favorable results (Rai et al., 2019). Today, global organizations are speaking out in opposition to gender-based violence.
The commitment of governments and interested parties to eradicating gender-based violence is significant. However, the number of cases of gender-based violence remains high (Stanley and Devaney, 2017). There is usually a high rate of gender-based violence in developing countries among both young and old individuals. This has been related to people’s weak morals, a lack of counseling, and significant poverty. Sexual and gender-based abuse is a global challenge that violates human rights. This type of violence is so common that it affects a vast number of women, girls, children, and the rest of the world.
As stated in the UN Secretary General’s comprehensive research on methods of violence against women, gender-based violence inhibits women from contributing to and benefiting from development by limiting their options and ability to act. In addition, governments should be concerned about economic and social growth (Stanley and Devaney, 2017). Thus, reducing poverty and attaining development necessitates a persistent focus on addressing gender-based violence. Without question, investing in enforcing stricter laws, regulations, and behavior change efforts to prevent gender-based violence is critical.
Forms of Gender-Based Violence
Physical Violence
Physical violence is the easiest to recognize due to physical manifestations. Latzman et al. (2018) state that physical bullying, physical assault, beatings, weapon attacks, corporal and other physical punishments are examples of physical violence and abuse. Most instances of physical violence are typically caused by poverty, where parents or guardians cannot provide for the family, infidelity, denial of conjugal rights, and mistreatment by stepparents or guardians among children (Singh et al., 2018). Physical violence frequently results in psychological anguish, death, deformity, and significant injuries on the victims. It is the most recognized form of violence because of the impact on victims.
Sexual Violence
Sexual abuse is another form of gender-based violence which is characterized by sexually violent behavior. Drawing from Wang et al. (2019), assault, inappropriate behavior or sexual harassment at school or work, rape, marital or group rape, defilement and incest, and unauthorized canal knowledge of a woman or girl are all examples of sexual violence. Among the consequences of sexual assault are trauma, sexual infections, low self-esteem, physical harm, and death. Wang et al. (2019) agree that unequal or inconsistent power dynamics characterize these relationships and that the girls should not be viewed as willing participants in the mistreatment. They acknowledge power-based variables such as fear, force, and intimidation as key components used by perpetrators to guarantee victim compliance and quiet.
Economic Violence
Economic violence is another form of gender-based violence that manifests itself through, among other things, neglect, property snatching, rejection of the right to take high position in an organization, and low-paying jobs. Hadi (2017) posits that economic abuse occurs when one partner influences the other’s monetary holdings. This may involve preventing the companion from engaging in a productive job, advancing their career, or restricting their access to assets (Sabri and Granger, 2018). In addition, it entails taking advantage of the victim’s financial disadvantage and restricting her access to required resources, making her reliant on the abuser for upkeep, most of their children (Hadi, 2017). Economic violence included restricting access to finances and credit, regulating access to health care, employment, education, and agricultural resources, and removing people from financial decision-making.
Psychological Violence
Gender-based violence is psychological, sometimes known as emotional or mental abuse. It is a significant health, development, and human rights issue in many developing countries. Perreault (2020) states that psychological violence is a purposeful infliction of pain on another person. This violence is viewed as trauma to the victim caused by threats, coercive techniques when there has also been prior physical or sexual assault or prior threat of physical or sexual violence. It usually manifests through humiliation, restricting what the individual can and cannot do, preserving information, purposefully making the victim feel inferior or degraded, and, in some situations, threatening child custody.
In addition, verbal abuse is a type of psychological abuse characterized by language and is essentially a threatening action. This is any verbal interaction that causes emotional harm to a person, frequently causing them to doubt their identity (Perreault, 2020). It is a method of establishing and maintaining power over another person. Criticism, name-calling, blaming, rudeness, and ridicule are examples of aggressive or violent behavior. Less forceful assertions can sometimes be used to falsely accuse or incorrectly blame victims, humiliate or coerce them into submitting unwelcome behaviors (Perreault, 2020). The abuser may exhibit particularly seductive behavior in public to conceal the abuse.
