Issue: Volence Against Women

This post is just a primer. I'm working on a lengthy post about Democratic Republic of the Congo, and it occurs to me I should probably offer some kind of brief primer on "gender-based violence" before I launch into the situation in the Congo. I don't really like the term "gender-based violence" because it sounds slightly sterile, but the term can be construed to include such diverse atrocities as spousal abuse, rape, sexual assault, female genital mutilation, sex-selective abortion and infanticide, honor killings, bride-burning, and the systematic use of rape as a weapon of war, among other practices. We'll get into more detail on some of these issues later.

In essence, though, women and girls are routinely targeted with violence simply because of their gender. There is no country or culture around the world that is immune to the selective abuses of girls and women. Here in the United States, in fact, one in three women report being raped or physically abused by a spouse, date or intimate partner at some time in their life.

Click here to watch a film and add your name to the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), indicating your commitment to fighting violence against women.

One other reason that I don't like the term "gender-based violence" is that it turns violence into a women's issue, when it clearly isn't. It's a human rights issue that affects men, women and children. The Family Violence Prevention Fund has a Men's Network Against Domestic Violence, that operates on the core fact that although most domestic violence and rape is committed by men, most men are not abusers. And in fact, men have power in stopping domestic violence that women don't have--not just in their own lives, but in their example and their words to other men. At this site, men can sign a pledge indicating their commitment to fighting rape and violence, and can access more suggestions on how to get involved in the movement.