We must act to stop the "shadow pandemic" of violence against women.

 

We must act to stop the "shadow pandemic" of violence against women.

shadowpandemic_ichhori.webp


·       Violence against women has increased globally as a result of COVID-19.

·       According to recent research, approximately one-fourth of all girls had experienced gender-based violence by the age of 19

·       To stop this, we urgently need to ensure that women's rights are upheld and safeguarded globally.

Globally, violence against women and girls has gotten out of control. According to a recent UN estimate, 736 million women globally, or one in three, have experienced physical and psychological abuse. These numerous forms of abuse, from sexual harassment to intimate partner violence, are extremely destructive to women. And regrettably, since COVID-19 began, the problem has only become worse.

Eradicating the violence against women

A thorough examination of the data reveals that gender-based violence against women begins at a young age: if they have been in a romantic relationship, almost a quarter of all girls have experienced it by the age of 19. The threat of physical and sexual assaults on women's well-being has reached epidemic levels in recent years.

Eliminating violence against women will be one of the most important moral issues of our time. It is also feasible.

The key solution is to focus on survivors.

Connecting women in at-risk communities with legal and personal safety experts can be a crucial role for civil society organisations. These communities include impoverished rural locations where victims of gender-based abuse frequently have nowhere to turn. As a result, sexual assault frequently goes unchecked. As a measure of responsibility and prevention, we must give priority to expanding women's access to legal services. To make up for prior neglect, civil society organisations with the necessary resources must be encouraged to interact with women survivors and their communities.

Violence against women

There are additional places where victims of traditional justice systems may exist. To assist women and girls in this situation, we need local experts. The public leadership hierarchy in places with traditional justice systems, like Eastern Africa, starts with village elders. Service and advocacy organisations should enable discussions regarding persistent stigmas and stereotypes with respected elders.

Elders must be shown the devastating first-hand experiences of sexual assault survivors in order to humanise them. Women survivors may also receive assistance with their mental health from civil society. Together, we must demonstrate that treating survivors with care, rather than marginalising them, is the proper course of action.

To encourage women to consider sharing their stories, international organisations should work with local government officials. Offering survivors protection is essential, and lower-income areas should receive appropriate material support from the international community to construct gender-based violence shelters. Promoting access to feminine care is essential for empowering women as well.

Educating the next generation

Priority must be given to educating the next generation to support women and girls. Effective early education can help reduce violence against intimate partners, according to research funded by the WHO. The message should be localised by domestic women's rights organisations once international institutions have provided guidelines on gender equality education reform. Boys and men should start learning at a young age how to treat women with respect by using appropriate language and body language. In other words, men and boys ought to actively participate in the prevention drive.

It is essential to safeguard the safety of women and girls travelling to school in addition to putting fair and just educational strategies into place. School buses should have ticket inspectors to confirm IDs in areas with a high risk of crime. Education is a key component in the journey out of poverty, according to a case study in Tanzania. Defeating the cycle of poverty and enabling women to comprehend their human rights are both made possible by ensuring women's rights to high-quality education.

Moral action is also smart economics

It is crucial to remind hesitant people of the high economic repercussions of gender inequality in order to motivate decisive action. Humans who are subjected to physical and sexual abuse will see a reduction in their general health and begin to skip work. Every day that abused women miss work, a nation's productivity and overall economic production suffer. Therefore, every government should take action and address violence against women.

Anyone can be harmed by gender-based violence, although some groups are more susceptible than others. For instance, it has a disproportionately negative effect on women and girls who reside in underdeveloped areas. According to UN Women, women in the so-called "least developed nations" have experienced a startling 13 per cent increase in the rate of intimate partner violence over the previous year. This shows that a disproportionate proportion of women in underdeveloped areas experience abuse that may prevent them from advancing the local economy, thereby sustaining a cycle of violence and destitution. The poorest regions of the world will play a major role in the fight against gender-based violence. Poor nations have the chance to accelerate economic growth and reduce poverty by participating in the global movement to end violence against women.

Human rights also include women's rights and vice versa.

Human rights are also the rights of women and vice versa. People dared to envision a more inclusive and compassionate 21st century when this idea was announced during the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. We must act quickly to enhance women's rights because violence against women is once again on the rise.

Previous Post Next Post