The Causes of Gender-Based Violence
Women who are less educated are more likely to become affected by violence, but males with less education are more likely to inflict violence on their wives. According to Dim and Elabor-Idemudia (2018), women’s participation in the development process is hampered by a low level of education, access to, and control of resources. Women are now prone to assault because they do not influence many aspects of their lives. As a result, violence against girls is founded in structural and institutional patriarchy and global unequal or inconsistent power relations (Gill, 2018). It is a side effect of the larger issue of gender equality in the public sphere.
Gender Inequality
Gender violence is aggravated by the persistence of male and female inequalities. According to McFarland et al. (2019), female children from rich and poor homes in rural and urban areas were less likely to attend school as late as 2010. An evaluation of 43 nations shows that 77% of boys and 75% of girls attend primary school. At the secondary level, the trend continues, with 57% of boys and 54% of girls (McFarland et al., 2019). This disparity in education levels and access disadvantages women in accessing socio-economic resources, making them vulnerable to gender-based violence and perpetually dependent on men.
Cultural Norms
Based on physical violence, cultural norms impart in individuals the assumption that a husband has the right to beat his wife to chasten or restrict her. Latzman et al. (2018) state that most incidences of physical assaults against women go unreported. Spouse bashing is also viewed as a husband’s sign of love, and conventional counselors encourage women to accept ‘moderate’ amounts of battering from a male (Latzman et al., 2018). Violence against women is one of the social systems that maintain women’s subordination to men. Because of a misunderstanding, some battered wives will suffer the assault to the point of death.
Personality Traits
Personality traits are the most common reason for gender-based violence. Casey et al. (2018) stated violence is usually ascribed to a person’s personality and behavior. Low confidence and poor impulse control are two of these personality traits. Because a man preserves his sexual exclusivity, extreme jealously breeds violence. Such men limit their spouses’ freedom of mobility. Unresolved childhood disputes or conflicts, which may show as violent conduct later in life, are another psychological aspect (Casey et al., 2018). An individual’s inability to provide for his family due to low socio-economic status or other conditions may become violent. Another psychological cause of violence is mental illness or dysfunctional behavior.
The Effects of Gender-Based Violence
Domestic violence against women has been a long-standing issue in society. According to Wirtz et al. (2018), women are often perceived as weak, vulnerable, and easily exploited. Violence against women has long been accepted as an unavoidable feature of life. Physical prowess and stature differences contribute to the gender imbalance in domestic violence. Furthermore, in numerous societies around the world, women are socialized into their gender roles (Wirtz et al.,2018). Women in patriarchal societies with stringent gender norms are typically unprepared to protect themselves if their husbands become violent.
Gender-based violence has immediate and long-term consequences, including missed work, poor physical and mental health, out-of-pocket expenses for obtaining therapies, and replacement prices (Wirtz et al., 2018). It also has long-term consequences for outcomes such as the accumulation of education, skills, and experience in the workforce. Gender-based violence happens at the personal, relational, home, public, and social levels. It maintains gender stereotypes that undermine an individual’s human dignity and impedes human development by hurting human health, self-esteem, and livelihoods. Therefore, gender-based violence has an adverse impact on people.
Universal concerns such as growing poverty, food insecurity, a lack of education, and other issues cannot be addressed without full dynamic investment or participation of impacted populations and communities, particularly women. McFarland et al. (2019) claim that although much work remains to be done to assess the impact of gender-based violence on livelihoods, available writing and discoveries show that the burden of violence falls on women. There are social, economic, physical, and psychological impact of gender-based violence. For instance, socially, this violence affects a victim’s ability to accommodate themselves and participate or contribute to the development process. As a result, gender-based violence is the cause of some universal issues such as poverty.
