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Women In Power And Decision Making
Although ‘gender and development’ includes both women and men, however, in most cases focus is given to only women. It is because of imbalance and unequal status of women in most of the societies where women do not have the same opportunities and personal freedom as men do. Therefore, there is a need to focus women as compared to men. It is like two glasses, where one is half full and another is empty, thus the empty glass should get water first and when both glasses become equal then fill both.
If someone tries to fill both glasses without noticing the level of water it won’t work. Similarities and differences of women and men In general terms, gender refers to the social constructions of masculinity and femininity. Masculinity denotes the qualities, behaviours and attitudes traditionally associated with or deemed appropriate for men; femininity for women. However, gender is often not fully understood in terms of its application as a form of analysis in the field of peace and security.
Take for example the continued use of ‘gender’ as synonymous with ‘women’. One consequence of this is that ‘men’ are treated as the default category (the ‘norm’), exempt from any consideration of gender. Another consequence is that this results in little attention for sexual and gender minorities. We argue that gender should be understood as a system of power, encompassing gendered selves, institutions, and symbolic meanings.
What is Gender Based Violence (GBV)
GBV is violence directed against a person because of that person’s gender or violence that affects persons of a particular gender disproportionately.
Violence against women is understood as a violation of human rights and a form of discrimination against women and shall mean all acts of gender-based violence that result in, or are likely to result in;
• Physical harm • Sexual harm, • Psychological harm, • Economic harm, • Suffering to women.
It can include violence against women, domestic violence against women, men or children living in the same domestic unit. Although women and girls are the main victims of GBV, it also causes severe harm to families and communities.
Forms of gender-based violence
Physical: it results in injuries, distress and health problems. Typical forms of physical violence are beating, strangling, pushing, and the use of weapons.
Sexual: it includes sexual acts, attempts to obtain a sexual act, acts to traffic, or acts otherwise directed against a person’s sexuality without the person’s consent.
Psychological: includes psychologically abusive behaviours, such as controlling, coercion, economic violence and blackmail. 43% of women in the 28 EU countries have experienced some form of psychological violence by an intimate partner.
Examples of gender based violence
Domestic violence includes all acts of physical, sexual, psychological and economic violence that occur within the family, domestic unit, or between intimate partners.
These can be former or current spouses also when they don’t share the same residence. Sex-based harassment includes unwelcome verbal, physical or other non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person.
Rate of gender based violence and its consequences at workplace
Papua New Guinea, gender-based violence (GBV) is widespread, with 94 percent of employers saying their staff has likely experienced GBV. This violence affects women at home and at work. The impacts on the workplace are many and varied: The threat of violence at work increases liabilities, creates occupational safety and health risks, and reduces productivity by affecting victims’ performance.
