I am Woman. Hear Me Cry.

One of the biggest global issues currently facing us today is, with little question, gender-based violence. This issue is not only a widespread and persistent in nature, but is one of the top issues of public health currently facing more than half of the global population. Gender-based violence is an issue that is growing across the globe, and without the attention and action of the citizens of the world, is guaranteed to mar our society beyond repair. This violence includes domestic abuse, sexual abuse and rape, genital mutilation and honor killings in countries from the first to third worlds.

Global statistics, compiled by the World Health Organisation, show that in all major countries, including first world countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, 60% of women have or will experience some type of sexual or domestic violence; especially that of rape. In many cases, these acts of violence and sexual abuse are perpetrated by men closest to the victims, including husbands, boyfriends, uncles and fathers. In more than 80% of cases, victims are rendered with extreme depression, isolation, social exclusion and in extreme cases – self harm and suicide.

According to the World Health Organisation, women aged 15 to 45 years old are more likely to be maimed or killed by gender-based violence than by disease, famine, car crashes or war combined. In most countries, especially those of Africa and the Middle East, more than 70% of women that were reported murdered were killed by their partners or spouses. This included domestic murders, as well as bride burnings and honor killings, which are currently legal in more than 30 countries worldwide. Additional surveys, which were conducted globally, including countries like Cambodia, The Democratic Republic of Congo, The United States, The United Kingdom, Romania, Rwanda and many others, suggested that 1/3 of all women in those countries were victims of regular beatings at home; many of which resulted in severe injury. In addition to these facts and figures, it was discovered that in more than 65% of the 127 sovereign nations that are currently recognised by the UN, marital rape and abuse was not recognised by local or national law, leading to an increase in the number of rapes and domestic abuses against spouses across the globe.

However gender-based violence is not isolated strictly to physical abuses against women globally. One of the largest growing concerns of gender-based violence in gender mutilation, which currently takes place across the globe. It is estimated that more than 135 million girls have been genitally mutilated to date. Genital mutilation is the physical castration of the “pleasure centers” of the female anatomy, and is undergone to render the woman with the inability to feel pleasure during sex. In many cases, these procedures are undertaken with no anesthesia, and often result in permanent damage to the female reproductive organs, resulting in infertility. Each year, more than 2 million girls, aged as young as 2 years of age, are subjected to this horrific and archaic practice, leaving long term physical and emotional scars that many will never be able to outrun.

In addition to domestic violence and genital mutilation, a growing form of violence against women is the practice of honor-based killings and bridal burnings. This is the killing of a woman or bride who has deemed to cause “dishonor” to her family. These killings are on the rise, and in 2013, research conducted by the World Health Organisation concluded that this type of violence was rising annually by more than 20%. In these cases, women who have engaged in premarital relations, inappropriate behaviours, or even what is considered to be an unacceptable level of decorum, are subjected to burning by acid and fire, as well as physical mutilation and stonings.
Gender-based violence is not a problem that is currently isolated to one country or region. Living in a first world country like America or the United Kingdom often allows one to view such issues as something removed from immediate care or responsibility, but it is a problem that can be found across the globe – in every culture and country across the globe. It is currently estimated that more than 603 million women currently live in countries where not only is domestic violence not illegal, but is not considered worth pursuit. It is further estimated that more than 2.5 billion women live in countries where rape is either not considered a crime, or is not deemed a criminal offense worth prosecution. In Sao Paulo, Brazil, a woman is estimated to be raped every 15 seconds. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 48 women are raped every hour. In countries like Afghanistan, it is actually a punishable and jailable offense to raped, which leads many victims to hide in shame, never naming or accusing their perpetrators.
We live in an age of unimaginable economic and social growth. In the last century alone, we have seen society reach civil heights that could never have been dreamed in the time of fathers and forefathers. If we hope to build any kind of lasting and perfect society, it is imperative to provide protection to the most vulnerable of our population, including women. If we hope to build a society that is worthy of the name of “progressive” it is absolutely vital that we change this pattern of gender-based violence and make it a globally unacceptable practice. This will require global reforms not only to laws, but to the cultural norms and practices. If we ever hope to change our world, we must first begin by changing ourselves and our views on women around the globe.