• UNIT 4 GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AND CHILD ABUSE

    Key Unit Competence:
    To be able to protect the individual and stand against GBV and child
    abuse.

    Introductory Activity:

    Read the story below about Uwera and her family and discuss the
    questions below it.
    Muhire came home from a drinking spree one day and found his daughter
    Uwera occupied doing her homework quietly. He hit her because the
    door to that led outside was still open. He then ordered his six year old
    son who was already asleep to get up and take in all the construction
    material that was lying outside despite them being too heavy for him. As
    if that was not enough, he slapped his wife who was cleaning utensils
    and ordered her to serve him food. The following day, when Uwera left
    school, she felt too afraid to go back home and so she sought refuge
    at her friend’s home, only to be raped by her friend’s brother who was
    under the influence of drugs. This affected Uwera so much that she later
    committed suicide.
    Questions
    1. What forms of violence do we find in this family?
    2. What are the causes of violence?
    3. What are the consequences of this violence?
    The activity above describes a number of different types of gender-based violence
    and some of their consequences. Gender based violence can happen in various
    forms i.e. physical, psychological, sexual and economic violence.
    4.1 Concept and forms of gender based violence
    Learning Activity 4.1
    Read the following story

    Umulisa and Gatete twins children born in a harmony family. Their
    mother died when they were in primary school. Their father got married
    with another wife. The stepmother obliged them to leave the school
    while they were in senior one at 14 years old and came to help her in
    domestic activities. They always obliged to wake up at 4:00 am and carry
    out waste to the land to cultivate up to evening and coming back home
    with animal grasses. At 15years old Umurisa leaved home to the town to
    look for a job. In the way, a seropositive person raped Umulisa. After one
    month, she went to the health centre for test exam and realised that she
    was pregnant and contaminated of HIV/AIDS.
    1. What forms of violence do we find in this story?

    2. What are the causes of violence?

    Gender based violence
    Gender based violence is defined as any act that results in a bodily, psychological,
    sexual and economical harm to somebody just because they are female or male.
    Such act results in the deprivation of freedom and negative consequences. This

    violence may be exercised within or outside house holds.

    It includes physical, sexual and psychological violence such as domestic violence;
    sexual abuse, including rape and sexual abuse of children by family members; forced
    pregnancy; sexual slavery; traditional practices harmful to women, such as honour
    killings, burning or acid throwing, female genital mutilation, dowry-related violence;
    violence in armed conflict such as murder and rape; and emotional abuse, such as
    coercion and abusive language.
    Trafficking of women and girls for prostitution, forced marriage, sexual harassment
    and intimidation at work are additional examples of violence against women.
    Gender violence occurs in both the ‘public’ and ‘private’ spheres. Such violence
    not only occurs in the family and in the general community, but is sometimes also
    perpetuated by the state through policies or the actions of agents of the State such
    as the police, military or immigration authorities.
    Gender-based violence happens in all societies, across all social classes, with
    women particularly at risk from men they know.
    Child abuse
    Child abuse occurs when a parent or a caregiver, whether through action or failing to
    act causes injury, death, emotional harm or risk of serious harm to the child.
    Application activity 4.1
    1. Describe gender-based violence as witnessed in your community
    2. Suggest possible ways of controlling Gender based violence.
    4.2 Forms and consequences of gender-based violence
    Learning activity 4.1

    Using various resources search, explain and present forms of gender
    based violence
    Physical violence
    Physical assault: Beating, punching, kicking, biting, burning, maiming or killing,
    with or without weapons, often used in combination with other forms of genderbased
    violence Perpetrated by spouse, intimate partner, family member, friend,

    acquaintance, stranger or anyone in apposition of power.

    Emotional/Psychological violence
    Abuse/ humiliation: Insulting, degrading, demanding, and compelling the victim to
    engage in humiliating acts, whether in public or private, denying basic expenses for

    family survival.

    Confinement: Isolating a person from friends/family, restricting movements,
    deprivation of liberty or obstruction, restriction of the right to free movement.
    Sexual violence
    • Rape: The fact that a person is involved in sexual intercourse without consent
    by force, intimidation, paying prices among others.
    • Conjugal rape: Coercing a spouse into sexual relation without that spouse’s
    consent, by way of force, intimidation, paying prices among others.
    • Sexual abuse: Actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature,
    including inappropriate touching, by force or under unequal or coercive
    conditions.
    • Sexual harassment: Any unwelcome or unsolicited sexual attention, demand
    for sexual access or favours, sexual innuendo or other verbal or physical
    conduct of a sexual nature, or display of pornographic material.
    • Sexual exploitation / Sexual slavery aimed at achievement of selfsatisfaction:
    Any abuse of a position of vulnerability, difference in power
    relation or abuse of trust for sexual purposes.
    • Forced sodomy/analrape: Forced/coerced anal intercourse, usually male to
    male or male to female.
    • Forced prostitution: Forced/coerced sex in exchange for material resources,
    services and assistance, usually targeting highly vulnerable women or girls
    unable to meet basic human needs for themselves and/or their children.
    • Sexual violence as a weapon of war and torture: Crimes against humanity
    of a sexual nature, including rape, sexual slavery, forced abortion or
    sterilization or another form to prevent birth, forced pregnancy, forced

    delivery, and forced child rearing, among others.

