We must stop gender-based violence!
YOU are punched, pinched, kicked, choked, or shoved. You are told that you are worthless, ugly, nasty and that no one wants you. You are yelled at, and face constant criticism. You are forced to have sex. You walk on the street and a man touches your bottom or describes your private parts and curses you if you respond in the negative. You are denied money, leaving you with nothing to eat. These are not acts of love or desire; these are all forms of gender-based violence (GBV), intended to terrorise. Such acts, though committed mostly by men to women and children, are also done by women to men and children.
Gender-based violence is prevalent in society among all classes and ethnicities and is an indication of internal pain, frustration and a learned attitude of superiority over another. Patriarchal norms have dominated society, breeding hatred and resentment of women. It is wrong, harmful, and destroys the foundation of a society, and Jamaica will never achieve development as long as these socio-cultural issues impact the vast majority of our society.
The statistics on GBV worldwide are also frightening. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 25 per cent of women 15 to 49 years old have been subjected to violence, and a quarter of all adults report having been physically abused as children. One in five girls has been sexually abused. In Jamaica, 68 out of every 100,000 children are victims of violence and the country has one of the highest rates of lifetime intimate partner abuse — 33 per cent. More startling, femicide — the killing of women and girls — is often at the hands of their intimate partners. These figures represent our mothers, aunts, teachers, nurses, daughters, helpers, market vendors, pharmacists and cousins. They are wounded, internalising their oppression and victimisation.
The health impact of GBV on the economy is staggering. For instance, 42 per cent of women who experienced violence reported suffering an injury as a result and so must take time off from work. Women and children who have been abused are one-and-a-half times more likely to have a sexually transmitted infection and women who experienced intimate partner violence are 16 per cent more likely to have a miscarriage and are twice as likely to be depressed or use alcohol to cope. Imagine the effect on the entire family. Mothers are so brutalised they cannot adequately care for their children and often take out their humiliation on their children. Children who are victims of GBV often wet the bed and perform poorly in school because they cannot concentrate. They cry a lot, isolate themselves, suffer nightmares, and are always anxious.
Having understood these acute and generational effects of GBV, the United Nations took the approach to fund the Spotlight Initiative programme to end GBV. The programme is aimed specifically at women and girls, but in the larger context of violence, both victims and perpetrators must be provided with psycho-social support in order to heal and live wholesome lives. GBV stains all of us, ultimately, making us all victims.
The most important thing each of us can do to end the cycle is to be vigilant and speak up when we feel safe to do so and inform the police or child protection agency. It is important to model positive behaviour. Men who do not participate in GBV must speak out against it and engage other men in conversation about why it is wrong. Jamaica must become a village again. We must commit to creating a safe and loving environment for each of us to grow and fulfil our dreams and expectations.
Professor Opal Palmer Adisa is the director of the Institute for Gender & Development Studies Regional Coordinating Office (IGDSRCO), which leads the EU and UN-funded Spotlight Initiative programme in Jamaica. E-mail her at opal.adisa@uwimona.edu.jm.
