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Unit 8 - Gender-based Violence (Section 2: Forms of GBV (2.2 International…
Unit 8 - Gender-based Violence
Section 1 - Understanding GBV
1.1 Definitions
GBV - violence committed on the gendered identities of the perpetrator and the victims
DEVAW -- VAW is any form of physical, sexual or psychological harm to women - recognizes that at the root of GBV is an issue of power
Public vs. private forms of GBV
Need to understand the social context in which GBV is performed - norms, rules - intersectionality analysis
Tackling GBV - preventive measures, awareness/education, condoning violence
GBV - magnitude of the problem is unknown due under reporting
UN Report on Women 2015 - research at country level is increasing to understand magnitude, causes and potential solution
1.2 Statistics
WHO - 35% of women experienced violence
Other statistics - 200 million FGM cases; 120 million rape cases; 700 million child brides; 21 million trafficking cases (70% are women, and 45% are of sexual nature)
Gender violence is more prevalent in some cultures - difficult to map due to lack of evidence.
Key reading - Hume
- GBV is based on socially constructed norms; men invoke a range of strategies to justify their use of violence (e.g. language); police dissuade women from reporting the father of their children
1.3 Causes of GBV
Causes of GBV are often claimed to be cultural - but caution must be taken in describing these acts as cultural to avoid perpetuating and reinforcing them
GBV is multifactorial - economic, political, social, psychological issues
Important not to over-emphasize these factors as they undermine people's agency in the violent acts
Pick up et al
- at the root cause of GBV is the issue of power dynamics
Walby
- 6 structures of the patriarchy
Violence
Household
State
Employment
Sexuality
Culture
Hunnicut
- theory of varieties of patriarchy
Attempts to explain why men commit more violence than women - women commit same violence, but patriarchal systems direct aggression in different ways
Gordon
- women have more to lose - they commit violence in less explicit ways - verbally and socially manipulative acts
Kandiyotti
bargaining with the patriarchy - attempts to explain why women tend to consent with their oppression - because they have limited options
Heise
- ecological framework for understanding violence - violence at 4 levels (personal history, micro, ecosystem and macro)
Risk factors - individual level, relational, community and society
1.4 Case Study - Afghanistan
Amunallah period and Democratic Organization - gender reform laws
Seen by tribal and religious leaders as challenging family structures - rural revolts led by Mujahideen - to return Afghanistan to Islamic values
Reforms were reversed - increase in rapes and murders against women
Women maintained ties of social kinship - to protect themselves against the patriarchy - linked to Kandiyotti's bargaining with the patriarchy
Violence in Afghanistan due to intersection of
Deeply embedded gender norms and patriarchal structures
Foreign interventions - KSA, USA, Iran and Pakistan
Customary pracitces
No laws against VAW
Reforms in 2014 - EVAW; however, implementation is poor because it requires evidence, government commitment, and women need to report
Key Readings
Jakobsen
Violence against women in Tanzania - notions of good vs. bad wife-beating
Jewkes et al
Need to understand linkages between violence and masculinity
Recent interventions - focus on men to revert the patterns of gender violence
Section 2: Forms of GBV
2.1 Conflict and GBV
The presence of violence in conflict is linked the concept of militarized masculinitiies
Goldstein
- the concept of militarized masculinity is linked to society's encouragement of men to suppress their emotions
Cohn
- Study of US Military - Negative feminine terms and positive masculine terms
Most common form of violence in conflict - rape
Merry
rape is used as a form of ethical cleansing and has a lingering impact even after the end of the war
Rwanda and Yugoslavia
2.2 International Legislation
Beijing Platform - made no explicit mention of rape as a war crime
1994 - After int'l tribunals of Rwanda and Yugoslavia - first time recognition of rape as a war crime
1998 - conviction of Akayesu
2016 - First conviction of ICC of rape as an explicit crime of war - Head of Movement of Liberation of Congo
Legislation is difficult because
High cost and slow process
Reluctance to report
Hence -->
Mukengree
--> victims need support of the community - and need to change attitudes on violence
2.3 Global sex Trafficking
Global sex trafficking is a gendered violence because - 70% of victims are women; and 45% of cases are of sexual nature/exploitation
Factors perpetuating the problem
High profitability
Citizenship issues
Socioeconomic conditions
Organized crime groups
War and conflict
Views on sex work
Reformists
- legalize sex work because criminalization only detracts resources and efforts away from those in need and further marginalizes them
Abolitionists
- criminalizing the act is the most effective way - because if it is legalized, then this encourages and perpetuates the exploitation of women, children and other victims
Difficulty getting exact numbers
Covert nature of the act
In-border trafficking
Legislation
90 countries with legislation against it; 16 countries with partial legislation; and 9 countries with no legislation
Protocol for Prevention and Punishment of Trafficking in Individuals
Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants
2.4 Private forms of violence
FGM
Definition of FGM
Motivations behind FGM - linked in problematic ways of concepts of marriageability, sexuality and modesty
200 million victims - mostly in North Africa
Debates on terminology
Ahmadu
- a support of the act - argues that Western feminists do not understand the contexts in which FGM takes place - and argue that women in the West undergo the knife to meet beauty standards of their cultures
However, question of free will - FGM is conducted on minor age girls
Tackling the problem
UN Resolution Against FGM
CEDAW
African Charter on Human Rights
Difficulty - covert act; medicalized FGM; black market
WHO Response
Strengthening health sector response
Advocacy
Building evidence/awareness
Early forced marriage
Bunting and Merry
- potential benefits of the act as they pull girls out of poverty
2.5 Impacts of GBV
Health effects - physical, psychological and sexual health
Economic effects - state, individual and society costs
Educational effect - multigenerational impact
Tackling GBV
International Legislation
Vienna Declaration - against gender bias in justice administration
DEVAW - recognized that the root cause is power dynamics
SDG 5 - elimination of violence and harmful practices; and increase access to reproductive health services
2012 UN Resolution Against FGM - tackle it through education, awareness, punitive measures and advocacy
National Legislation
Needs to complement int'l regulation to have an impact - government commitment is important
Challenges to the law
People lack knowledge of their rights
Costly - time and resources
Fear of repercussions - reluctance to report
Need for a coordinated approach - government, CS, media, NGOs, educators, health-care providers, etc.
Short-term support - dealing with immediate impact; providing support for victims
Long-term support - advocacy, awareness and policy change
Pick up et al
- methods to deal with violence
National legislation
Education
Awareness
Mainstreaming work against violence in development work
Working with healthcare provides to improve their response