16 Ways that Violence Against Women is Everyone’s Issue and How Empowerment Self-Defense Can Help
Written by Molly Singer
The Global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Against Women is an international campaign started by activists at the inaugural Women’s Global Leadership Institute. “16 Days,” as it has become known, continues to be coordinated by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership. During this global period of awareness and action around Violence Against Women and Girls, I am simultaneously delighted and outraged. I am delighted for the sisterhood in shining a light on this epidemic, which is far worse and far longer than COVID; outraged that is it 16 mere days, and that it needs the light shining on it. I think: how much can I do? And I ask that question locally and globally. What can I do locally, make contributions – yes! This year, that was not enough – so, I made a personal commitment to speak to 16 people about this epidemic. I asked for ten minutes of their time, and I baked cookies. Here is what I hear: Violence Against Women is Not My Issue.
Whaat?!
Then I am told what their issues are something like: housing, drug recovery, the environment, politics, peace and justice; racial justice, etc.
I change my tact: violence against women is all of those things. This is when my colleagues look at me kindly and smile as if I am selling them encyclopedias. I see the doors of their minds start to shut. I shove another cookie in their hand and make this agreement. If, in five minutes you are not convinced that VAWG is not your issue you can have the rest of these cookies. I make excellent cookies, so this is a great deal. Below are 16 of my responses with a spin toward Empowerment Self Defense.
Issues & Violence Against Women & Girls
1. Environmental Resources: Research findings demonstrate that ending GBV, promoting gender equality and protecting the environment can be positively linked in ways that contribute to securing a safe, sustainable and equitable future. Gender-based violence and environment linkages: The violence of inequality
The values of equity and respect for all that are central to empowerment-based self-defense training are also central to the kinds of communities that do not perpetrate large-scale environmental harm.
2. Extractive Mining: For women working as miners and in the industry, sexual harassment is the most common form of violence. Additionally, women provide sexual services in return for assistance. There are also noted cases of rape and sexual violence and murder of women working in mines in South Africa. Sexual and Gender based violence in the Mining Sector in Africa
Through ESD, women learn to recognize the warning signs of violence, flee when possible, and seek help through trusted sources.
3. Urban Blight: Evidence suggests that reducing alcohol availability, improving street connectivity, and providing green housing environments can reduce interpersonal domestic violence. Neighborhood Interventions to Reduce Violence
ESD instructors often focus on serving those who need training most, including women who are unhoused, or at risk of being unhoused. These skills help women seek help, collaborate with others, and advocate for strategies to counteract the pollution.
4. Global Climate Change: In periods of prolonged drought, women make more frequent and longer journeys to obtain food or water, which makes them vulnerable to sexual assault. Food vendors, farmers or landowners at times insist on trading sex in exchange for food or rent. Why Climate Change Fuels Violence Against Women.
ESD teaches individual skills to avoid and defend oneself from aggression and attacks. The skills taught in empowerment-based self-defense training mirror those required to build communities and work together on issues that require a group response.
Public Health & Disease Control
1. HIV/ AIDS: Through rape/sexual assault or indirectly through fear of violence and difficulties for women in controlling and negotiating safe sex and condom use. Violence in childhood may also increase sexual risk behavior and thereby risk of acquiring HIV. Violence Against Women and HIV
ESD teaches verbal negotiation skills as well as how to defend oneself against sexual assault.
2. Mental Health: Consequences include increased incidences of depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and suicide; increased risk of cardiovascular disease; and premature mortality. The health consequences of violence vary with the age and sex of the victim as well as the form of violence. Health Affairs, Vol. 38, No. Effects Of Violence On Health
ESD training provides a range of wellness tactics and participants are taught how to build communities to change norms and conversations. ESD can also facilitate healing for those dealing with mental health issues from past trauma.
3. Child Nutrition: Maternal sexual domestic violence predicted lower adjusted z-scores for height-for-age and weight-for-height as well as higher odds of stunting and underweight, factors associated with poor child nutrition, itself a predictor of well-being into adulthood. Domestic Violence and Child Nutrition in Liberia.
After taking ESD trainings, women are more confident to travel further from home for the opportunity to work (to earn money to buy more nutritious food) and shop for nutritious food
4. Drugs & Addiction: Experiencing violence within a relationship can lead to alcohol consumption as a method of coping or self-medicating. Drug and alcohol consumption, especially at harmful and hazardous levels1 is a major contributor to the occurrence of intimate partner violence and links between the two are manifold. Intimate Partner Violence and Alcohol.
