We are all provided with our own set of rights to allow us to live safely, comfortably, and harmoniously with other people. That’s the very foundation of communities and societies themselves. Without these rules and regulations, we would probably be living in a dangerous world with each of us trying to harm one another.
Sadly, even with all these rules to guide people, some of us still see the world as a dangerous place. That’s because some people are ready to bend or disregard the law just to get what they want. The group of people who experience this the most is women.
Violence Against Women: Classifications
Women suffer a magnitude of violence from men and other women as well. Unfortunately, with some countries not having a substantial justice system, some of these crimes and unlawful behavior go unpunished. Knowing the different types of violence against women will help you understand how prevalent it really is.
Domestic Violence
Some men, or worse, some cultures, believe that when a man marries a woman, he has the right to own her. However, that should never be the case. Domestic violence refers to any pattern of behavior used to manipulate or gain leverage over an intimate partner. This ranges from physical, mental, emotional, to even sexual violence. If you or someone you know is suffering like this from an intimate relationship, especially if they’re married, you must know where to find trusted divorce lawyers for them to get out of this situation legally.
Sexual Violence
Now that we’ve mentioned it, let’s dive deeper into one of the worst and most prominent forms of violence against women. Sexual violence is an act of maliciousness directed towards women without their consent. This includes physical contact, sexual innuendos, stalking, or even showing a person’s sex organ. We must always be reminded that the US government has signed various laws addressing this issue.
Child Marriage
While this may sound like it has long been eradicated in our society, child marriages are still prominent in many countries. To make matters worse, it has been deeply embedded in their culture that it’s widely accepted by their society. Child marriage occurs when one or both parties are under the age of 18. This was mostly done back in the day to preserve certain families’ wealth and because people believed that the onset of puberty, usually around the age of nine, is a sign that a person can be married. The parents of both parties usually arranged this type of marriage, and neither of the children has a say in the matter. Because of this, a man or a woman is robbed of her opportunity to mature and grow independently, which then leads to other forms of violence.
Human Trafficking
This next form of violence against women is prevalent among third-world countries but is also present in more developed nations. In fact, these developed nations are usually the consumers of this black market. Human trafficking is the exploitation of any person through deception, force, coercion, or fraud for personal gain. This criminal act alone endangers the lives of millions of women worldwide as they are forced to execute various things, usually related to sexual violence.
Digital Violence
We can’t deny that the technological progress we’ve made throughout the decades has been extremely helpful to improve our society, especially in communication. However, something as groundbreaking as this has its downsides, too. That’s because many people, not just big-time criminals and consumers but also average users of technological devices, commit digital violence against women. Mainly, digital violence is divided into three parts:
- Doxing refers to an action that aims to publicly release any private information, conversation, image, or video of another person.
- Cyberbullying is another prominent form of digital violence, and sometimes, even little children happen to promote this culture as well. With all of us having our own smartphones, it has become easier for a person to send a threatening, degrading, or intimidating message to another person.
- Non-consensual sexting refers to unsolicited messages from another person that involves sexual innuendos, images, or videos. This often happens in various online communication applications. Bear in mind that people who do this are punishable by law.
As we move towards the future, we also tend to leave some of our footprints behind. However, these footprints are not always beneficial to us and must be eradicated. While the battle to end violence against women is still far from over, we must all do our part to end it and provide a safer world for our children and grandchildren to live in.
