Today is the International Day for the elimination of violence against women (VAW), and marks the start of 16 days of global activism against gender based violence.
The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women has a powerful feminist herstory that should never be forgotten. Three sisters, Patria, Minerva, and María Teresa Mirabel were incredibly courageous Dominican activists who opposed the brutal dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. Their advocacy for political freedom and gender equality made them symbols of resistance. On November 25th 1960, they were murdered by the regime.
Each year I honour them and the millions of women and girls whose lives have been stolen, violated and controlled because of male violence.
VAW can include sexual violence, domestic abuse, stalking and harassment, psychological, financial, emotional abuse, female genital mutilation, forced marriage, so-called ‘honour-based’ abuse, exploitation and abuse of women and girls in online spaces, obstetric violence.
It is a cause and consequence of gender inequality, committed disproportionately against women and girls, with those responsible overwhelmingly being men. Women’s inequality is further compounded and deeply rooted in structural oppression and discrimination experienced on the basis of race, ethnicity, disability, social class, sexuality, gender identity, immigration status and age. Whilst any woman or girl can experience abuse, those who face multiple forms of inequality are more likely to experience violence and less likely to be able to access the specialist support and justice they not only need but deserve.
It is a global health issue and a violation of women's human rights, it can have a negative impact on women's physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health. Whilst we are repeatedly told by Governments around the globe that violence against women is a global public health, gender equality and human rights priority, it remains a systemic crisis, affecting 1 in 3 women worldwide.
In the UK…
A woman is killed by a man every three days. (1)
One in four women experience domestic abuse in their lifetimes. (2)
The latest crime figures for 2023 from the National Statistics (ONS) stated that sexual offences are at the highest level recorded. (3)
Women are more likely than men to experience multiple incidents of abuse and different types of abuse (intimate partner violence, sexual assault and stalking) - in particular sexual violence. (4)
1 in 6 children are estimated to have been subjected to sexual abuse, with girls being three times more likely to experience sexual abuse than boys. (5)
Women are 27 times more likely than men to receive online harassment and abuse. (6)
Whilst these statistics paint a stark picture, they only show a snapshot of the reality for women and girls, behind all the data lies the reality and lives of survivors of male violence, who are dealing with the trauma of the violence and harm perpetrated against them, at times by both individual and state perpetrators.
Why and how does this relate to pregnancy, birth and motherhood?
Violence against women and girls is experienced on a continuum (7), often across the lifecycle, rarely are these experiences in silos they are interconnected and can impact in various ways across a woman and girls lifetime.
During pregnancy and certainly in birth women are at our most vulnerable; hormonally there is a lot of change, mentally and physically we see shifts in our minds and bodies, our relationships with ourselves and others.
Domestic violence may begin or escalate during pregnancy or with very small children.(8) Abusers often increase their controlling and emotionally abusive behaviours during this time, and there is also a higher risk of physical violence. (9)
Research suggests that between 20% and 30% of women will experience physical violence from a partner/ex-partner during pregnancy. (10) In their research, Bailey, B. A (2010) found 36% of women reported verbal abuse, 14% severe physical violence and approximately 20% of pregnant women reported sexual violence. (11)
However, domestic violence isn't the only form of violence which women can be subjected to during pregnancy, birth and motherhood. Women globally have reported how they have been physically, mentally and emotionally abused by their care providers.
The term ‘obstetric violence’ (OV) originates from Venezuela back in 2007, this was a legal response following mistreatment during childbirth. The United Nations has also identified Obstetric Violence (OV) as a form of gender based violence. However, it remains a contentious term with no global definition or laws in many countries to end it.
As discussed above, whilst all women and girls can experience forms of violence, women who face multiple forms of oppression and inequality are more likely to experience violence, and this includes obstetric violence. In the UK Black Women are four times more likely to die in pregnancy in comparison to white women. (12)
Given that all forms of VAW are a cause and consequence of gender inequality and other intersecting oppressions and inequalities, it is vital that any work to end it must go alongside wider ambitions to tackle such structural inequalities, with any policies or practices to support women and their babies actively centering the needs of both women and children.
Violence against women is endemic but it is also preventable and enough is enough!
Refrences
1. Femicide Census (2020) https://www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Snapshot-report-final-270223.pdf
2. Refuge (Undated) https://refuge.org.uk/what-is-domestic-abuse/the-facts/
3. Office for National Statistics (2022) https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/domesticabusevictimcharacteristicsenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2022
4. Office for National Statistics (2022) https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/domesticabusevictimcharacteristicsenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2022
6. National Police Chiefs Council (2023) https://www.npcc.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/media/downloads/our-work/vawg/violence-against-women-and-girls---strategic-threat-risk-assessment-2023.pdf
7. Kelly, L. (1988) Surviving sexual violence
8. Chisholm, C. A., Bullock, L. & Ferguson, J. E. (2017) (Jef. Intimate partner violence and pregnancy: epidemiology and impact. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 217, 141–144.
9. Knight, M. (2015) Learning from homicides and women who experienced domestic abuse. in Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care: Surveillance of Maternal Deaths in the UK 2011–13 and Lessons Learned to Inform Maternity Care from the UK and Ireland Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths and Morbidity 2009–13 (eds. Knight, M., Tuffnell, D., Kenyon, S., Shakespeare, J. & Gray, R Kurinczuk, J.) 62–70. University of Oxford
10. Devries, K. et al. (2010) Reproductive Health Matters Intimate partner violence during pregnancy: analysis of prevalence data from 19 countries. Reprod. Health Matters 18, 158–170. 31 Johnson, J., Haider, F., Ellis, K., Hay, D. . & Lindow, S. W. (2003) The prevalence of domestic violence in pregnant women. BJOG An Int. J. Obstet. Gynaecol. 110, 272–275 and 32 Bailey, B. A. (2010) Partner violence during pregnancy : prevalence , effects , screening , and management. 183–197
11. Bailey, B. A. (2010) Partner violence during pregnancy : prevalence , effects , screening , and management. 183–197
12. https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/assets/downloads/mbrrace-uk/reports/maternal-report-2020/MBRRACE-UK_Maternal_Report_2020_-_Lay_Summary_v10.pdf
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