Gender-Based Violence: A Crucial Challenge for Public Health

Abstract

This article attempts to summarize the situations of gender-based violence, a major public health issue. Due to the unequal power relations between men and women, women are violated either in family, in the community or in the State. Gender-based violence takes different forms like physical, sexual or psychological/ emotional violence. The causes of gender-based violence are multidimensional including social, economic, cultural, political and religious. The literatures written in relation to the gender-based violence are accessed using electronic databases as PubMed, Medline and Google scholar, Google and other Internet Websites between 1994 and first quarter of 2013. The keywords such as gender-based violence, women violence, domestic violence, wife abuse, violence during pregnancy, women sexual abuse, political gender based violence, cultural gender-based violence, economical gender-based violence, child sexual abuse and special forms of genderbased violence in Nepal were used for internet search. As GBVs remain one of the most rigorous challenges of women's health and well-being, it is one of the indispensable issues of equity and social justice. To create a gender-based violence free environment, a lot works has to be done. Hence, it is suggested to provide assistance to the victims of violence developing the mechanism to support them. Nepal, women violence KEYWORDS Gender-based violence, sexual violence, special forms of gender-based violence in

Gender-based Violence Among Pregnant Women of Syangja District, Nepal

“…Gender-based violence (GBV) [1] is “violence involving men and women, in which the female is usually the victim; and which is derived from unequal power relationships between men and women. Violence is directed specifically against a woman because she is a woman, or affects women disproportionately.” As GBV remains one of the most rigorous challenges to women's health and well-being, it is one of the indispensable issues of equity and social justice [2] . There is no doubt that violence against women is a crime by all standards, and it remains a negative impact on women for years and may continue with it throughout her life [3] .…”

“…Violence during pregnancy escalates during a woman's gestation with serious consequences not only for the woman, but also for the fetus and ultimately for the child's development. Both mother and fetus suffer adverse effects, e.g., fetal death, low birth weight, preterm delivery, small size for gestational age in fetus, maternal mortality, mental health problems, kidney infections, reduced weight gain during pregnancy, and increased likelihood of undergoing operative delivery in pregnant women [2] .…”

Staff perspectives of barriers to women accessing birthing services in Nepal: a qualitative study

“…It is possible that no other participants highlighted cleanliness as an issue because this reflects the standard facility norm. There is evidence that for a proportion of rural women, standards of cleanliness experienced in government hospitals is higher than where they are required to give birth at home as settings include cowsheds, in keeping with the tradition of ‘chaupadi’ [ 37 ]. Whether cleanliness is perceived to be better in the tertiary hospitals compared to the local facility is unclear, although a recent study suggests otherwise [ 38 ].…”

Reusable sanitary towels: promoting menstrual hygiene in post-earthquake Nepal

“…This discrimination of untouchability varies among ethnic groups, cultures and communities 6. The most extreme example practised in rural western Nepal is isolating women and girls in rudimentary huts outside their homes, considering them untouchable until the seventh day of their menses (an outlawed practice known as Chhaupadi) 7. The earthquake has shown the vulnerability of affected women with regard to menstrual hygiene and highlighted the taboo aspects.…”