Gender-based violence (GBV) is any form of harm that is committed against an individual or a group of individuals based on their real or alleged sex, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity. The goal of gender-based violence is to degrade and create a sense of inferiority or subordination in a person or group of people. It is predicated on a power imbalance.
Types of Gender-Based Violence
Different forms of gender-based violence exist, some of which include physical, psychological, verbal, and sexual abuse as well as socioeconomic, domestic, forced marriage, forced prostitution, human trafficking, and sexual harassment, among others:
Physical violence: The term “physical violence” refers to any act that involves force that is not permitted. Manslaughter, severe and minor violence, and deprivation of liberty are some examples.
Psychological violence: Any act that harms a person’s psychological well-being or emotions is considered psychological violence. It may manifest as intimidation, libel, harassment, or verbal abuse.
Sexual violence: Any sexual act committed against a person without their consent is referred to as sexual violence. It might manifest as acts of trafficking, rape, sexual assault, or unwanted sexual comments or advances.
Economic violence: Any act or behavior that causes socio-economic harm to a person is referred to as economic violence. Damage to property, limiting access to opportunities in school, finance, or the job market, or failing to uphold financial obligations like alimony are just a few examples of what it can look like.
Domestic violence: Domestic violence refers to a pattern of behaviors that includes coercive control, physical abuse, emotional abuse, economic abuse, and/or sexual assault. It aims to gain or keep control over a romantic or intimate relationship in order to intimidate, frighten, embarrass, terrorize, harm, or assign blame.
Forms of Gender-based violence in the workplace.
Workplace gender-based violence can take many different forms. These may include:
- intimidation or bullying by co-workers, managers, or superiors; physical or verbal abuse;
- harassment and abuse because of a person’s pregnancy, appearance, or sexual orientation;
- unwanted touching, leering or inappropriate looking, sexual jokes, obscene humor, and making sexual propositions are all examples of sexual harassment;
- unhealthy working conditions, such as inadequate sanitary facilities and rules on their use, or unsafe health and safety conditions;
- a woman may also lose her job in some workplace if she challenges a violent or abusive supervisor or if she is pregnant.
Ways to ensure that the workplace is non-sexist, non-discriminatory for everyone, and free of gender-based violence; and that every person is safe and is able to achieve their full potential
Having an effective sexual and gender-based harassment policy in place that all employees are required to abide by is one of the key ways to ensure that the workplace is non-sexist, non-discriminatory for everyone, and free of gender-based violence; and that every person is safe and is able to achieve their full potential. In order to guarantee that workers are aware of what gender-based violence in the workplace looks like and how to handle such incidents when they emerge, it is also important to train staff members and give them accessible material about gender-based violence.