Today, November 25th, is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The World Health Organization treats violence against women as an epidemic. Intimate partner violence—violence exerted against women by a partner or ex-partner—along with sexual violence, constitutes a major public health problem and a violation of women’s human rights. Worldwide, almost one third (30%) of women who have been in a relationship report having experienced some form of physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner at some point in their lives. Globally, up to 38% of murders of women are committed by a male intimate partner. Violence against women negatively impacts women’s physical, mental, sexual, and reproductive health. Gender-based violence carries international consensus, with the Council of Europe adopting the Istanbul Convention.
In Spain, we have the 2004 Law and the 2017 State Pact signed by all political parties. This consensus does not prevent outdated debates over terminology from reemerging. Gender-based violence, male violence, or violence against women is named as such to focus attention on the grave problem shown by the aforementioned data. As with equal opportunity or the fight against racism, language is a vital tool that makes issues visible or invisible. Why isn’t it simply “family violence”? Why isn’t violence just “violence,” without gender? Because gender-based violence is that which is inflicted upon women “simply for being women”—a violence historically legitimized across nearly all societies and cultures.
More than 1,027 women murdered in Spain since 2003
If we frame this from a healthcare perspective, it becomes much clearer. Telling a patient they have a “generic disease” is not the same as diagnosing them with lung cancer. If issues are treated generically, we fail to address the root cause. In violence against women, the cycle of violence, guidelines, and key indicators are well understood; therefore, subsuming it under general violence is neither helpful nor desirable if eradication is the goal. The World Health Organization states that while preventing violence against women requires a multisectoral approach, the health sector has a vital role to play. The health sector can raise awareness that violence against women is unacceptable and must be treated as a public health issue.
It can provide comprehensive services and train healthcare providers to respond to victims’ needs empathetically and thoroughly. It can prevent recurring acts of violence by promptly identifying women and children who are victims, referring them to relevant services, and offering necessary support. It can promote gender norms establishing equality between men and women as part of psychosocial skills and comprehensive sex education programs for youth. It can generate scientific evidence to determine effective strategies and measure the problem’s scope by conducting population surveys or integrating violence against women into demographic health surveys and health surveillance systems.
Gender-based violence is also largely overlooked among risk factors in mental health, despite being one of the primary risk factors for affected women and their children who become involuntary witnesses. Abuse is the underlying cause of 25% of suicide attempts among women, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Yet this link between male violence and mental health issues remains invisible and ignored in public health policies. At this link you can download WHO guidelines for clinical practice and policy.
[Sources: El País, WHO] [Image credit: @fairytailphotography]
En el sector del ocio, la formación continua es la mejor herramienta de prevención.
Si quieres elevar los estándares de protección de tu establecimiento o recibir más información sobre nuestras jornadas de concienciación, contacta con nosotros hoy mismo y construyamos juntos un entorno más seguro.
