Dear Counselor, what is violence against women and what are some of its negative consequences?
The United Nations defines violence against women as “any act that results in or is likely to result in physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.”
Violence against women and girls is a serious major human rights and public health concern. Violence against women encompasses a wide range of abuses, from physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family and in the general community.
Violence against women takes many forms including battering (beating, slapping), sexual abuse of women and girls (rape including marital rape, coerced sex, harassment), female genital mutilation, intimidation and sexual harassment at school and at the place of work, forced prostitution, trafficking for sex and sex tourism, child marriage, widow inheritance and cleansing (both of which increasing HIV infection risk), intimate partner violence, dowry-related violence etc.
In Uganda, violence against women is widespread.
The 2006 Uganda Demographic House Survey (UDHS) found that:
- 60 percent of women (15-19) years had ever experienced physical violence. With 67 percent of those who had experienced physical violence saying an intimate partner was responsible.
- 39 percent reported experiencing sexual violence. With 44 percent of women who had experienced sexual violence saying their current husband or partner was responsible.
- 24 percent of the women reported forced first sexual encounter.
Though violence against women is very rampant, the shame associated with it may contribute to the fact that most women often suffer it in silence, afraid of repercussions and stigma and never tell anyone.
The abused women and girls are more likely to suffer from depression, loss of self-esteem, anxiety, sexual dysfunction and many reproductive health problems including miscarriage and still birth, premature delivery, HIV and Sexuality Transmitted Infections (STIs), unwanted pregnancies and abortions.