THE VOICE

INTRODUCTION......

Violence against women is now well recognised as a public health problem and human rights violation of worldwide significance. It is an important risk factor for women’s ill health, with far reaching consequences for both their physical and mental health. This glossary aims to describe various forms of interpersonal violence that are directed towards women and girls. Terms and basic concepts used in research and policy on this public health problem will be explained.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, whether occurring in public or in private life”.2 This statement defines violence as acts that cause, or have the potential to cause harm, and by introducing the term “gender based” emphasises that it is rooted in inequality between women and  menThe term gender based violence has been defined as “acts or threats of acts intended to hurt or make women suffer physically, sexually or psychologically, and which affect women because they are women or affect women dis-proportionally”.3 Thus, gender based violence is often used interchangeably with violence against women. Both these definitions point at violence against women as a result of gender inequality. This inequality can be described as discrimination in opportunities and responsibilities and in access to and control of resources that is rooted in the socioculturally ascribed notion of masculinity as superior to femininity.

A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
A typology of violence presented in the world report on violence and health divides violence into three broad categories according to who commits the violent act: self directed violence, interpersonal violence, and collective violence.4 It further captures the nature of the violent acts that can be physical, sexual, or psychological, including deprivation and neglect.

This typology gives a comprehensive overview of the violence present in society and is relevant for both women and men and for different age groups. Women experience all forms of violence, however, interpersonal violence—that is, violence inflicted by another person or by a small group of people on the woman is the most universal form of violence against women, as it takes place in all societies. It is in turn divided into two subcategories: family/intimate partner violence and community violence. Family/partner violence describes violence between family members (often taking place in the home), while community violence describes violence between people who are unrelated and who may or may not know each other, and it generally takes place outside the home.

This glossary will concentrate on various forms of interpersonal violence that strike young girls, adolescents, and women at reproductive age and beyond, showing also how the type of violence changes over the life course. The rationale behind this limitation is that family/partner violence is the kind of violence that strikes women most, while community violence is more common among men. Some culture specific forms of violence will also be described as they fall into this categorisation.

The nature of the violence
Violent acts—irrespective of whether they are self directed, interpersonal, or collective—are commonly categorised as physical, sexual, or psychological. Deprivation and neglect can be considered as forms of psychological abuse. However, these different forms often interact with each other, and form a complex pattern of behaviour where psychological violence is combined with physical and/or sexual abuse for some settings. Coker and colleagues found that women who experienced both physical and sexual violence scored higher on scales measuring ill health than did women who experienced physical violence alone. They conclude that sexual violence might be a marker of more severe violence and perhaps also of violence escalation.

Physical violence is exercised through physically aggressive acts such as kicking, biting, slapping, beating, or even strangling. Intentionally inflicted injuries are often disguised as accidents. At times, women are seriously injured and in some cases die as a result of their injuries.

Women die because of this daily violation we need a stop to this we need a voice... THE VOICE