Violence;
The World Health Organization (WHO, 2013) defines violence as: “the intentional
use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another
person or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood
of resulting in, injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or
deprivation. Furthermore, WHO splits violence into three broad categories which
are self-directed violence; interpersonal violence; and collective violence.
Violence against women and girls has been shown to increase prevalence and
severity in communities experiencing a disaster. Gender- Based Violence (GBV)
is rooted in gender inequality and unequal power relation. Its manifestation
includes physical, mental or social abuse committed on the basis of person’s
gender. As climate change drives the frequency and intensity of many weather
related hazards, gender based violence in disasters is also predicted to
increase. (Jennifer, 2017, Willinger, 2008).
(IFRC, 2015), asserted that it is inherently difficult to research GBV, particularly after
disasters, because GBV is usually hidden and takes many forms (including
domestic violence, sexual violence, sexual exploitation and abuse, child/early
marriage, and trafficking). Researchers have found significant increases in GBV
after disasters in high income countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan,
New Zealand, and the United States; fewer academic studies have been undertaken
in other parts of the world. Overall, it seems that disasters tend to increase
the risk of GBV and that new forms of GBV can emerge in their aftermath.
As response to the question, the following are the factors might
contribute to the increase in violence to women and girls after the disaster
hit a particular community as referred to various reference sources;
Scarcity of basic needs
provision such as water, food and medication; it
is said to be worse time for women and girls when disaster hit a particular
community, this is because most women and girls fight to serve their families
and relatives hence unknowingly become the victim in violence. Women’s and
girls’ roles also influence the risk factor of violence
( J, S, Podboj., et al, 2016). Scarcity of water in the Sahel force women and girls to
walk longer distances to fetch water and fuel, increasing their exposure and
risk of harassment and sexual assault (Skinner, 2011; Le Masson, 2016; Morris,
2015). In some emergencies where CARE has provided humanitarian assistance
water is scarce, leading to long queues and potential conflict during the day.
This is why sometimes girls, who are deemed responsible for fetching water,
decide to get water at night, which increases their risk of being exposed to
sexual assault (CARE Ethiopia, 2016).
Failure of law enforcement; this case is mostly take place in developing countries, where the
laws and policies are less effective to protect women and girls against
violence, when it comes to the case of aftermath of disasters. Furthermore (J,
S, Podboj et al 2016) clarify that, low social status and/or loss of income and
social support of many women following a disaster make them a target of
violence because perpetrators know such women are less likely to report abuse
or seek assistance, especially if the legal and judicial system is not
functioning (Amnesty International, 2009; CARE, 2014). Hence this shows that
the failure of law enforcement accelerate women and girls violence against
violations especially after the occurrence of disasters.
Directly linked to a drop in school attendance is the increase of child
marriage following a disaster, with evidence from Bangladesh (Verma et al.
2013), India and Sri Lanka (UNFPA, 2012) and Kenya (North, 2010). During times
of drought in Masvingo, Zimbabwe, families marry off their daughters earlier
than usual to reduce the size of the household and the number of people to feed
and use the dowry provided by the groom’s family as a source of cash
(Otzelberger, 2014). While this coping mechanism might enhance the capacities
of households, young women and girls who enter marriages are forced to abandon
their education, face early pregnancy and associated health risks and generally
suffer from a lower status within their new families, which are all detrimental
outcomes for their resilience.
Corruption; illegal use of public fund and properties for private gains is
also seemed to be a causative agent for the increasing of violence against
women and girls after disasters. This is common during the time of rescue,
evacuation, relief provisions and other necessary assistances which usually
take place after disaster. Those who have given a mandate of providing helps to
the victims of disasters demand a certain offer in order to help a victim. For
example,
in Haiti, women living in camps after the earthquake
in 2010 coped with male-dominated committees controlling aid distributions,
which often forced them to negotiate through the use of sexual favours in order
to meet basic needs and obtain access to supplies (Horton, 2012).
Traditional beliefs; there are existence of some cultural beliefs in the societies
which speed up the rate of women and girls violence after disaster for hundred
percent. For example a case study of MV NYERERE ferry accident that took place
at Mwanza, many women lost their husbands, as it was reported by (IFRC, 2018)
that 71 men died in the accident. According to the traditional beliefs and
customs of the tribe in which the accident took place, all women who have lost
their husbands should be cleansed by doing sexual intercourse with a person who
have been selected by the community to clean them before they enter into marriage
with other men. These beliefs accelerate violation against women and girls
especially after disasters.
Alcoholism; due to psychological impacts of disasters, most of men engage in
too much drinking behaviors which results into violence behavior. For instance,
post-disaster, men are more likely to turn to gambling, alcoholism and
perpetrating violence due to the threat to their masculinity through the
undermining of their traditional role as protectors and providers (World Bank
2001; Skinner 2011). CARE’s research in East Hararghe, Ethiopia, indicates that
in difficult times, men can resent not having enough money to buy ‘khat’ (a
traditional herbal stimulant that is a banned Class C drug in the UK), which
can result in domestic fights.
The lack of protection
systems; whether disrupted by disasters or
inexistent in the first place, further compounds the vulnerability to risk of
violence during and after a crisis (IFRC, 2012). For example, the destruction
of houses and resulting shortage of shelters can restrict women’s ability to
leave violent relationships (Enarson, 1999). In this case women find themselves
victims of violence because they have no place to go and nothing to do rather
than tolerating the existing situation though it is violent to them.
