From time immemorial, Gender-based violence (GBV) has been a public health challenge and a barrier to civic, social, political as well as monetary participation. It undermines not only the safety, dignity, overall health status, and human rights of the hundreds of thousands of those who skilled it, but also the public fitness, and economic stability. The security of Gender-based violence is a hotly debated subject matter that regularly divides opinion on how it has managed to cut throughout ethnicity, race, class, religion, training level, and international borders.
Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is one of the most important issues facing us today, as it’s seen as a barrier to the achievement of every development outcome. As a result of this, sustainable development goal 5 explicitly calls for the elimination of “all forms of violence against women and girls in the public since they recognize that gender equality is the foundation for a “peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable world”. According to experts, the following are the most frequently occurrences of GBV in most parts of the world – trafficking, early and forced marriage, rape, sexual and physical assault. Considering the above selection of GBV in our community, the following are the expected outcomes – rapid repeat pregnancies, early teenage pregnancies, abortion, and sexually transmitted diseases.
Research has found that out of every two marriages these days, one will end up in divorce, despite the excess of books, movies, programs, articles on the subject of love, marriage, and sex. Not only that but 30% of women have experienced sexual abuse, non-partner sexual abuse, and lastly, physical violence at the hand of an intimate partner. However, the first line of fighting this global problem is education. Educating yourself and others about GBV can be used to fight this violence without any crisis.
Another tool worth noting is social media. The social media approach is one of the best ways to curb this violence as there’s a high tendency to reach out to more people. The internet is an unlimited reservoir of knowledge and information whereby a single click on a computer mouse in a remote village in Japan can have a devastating effect on the street of New York or London. We are all Netizens (citizens of cyberspace) as long as we use social media platforms or the internet for anything under the sun.
One reason behind this is that it helps to connect at large to others outside your normal social circles. The likes of Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, etc. call for an end to this global problem which is affecting the growth of a nation. To be frank, in less than 100 years from today, many of us won’t be alive to vibrate on social media but coming generations shall read our digital footprints (updates, articles, photos, comments, videos, etc.) to understand our true characters, ideologies, and lifestyles. Another factor to consider is sponsoring a woman survivor of conflicts and war. For instance, stories of women who escaped from violence, and the barbaric acts committed against them is enough to tell us how much they need support as the popular axiom says “If you want to take people out of poverty, empower women”.
Without women’s empowerment and gender equality, societies will not be able to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and their full development potential. Let’s learn to appreciate the women around us and let them see the reason why they should stand up among others to be the best their community will ever have. Learn to help young women join a youth engagement program that will push them to learn and acquire a skill they could live on.
All things considered, it is a collective effort and responsibility of both the government and the media house as a whole to protect and elevate policy placed on Gender-Based violence dynamically in other to foster more on how to prevent and end GBV. In my opinion, education, advocating for change through various social media platform, and sponsoring of survivors of war and violence are just a few things one can do to fight this global pervasive issue. Lastly, if you have a problem with someone, feel free to discuss with the person whom you have the problem with.
OKEDIRAN ADEYEMI is a content writer with TYLC
