Violence against women –especially intimate partner violence and sexual violence – is a major public health issue and a violation of women’s basic human rights.
According to WHO, globally about 1 in 3 (30%) of women worldwide in their lifetime have been subjected to either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence.
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.”
Violence against women especially sexual violence is increasing with each passing day. Despite awareness and government policies available the sexual crimes against women are increasing. A recent incident was reported from Fatimah Jinnah Park commonly known as F9 Park in Islamabad where a woman was raped at gunpoint.
The woman along with her colleague visited the park at night after the office. When they were walking they were stopped by two armed men who raped the girl at gunpoint and ran away.
Later the police claimed that they had killed both suspects as they tried to retaliate and fired on the police check post. Later on in the investigation, it was revealed that they both were suspects in the rape case. Police claimed these men to be the same that had committed the crime in the park.
The bigger problem is the justification of the crime by criminals and society also. In the rape case, the rapist after the crime told the victim that she shouldn’t have been in the park at this time.
Even many people on social media tried to justify the crime by saying that the girl shouldn’t have been there at that time of night. Instead of condemning the crime and taking action against it, some people tend to justify the act by giving illogical reasons.
Women have all the rights to live and enjoy freely. There is no justification for violence against a woman just because she was at that point in time in that place, everyone has the right to be anywhere at any time whenever they wanted to be, be it a woman or a man.
The same thing happened a few years back when a woman was gang raped on a motorway at night. People tend to justify that act by saying that she shouldn’t have travelled at that time. She shouldn’t be leaving the house at that time.
Like even the senior police official said that the crime happened because she was travelling alone at that time. She shouldn’t have left the house. If you travel at this time these things are going to happen.
Victim Blaming
The biggest issue that is preventing the crimes from being stopped is the blame on the victim especially in sexual crimes. It is the woman who is always blamed. In the park rape case, people instead of blaming the perpetrators started blaming the victims by pointing fingers at her character by saying what she was doing at that time in the park.
Why was she alone with her colleague in the park? She shouldn’t be there at that time. Why she had gone to the park after office? If she wouldn’t be there at night this thing wouldn’t have happened to her. Just because she was there at night that’s why it happened to her.
Similarly, in a motorway rape case, people started pointing fingers ion the woman by saying she should have travelled with some man, or she shouldn’t have left the house alone, she shouldn’t be travelling alone, she should have checked her fuel first before going out.
These things are going to happen if she travels alone. The biggest issue of society is that of not blaming the criminal and condemning the crime but blaming the victim.
Loss of dignity and respect
It is always assumed that women who have been sexually assaulted or raped had lost their dignity and respect, though who had committed such a crime is the one who had lost its respect and not the woman She is made to feel shame over the act though she does not fault it.
Sexual crimes are always considered as a permanent stamp on a woman’s character where her character is justified as being impure and the person who has committed the crime doesn’t feel any shame.
Victims are never at fault
Whatever the situation or the justification whoever commits the crime is the one who should be condemned, punished, should feel ashamed and the one to be blamed. The victims are never at fault.
There is no justification for any crime. This is no justification of crime by time, place, types of clothes etc. Crime is a crime and nothing can justify it. Liberty is everyone’s right.
Impact of Sexual Violence
Sexual crimes impact everyone not just the victim, but the criminal and society as a whole.
Impact on victim
Sexual violence impact victim both physically and psychologically. It can cause impairment in the functioning of their social, occupational and other important areas of life. It puts them at risk of developing various physical and psychological illnesses like depression, anxiety, PTSD etc.
Impact on criminal
Sexual violence also affects the criminal. The life of the perpetrator also gets affected, by either being punished or condemned. Nobody sees him with respect. No boy trusts him. Even he is the one who loses all his dignity and respect in the eyes of his loved ones. It also poses the risk of physical and psychological issues for the criminal.
Impact on the society
Crimes against women not just affect the victims but society as a whole. It creates a sense of insecurity and fear among people. It creates an insecure environment where people cannot trust each other and cannot function properly. It also creates a sense of mistrust in government policies.
Crime is a crime and nothing can justify it. For society to grow, everyone should be given an equal right and liberty to live their life the way they wanted to, whether it is a woman or a man. For the society to flourish women should be given liberty and crimes against women should be stopped.
Government should ensure the safety of women everywhere, be it schools, colleges, workplaces, parks or anywhere. So that women can grow, flourish and can reach their full potential, only then we can flourish as a society.
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