Sexual Violence Towards Women and Girls: The Result of a Systemic Gender Inequality and the Deep-Rooted Patriarchal Upbringing of Our Society Amara Farah Tahar
Sexual violence has been recognized as an increasingly alarming public health and social issue that women and children everywhere throughout the globe face. Estimates published by World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that globally about 1 in 3 of women worldwide have been subjected to either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime. Although I fully acknowledge that sexual violence can happen regardless of gender, in this essay I will be focusing on the topic of sexual violence specifically towards women and girls as the result of a systemic gender inequality and the deep-rooted patriarchal upbringing of our society, which in turn fosters a culture of sexual victimization and perpetrator exoneration. Firstly, it is absolutely vital for us to face the truth that violence perpetrated against women is and always will be a political matter. Although sexual violence can also affect men, in most societies the victims are usually women and the aggressors are usually men (Khan 1998). 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 mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life." The perpetrators may be partners, parents, relatives, neighbors and men in positions of power or influence. The most important social dynamic influencing sexual violence is the extent of subordination of women within a society (Seedat et al 2009). Sexual violence results in women enduring unfavorable treatment and experiencing prolonged trauma due to acts done by men as superior figures and holders of power in society, both economically and politically as well.
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