Addressing Gender-Based Violence: A Global and National Issue

Violence rooted in gender is not a new phenomenon. It has existed across cultures, geographies, and centuries. Yet, for a long time, it remained invisible – hidden behind closed doors, normalised by tradition, and dismissed as a private matter. Gender-based violence (GBV) is one of the most widespread human rights violations in the world today, affecting millions of people – overwhelmingly women and girls – regardless of their economic status, education, or nationality. Understanding GBV is essential not just for policymakers and administrators, but for anyone who wants to build a more just society.

What is gender-based violence? 🔗

Gender-based violence refers to any act of violence that is directed at an individual based on their gender. While it can affect anyone, women and girls are disproportionately impacted. The United Nations defines violence against women as any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty.

GBV takes many forms – domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking, forced marriage, honour-based violence, female genital mutilation, and harassment, both online and offline. It is not limited to any single setting. It occurs in homes, workplaces, educational institutions, conflict zones, and public spaces.

What makes GBV distinct from other forms of violence is its root cause: unequal power relations between genders. These power imbalances are sustained by patriarchal norms, discriminatory laws, and social structures that treat women as subordinate. The violence is not random – it is a mechanism to maintain control and enforce conformity to gender roles.

The intersectional nature of GBV 🔗

Gender-based violence does not exist in isolation. It intersects with other axes of inequality – caste, class, race, religion, disability, and sexuality. A Dalit woman, for instance, may face violence that is simultaneously rooted in gender discrimination and caste oppression. Similarly, LGBTQ+ individuals experience violence not only because of their gender identity or expression but also due to societal hostility toward non-normative sexualities.

This intersectional lens is critical for understanding why certain groups are more vulnerable than others. A wealthy, upper-caste woman in an urban setting has access to legal resources, shelters, and support systems that a tribal woman in a remote village may not. Policies that treat all women as a homogeneous group often fail to address the layered vulnerabilities that make certain individuals more susceptible to violence.

The concept of intersectionality, originally articulated by scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, has become central to modern GBV discourse. It reminds us that effective interventions must account for the multiple, overlapping identities that shape a person’s experience of violence.

The battered women’s movement of the 1970s 🔗

The global conversation around gender-based violence gained significant momentum during the 1970s with the emergence of the battered women’s movement. Before this period, domestic violence was largely considered a private, family matter – something the state had no business intervening in.

Feminist activists in the United States, the United Kingdom, and other Western countries challenged this notion head-on. They established the first shelters and helplines for women facing domestic abuse. They argued that violence against women was not a personal failing but a systemic issue rooted in patriarchal social structures. This movement brought domestic violence out of the shadows and into public and political discourse.

The impact was profound. Governments began to acknowledge that the home was not a space immune from the rule of law. Legislative reforms followed in many countries, criminalising domestic violence and providing legal protections for survivors. The movement also laid the groundwork for the broader international recognition of GBV that would come in the following decades.

GBV on the international stage: UN initiatives and global conferences 🔗

The United Nations has played a pivotal role in bringing gender-based violence to the forefront of international policy. Several landmark moments shaped the global framework for addressing GBV.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), 1979 🔗

Often described as an international bill of rights for women, CEDAW was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979. While the original text did not explicitly address violence against women, its General Recommendation No. 19 (1992) clarified that gender-based violence constitutes a form of discrimination. This was a landmark interpretation that expanded the scope of international obligations on states.

The Vienna World Conference on Human Rights, 1993 🔗

The 1993 Vienna Conference was a turning point. For the first time, violence against women was formally recognised as a human rights violation. The same year, the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which provided the first international definition of violence against women and called on states to condemn such violence and pursue policies to eliminate it.

The Beijing Platform for Action, 1995 🔗

The Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing identified violence against women as one of twelve critical areas of concern. The Beijing Platform for Action called on governments to take integrated measures to prevent and eliminate violence against women. It emphasised the need for legal reforms, support services for survivors, and preventive education. The Platform remains one of the most comprehensive global policy frameworks for gender equality.

Sustainable Development Goals, 2015 🔗

The adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 reinforced the global commitment to ending GBV. Goal 5 – Gender Equality – includes specific targets to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls in both public and private spheres. This integration of GBV into the broader development agenda signalled that gender equality cannot be achieved without addressing violence.

