Violence against women has always been in the hit list of discussions worldwide. Every day there is increase in the number of cases which are being reported at a speedy rate. India has marked the record in the rise in number of cases on various forms of violence’s on women. UN Women recently has released facts about the various forms of violence upon women which highlights the alarming figures and there is a need of the hour to protect women from such hindering acts. Some of the violence’s which report draws attention upon are intimate partner violence, sexual violence and harassment, human trafficking, female genital mutilation and child marriage.
The facts and figures have been an eye opener which discloses the betrayal and behavioral patterns of men towards women not only within the ambit of four walls but outside it. Worldwide, 1 in 3 women have experienced physical or sexual violence — mostly by an intimate partner. Reporting for such cases are still a question since violence by an intimate partner is considered to be “personal” – not to be unfolded and shared. Also, there is huge rate of trafficking victims which lies at 71% of which maximum victims are women and girls.
What to say about the cruel act of Female Genital Mutilation? The practice of FGM has left a huge impact on the health of many young girls and women across the globe. At least 200 million women and girls alive today have undergone FGM in 30 countries where representative data is available and in most of these countries, the majority of girls were cut before the age of 5. Reflecting upon these acts, there is another very heart wrenching practice around the world is of child marriage. India is one of the countries where the practice of child marriage is still prevailing. The numbers reflect that almost 750 million women and girls alive today were married before their 18th birthday.
Upon analyzing these stats, it demystifies the truth and marks as a great source to underline the fact that women have been traditionally discriminated on the basis of their gender which has eventually led to violence upon them. As an organization, the Centre for Social Research has been working on breaking socio-cultural stereotypes around the concept of gender. We believe that men are the most severe casualties of patriarchy since they are the ones who imbibe and emit toxic masculinity that is damaging as a human being. In order to create a gender equal society, we need to liberate all genders of negative stereotypes.
Source: http://interactive.unwomen.org/multimedia/infographic/violenceagainstwomen/en/index.html#closing-6
