Violence Against Women

Violence against women is mainly gender-based crimes and atrocities committed against the feminine population of the world. These crimes and atrocities are generally based on hate and they take innumerable forms. Violence against women is nothing new nor is it confined within the boundaries of the subcontinent. The entire idea of VAN (violence against women) is based on the subjugation of women as a whole. Hate crimes are generally based on misogyny, entitlement, and superiority that the masculine part of the society imposes on the feminine part. These crimes are committed in general or one-to-one. The UN had declared in its Declaration of Elimination of crime against women that historically women had been placed in a subordinate position to that of men, hence the relationship between the masculine and feminine part of society became a power play. Crime happens when women refuse to accept the position of subordination to men. 

Violence against women has taken numerous forms over the years and it had taken a step for the worst in the time of the pandemic. According to some reports, at least 1 out of 3 women had been physically and sexually abused. The other forms which violence against women take are:

• Acid Attacks
• Physical abuse (beatings)
• Rape
• Sexual assault 
• Dowry killings
• Female infanticide 
• Honour killing 

The above points are placed on an extremely broad arena, numerous other sub-plots fall under these broad categories. According to the Women’s Commission of India, acid attacks and rapes are a direct result of the man-women powerplay. Acid attacks are mostly the results of women turning down approaches to roadside Romeos. As they cannot handle rejection, this is how they take their revenge. As for rapes, women are taken to be ‘impure’ once they are raped, it is a great shame to her family and her community. Men enjoy the sadistic pleasure of ending a woman’s social pride. According to experts, rapes also happen because women are seen as ‘sex objects. The lack of proper sex education is considered to be a great contributor to this thought. 

Domestic Violence against Women 

Domestic violence refers to an act of violence faced by women within their households. Domestic violence against women is mostly committed by the in-laws of the girl or her husband. However, there are exceptions to this case, atrocities against women are also performed in the place of their father, which happens in potential cases of honour killing. Domestic Violence has taken many forms over the years. Any type of behavior that is coercive, controlling, threatening within the household that has been performed by partners, inmates, or family members can be described as domestic violence. 

The patterns of domestic violence range from physical and mental abuse to as extreme as dowry killings and bride burning. Many women end up committing suicide just to escape the torture and humiliation. India as a society sees marriage as an institution and that too a very sacred one. The woman complaining about her partners or in-laws is supposed to bring ‘shame’ to her paternal house. This notion gives a sense of superiority and entitlement to a man over his bride. Psychologists have even pointed out that many men enjoy the sadistic pleasure of having complete control over their wives. Many times they even get off watching their wives in a helpless state. As mentioned above this specifically shows that this is nothing but a mere powerplay.  

Violence against women in India 

According to the Women’s Commission of India, about 26% of women in India have experienced domestic violence once in their lifetime. A woman is either pushed towards suicide or is harassed for dowry every 2 hours and a woman is being sexually assaulted every 40 minutes. There are elaborate laws for violence against women in India, this comprises of instant actions, helplines numbers, and so on. However, the issue remains the enormous population of the country. According to many sociologists, the idea of something ‘unjust’ happening to them is not imbibed within the thought process of women since her early years. She has been time and again told that whatever happens is somehow or the other her fault. Violence against women in India in case of sexual offenses has not stopped till rape, it has also reached the point of mutilation of the body. We have numerous examples to prove this, starting with the infamous Nirbhaya gang rape case of 2012, The Asifa gang rape case, and the Priyanka Reddy gang rape case. 

International Day for the elimination of violence against women

The International Day for the elimination of violence against women is observed on the 25th of November. This day inaugurated by the UN is celebrated in 16 counties all over the world. As per the reports of the UN every 2, out of 3 women in the world face some kind of violence at least at some point in their lives. Sadly, only 1 out of 10 women make an official complaint against the offender(s).  

Conclusion 

This article gave an overview of the violence committed against women, especially in India and provided statistical data to support the motion.