Peer-reviewed article
New perspectives on fighting violence against women.
Kumari SS, Sohail R, Benagiano G ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This document discusses gender-based violence and violence against women (VAW) as consequences of patriarchal social structures. It mentions various forms of VAW including female genital mutilation and child marriage, and argues for involving men in efforts to eliminate these practices. The document frames VAW as rooted in evolutionary biology but changeable through human progress and international action.
Key points
- VAW comprises multiple forms including selective female abortion, infanticide, femicide, honor killing, female genital mutilation, and child marriage
- The document argues that involving men, who are often perpetrators, is essential to eradicating GBV/VAW
- VAW is presented as an obstacle to health and societal progress and a violation of basic human rights
Limitations
This is an opinion or position piece rather than research evaluating outcomes for children or interventions affecting child well-being. It contains no data, no evidence of effectiveness, and no analysis of how these issues specifically affect children's survival, development, protection or participation.
Abstract
Gender-based violence (GBV) and, more specifically, violence against women (VAW) are commonly considered a consequence of a patriarchal structure-a social system granting the senior male absolute authority over the family and the community as a whole. Anthropologists have documented that human male dominance is rooted in evolution, with male violent behavior observed among the great apes. Given that evolution is a continuous process, human progress over millennia has modified pre-existing behavior, demonstrating that humans can move beyond ancestral ways of life over time. Precisely because of the imperative to change and improve, at the global international level as well as in individual countries, strong movements are in action to eliminate GBV/VAW. FIGO has been and continues to be at the forefront of the battle for equality, with initiatives that cover many aspects of this, including the imperative to involve men, who-in the majority of cases-are the perpetrators. Since men are often the root of the problem, they must also be at the forefront of the battle to eradicate it. GBV/VAW comprises many facets, including selective female abortion, infanticide, femicide, honor killing, female genital mutilation, and child marriage. These deeply rooted forms of violence continue to perpetuate gender inequalities, remain major obstacles to health and societal progress, and violate the most basic human rights.