The violence that is gender-based and targeted at women continues to be prevalent despite the many developments and progressive changes the modernization of the world has established. As such, the issue’s importance is pressing due to the widespread and incredibly detrimental nature of violence that targets women. The overlapping issue is constructed of a number of smaller challenges that exist due to or in support of violence against women.
These include such acts denying women safety and human rights, creating a cyclical education of violence for children in violent homes, propagating negative traditions and social norms, inciting trauma in later life, and inadequate legal protection for women who endure these circumstances. It is vital to understand the primary causes and ways in which these issues continue to function within society in order to begin dismantling violence against women.
Violence against women does not exist only as a criminal offense but also as discrimination, the denial of safety and human rights to a large part of the human population. The prevalence of the issue is global and continues to hinder progress in the fields of equality, peace, and development.
Often, it obstructs women from implementing such progress by subjecting them to violence. While some cases may suggest that certain women have higher chances of encountering violence due to certain social factors, it was found that social status and cultural background has little impact (Sosa, 2017). Essentially, violence against women is widely prevalent and can hurt any woman, regardless of her background, economic, or social status. It is an issue that inherently targets a population with the intent to limit their agency, safety, and rights as well as cause physical and psychological harm. As such, the importance of the issue cannot be understated or minimized by the general population or the law.
While the connection between violence against children and women does not appear in all cases of violence against women, it remains largely prevalent. Initially, exposure to violence as a child can increase the likelihood of involvement with a partner that may be violent in later adult life. Severe implications occur within a child’s development that has been raised in a violent home, whether the child is a subject or a witness to violence. Such an experience can affect individuals who may become either perpetrators or victims as adults. However, such exposure among girls is more likely to cause them to be victims than boys, who are more likely to be aggressors (Namy et al., 2017). The repetitive and taught nature of violence against women is incredibly dangerous and has yet to be successfully broken. While violent behaviors are often taught, adults who use violence do so by choice and are hazards and poor role models for children who may either be victimized or commit similar offenses in later years.
A number of cultural and systematic standards exist that either excuse or enforce violence against women. These influences often manifest as either traditional, religious, or cultural rules that are widely outdated and inherently harmful to women. A study done in the European Union has found that regardless of country-level characteristics and interviewee attributes, the level of violence and perceived gender roles by partners were linked to increased physical and psychological violence directed at women (Herrero et al., 2017). Women who described partners as traditional and violent depicted the highest rates of IPV and intimate partner violence.
Such aspects of violence against women also provide a repetitive format of discrimination against women. The way violence is taught between parents and children; gendered biases are similarly passed on through traditions. As such, the cessation of violence against women is also linked to challenging traditions and norms that are obviously discriminatory and precursors to violent behavior. Violence against women is ingrained in a number of societal and systematic structures, and it is essential to dispute them.
Currently, little research exists on effective interventions that can support the well-being and recovery of gender-based violence victims. Violence can lead to a variety of trauma that will deeply affect the livelihoods of women, with many being unable to build their careers, families, and interests or, in especially frequent cases, becoming homeless. However, such interventions do exist, and a study that conducted interviews with women who had experienced such violence cited elements that can assist with their well-being. These included the value of safety, women-only spaces, individually tailored psychoeducation, improvements in confidence and coping, relationships, physical health, and future directedness (Reid et al., 2021).
The study suggested that community-oriented and trauma-informed groups would adequately provide such interventions. However, such resources and services are rarely available to women who experienced gender-based violence and continue to suffer from trauma in isolation without guidance. While stopping potential or ongoing violence is important through education and social and legal changes, it is also vital to assess and maintain improvements in the well-being of those that have already become victims.
Despite the many acts and laws that have been passed and directly addressed violence against women, the legal aspect of minimizing such cases is inadequate. While some countries provide better legal protection to women than others, not all victims are able to find support from federal or local authorities. A study that analyzed legal institutions in urban Nicaragua discovered that even the increased number of female officials within these areas does little to improve the treatment of women by police or prosecutors (Neumann, 2017). A number of factors influence such behavior and can include personal prejudices of officials, outdated laws and legal systems, and disregard for gender equality.
The study outlines that only feminist organizations are able to disrupt these processes and provide women with adequate protection. While the introduction of civil society organizations is likely to improve the situation, they are currently few and far between. The importance of inadequate legal structures regarding violence against women continues to be a pressing matter.
While clear solutions exist to not only divert violence, but also re-educate propagators, and support those who have endured such acts, they are not effectively implemented. Women continue to face gender-based hardships in social, legal, family, and other situations that can physically and psychologically harm them. Helping women in individual cases continues to be essential to the cause, but broader approaches are also necessary in order to change the attitude towards the common acceptance of violence against women. This may result in substantial decreases in cases of violence over time but will require enormous changes in not only legal proceedings but ingrained social norms and standards. Despite the scale of the issue, change is possible and necessary in order to begin to see the decline of violence against women.
Works Cited
Herrero, Juan et al. “Intimate Partner Violence against Women in the European Union: The influence of male partners’ traditional gender roles and general violence.” Psychology of Violence, vol. 7, no. 3, 2017, pp. 385-394. Web.
Namy, Sophie et al. “Towards a Feminist understanding of Intersecting Violence against Women and Children in the Family.” Social Science and Medicine, vol. 184, 2017, pp. 40-48. Web.
Neumann, Pamela. “When Laws Are Not Enough: Violence against Women and Bureaucratic Practice in Nicaragua.” Social Forces, vol. 95, no. 3, 2017, pp. 1105-1125. Web.
Reid, Nadine et al. “Promoting Wellness and Recovery of Young Women Experiencing Gender-Based Violence and Homelessness: The Role of Trauma-Informed Health Promotion Interventions.” Violence Against Women, vol. 27, no. 9, 2021, pp. 1297-1316. Web.
Sosa, Lorena. Intersectionality in the Human Rights Legal Framework on Violence against Women: At the Centre or the Margins? Cambridge University Press, 2017.