Sexual and Gender-based violence (SGBV) is violence directed at someone based on their gender or sex and often brings about physical, sexual, and psychological harm. It can constitute any harmful behaviors against family members or partners, including rape, assault, physical abuse or forced prostitution.
Sexual and Gender-based violence (SGBV) is violence directed at someone based on their gender or sex and often brings about physical, sexual, and psychological harm. It can constitute any harmful behaviors against family members or partners, including rape, assault, physical abuse or forced prostitution.
SGBV is caused by harmful gender norms and gender stereotypes and is often used to justify violence against women. Retrogressive cultural norms are to blame for this. Some men still consider using violence as a form of instilling discipline and commanding respect from women.
Poverty and hunger are also great triggers of SGBV as women and girls are sometimes forced to sell sex to survive. In such instances tensions on who ultimately provides for upkeep lead to violence.
Women are disadvantaged as, more often, the man is the provider, and in the face of violence, women are afraid to speak out lest they lose the support. Some women endure violence as they shield their children from perpetrators. War and conflict also contribute to SGBV – they create situations that fan the perpetration of cases.
SGBV acts may include; violence against women and children, violence against members of the queer community, partner violence, domestic violence, sexual violence among other acts.
Historically, women and girls have been the main victims, men too can be victims of SGBV. This is stressed in the Sexual Offences Act which recognizes violence against men and boys as a form of gender-based violence. The full scale of SGBV against men and boys is however not as widely known as are cases against women and girls since such cases always go unreported.
The irony of SGBV is that a majority of the cases are perpetrated by people who are very close to the victims such as family members or sexual partners; or simply someone the victims trust so much. Because of this, some cases thus go unreported as victims choose to remain silent so as to protect these close relations.
Effects of gender-based violence include severe physical injuries, unwanted pregnancies, dropping out of school, family disputes among others. It exposes the victims to severe psychological torture as it affects their mental stability; it plants seeds of pain and regret in the victims and those around them. In some instances, it leads to death.
There is need for concerted efforts to counter and respond to SGBV cases. Both state and none state actors need to establish adequate SGBV response centres that offer quality and comprehensive services to victims. Ensure access to services is free and a minimum package of support is available for victims in every community.
There’s also need to mobilize and train community resources to respond to SGBV. Establish and monitor formal protocols and referral systems between the health and specialist SGBV sectors. Other mechanisms can be establishment of referral pathways between health care services and SGBV survivors.
Provision of community toll-free 24/7 telephone hotlines and online services where survivors can report cases and seek for help when in need including seeking for legal assistance.
When necessary, there should be professional and social reintegration of SGBV survivors, ensuring their capacity to make decisions about their lives from a position of economic, social and emotional strength.
LLB student, Egerton University