GENDER- BASED VIOLENCE FOR THE PERIOD OF 2022-2023

Gender-based violence is perhaps one of the most widespread & socially tolerated

forms of violence prevalent in the world. It is a widespread and persisted challenge in India

linked directly to patriarchy and its foundation belief that men have privilege and the power

to inflict violence upon women. Rooted in women’s subordinate status, it is linked both to the

institution of patriarchy as well as the concept of matriarchy, that a real man is who inflict

violence against women. Gender-based violence is a major obstacle in women’s enjoyment of

their human rights and fundamental rights as granted by the Indian constitution. Gender-

based violence is one of the most prevalent human rights violations in the world, gender-

based violence knows no social, economic or national boundaries. It undermines the health,

dignity, security and autonomy of survivors and it remains shrouded in a culture of silence,

supported by cultural beliefs and values that sustain, justify or dismiss it as an ordinary

component of male-female relationships.

It is a phenomenon deeply rooted in gender inequality, and continues to be one the

most notable human rights violations within all societies. Gender-based violence is violence

directed against a person because of their gender. Both women and men experience gender-

based violence but the majority of victims are women and girls. Gender-based violence

reflects and reinforces inequalities between men and women and compromises the health,

dignity, security and autonomy of its victim. It encompasses a wide range of human rights

violence. Violence against LGBTQIA+ community people is an illustration of how gender-

based violence also results from the tension between alternative and main streams practices

related in sexuality. Categories of gender-based violence are : Domestic violence, Sexual

Harassment and molestation, Acid attack, Rape, Cyber Crime, gender-based violence on

Queer community.

Domestic violence or intimate partner violence is a pattern of behavior in any

relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate power. It

refers to behavior by an intimate partner or ex-partner that causes physical, sexual or

psychological harm, including physical aggression, sexual coercion, psychological abuse and

controlling behaviors. A analysis conducted by WHO on behalf of the UN Interagency

working group on violence against women, found that worldwide, nearly 1in 3, or 30%, of

women have been subjected to physical and sexual violence by an intimate partner.

According to SIGI 2023 Global Report: Gender Equality in Times of Crisis, in 2023, nearly

one in three women has experienced domestic violence at least once in her lifetime and one in

ten has survived it over the last year. In the time period of 2022 and 2023 many cases of

domestic violence and murder of the victim by the intimate partner came out such as Murder

of Shraddha Walker case in India. Shraddha walker was a 27 year old Indian women who

was murdered by her 28 year old boyfriend and live in partner Aaftab Amin Poonawala in

Delhi on 18 May 2022. The case only came to light nearly six months after the murder, when

Shraddha’s father lodged a missing persons complaint after learning from Shraddha’s friends

that they were unable to contact her for over two and a half months. On 18 May 2022, 28

year old Aaftab Poonawala strangles his live-in partner Shraddha over an argument and then

proceeded to dismember her body into 35 pieces, allegedly charring her face to hide her

identity. A 300 litre fridge was used to store her body parts, which were individually disposed

in the Chhatarpur forest over the next 18 days, at around 2 AM every night to avoid

suspicion. The Jonathan Majors case is also an another example of domestic violence case

that took place recently. Hollywood actor Jonathon majors was arrested on March 25 in New

York City on allegations he chocked, assaulted and harassed his ex partner Grace Jabbari, the
New York City Police Department said at the time. According to the criminal complaint

during the fight, Majors had allegedly hit Jabbari’s face, twisted her arm and fractured her

finger.

Sexual molestation is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often

perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an

instance of sexual assault against a small child, whereas sexual abuse is a term used for a

persistent pattern of sexual assaults. So many cases of sexual molestation has came out

recently which are either being solved or still the verdicts are yet to come out. According to

news article on The Kashmiriyat reports that on 20 sept, 2023 a Molvi named Hazaif iu

Rahman, a resident of Udham nagar Uttrakhand A/P Gulberg colony arrested for sexullay

molesting a small girl child, while teaching Quran. In this regard, Police has registered an

FIR vide the number No 90/2023 under relevant sections of law stands registerd in Sadar PS.

The Jadavpur University (JU) case is also an another nerve wrecking case. According to a

news article on The Times of India reports that on August 9, 2023 the deceased first-year

student was paraded naked and sexually molested minutes before he fell off from the second

floor of the hostel and died, Kolkata Police’s initial probe has revealed. The 17 year old

Bengali honors student from Nadia died after falling from the second-floor balcony of the

boys’ main hostel on August 9th, just four days after joining as a guest of an ex-student who

had been residing in the building for months. The fresher was rushed to nearby hospital by

fellow students and sadly passed away the following day. The 13 individuals arrested in

connection with the incident, including four students have been prohibited from entering the

university campus. Another case of sexual molestation is of a 63 year old American man was

sentenced by a United States court on 14 th august, 2023 to 25 years in prison for producing

and distributing child sexual molestation material depicting a minor in the Philippines as

reported in an article by The Manila Times.

