Table of Contents
Introduction
The social issue that is going to be discussed and analyzed in this case is a large topic and very pertinent in the current society due to its magnitude and harmfulness to the women and for the society. In the following analyze there are some steps like the background, causes and effects, definitions, and a proposal plan.
Background
Studies about this topic have demonstrated that violence against women and girls happens everywhere in the World. It is a global phenomenon.
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The women suffer any kind of violence like physical, sexual, psychological acts of control, threat, and aggression. They even suffer female infanticide child abuse, incest, rape, sexual harassment, and intimate partner violence.
According to the statistics, who commits violence are usually from the extended family members, neighbors, acquaintances, and men that are in positions of power and authority (Guruge, Roche & Catallo, 2012).
That situation of violence causes many consequences for the women themselves, for their families, and to their community. The consequences can be mental health, depression, suicide, and any kind of addictions (World Health Organization, 1997).
The Declaration on the Elimination of the violence against women defines violence against women as an act of gender-based violence that results 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 owing in public or private life. According to that declaration, it is not limited to the family (Kameri-Mbote, 2000).
Violence Against Women and Human Rights
There are many international conventions regard to violence against women and human rights. In this topic the main idea is about the CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women), this convention was created in 1979, by the United Nations General Assembly. The convention is a bill of human rights for women. It has been agreed by more than 185 countries, the bill ensures elimination of all acts of discrimination against women by people, organizations, or enterprises. The CEDAW is based on the concept that rights are basic values shared by every human being, regardless of sex, race, religion, culture, or age. It is concerned specifically with promoting and protecting women’s human rights, it operates against a social structure that is based on Patriarchal values as a reality.
The convention describes in detail how all the signatures countries can proceed with all kinds of violence against women in the economic, social, cultural, civil, and political areas. The CEDAW underlines that no woman can have a right neglected because of their race, religion, social status, or color.
Any discrimination against women is a violation of the principles of equality of rights and human dignity. There is a need to promote full equality between men and women (CEDAW,1979).
The African and Kenyan Context
In Africa, the traditional patriarchal society was recognized as a norm that the man was having the right to chastise their wives and even female members of households were also subject to male supremacy.
The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights regards about the women’s right in chapter 18 number 3 that it is the State as an institution that has to ensure elimination about all discrimination against women and the state must offer protection and to promote of the women’s right having a base in international conventions (African Charter, 1981).
A study did by Kenya Federation of women lawyers (FIDA) in 2008 revealed that 75% of the women surveyed had suffered gender-based violence within the homestead and 78% of these women knew others who were frequently or very frequently brutalized by men. The study was made in four Kenyan provinces. The same report says that even the wives suffer or use to be beaten by their husbands and it is as the cultural point of view it common and normal the woman be beaten in her married daily life. That situation takes place every day behind closed doors in Many families across the country (Ondicho, 2018).
FIDA-Kenya is a women’s right organization in Kenya, the institution was founded in 1985. Their commitment as an institution is to create a society that respects and upholds women’s rights with a mission to promote and to claim the rights of the women individual and collective.
FIDA-Kenya is composed of over 1,400 women advocates, they are lawyers, and law students that live in Kenya. The organization has handled to advocate on custody and maintenance matters, land and matrimonial property disputes, labor, and economic rights, advocacy around women in political participation, sexual reproductive Health Rights (FGM), child and forced marriage, sexual and Gender-based violence among others. Even the organization FIDA-Kenya conducts education and advocacy programs that positively impact on structural, institutional, and legal reforms in Kenya about gender sensitivity (FIDA-Kenya,2019).
The following structure shows the problem core, causes, and effects even how the violence against women is harmful to the women in for the community and the society.
In the case of Kenya, some laws protect the rights of women. In the constitution from 2010 on part 2 – rights and fundamental freedoms clause 27 sections 1 and 2 say that every person is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law. According to the Kenya constitution women and men have the right to equal treatment, the right in political, economic, and social spheres (Kenya Constituition,2010).
Some causes and effects of violence against women
The violence against women anywhere carries many consequences, causes, and effects on the personal level and at the social level.
Causes
Financial dependency: This aspect of financial dependency one that makes the women dependent on her husband and puts her in the inferior condition.
The situation of Vulnerability: The woman can be in the same situations or conditions that make her vulnerable, for example when the person has a disability, is in the prison or living in the street, and when she loses the job.
Machismo: When the man feels the sense of manly or self-reliant and be masculine proud, this aspect when it comes to the relationship can have many consequences.
Effects
Low self-esteem is the excessive preoccupation with something and the consequences can be many like low performance, fatigue, and headaches. The person can isolate her/himself.
The causes of depression can be many and it can provoke another kind of disease.
A sequence of violence can end in suicide if the cases are not discovered in time.
Conclusion
To eradicate this social issue, the proposal is to elaborate on a pedagogical plan of education that covers all the public and private systems of Education. The focus is to develop projects that have the essence to empower women in the diverse areas of knowledge. The project can give even psychological support personal and collective. Another dimension is to elaborate and approve effective laws to prevent and combat violence against women. The collective participation of the women is key to the project to be successful because there are the main stakeholders in this specific case.
There is a need to stand up and promote the women’s rights and to report any kind of abuse of rights in everywhere true social policies that support the promotion of gender balance on the society.
