SGBV Pandemic Phenomenon

Original Blog entry:

Gender-based violence is an international phenomenon, many campaigns were designed by both national and international entities to stop this kind of violence. For a long time, fear of social stigma, silence and not reporting caused violence against women to increase until it became pandemic. Statistics show that one in three women worldwide experience gender-based violence.

Recently, activists and organizations started campaigns that encouraged survivors to raise their voices and speak out of their suffering. Movements opposing GBV were created such as #MeToo, #TimesUp, #NotOneMore, and others, that cannot be silenced anymore. Supporters of those campaigns comprehend that regardless of different geographical locations, contexts, cultures, and backgrounds, women are still facing gender-based violence worldwide and that needs to stop.

Rationale:

I chose this concept because I feel responsible as a woman to highlight and raise awareness that violence against women travels beyond culture or context. Women are considered one of the most vulnerable groups and are regularly exploited and manipulated by some male figures in different life situations, could be at home, at school, at work, in the street and other places. In many cultures sexual violence remains a taboo subject and is often underreported due to a social stigma.

Transnational women movements are always trying to rally to end the violence against women, but it needs the collective efforts to accept and recognize the diversities and differences in backgrounds, cultures, beliefs and goals that emerge from women around the globe and their unique communities. Transnational feminism as a practice, examines the multiple historical and contemporary intersections of race, gender, sexuality, economics, and nationality (among others) on a global scale. (Harris 2010) Transnational feminism and gender-based violence: Exploring the relationship between feminist theory and V-Day.

Keywords: Gender, Transnational Feminism, Violence, Women

Author: Blackiris