Violence Against Women: The Risk Effects Of Violence Against Women

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Violence against women is a major health problem issue and it is a violation of human rights. 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" (WHO, 2013). Women are much more likely to suffer violence from intimate partners than from strangers. 38% of women’s murders worldwide are committed by intimate partners (WHO, 2013). Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a relatively new term that is being use to replace domestic violence. It describes any kind of harm done by a current or former …show more content…

Experience violence at home during childhood is a risk factor for being an abuser and/or a victim. The exposure to violence can make a child believe that violence is normal. A violent home where abuses happen can also make the child run away from home which can increase the early consumption of alcohol and the early engagement in intimate relationships, which are more risk factors. Alcohol can impair the judgement of the abuser and the victim. Younger women, especially those aged between 15 and 19 are ate a greater risk of being in a current abusive relationship (WHO, 2005). Being in a relationship in a young age usually impacts the woman level of education and her financial autonomy. Higher levels of education were found to be protective against IPV. However, the education protective effect start only when women’s education goes beyond secondary school, it means that they have to achieve at least high school. In a situation where young women are at an intimate relationship, it is probable that they won’t achieve this degree of education. Level of education directly impacts jobs opportunities and consequently financial autonomy. Although WHO (2005) states that financial independency can be a protective factor against IPV, Franklin & Menaker (2014) found that when the woman and her partner are employed the odds of victimization increased by 2.2 times as compared with male-only-employment relationship. I believe that financial autonomy increases the woman’s ability to leave an abusive relationship, however the partner may feel more insecure because of the work connections that the woman have and start to be abusive. Race and ethnicity seems to play a role in intimate partner violence. Black women experience IPV at a rate 35% higher than that white women, and about 2.5 times the rate of women of other races (Rennison & Welchans,200). These are just

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