Introduction
Violence against women has grown tremendously in the past few decades, thus prompting the global community to champion for the enactment of policies to fight the vice. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 35% of women in the globe experience at least one form of gender violence (Bahun & Rajan, 2016). This paper explores the benefits and disadvantages that would accrue if the researchers approach the topic from a global perspective. However, the paper first highlights the major forms and causes of violence against women in general.
Forms and Causes of Violence against Women
Burn (2000) presents a major issue that cuts across all women, regardless of race and geographical location. The issue, which revolves around women’s unpaid domestic duties, is said to attract violence against women since men force their female counterparts to engage in all-day-round tasks that are never recognized or appreciated. Besides, Burn (2000) mentions the dangers such as death that virtually all women face following illegal and unsafe abortions. On the other hand, sexual abuse involves wrongfully forcing a woman to engage in sexual activities (Colucci & Montesinos, 2013). Some of the commonest forms of sexual abuse include rape and engagement of sex with minors. According to Burn (2000), all women are at a higher risk of experiencing sexual abuse, forced pregnancies, and discrimination. Other forms include women trafficking, which involves forcefully transporting and selling them as slaves. This form of violence against women was common in ancient times when slavery was legal.
According to Burn (2000), one of the major causes of violence against women is patriarchy, which refers to a system in which the man is the head of the family. Under such a system, women assume inferior positions compared to men. They (women) are liable to comply with the men’s rules. The superiority perceptions of men cause them to abuse women without being held accountable. According to Burn (2000), all individuals are ethnocentric. Ethnocentricity makes men force women into accepting their (men) way of life while denying them (women) their right to enjoy their cultures. This situation may attract violence against women. The other reason for the escalation of violence against women revolves around socioeconomic factors (Rose, 2013). Women are less financially stable compared to their male counterparts (Bahun & Rajan, 2016; Burn, 2000). This poor state of women makes them susceptible to abuse in the process of seeking to meet their economic needs. Prostitution is a good example of abuse driven by socioeconomic factors since women who engage in such businesses do so to earn money for their upkeep.
Advantages of Approaching the Topic from a Global Perspective
One of the benefits of analyzing the topic of violence against women from an international human rights perspective is the comprehensive understanding of the role that culture plays in such violence. Research indicates that culture plays a central role in shaping gender violence (Butchart & Mikton, 2014). Limiting research on the topic of gender violence to the developing countries and generalizing the results may fail to capture the actual situation on the ground. Therefore, it is important for researchers in the field to utilize data from both the developed and developing countries to obtain reliable results, which can be used to formulate global gender violence mitigation strategies.
The other importance of analyzing gender violence from a global perspective is to gather enough information regarding the causes of such violence and the mitigation factors. Women make up about 50% of the global population. However, only a few of them are actively involved in economic activities (Colucci & Montesinos, 2013). The majority of women assume inferior roles in public institutions while others assume household roles. One of the global millennium goals is to achieve poverty reduction across the globe. Discrimination and violence against women may limit this goal and hence the need to mitigate these issues at the global level.
Disadvantages of Approaching the Topic from a Global Perspective
However, although the exploration of the topic of gender violence from a global perspective is beneficial, it has its disadvantages. The major disadvantage is that such an endeavor complicates the ability of an individual country to fight gender violence. The argument is grounded on the view that each country has its unique reasons for the escalation of gender violence (Patil & Purkayastha, 2015). Based on the view, it is important for each country to conduct its research to design mitigation strategies based on the uniqueness of the problem.
Solutions
On abortion, Burn (2000) addresses the issue of activism where countries have been pushed to legitimize abortion, especially when the specific woman is at risk of dying in the delivery process. This move will ensure that women go through a professional abortion process. Burn (2000) presents the approach to embracing women’s rights suffrage where females can be granted the liberty to participate in politics and voting exercises. Burn (2000) claims that poverty is one of the leading causes of violence against women and that poor families are more likely to experience family disputes compared to the rich ones. Legal literacy is another plan that Burn (2000) recommends since it makes women aware of their basic rights.
Conclusion
This paper has explained the advantages and disadvantages of approaching the topic from a global perspective. One of the advantages of adopting a global perspective is that it helps to uncover the relationship between culture and violence against women around the globe. Other benefits include the acquisition of a comprehensive account of the nature of the problem across the globe and the ability to establish the link between gender violence and women empowerment.
References
Bahun, S., & Rajan, V. J. (2016). Violence and gender in the globalized world: The intimate and the extimate. London, England: Routledge.
Burn, S. M. (2000). Women across cultures: A global perspective. Los Angeles, CA: California Polytechnic State University.
Butchart, A., & Mikton, C. (2014). Global status report on violence prevention. Web.
Colucci, E., & Montesinos, A. H. (2013). Violence against women and suicide in the context of migration: A review of the literature and a call for action. Suicidology Online, 4(1), 81-91.
Patil, V., & Purkayastha, B. (2015). Sexual violence, race and media (in) visibility: Intersectional complexities in a transnational frame. Societies, 5(3), 598-617.
Rose, S. D. (2013). Challenging global gender violence. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 82(1), 61-65.