Women should not be treated badly, because everybody is equally and beautifully created or born. Activists all over the world have created awareness and advocated for this over the years, but despite all the effort, it seems we move five steps forward and eight steps backward. Every person has their own perspective about violence. I personally stand on this has always been equality and justice. Respect is one of the most important values in life, so that can be a good tool against violence.
According to the United Nations Foundation “violence against girls and women is one of the most pervasive, fundamental violations of human rights in the world and the reasons for the occurrence is because of longstanding, systemic gender inequality in the countries all over the world. It’s also bad because it diminishes one’s dignity, liberty, and rights of the person, with murder being its extreme form for silencing the individual.
Domestic violence can be defined as any incident of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviors. For me, violence is controversial because when we say something is controversial, it means that they are the subject of intense public argument, disagreement, or disapproval. And double standard also, which is a rule or principle that is unjustly applied in different ways to different people which is not normal. In an intimate relationship, this usually occurs when one partner has expectations of the other that they fail to apply to themselves. Negatively violence affects women’s general well-being and prevents women from fully participating in society.
Violence does not only have a negative consequence on the women but also their families, the community and the country at large. It has tremendous costs, from greater healthcare and legal expenses and losses in productivity, impacting national budgets and overall development. According to UN WOMEN, it is estimated that 35 percent of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or sexual violence by a non-partner (not including sexual harassment) at some point in their lives, (https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women).
Evidence shows that some women who have experienced physical or sexual intimate partner violence report higher rates of depression, having an abortion and acquiring HIV, compared to women who have not. Similar to data from regions, in all four countries of a multi-country study from the Middle East and North Africa, men who witnessed their fathers using violence against their mothers, and men who experienced some forms of violence at home as children were significantly more likely to report perpetrating intimate partner violence in their adult relationships.
Violence is usually perpetrated by men who are, or who have been in positions of trust and intimacy and power e.g. stepfathers, brothers, uncles, sons, or other relatives. Exposure to harsh physical discipline during childhood and witnessing the father beating the mother during childhood is a predictor of victimization and perpetration of violence against his wife in adulthood. There are several international instruments to curb violence against women.
The United Nations General Assembly resolution endorsed the urgent need for the universal application of women’s rights of equality, security, liberty integrity, and dignity. In other to prevent this, educating and working with young boys and girls promoting respectful relationships and gender equality. Working with youth is a “best-bet” for faster, sustained progress on preventing and eradicating gender-based violence.
Possible solutions to domestic violence need to include both short and long-term strategies.
Short term strategies should be made up of assistance programs that defend the womanwho has witnessed abuse or currently being abused. They often focus on the critical period faced by the victim after she leaves home and is provided with food, shelter, and guidance.
Long term strategies should aim at educating the public and empowering the victims to reinstate her life without violence. It also includes developing programs that create an atmosphere of anti-domestic violence in the community and having stern laws that punish anyone who is found guilty of this act.
Conclusively, having these measures in place will drastically cut down this act all over the world and every human will have a sense of dignity and equity around the globe. I these suggestions are investigated and executed judiciously, I believe in a few years to come, the statistic of abused person will show a high spike in the positive direction.