Limits The Right to Education
The impact of human capital on growth has been extensively researched in the literature. There is a lot of evidence that education, as measured by years of schooling, plays an essential role in encouraging economic growth. Gender violence restricts the right to an education, which inhibits one’s ability to be a change agent. Economic progress relies heavily on the education of individuals. According to Wirtz et al. (2018), education is a critical component of economic growth since it directly impacts entrepreneurship, substantially impacts productivity, and boosts employment opportunities and women’s empowerment. As a result, gender-based violence violates fundamental human rights and impedes community social and economic growth. The macro effects of violence can be characterized as affecting human capital, productivity, and well-being, inextricably linked to economic growth.
Reduces Productivity at Work
All kinds of violence undermine an individual’s ability to work and reduce productivity or efficiency. The impact of gender-based violence may be viewed as having a detrimental influence on an individual’s involvement in well-being or health, decreasing productivity, and disrupting the complementary relationship between health and education and skill acquisition. According to Wirtz et al. (2018), human capital model, increasing an individual’s human capital will improve their performance, resulting in higher wages. This means that since gender-based violence adversely affects individuals, productivity is reduced. Therefore, health can be regarded as both a human resource in and of itself, as well as a contributor to other types of human capital, such as education.
Employee Turnover
Women in violent relationships have a high percentage of job loss and turnover and are frequently asked to resign or be fired. According to Wirtz et al. (2018), discovered that victimized women were less likely to work full-time in the year following a gender-based violence event, limiting their ability to take advantage of opportunities for training or skill enhancement. Survivors of gender-based violence cannot freely participate in community efforts that could improve their lives (Wirtz et al., 2018). In addition, domestic violence prevents women from obtaining a meaningful job, increasing women’s unemployment and lowering incomes. It contributes to various challenges affecting women in their professional development.
Social Stigma
Gender-based violence can also contribute to social stigma, adversely affecting a victim. According to Wirtz et al. (2018), social stigma and prejudice may result in psychological trauma, weakness, and inadequacy to engage in productive activities and fully participate in development activities. As a result of their fear of entering into public settings, women who have experienced gender-based violence frequently restrict their access to education, reducing their ability to increase the value and efficiency of their knowledge and skills and limiting their income-generating options. It is particularly heartbreaking to read that some girls have been forced to leave school due to defilement, rape, and frequent sexual harassment, even from teachers.
Inhibits Economic Growth
Most of the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals are jeopardized by violence against girls and women. Gender-based violence in the form of economic abuse is frequently accompanied by the removal of resources for those being abused (Morrow, 2018). This reduces women’s access to and usage of education and political voice assets, limiting their livelihood opportunities such as entering the labor market. A lack of assets and opportunities contributes to household poverty and, as a result, impedes the attainment of the Millennium Development Goal of eradicating poverty and food insecurity (Morrow, 2018). In addition, violence and linked sexual harassment, child abuse, early marriages, and another mistreatment against children shorten their prospects. Thus, gender-based violence is a hindrance to the achievements of millennial goals.
Domestic gender-based violence has an unstable effect on a country’s GDP. This update on gender-based violence in development programs has substantial economic or financial effects, costing approximately 1.2% of GDP in some nations due to reduced efficiency (Kempen 2019). This cost is equivalent to the average spending on primary education in low and middle-income countries. In addition, gender-based violence also has an underappreciated financial cost in terms of health administration and care, police and legal involvement, and related non-appearance. According to Kampen (2019), gender-based violence is responsible for unproductivity in the workplace due to reduced morale. Therefore, this type of violence is economically damaging because it affects an individual productivity at work.
Conclusion
Gender-based violence is one of the researched issues due to its impact on the victims and community. The existing literature has focused on gender-based violence in the home, domestic violence, or intimate partner abuse. This type of violence affects the achievement of millennial goals, hinders education of victims, reduce productivity in the workplace, and lowers the GDP of a country. Based on this, little has been done to determine gender-based violence’s social and economic impact. There is a need to determine the socio-economic effects of gender-based violence. Research in this area will assist in determining the impact of gender-based violence on the economic performance of an individual. People should become more educated on the problem of gender violence as this knowledge might positively influence the world, and individuals may become more tolerant.
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