Powerlessness; the low social status and or loss of income and social support of
many women following a disaster make them a target of violence because
perpetrators know such women are less likely to report abuse or seek assistance
(Amnesty International, 2009)., In such contexts, the impact of a disaster
emphasizes gender-based inequalities and unbalanced power relations, whereby
women suffer physically, lose their status or assets, or live in fear: all
contributing to their vulnerability to risks and undermining their resilience
(J, S, Podboj et al 2016).
Divorce;
divorce
also may stimulate violence during and aftermath of disasters, to a large
extent women are divorced by their husbands after being raped. For instance, following the war in Bosnia and
Herzegovina (1992- 1995) where rape and other sexual violence against women and
girls were perpetrated on a mass scale, survivors had to cope with serious
physical and psychological harm without adequate health care support or justice
from the authorities. Victims not only suffered from the conflict and
associated violence, but they also faced social stigma attached to rape. Many
women were divorced by their husbands when it was found they had been raped (Amnesty
International, 2009). (Webb, 2016) assert that, in Ethiopia, pastoral and
livestock-based communities may cope with crises by reducing herd sizes.
Reduced herd sizes result in men being less able to support their wives, and so
they may choose to divorce them as their own personal coping strategy.
Unequal
distribution of services; many cases are reported globally on unequal distribution of
services after disaster to occur and its consequences on women and girls
violence. For example, in Samoa, after the tsunami of 2009 and Cyclone Evan of
2012 that respectively killed 149 people and displaced close to 5000 persons, a
study conducted by (IFRC, 2016) revealed that the unequal distribution of
relief supplies created disillusionment, agitation and community tensions,
indirectly increasing the risk of physical violence amongst intimate partners.
Forced
marriage after the occurrence of disasters, women and girls who are forced to be
married as a means of coping with disaster impacts, face many problems
including, early pregnancy and associated health risks and generally suffer
from a lower status within their new families, which are all detrimental
outcomes for their resilience. Marriage is a risk factor of intimate partner
violence (WHO, 2013). In South Asia, women who are no longer married—that is,
divorcees and widows, whose number is likely to increase in parallel to
disasters’ death toll— face different and sometimes unique forms of violence
(from social stigma to widow burning) although this area is under-researched
(ibid).
Therefore, whether or not
disaster events increase the occurrence of violence, the fact is that GBV
survivors are unlikely to seek help (IFRC, 2016), protection support might be
unavailable or inadequate, and this discrepancy between the prevalence of violence
and the lack of protection is exacerbated in the aftermath of a disaster. Hence
in order to decrease the rate of violation against women and girls especially
in disaster context, there must be strong and well implemented policies and
laws which can protect women and girls against violence.
REFERENCES
Amnesty International
(2009) The gender trap women, violence and poverty. London: Amnesty
international.
Amnesty
International (2011) Haiti: aftershocks: women speak out against sexual
violence in Haiti’s camps. London: Amnesty international
CARE Ethiopia Emergency Unit. (2016). Rapid
Gender Analysis: Research Report
First, J. (2017) Protecting women and
girls from violence in disasters.
IFRC.
(2012). Predictable, preventable: Best Horton, L. (2012). After the earthquake:
gender inequality and transformation in post-disaster Haiti, Gender &
Development, 20:2, 295-308.practices for addressing interpersonal and
self-directed violence during and after disasters. Canadian Red Cross
IFRC.
(2012). Predictable, preventable: Best practices for addressing interpersonal
and self-directed violence during and after disasters. Canadian Red Cross.
IFRC (2016) Unseen,
Unheard. Gender-Based Violence in Disasters. Asia-Pacific case studies. International
Federation
of Red
Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Asia Pacific Regional Office, Kuala Lumpur.
J, S, Podboj., et al, (2016). Disasters
and violence against women and girls; Can
disasters shake social norms and power relations?
Le Masson,
V. (2016). Gender and Resilience: from Therory to Practice. BRACED Working
paper. ODI, London. https://www.odi.org/publications/9967-gender-and-resilience-theory-practice
Morris, S.
(2015) Stimulating resilience: An architectural research project exploring
gender based violence in internally displaced camps, Unitec Institute of
Technology.
on Wo
Enarson, E. (1999). Violence against women in disasters: a study of domestic
violence programs in the US and Canada. Violence Against Women 5 (7): 742-768
Otzelberger,
A. for CARE International (2014) Tackling the Double Injustice of Climate
Change and Gender Inequality. http://www.careclimatechange.org/files/Double_Injustice.pdf
Skinner, E.
(2011). Gender and climate change overview report, Institute of
Development Studies. ISBN: 978-1-78118-011-2
UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) (2012). “Marrying Too
Young: End Child Marriage.” UNFPA, New York.
Verma, R.,
Sinha, T. and Khanna, T. (2013). “Asia Child Marriage Initiative: Summary of
Research in Bangladesh, India and Nepal.” UNICEF Global Database.
WHO (World Health
Organization) (2013). ‘Global and regional estimates of violence against
women: Prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence and
non-partner sexual violence’. Geneva: WHO, Department of Reproductive
Health and Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and South
African Medical Research Council.
Webb, J. (2016). Gender dynamics in a changing
climate: how gender and adaptive capacity affect
resilience.Availableathttp://careclimatechange.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Gender-and-Adaptation-Learning-Brief.pdf
Willinger, B. (2008).
Katrina and the women of New Orleans. New Orleans: Newcomb College
Center for Research men.
Share This :
comment 0 Comments
more_vert