gender-based violence lec

1. UNDERSTANDING
GENDER-BASED
VIOLENCE

2. WHAT IS GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE?
“Violence involving men and women,
in which the female is usually the victim
and which arises from unequal power
relationships between men and women.”
…evolves in part from women’s subordinate gender
status in society (traditional beliefs, norms and
social institutions legitimize and therefore,
perpetuate violence against women)

3. FIVE INTER-RELATED TYPES OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
 PHYSICAL
 VERBAL
 SEXUAL
 PSYCHOLOGICAL
 SOCIO-ECONOMIC
• GBV is difficult and complex issue and categorizing different
types of violence can never be exact
• all forms of GBV can occur both in the private sphere or in the
public sphere

4. physical
verbal
sexual
psychological
socio-
economic
PHYSICAL VIOLENCE
 beating, kicking, punching, biting
 maiming, burning
 use of objects and weapons
 battering
 sexual assault
 forced abortion
 coercive or forced use of contraceptives
 Female genital mutilation or other traditional
practices harmful to women
 female infanticide

5. physical
verbal
sexual
psychological
socio-
economic
VERBAL ABUSE
 Regular and systematic verbal attacks (often
purposefully targeting sensitive spots
 Put-downs (in private or in front of others)
 Ridiculing, comments and green jokes (about the
“stupidity” of women, sexual availability)
 Use of swear-words
 Humiliating
 Threatening
 Name-calling (e.g., queer, faggot, bayot/bakla)

6. physical
verbal
sexual
psychological
socio-
economic
SEXUAL / SEXUALIZED VIOLENCE
 Rape (as broadly defined; including date rape
and marital rape)
 Acts of lasciviousness
 Forcing to do or watch a sexual act
 Forced unsafe sex
 Sexual harassment
 Reproduction-related abuse – forced pregnancy,
forced abortion, forced sterilization
 Withdrawal of sexual attention
 Prostitution
Using sexuality as a terrain for attack
As with other forms of violence, is related to the
power structure

7. physical
verbal
sexual
psychological
socio-
economic
PSYCHOLOGICAL VIOLENCE
“…acts or omissions causing or likely to cause
mental or emotional suffering of the victim
such as but not limited to intimidation,
harassment, stalking, damage to property,
public ridicule or humiliation, repeated verbal
abuse and mental infidelity. It includes causing
or allowing the victim to witness the physical,
sexual or psychological abuse of a member of
the family to which the victim belongs, or to
witness pornography in any form or to witness
abusive injury to pets or to unlawful or
unwanted deprivation of the right to custody
and/or visitation of common children. “
R.A. 9262 – VAWC Law

8. physical
verbal
sexual
psychological
socio-
economic
SOCIO-ECONOMIC VIOLENCE
 Taking away earnings of the victim
 Not allowing victim to have separate/independent income
(denial of access to and control over productive resources)
 Exclusion from certain jobs
 Lower wages, lack of child care support/benefits
 Dowry-related violence
- means to make victim more vulnerable
to other forms of violence
- reason why other forms of violence are
inflicted

9. Violence against women may be any of the following:
• physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, including
battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related
violence, incest, marital rape, female genital mutilation and other traditional
practices harmful to women, violence by a person other than one's spouse, and
violence related to exploitation;
• Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring within the community,
including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in
educational institutions and elsewhere, and trafficking in women and forced
prostitution;
• physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the
State, such as custodial rape and torture done to women prisoners;
• violation of women's human rights in situations of armed conflict, in particular
murder, systematic rape, sexual slavery, and forced pregnancy; and
• acts of violence such as forced abortion, coercive or forced use of
contraceptives, female infanticide, and prenatal sex selection in which the fetus
is aborted if tests reveal it to be female.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN (VAW) - Any act of gender-
based violence that results in physical, sexual or
psychological harm or suffering to women, including
threats of such acts, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of
liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.

10. Prenatal Prenatal sex selection, battering during pregnancy, coerced
pregnancy (rape during war)
Infancy Female infanticide, emotional and physical abuse,
differential access to food and medical care
Childhood Genital cutting/FGM; incest and sexual abuse; differential
access to food, medical care, and education;
child prostitution
Adolescence Dating and courtship violence, economically coerced sex,
sexual abuse in the workplace, rape, sexual harassment,
forced prostitution
Reproductive Abuse of women by intimate partners, marital rape, dowry
abuse and murders, partner homicide, psychological abuse,
sexual abuse in the workplace, sexual harassment, rape,
abuse of women with disabilities
Old Age Abuse of widows, elder abuse (which affects mostly women)
Gender discrimination throughout a woman's life

11. 3UNDERLYING CAUSES OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
FIRST: there is learning to abuse
SECOND: after someone learns to be violent, they
must have the opportunity to abuse.
This model is consistent with the risk
factors noted that would provide the
opportunity to abuse: power differences
and isolation
THIRD: given learning and opportunity, the
abuser must choose to abuse

12. CYCLE OF
VIOLENCE

13. PHASE 1: TENSION-BUILDING PHASE
•Build Up: Tension between the people in the relationship starts
to increase and verbal, emotional or financial abuse occurs.
•Stand-over: This phase can be very frightening for people
experiencing abuse. They feel as though the situation will explode
if they do anything wrong. The behavior of the abuser intensifies
and reaches a point where a release of tension is inevitable.
PHASE 2: ACUTE EXPLOSION
The peak of the violence is reached in this phase. The perpetrator
experiences a release of tension. This feeling can become
addictive, and the perpetrator may become unable to deal with
anger in any other way.

14. PHASE 3: HONEYMOON STAGE
•Remorse: At this point, the perpetrator starts to feel ashamed. They may
become withdrawn and try to justify their actions to themselves and others. For
example, they may say: “You know it makes me angry when you say that.”
•Pursuit: During the pursuit phase, the perpetrator promises never to be
violent again. They may try to explain the violence by blaming other factors
such as alcohol or stress at work. The perpetrator may be very attentive to the
person experiencing violence, including buying gifts and helping around the
house. It could seem as though the perpetrator has changed. At this point, the
person experiencing the violence will feel confused and hurt but also relieved
that the violence is over.
•Denial phase: Both people in the relationship may be in denial about the
severity of the abuse and violence. Intimacy increases and both people feel
happy and want the relationship to continue, so they ignore the possibility that
the violence could happen again.

15. WHAT CAN BE DONE TO COMBAT GENDER-BASED
VIOLENCE? (some examples of actions)
Awareness-raising
Recognition and legal measures
Effective mechanisms and processes for violence prevention
National committees for gender advancement with a clear paln
of action
Equality ombud / gender ombud
Effective legislation implemented to ensure legal and substantive
equality
Affirmative action (education, employment, etc.)