In this modern world of instant information, have we become inured to horror? Every day we are exposed to pictures and films of extreme violence, they flicker through our consciousness, moving on to the newest examples of human propensity for violence. And we forget each previous example as the newest hits the media.
However, one example of this propensity for violence, common to every country in the world, is with us every day, has been going on every day throughout recorded history, and seems hardly to evoke the same concern as war in Syria, Mali, South Sudan, or Somalia. But it is prevalent in every country in the world — WITHOUT EXCEPTION.
Indeed as UN Women has pointed out violence against women and girls is a problem of pandemic proportions with up to 70 percent of women experiencing physical or sexual violence in their lifetime – perpetrated by husbands, intimate partners or someone the victims know.
Consider the following:
- In the United States, one-third of women murdered each year are killed by intimate partners.
- In South Africa, a woman is killed every 6 hours by an intimate partner.
- In India, 22 women were killed each day in dowry-related murders in 2007.
- In Guatemala, two women are murdered, on average, each day.
- Women and girls comprise 80 percent of the estimated 800,000 people trafficked annually, with the majority (79%) trafficked for sexual exploitation.
- Approximately 100 to 140 million girls and women in the world have experienced female genital mutilation/cutting, with more than 3 million girls in Africa annually at risk of the practice.
- More than 60 million girls worldwide are child brides, married before the age of 18, primarily in South Asia (31.1 million and Sub-Saharan Africa (14.1 million).
- An estimated 150 million girls under 18 suffered some form of sexual violence in 2002 alone.
- As many as 1 in 4 women experience physical and/or sexual violence during pregnancy which increases the likelihood of having a miscarriage, still birth and abortion.
- Approximately 250,000 to 500,000 women and girls were raped in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
- In Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, at least 200,000 cases of sexual violence, mostly involving women and girls, have been documented since 1996, though the actual numbers are considered to be much higher.
- In Zimbabwe, 52% of women reported being victims of political violence, with 2% being victims of politically motivated rape, and 3% reporting that a family member had been raped. A startling 16% claimed that they knew of a woman who had been raped.
- Up to 53% of women physically abused by their intimate partners are being kicked or punched in the abdomen.
- In Sao Paulo, Brazil, a woman is assaulted every 15 seconds.
- Domestic violence alone costs approximately USD 1.16 billion in Canada and USD 5.8 billion in the United States. In Australia, violence against women and children costs an estimated USD 11.38 billion per year.
- Between 40 and 50% of women in European Union countries experience unwanted sexual advances, physical contact or other forms of sexual harassment at their workplace.
- In the United States, 83% of girls aged 12 to 16 experiences some form of sexual harassment in public schools.
- In Ecuador, adolescent girls reporting sexual violence in school identified teachers as the perpetrator in 37 percent of cases.
So, when it is claimed that 1 000 000 000 women are victims of violence, let us be clear that this is an underestimate. None of us should be thrilled knowing that 70% of half the population suffers abuse. No wonder one billion are rising! But wouldn’t it be wonderful if all seven billion human beings under the sun were rising, and these statistics became a thing of the past.
Maybe we need to see all these violent and discriminatory practices as crimes against humanity, fully one half of humanity. Not merely ordinary crimes, but evidence of deep rooted cultural prejudices, which we should get rid of. Some would ask; how do we get rid of these prejudices? I say; perhaps when patriarchy is seen as a crime against humanity.
This article first appeared on MaDube’s Reflections