The United Nations General Assembly defines “violence against women” as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.” -Wikipedia.
Violence can be dated to as far back as the period that preceded the Enlightenment phase of mankind. Prior to that time, women were usual regarded as subjects to their men. However, with the dawning of the enlightenment age, women became out spoken, dependent, the desire for education and professionalism suddenly sprang up, and women began to take charge of their own affairs. They took up the mantle of leadership, and have since then, occupied one lead role or the other.
It is however sad, that not every woman has been liberated and not every male has ceased to violate a woman at one point or the other, as we still hear of cases of physical, emotional, psychological, sexual and mental slavery which as a result of non-eradication of violence against women.
Research has shown that full grown women that suffer violence, most times get violated by their husbands. Other statistics show that young girls suffer violence by unknown men or their fathers, peers, and the nature of the society at large. Unfortunately, this endangered specie of beings (females) keep quiet about their violation majorly because of fear of the unknown, threat, family traditions and customs, among other factors.
In Sync with the above, research has also shown that men that violate women usually have temper disorders, or lack of care, mother-hood deprivation syndrome and low self-esteem, and it will take the intervention of a psychologist or personal determination on the part of such a man to prevent them from being violent, because eschewing violence is a mental disorder.
Be that as it may, with the ever increasing rate of violence of women, it is high time we looked for lasting solutions that would help curb or reduce this societal decadence, as it has its own effect on the society.
The first corrective measure or recommendation is that mental and health care facilities, alongside experts in the field of both clinical and/or counselling psychology should be put in place for abused/ violated women. This is because women that are abused need special care an attention, and they should know that there is a place where they can be cared for.
Everyone needs a sense of belonging, so, a second recommendation would be proper awareness that abused women should not be stigmatised, especially in Africa and the Middle- East, where women are blamed for every misfortune that be falls a home, and sometimes killed for bringing shame and misfortune to the family. Stigmatisation further prevents victimised women from speaking up about violence.
Please note at this juncture that violence goes beyond physical abuse. When a female’s self- esteem is battered, then she has been violated mentally. Each time she is made to feel less than a child, she has been violated.
Be that as it may, there are preventive measures that can be taken to stop violence. Basically, an intensive campaign could be carried out (in each part of the world depending on the level of violence obtainable therein) for proper education and awareness on violence against women. In this campaign, young girls and women should be told what to do when or if they are about to be violated. This intensive campaign should be strong enough to sensitise women to stand against early child marriage, gender discrimination, forced marriage and other societal vices. If more women are able to expose their abusers, other feeble ones would rise and take charge of themselves, and would probably expose their abusers too.
Women have a right to live without fear of violation. We can make this stop if we want to! It’s International Day to End Violence against Women!