Gender-Based Violence
Gender-based violence (GBV) can pervade a woman’s entire life cycle, beginning with selective abortion of a female fetus to female genital cutting to intimate partner violence. GBV is usually perpetrated by men against women and girls, and it can take many forms – sexual abuse, physical violence, emotional or psychological abuse, verbal abuse, economic abuse or beatings during pregnancy. GBV jeopardizes a woman's health and well-being and detracts from her reproductive health.
The consequences of GBV can be fatal, such as homicide, suicide, and AIDS-related deaths; or nonfatal, such as chronic pain syndromes, traumatic injury, or traumatic gynecological fistula. The effect of GBV on women’s sexual and reproductive health are well documented and may occur through direct pathways, such as when women are forced to have sex, as well as through indirect pathways, such as childhood sexual abuse that sometimes leads to greater sexual risk-taking during adolescence and adulthood.
USAID supports stand-alone activities as well as programs that integrate anti-GBV activities and messages into broader health efforts. Emphasis is placed on prevention interventions such as community mobilization and behavior change communication activities to address and transform the underlying norms that perpetuate GBV. By addressing GBV, health programs may be able to enhance their effectiveness, enable women who have experienced violence to benefit from existing programs, and prevent the escalation of such violence. USAID recognizes the importance of policy and advocacy initiatives to ensure that plans and policies are informed by relevant GBV data, confront the gender inequities that condone GBV, and allocate needed resources for education activities and services.
|
