# **CHAPTER I: DEFINITIONS, CONSEQUENCES, COSTS, AND RISK FACTORS**

# **DEFINITIONS AND RATIONALE**

## **_Definition of “gender-based” violence_**

In 1993, the United Nations General Assembly defined violence against women as follows: _"Violence against women" means any act of_ **_gender-based violence_** _that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivations of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life._ - 1993 UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women The General Assembly went on to present a partial list of what it felt constituted gender-based violence, including:

- physical, sexual and psychological violence within the family

- child sexual abuse

- dowry-related violence

- marital rape

- female genital mutilation

- rape and sexual abuse

- sexual harassment in the workplace and educational institutions

- trafficking in women

- forced prostitution.

The 1993 United Nations Declaration referred to “gender-based” to highlight the links between violence against women and women’s subordinate status. International research provides compelling evidence that violence against women is rooted in gender inequities and is both tolerated and sometimes even condoned by laws, institutions and community norms that discriminate against women and girls (Heise, Ellsberg and Gottemoeller, 1999). Gender-based violence is thus not only a manifestation of gender inequality, but often serves to enforce it. Men often use violence to punish perceived transgressions of gender roles, to show authority, and to save honor. Violence against women is often considered normal and justified by the broader society rather than a criminal act, and victims instead of perpetrators are often blamed and stigmatized. Violence against women, therefore, cannot be understood in isolation from the gender norms, social structures and roles that influence women's vulnerability to violence.

While men experience higher levels of overall violence than women as a result of war, gang-related activity, street violence, and suicide, women and girls are more likely to be assaulted or killed by someone they know, often by a family member or an intimate partner. For example, studies from Australia, Canada, Israel, South Africa and the United States have found that 40-70% of female murder victims are killed by their husbands or boyfriends, compared to only 4-9% of men; small-scale studies from developing countries report similar findings (Heise and Garcia Moreno, 2002). The bonds of family, economic and emotional dependence that accompany intimate partner violence make prevention and protection particularly complex.

Women are also much more likely than men to be sexually assaulted as children, adolescents or adults, and the vast majority of perpetrators of sexual violence are male, as are virtually all perpetrators of rape (Heise, Ellsberg and Gottemoeller, 1999). Contrary to popular belief, most women know their attackers; studies typically report that between 60% and 80% of perpetrators of sexual assault are known to the victim (again see Heise, Ellsberg and Gottemoeller, 1999). In addition to intimate partners, perpetrators often include stepfathers, fathers, other relatives, authority figures, and acquaintances. Women and girls experience high levels of sexual violence by strangers in selected settings, notably situations of armed 8