FAMILY VIOLENCE AND ITS IMPACT ON CHILD DEVELOPMENT

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FAMILY VIOLENCE AND ITS IMPACT ON CHILD
DEVELOPMENT
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 Gender-Based Violence as a Violation of
Womens Human Rights

• Gender-based violence in general and violence
  against women by their partners in particular
  is a historical phenomenon in many cultures, with
  no limits of age, social class, race, ideology or
  religion.

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• Several decades ago, the various manifestations
  of this type of violence began to be understood
  as a violation of human rights, based on the
  principle of the Universal Declaration of Human
  Rights All human beings are born free and equal
  in dignity and rights.

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International Conferences and Instruments

• The UN General Assemblys adoption of the
  Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
  Discrimination against Women (1979).
• The World Conference to Review and Appraise the
  Achievements of the United Nations Decade for
  Women Equality, Development and Peace (Nairobi,
  1985).
• The UN General Assemblys proclamation of the
  Declaration on the Elimination of Violence
  Against Women, to reinforce and supplement the
  process that began in 1979 (Vienna, 1993).

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• Thus gender-based violence was configured as a
  complex issue whose existence is based
  fundamentally on the inequality between men and
  women an inequality that is culturally
  constructed, and which is legitimized and
  reproduced by social structures.

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Types of Gender-Based Violence

• From emotional violence (insults, threats) to
  physical violence (pushing, hitting, gun and
  knife attacks, murder).
• From sexual harassment to sexual exploitation and
  trafficking of girls and women.
• From genital mutilation to slavery.
• From mass rapes and sexual tortures during
  wartime to the rape of refugee and displaced
  girls and women.

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Family Violence

• The most common and perverse manifestation of
  violence against women is that which is inflicted
  in their most intimate environments, in
  surroundings that are supposed to welcome,
  cultivate, develop and bring out the best in
  human beings the family.

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Declaration on the Elimination of Violence
Against Women

• The term violence against women means any act
  of gender-based violence that results in, 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
  occurring in public or in private life.
• (UN General Assembly, 1993)

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Progress at the International Level

• The Organization of American States (OAS),
  through the Inter-American Commission of Women
  (CIM), drafted the Inter-American Convention to
  Prevent, Sanction and Eradicate Violence against
  Women Convention of Belém do Pará.
• States that ratified this 1994 Convention made an
  international agreement to sanction violence
  against women, to protect victims, and to promote
  the conditions necessary for its eradication, as
  a way to continue making progress and to
  supplement other international instruments.

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Chile 1994

• Enactment of the Family Violence Act, following
  four years of Parliamentary proceedings.
• A strong message from the state regarding
  punishment of family violence.
• A clear indication that this is an issue of
  profound interest to the state, as it gives
  family violence an eminently social character.

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Violence Against Women in the Family Sphere

• Today there is a broader awareness that all
  women, regardless of their age, race, religion or
  social condition, are vulnerable or exposed to
  violence and abuses of power by their partners.

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Effects of Family Violence on Womens Lives

• Life with a violent partner can have physical,
  social, emotional and psychological effects on
  women, in both the short and long term.
• This results in lower self-esteem, loss of
  confidence in themselves and others, isolation,
  depression, and suicidal tendencies.

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Family Violence and its Impact on Children

• Women who are victims of violence and who suffer
  effects on their health and physical, mental and
  emotional condition will have more difficulty
  giving their children the appropriate attention,
  affection and care.
• Witnessing violence leaves children very scared,
  distressed and anxious about their own safety and
  that of their mother and siblings.
• Around 60 of children who live with an abused
  mother are or will be directly abused by their
  mothers aggressor.

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• Children who experience family violence also
  develop coping strategies. One of the most common
  strategies is skipping school, which always
  exposes them to other risks.
• Other coping strategies include alcohol and drug
  use, involvement in street fights, and
  self-destructive behaviors.
• Studies show that children who are abused are
  more likely to suffer psychiatric disorders in
  adulthood, and reproduce and/or become victims of
  violent behavior.

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Some Consequences of Family Violence

• Family violence is a problem that affects all the
  members of the family, and whose impact is
  harmful to society as a whole.
• In many countries, domestic violence is
  considered a public health problem that mainly
  affects women and their children.
• According to the World Bank, in established
  market economies, gender-based violence is
  responsible for one out of every five healthy
  days of life lost to women of reproductive age.
• Gender-based violence causes more deaths and
  disabilities among women between the ages of 15
  and 44 than cancer, malaria, traffic accidents,
  and even war.

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Final Remarks

• Family violence is part of an extensive range of
  violent acts that occur in the private and public
  spheres, committed mainly by men, and whose
  principal victims are women and children.
• Violence against women, particularly at the hands
  of their partners, is a serious human rights
  violation, and an obstacle to the development of
  democratic societies.

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• Family violence limits or hinders womens full
  exercise of their rights. Therefore, addressing
  this problem will always require policies and
  actions to which states are actively committed.
• Family violence will always have a devastating
  effect on the lives of children, since it is an
  experience of brutal isolation for them, and
  asking for help can be a difficult, solitary
  exercise.
• The issue of family violence must be addressed
  from a gender-based perspective, especially with
  children and starting at a very early age
  working with them to build new gender references
  that are equitable and democratic.

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