The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women defines Violence Against Women (VAW) as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.”

In short, it is any violent act committed against a woman with the intention of causing mental, emotional, physical or sexual harm. In additional to rape, sexual assault, domestic violence and honour killing, VAW includes many acts and behaviours that are so common and so widely accepted in society that they are often not acknowledged as acts of violence such as child marriage, street harassment, unwanted and forceful touching, sending unsolicited messages or images and controlling behaviour.

This is partly because violence against women is deeply rooted in the cultural framework, societal structures and institutional norms that perpetuate gender inequality and unequal power relations. In fact, VAW is not merely an individual issue. It is structural in nature and involves all of society. This manifests in the form of financial exclusion, lack of autonomy in household decision-making, disparities in healthcare and nutritional access, lack of educational and career opportunities, gender pay gap and unequal political representation, among many other things. When the majority of women are treated so poorly by society, it is hardly surprising then that 1/3rd of all women are subjected to physical or sexual violence, mostly by an intimate partner.

Violence can also hamper women’s ability to fully exercise their freedoms and rights, participate in society and enjoy the best that life has to offer due to the tremendous emotional and mental suffering that it causes over a lifetime. Moreover, armed conflicts, climate change and other social stressors exacerbate and intensify violence against women, putting more women’s lives in danger than ever before.

Domestic violence is the perpetration of physical, sexual, emotional, economic, psychological or cyber actions or threats of actions by a spouse in order to gain or maintain control over the individual facing abuse. When this occurs between intimate partners or those in live-in relationships, it is referred to as intimate-partner violence. Family violence is any form of abuse, mistreatment or neglect that a child or adult experiences from an immediate family member such as mother, father or sibling.

All of these terms apply to behaviours that are intended to frighten, intimidate, terrorise, manipulate, hurt, humiliate, blame, injure, or wound an individual, and are usually continued over a period of time or repeated in cycles. This can happen to anyone regardless of their class, caste, race, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, education, or physical or cognitive ability. Additionally, it is important to note that the only one to blame for abuse is the person committing it. It is their actions alone that must be subject to scrutiny or intervention, and the person experiencing violence is never at fault. Again, you are not to blame for your own abuse.

Sexual violence is any unwanted or harmful sexual act committed by an individual or a group of individuals against a person or a group of people without consent and by using coercion, regardless of their relationship with the victim(s). This means that a husband, wife or parent can also commit sexual violence.

Sexual violence comprises a broad category of actions, which include sexual harassment, sexual assault, rape, sexual coercion or exploitation, stalking, indecent exposure, sending unwanted messages or images, or the dissemination or threat of dissemination of sexual content without knowledge or consent.

Regardless of the setting, frequency or duration of the violence, it can be a profoundly negative and traumatic life event for a survivor, affecting their ability to work, look after their families or care for themselves. In addition, while the appearance, actions or words of survivors are often held responsible for the violence they face, this could not be further from the truth. In fact, sexual violence is not about sex or attraction. It is about power, control and entitlement and is driven by perceived feelings of superiority and impunity of the perpetrator.

When someone commits sexual violence in the workplace, it may take the form of sexual harassment, which includes inappropriate touching, unwanted sexual advances, sexual remarks, demand for sexual favours and sharing of pornographic content. It can also constitute more violent forms such as sexual assault or rape. In any case, the survivor can feel scared, threatened, harassed, and unsafe, which results in absenteeism and interrupted job performance, as well as deterioration of physical and mental health.

While organisations and employers have a moral and legal responsibility to provide a safe working environment for all their employees as well as those interacting with an employee of the organisation, this is a rare occurrence. As a result, survivors are often hesitant to come forward and report abusive behaviour due to the fear of retaliation or escalation of violence.

Recognising the Signs of Abuse We believe it is important to recognise the signs of abuse to understand your rights and take action, if that is what you want to do. The following are just a few examples of such abuse and this is not an exhaustive list. Even if what you are experiencing does not fall within this list, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We will assist you to the best of our abilities. Physical Violence If someone is hitting, beating, shoving, pinching, kicking you; throwing things at you; beating you with an object; grabbing your hair; throwing you against surfaces; physically restraining you; locking you inside or outside the house; forcing you to do all household chores. Emotional Violence If someone is causing you to be afraid of them; isolating you from your family or friends; threatening you or your loved ones with physical harm; controlling you, your activities or your finances; criticising and belittling you; using abusive language; constantly suspicious of you. Sexual Violence If someone is making unwanted sexual advances; touching you inappropriately; forcing you to have sexual intercourse, watch porn or perform sexual acts with them or others; withholding sex from you; filming pr photographing you during sex without your consent; threatening to distribute/distributing sexually explicit videos and images of you. Financial Violence If someone is controlling your money, bank account or ability to spend; destroying your property or possessions, leaving you without money for basic necessities; preventing you from taking up paid employment; withholding child support payments or payments for children’s education, food etc; taking and selling your gold and jewellery against your wishes.