According to the WHO, violence is one of the leading causes of death worldwide for people between the ages of 15-44 and accounts for an untold number of physical, sexual, mental, and reproductive health issues. While this statistic encompasses all genders and types of violence, abuse and assault that is specifically linked to gender and social inequality places large sections of the population at constantly elevated risk.
In nations where social protection policies and programs are already under considerable strain, falling wages, the deterioration of basic infrastructure, and steady reductions in the quality and quantity of health, education and social services inevitably lead to increased rates of violence at home. Because domestic and sexual violence are a major public health crisis and a violation of women's human rights, governments have an obligation to fund and prioritize social protection services; in the meantime, activists are taking matters into their own hands to protect and support women who have experienced violence.
This collection contains stories of solutions adopted by educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, NGOs, and legislators to provide resources to women who have been impacted by violence and provide deterrents to men in hopes of curbing future aggression.
- How do cultural expectations like machismo play into violence against women? What cultural standards or beliefs in your own life might be contributing to a harmful relationship with gender?
- Why are indigenous women in Canada at a higher risk of violence?
- One of the SJN Success Factors ( tactics that are critical to the success or failure of a response to a given issue or problem) is establishing social norms, or telling people what other members of a community are doing to establish that their peers are behaving well. Choose one of the solutions in this collection and explain how their approach exemplifies this success factor.
- Machismo reinforces the idea that a “real man” controls and treats a woman like property, dismissing their independence, thoughts, desires, and autonomy. Machismo teaches men that “losing a romantic partner is akin to losing a part of your manhood." This belief is often dangerous for women; 76.8% of domestic violence cases researched in Colombia were associated with feelings of jealousy, distrust, and machista attitudes.
- Indigenous women and girls are 12 times more likely to go missing or be murdered than any other women in Canada. The issue was recognized as a genocide by a national inquiry in 2019. The connection between resource-extraction projects and violence against Indigenous women has also been well-documented, both in the United States and in Canada. A 2016 report from Amnesty International found the influx of predominantly male temporary workers staying in man camps while building pipelines or other industrial projects lead to higher rates of violence against Indigenous women.
- Answers will vary.