Home sweet home….it is one of the many expressions that exist around the world to address the importance of comfort and security of a home. Yet, for many people home is a place of pain, humiliation and fear, such as in the case of women who are victim of domestic violence and abuse by an intimate partner. Violence against women causes and is caused by some level of gender inequality. Sexual Violence or Sexual Assault is merely one type of violence against women, and it can include both an intimate partner or a non-partner.
Because culture and behaviors cannot be separated, it is important to raise awareness about how women around the world may respond differently against sexual violence, especially by an intimate partner, based on cultural norms and expectations. These can have a direct impact on how much is “normal, “acceptable’ or “unacceptable” at it relates to acknowledging the existence of a problem, placing responsibility, and disclosing information.
In the early 2000s, the World Health Organization (WHO) conducted a study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence against Women in ten countries where data was still scarce on this issue- Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, Japan, Peru, Namibia, Samoa, Serbia and Montenegro, Thailand, and the United Republic of Tanzania.
As the study clearly demonstrates, violence against women is widespread and deeply ingrained in social norms, and has serious impacts on women’s health and well-being. The data collected from all ten countries was eye-opening and pointed to the important role that political, religious, and traditional leaders can play in raising awareness about the problem of violence against women, challenging commonly held misconceptions and cultural norms, by promoting advocacy, especially in areas where violence against women is higher, such as provincial areas, or where violence at home is seen as inconsequential.
REACH-reaching diversity has started to offer a 3 hour women’s violence workshop – In Her Shoes- with the objective to: increase awareness of, and empathy for the difficulties women who experience violence face when seeking support; demonstrate that all women can become victims of violence no matter their circumstances; encourage participants to actively think about what they can do in their personal and/or professional lives to help prevent violence against women; and begin a rights-based discussion and analysis of common perceptions about violence against women.
If your organization is interested in making this workshop available to people in your workforce or community, you can contact TrainingLounge@reach-diversity.com.
You can learn more about In Her Show, a women’s violence workshop, by clicking the following link, https://reach-diversity.com/in-her-shoes—a-women-violence-workshop.html