Global Study of Survivors of Gender-Based Violence Confirms Our Worst Fears
Small steps forward
Not all of the news is bad. Innovative responses to gender-based violence include one-stop centers, where victims receive health, welfare, counseling, and legal services in one location. A study published this year by Rachael Pierotti suggests that women around the world are becoming less likely to accept justifications for intimate partner violence, including the circumstances referenced above. Pierotti argues that global cultural diffusion has played an important role in this change.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, where infrastructure and personnel are lacking to try perpetrators accused of sexual assaults, international organizations have provided funds and technical assistance to help local institutions set up mobile courts. Countries like Zambia and Kenya are also beginning to train sexual assault forensic examiners.
Specialized women’s police stations or units have also been set up in countries around the world, including Ghana, Kosovo, India, Philippines, and countries in Latin America, to address intra-family violence and sexual violence.
These promising developments will provide needed services for victims of gender-based violence and encourage them, more importantly, to feel safe enough to report the violence. Still, primary prevention of gender-based violence should be prioritized.
Much more work is needed.
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