 Acid attack is also an another form of gender-based violence, involving the act of

throwing acid or a similarly corrosive substance onto the body of another with the intention

to disfigure, maim, torture or kill. Today, acid attacks are reported in many parts of world,

though more commonly in developing countries. In India, acid attacks are at an all-time high

and increasing every year, with 250-300 reported incidents every year, while the actual

number could exceed 1,000, according to Acid Survivors Trust International. Statistics from

Acid Survivors International (ASTI) suggest that 80% of victims worldwide are women.

Bangalore city has reported the highest numbers of acid attacks against women in 2022. As

reported on a news article by India Today, on 8 December, 2023 an rape accused 54 year old

man Prem Singh of Delhi first threatened the girl to force her mother to withdraw the case

filed againt him and when she refused to do so, he then poured acid on the 17 year old girl.

Another article on acid attack by The Times of India reorts that In Lucknow, India a 25 year

old woman suffered burns in an acid attack by unidentified men in Up’s Maharajganj distict

on 14th November night. The survivor was walking to a market with her mother when she was

attacked.

Cybercrime is also an another form of gender-based violence which encompasses a

wide range of criminal activities that are carried out using digital devices and networks.

These crimes involve the use of technology to commit farud, identity theft, creating fake

edited pictures of others without their consent and expanded upon in other malicious acts.

The cases of cybercrime are increasing day by day with the development of internet and

digital devices. According to a news article posted on NBC 6 South Florida portal reports that

2 South Florida students suspended after using AI to create nude picturess of classmates on

December 14,2023. The two male students from Pincrest Cove Academy in Westchester

became the focus of a police investigation after they were accused of misusing artificial

intelligence software to manipulate images of their peers. According to the Miami-Dade

Police Department, the two students used an A.I. application to create fictious nude photos

and superimposing the faces of several classmates. Police said boys and girls were among the

victims.

Rape is one of the most important form of gender-based violence which is a type of

sexual assault involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out

against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force,

coercion, abuse of authority or as against a person who is incapable of giving valid consent,

such as one who is unconscious, incapacitated has an intellectual disability or is below the

age of consent. 2022 Hyderabad gang rape case is one of the most terrifying case in the year

2022, according a news article posted in the portal of The Times of India in May 2022, the

gang rape of a 17 year old girl in road no 44, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, spared outrage across

Tenegana and India. The minor girl returning home after attending a get together at Amnesia

pub was gang-raped by six persons, including five minors in Jubiless Hills area of the State

capital. In july 2022, Jubilee Hills police filed the chargesheet against the six accused in the

minor gangrape case at the nampally Sessions court as well as the Juvenile Justice Board. The

600 page chargesheet has detailed statements from 65 witnesses with DNA reports, CCTV

footage, phone and voice messages. Jubilee Hills police decided to seek trial of all the minors

accuses in the gangrape case as adults to ensure that they receive maximum punishment.

Violence aginst people of Queer community is also an another form of gender-based

violence. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+)

people frequently experience violence directed toward their sexuality, gender identity or

gender expression. This violence may be enacted by the state, as in laws prescribing

punishment for homosexual acts, or by individuals. It may be psychological or physical and

motivated by biphobia, gayphobia, homophobia, lesbophobia, and transphobia. Including

factors may be cultural, religious, or political mores and biases. As the world is getting more
modernized, the bullying or violence against Queer community is rapidly increasing.

According to a news article posted on Hindustan Times, a self taught 16 year old queer child

Pranshu Yadav died by suicide on November 21, 2023, Tuesday. The class 10 boy, studying

in Ujjain Public School, Madhya Pradesh, used to share makeup-related posts and reels on

instagram since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pranshu had a good amount of followers on their

instagram handle @glamitupwithpranshu. Around Diwali, they shared a reel of them wearing

a saree on the social media platform, after which people dropped hateful comments section.

Yes, We Exist, an LGBTQIA+ rights advocacy collective highlighted how the child was

attempting to build a career as a makeup artist, and claimed that they received over 4,000

homophobic and hateful comments on the reel, leading to the suicide.

Gender-based violence is violence directed against a person because of that person’s

gender or violence that affects persons of a particular gender disproportionately. Gender-

based violence (GBV), is a global pandemic that affects 1 in 3 women in their lifetime.

The numbers are staggering:

 35% of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate

partner violence or non-partner sexual violence.

 Globally, 7% of women have been sexually assaulted by someone other than a

partner.

 Globally, as many as 38% of murders of women are committed by an intimate

partner.

 200 million women have experienced female genital mutilation/cutting.

 This issue is not only devastating for survivors of violence and their families, but also

entails significant social and economic costs. In some countries, violence against women is

estimated to cost countries up to 3.7% of their GDP – more than double what most

governments spend on education. Failure to address this issue also entails a significant cost

for the future. Numerous studies have shown that children growing up with violence are

more likely to become survivors themselves or perpetrators of violence in the future.

One characteristic of gender-based violence is that it knows no social or economic

boundaries and affects women and girls of all socio-economic backgrounds: this issue needs

to be addressed in both developing and developed countries. Decreasing violence against

women and girls requires a community-based, multi-pronged approach, and sustained

engagement with multiple stakeholders. The most effective initiatives address underlying risk

factors for violence, including social norms regarding gender roles and the acceptability of

violence.