    Socio-Economic Violence
    • Economic violence: Occurs when the abuser has complete control over the
    victim’s money and other economic resources.
    • Discrimination and /or denial of opportunities, services: Exclusion, denial of
    access to education, health assistance or remunerated employment, denial
    of property rights.
    Social exclusion /ostracism based on sexual orientation
    Denial of access to services, social benefits or exercise and enjoyment of civil, social,
    economic, cultural and political rights, imposition of criminal penalties, discriminatory
    practices or physical and psychological harm and tolerance of discriminatory
    practices, public or private hostility to homosexual, transsexuals or transvestites.
    4.3. Consequences of gender-based violence
    Learning activity 4.3

    Search and explain the consequences of gender based violence and

    child abuse

    From the above discussion, you realize that gender based violence can lead to
    various effects on an individual, families and the entire community. These may
    include the following:
    Consequences on Health
    Individual consequences to the victim:

    • Injury
    • Disability or death
    • STDs and AIDS
    • Injury to the reproductive system including menstrual disorders
    • Child bearing problems
    • Infections
    • Miscarriages
    • Unwanted pregnancies
    • Unsafe abortions
    • Depression, leading to chronic physical complaints and illnesses
    • Loss of sexual desire and painful sexual intercourse
    • Difficult pregnancy and labour, chronic pain and infection

    • Infertility

    Impact on wider society:
    • Strain on medical system
    • High economic expenses for medical care for victims of GBV
    Effect on availability of human resources as victims cannot participate in the
    development and economic growth of the country.
    B. Psychological
    Individual consequences to the victim

    • Emotional damage including anger, fear, resentment and self-hate
    • Shame, insecurity, loss of ability to function and carry out daily activities
    • Feelings of depression and isolation
    • Problems sleeping and eating
    i) Mental illness and thoughts of hopelessness and suicide
    ii) Gossip, judgments made about the victim, blaming the victim, treating the
    victim as a social outcast
    Impact on wider society
    • Expensive, drain on community resources; family, neighbors, friends, schools,
    community leaders, social service agencies, etc.
    • If perpetrators are not apprehended or arrested, this sends a strong
    message that the behaviour is somehow acceptable, leading to further
    incidents.
    C. Legal/justice system
    Strain on police/court resources already challenged and over burdened

    • Lack of sensitivity to the issues on the part of some judges and legal officers.
    • Costs incurred by the victim.
    Lack of access to legal system due to lack of knowledge of existing laws or victims

    reluctant to report due to heavy stigma attached to sexual abuse

    Application activity 4.3
    Debate and discussion on how separated or divorced parents,
    spinsterhood, and bachelorhood are related to GBV and affect

    children

    4.4. Linkage between gender-based violence, HIV and AIDS and
    STIs.
    Learning activity 4.4

    Using various resources search and discuss the types of gender based
    violence, which can lead to the spread of HIV and AIDS and

    STIs

    In your discussion, you may realize that most of the common HIV and AIDS and
    STI infections are either a result or a cause of gender-based violence.
    The following are some of them:
    i) Rape/Sexual Assault
    Forced or coerced sex increases women’s vulnerability to HIV infection
    by severely limiting, if not destroying, women’s ability to negotiate safe sexual
    behaviour. In situations of rape, condom use is rare.
    ii) Intimate partner violence
    Many abusive partners are less likely to use condoms thus leading to HIV
    and AIDS.
    iii) Violence against HIV positive women.
    Women who are or who are even perceived to be infected with the HIV
    virus face considerable risk of violence, discrimination, ostracisation and
    abandonment, including by their partners or other family members, all over
    the world.
    iv) Sexual violence in conflict
    Women and girls are at greatly increased risk of violence in times of war and
    conflict. Under these conditions, acts of violence include strategic use of rape
    and gang rape, forced pregnancy, forced marriages with enemy soldiers,
    sexual slavery and mutilations are perpetrated by various community and
    state actors, including soldiers, members of militias and police.
    v) Violence against sex workers
    It is estimated that sex workers, who on a global level are mostly young
    and female, may number in the tens of millions. Statistics indicate that
    HIV prevalence among sex workers is high in many regions. Sex workers
    are more vulnerable to HIV infection and violence because they are often
    demonized and discriminated against, as well as invisible in decisionmaking
    processes.
    vi) Trafficking
    Trafficking is a form of violence in which people, primarily women and children,
    are forcibly transported from their home communities through the use of threat or
    violence or other coercive means and placed in forced labor, servitude or slaverylike
    practices, including but not limited to forced marriage and forced prostitution.
    In each of these situations, women may experience abuse differently from men,
    and may be targeted in ways directly related to their gender.
    D. Mechanism to respond to gender based violence
    The following are some mechanism to respond to gender based violence
    i) Health Care i.e, providing necessary health care to the victims
    ii) Psycho-social counseling to the victim
    iii) Putting in place strong policies, laws, programs and regulations that prevent
    Gender Based violence of any kind in the society
    iv) Legal assistance in case of abuse or any related acts of violence
    v) Community Awareness and Training about gender based violence
    vi) Capacity Building for Local Women’s Organisations

    vii) Skills Training, Economic Opportunities and other Rehabilitation Programs

    Application activity 4.4
    1. Discuss the relationship between gender-based violence and HIV
    and AIDS in the society.
    2. Suggest any 5 methods applied in your community to prevent

    GBV

    4.5. End Unit Assessment
    End unit assessment

    1. Give at least three examples of GBV and three 3 examples of
    child abuse.
    2. Discuss the consequences of GBV and child abuse on socioeconomic
    development of a country.
    3. Explain different strategies put in place by the government of

    Rwanda in order fight against GBV and child abuse.

    UNIT 3 GENDER AND SOCIETYUNIT 5 CONFLICT MANAGEMENT