The shift from private to public: redefining where violence happens 🔗

One of the most significant conceptual shifts in the understanding of GBV has been the breaking down of the public-private divide. Traditionally, violence occurring within the home – domestic abuse, marital rape, dowry-related violence – was treated as a private affair. The state, the police, and the judiciary were reluctant to intervene in what were seen as family matters.

The feminist movement and subsequent international frameworks challenged this boundary. The argument was straightforward: human rights do not stop at the front door. If the state has a duty to protect its citizens from violence, that duty extends to violence occurring within the home.

This conceptual shift has had real policy implications. Laws now recognise domestic violence as a criminal offence. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 was a landmark legislation that provided civil remedies to women facing violence within the household. It recognised not just physical abuse but also emotional, verbal, sexual, and economic abuse – broadening the legal understanding of what constitutes domestic violence.

At the same time, there has been growing recognition of violence in public spaces – street harassment, workplace sexual harassment, and violence in conflict situations. The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, which built on the foundational Vishaka Guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in 1997, addressed the issue of workplace harassment. These legislative measures reflect the understanding that GBV is not confined to one sphere – it permeates both private and public life.

The Indian context: laws, challenges, and ground realities 🔗

India has a comprehensive legal framework to address gender-based violence. Apart from the Domestic Violence Act and workplace harassment laws, the criminal law amendments following the 2012 Delhi gang rape case significantly expanded the definitions of sexual offences and increased penalties. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 introduced new offences such as acid attacks, stalking, and voyeurism into the Indian Penal Code.

However, the gap between legislation and implementation remains wide. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), nearly 30% of women aged 18-49 have experienced physical violence since the age of 15. Spousal violence remains alarmingly common, and a significant proportion of women do not seek help or report the violence they face.

Several structural barriers hinder effective redressal:

• Social stigma: Survivors often face blame and ostracism rather than support, discouraging them from reporting violence.
• Weak institutional response: Police insensitivity, delayed judicial proceedings, and poorly funded support services undermine the effectiveness of legal protections.
• Economic dependence: Many women remain in abusive situations because they lack financial independence or access to livelihood options.
• Normalisation of violence: Cultural attitudes that treat violence as a disciplinary tool within families continue to be prevalent in many communities.

Addressing these barriers requires more than just laws. It demands investment in gender-sensitive training for police and judicial officers, strengthening of One Stop Centres (Sakhi Centres) and Women Helplines, and community-level interventions that challenge patriarchal attitudes.

Moving toward a broader policy outlook 🔗

The international pressure generated by UN conferences and global feminist movements has pushed national governments, including India’s, toward more comprehensive approaches to GBV. The focus has gradually shifted from merely punishing perpetrators to a more holistic framework that includes prevention, protection, prosecution, and provision of services.

Prevention strategies now include school-based gender sensitisation programmes, public awareness campaigns, and engaging men and boys as allies in the fight against violence. The Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao initiative, for example, attempts to address the deep-rooted preference for sons and the associated violence against girls, though its impact has been debated.

Protection mechanisms have expanded beyond criminal law to include civil remedies, protection orders, and emergency shelters. The provision of services – medical, legal, psychological – through integrated platforms like One Stop Centres is an important step toward a survivor-centred approach.

Yet, the broader policy challenge remains. GBV cannot be addressed in isolation from other forms of inequality. Effective policy must simultaneously tackle poverty, lack of education, caste-based discrimination, and limited access to healthcare. A truly intersectional approach to GBV requires breaking down silos between different government departments and integrating gender considerations into all areas of governance.

What do you think? 🔗

Gender-based violence is deeply embedded in social structures, and legal reform alone has proven insufficient to eliminate it. What role do you think community-level interventions and education can play in changing attitudes that normalise violence? And given the intersectional nature of GBV, how should public policy be redesigned to address the specific vulnerabilities of marginalised groups – Dalit women, tribal communities, LGBTQ+ individuals – who face compounded forms of violence?

References

1. https://www.un.org/en/events/endviolenceday/
2. https://www.law.columbia.edu/faculty/kimberle-w-crenshaw
3. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-elimination-all-forms-discrimination-against-women
4. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/declaration-elimination-violence-against-women
5. https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2015/01/beijing-declaration
6. https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal5
7. https://legislative.gov.in/sites/default/files/A2005-43.pdf
8. https://main.mohfw.gov.in/sites/default/files/NFHS-5_Phase-II_0.pdf
9. https://wcd.nic.in/schemes/beti-bachao-beti-padhao-scheme