Hesperian Health Guides
Chapter 18: Violence Against Women
How to use this chapter:
This chapter is about violence directed at women and girls because of their gender. This information can help you understand why this violence happens, what you can do about it, and how to work to change the conditions that allow violence in your community. Also see Chapter 19: Rape and Sexual Violence.
This issue affects anyone who identifies as a woman or a girl. In this chapter we describe specific examples of violence against women and girls and share stories of women who have experienced this violence. You may find these descriptions upsetting or difficult to read. Please read with care and refer to the resources for more information and support.
No person should be beaten or abused in any way for any reason.
Every day, women are slapped, kicked, humiliated, threatened, sexually abused, denied resources, and even murdered because they are women. We often do not hear about this gender-based violence (see box below) because these women may feel ashamed and afraid to speak out. Many people, including health workers, do not recognize this violence as the serious health problem it is.
Violence against women happens most often at home and most often by a woman’s partner. But gender-based violence can happen in any close relationship, including between parents and their children or between partners of the same gender. It can also happen between people who do not know each other
Sources
- University of Kansas Center for Community Health and Development Section 8. Establishing a Peer Education Program
- World Health Organization (2021) Violence against women
- Alderton, et al. (2020) Examining the relationship between urban liveability and gender-based violence: A systematic review
- Beyene, et al. (2021) Gender-Based Violence Among Female Senior Secondary School Students in Eastern Ethiopia
- Mittal and Singh (2020) Gender-Based Violence During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mini-Review
- Stark, et al. (2021) Gender-based violence against adolescent girls in humanitarian settings: a review of the evidence
- Tsapalas, et al. (2020) Gender-Based Violence, Perspectives in Latin America and the Caribbean
- USA for UNFPA What is gender-based violence (GBV)?
- Wirtz, et al. (2018) Gender-Based Violence Against Transgender People in the United States: A Call for Research and Programming