The thing that I think must be given more attention than it receives today is the harassment of women. It is a matter that the entire mankind must be ashamed of. The harassment of women takes place in various forms, namely, rape, stalking, dowry, acid attacks, female infanticide and so on. Men use their physical strength as an advantage for harassing women.
Cruelty by husbands and relatives is the major crime committed against women across the country. The assault of women with the intention to outrage her modesty is the second most-reported crime against women over the last decade. Kidnapping and abduction of women is the third most-reported crime followed by rape, insulting the modesty of women and dowry. Thus the cruelties against women can be broadly classified into 5 types, namely, psychological, physical, sexual violence, financial and spiritual violence.
1. Psychological violence covers various tactics to undermine a woman’s self-confidence such as yelling, insulting, mockery, threats, abusive language, humiliation, contempt and deliberate deprivation of emotional care or isolation.
2. Physical violence is the most obvious one and ranges from pushing and shoving to hitting, beating, physical abuse with a weapon, torture, mutilation, and murder.
3. Sexual violence includes any form of non-consensual sexual activity (i.e., forced on a person) ranging from unwanted sexual touching to rape. This form of violence also includes incest.
4. Financial violence includes various tactics for total or partial control of a couple’s finances, inheritance or income. It may also include preventing a partner from taking employment outside the home or engaging in other activities that would lead to financial independence.
5. Spiritual abuse works to destroy an individual’s cultural or religious beliefs through ridicule or punishment, forbidding the practice of a personal religion or forcing women or children to adhere to religious practices that are not their own and so on.
The safety of women is a question to date. The worst among these crimes is rape. The aftermath of the rape is the thing that affects the victim the most. They get affected both physically and psychologically. They find it difficult to get through the incident and some even end their lives.
When such an unfortunate incident happens, the various organizations for women come together to protest against such immoral activities. But that will not suffice. These problems require a lot of effort from a lot of people, to be eradicated. We must consider it as our prime duty to fight against such immoral and illegal activities. Though the Government is taking a lot of steps to stop these from happening, it is not enough. Then what is the way to end violence against women? The answer to this question is a long-sought one. The things that can be done are as follows:
• Break the silence and never condone violence. Always raise your voice and report it.
• Gain basic awareness of the laws, so that we are able to recognize when violence is taking place and know what law to use against it.
• Build an informal solidarity group with a concerned and committed group of friends and colleagues within the organization or institution which can extend support to the victims of violence.
• Get in touch with local women’s rights groups if you hear of any immoral incidents, or if you wish to attend or organize training for your colleagues, friends, and peers to reduce violence against women.
• UN Women, in partnership with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), has developed a global non-formal educational curriculum to engage young people in efforts to prevent and end violence against girls and women.
• In addition to empowering women and girls to protect themselves, it is essential to address the sources and perpetrators of violence. This requires the hands-on engagement of men and boys to help shift attitude about violence against woman.
We must play our small, individual part in stopping the illegal activities against women. The cases on these problems must be given special attention and must be solved as soon as possible. Let us all hold hands together to stop the harassment of women and help them live the life they deserve.