ESD teaches women to anticipate, recognize and avoid instances of violence. ESD builds self-efficacy skills that help individuals to avoid, reduce, or stop personal drug use and to seek supports.
Supporting Low Income Families
1. Housing: Violence against women is a leading cause of homelessness. Women may become homeless after fleeing an abusive relationship. Statistics show that domestic violence survivors are discriminated against when finding new housing. A lack of affordable housing and housing assistance further limits the options available to these women. National Law Center
ESD provides skills for women to de-escalate violence within and around their home. Since violence is a leading cause of homelessness, less violence could reduce chances of eviction
2. Jobs: Victims of domestic violence lose nearly 8 million days of paid work per year in the U.S., resulting in a $1.8 billion loss in productivity for employers. Society of Human Resource Managers.
Accessing ESD training is shown to reduce attempted and completed violence against women. Less violence means that women have more autonomy and greater ability to fully participate as equals in public life, including employment.
3. Children: Children who witness violence against women are at higher risk for health problems as adults. These can include mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety. They may also include diabetes, obesity, heart disease, poor self-esteem, and other problems. Effects of Domestic Violence on Children. A study on 1,116 twins found that childhood exposure to IPV was related to a decreased IQ compared to unexposed children, and the severity and number of violent episodes exposed to at home were associated with a greater decrease in IQ
Through ESD, women and children learn how to recognize the warning signs of violence, protect themselves, flee when possible, and seek help through trusted sources.
4. Education: Pre-school children will react to inter-parental conflict in a variety of ways including becoming withdrawn, anxious, engaging in repetitive play, regressive behavior, having inhibited independence, sleep problems, tantrums or impaired understanding.
The self-defense skills taught in empowerment-based classes enable youth to avoid and defend against aggression, which helps them attend and complete school.
War & Peace
1. Government: Girls and women throughout the world continue to be marginalized from the political sphere due to restrictive laws and institutional barriers; discriminatory cultural practices; and disproportionately low access to quality education, healthcare, and resources. However, reversing discriminatory policies and practices is possible and has been done. Meeting the demand to invest in women’s political participation and decision-making power is linked to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Strengthen Girls’ and Women’s Political Participation and Decision-Making Power.
ESD teaches self-defense skills applicable for those facing aggression and intimidation against voting. Likewise, ESD teaches the skills necessary for the kind of community collaboration that can lead to women’s increased government representation.
2. Survivors of Wartime Violence: Women survivors suffer from unresolved and untreated trauma, lack access to mental health care, and face economic hardships due to community stigma. Family members are susceptible to secondary traumatic stress. Intimate partner violence was found to be generally higher among survivors. Long-Term Effects of Wartime Sexual Violence on Women and Families.
Survivors who are taught ESD recover more quickly from trauma and experience less intense impacts.
3. Refugees / People on the Move: Female refugees are vulnerable to sexual and physical violence; they are at risk of being brutalized by human traffickers or even border security forces. Even after exiting a conflict zone, safety can be elusive. Staying in a refugee camp within the country of origin or seeking protection elsewhere brings serious threats to women’s security, freedom and health. Protecting Female Refugees Against Sexual & Gender-based Violence in Camps
Individuals taught empowerment-based self-defense skills are less likely to experience sexual and physical violence.
4. Economics: Women who are exposed to intimate partner violence are employed in higher numbers in casual and part-time work, and their earnings are 60%t lower. Annual costs of intimate partner violence are at $5.8 billion in the United States of America and $1.16 billion in Canada. In Australia, it is $11.38 billion per year. Domestic violence alone costs approximately $32.9 billion in England and Wales. Research indicates that the cost of violence against women could amount to around 2 per cent of the global gross domestic product (GDP). This is equivalent to $1.5 trillion, approximately, the size of the economy of Canada. The Economic Costs of Violence Against Women.
Empowerment-based self-defense training includes skills that can help women exercise more autonomy, demand that their rights be respected, and build communities that serve their needs. Bottom line: access to ESD reduces violence, and reduced violence positively impact national economies.
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I respect individuals’ choices about supporting and following issues that speak to them. Our world needs lots of help and support. However, understanding the profound impact that Violence Against Women and Children across global and local systems is crucial. So far my tactic is working and awareness about and support for ESD is growing.
And, I still have my tin of cookies!
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