Sexual abuse against women

Violance against women

'Ghairat k nam pe aurat katal'… news that we are used to hear since our childhood. Women abuse or violence against women is a century old problem with no definative solution till date.Estimates published by WHO indicate that globally about 1 in 3 (30%) of women worldwide have been subjected to either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime.

It might not be easy to identify domestic violence at first. While some relationships are clearly abusive from the outset, abuse often starts subtly and gets worse over time.

Types

Abuse can be verbal e.g calling names, restricting to go out of house or spent money on yourself or it can be physical like Hits, kicks, shoves, slaps, chokes or otherwise hurts you, your children or Forces you to have sex or engage in sexual acts against your will.Now lets take example of COVID-19 as how it exacerbate risks of violence for women

• Stress, the disruption of social and protective networks, and decreased access to services can all exacerbate the risk of violence for women. 

• As distancing measures are put in place and people are encouraged to stay at home, the risk of  violence is likely to increase. For example:The likelihood that women in an abusive relationship and their children will be exposed to violence is dramatically increased, as family members spend more time in close contact and families cope with additional stress of job losses.

 Women may have less contact with family and friends who may provide support and protection from violence.

Women bear the brunt of increased care work during this pandemic. School closures further exacerbate this burden and place more stress on them.

Effect of violance

Violence can negatively affect women’s physical, mental, sexual, and reproductive health, and may increase the risk of acquiring HIV in some settings.

Whats the solution?

Violence against women is preventable.Unfortunately in our society women rarely reports violance done by their partner and if so only to their close family members who not only discourage her to seek any kind of help but also reassure her that its normal for husband to be violant and you have to bear it for sake of your children. The need of hour is to educate our population about women rights and to break the \"taboo\" of 'log kya kahe ga'.The health sector has an important role to play to provide comprehensive health care to women subjected to violence, and as an entry point for referring women to other support services they may need.

Referance

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/domes...