Gender based violence

Gender based violence has many shapes: from physical or psychological abuse, deprivation of economic opportunities within the family to sexual harassment, exploitation or abuse at the workplace or in the online space. The consequences of gender based violence can range from emotional harm and suffering, social stigmatization and isolation, to life threatening injury and death. While GBV affects primarily women and girls, it is a serious human rights violation and can be destructive for families and communities at large.

Introduction

Gender-based violence is one of the most widespread human rights violations in the world. How can we recognize it, who suffers the most, and what can we do about it?

Cubes with letters spelling the word "transgender"

Publications

Comparative analysis of the current legal frameworks in Latin America to fight online gender violence and support women’s* leadership in public life

Analysis

Online gender-based violence, specifically targeted at women in politics, directly threatens democracy as it deteriorates and wears out until it becomes more unjust and less participatory.

Gender Based Violence in Armed Conflicts

In armed conflicts, gender-based and sexual violence are very common and are often used as strategic weapons of war. It is estimated that 90% of war casualties are currently civilians, a majority of whom are women and children. 100 years ago, 90% of people who lost their lives in war were soldiers. Due to the social position, the unequal distribution of power and deeply rooted patriarchal structures, mostly women and girls suffer from the consequences of war, especially from sexual violence. However, boys, men and LGBTIQ* persons are also affected. Sexual violence in war takes many cruel forms: rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, sexual torture, mutilation, forced marriages, forced pregnancies, forced abortion and sterilization, etc. There have been important advances at the international, regional, and national levels. Sexual violence is categorized and addressed in legal systems - as war crimes, crimes against humanity, violation of human rights treaties... However, the scale is still appalling and survivors often do not find justice and support.

German Code of Crimes against International Law: gender bias and the need for reform

Joumana Seif blickt vor einem neutralen Hintergrund in die Kamera

Time to move in the right direction

More than a military tactic: sexual violence in wars and armed conflicts

Sticky note with the word 'Justice' on it

What do intersectionality, feminist leadership and feminist foreign policy have to do with justice?

mehrere Spielzeugsoldaten liegen auf einem Tuch

Rape is the cheapest weapon of war

Eine Frau steht mit gehobener Faust bei einer Demonstration

Sexual violence in the conflict in northern Ethiopia

Gender based violence in the workplace is widespread worldwide and can take on various forms. It is rooted in unequal power relations. More and more organizations are fighting against this and striving to create a safe working environment for their employees.

Hände sind schützend vor den Körper gehalten

„Addressing GBV in the workplace is a journey for many organizations“

Interview

Physical or sexual violence is part of women's everyday experience in many places - also in the workplace. Often it is about abuse of power. There have also been cases of gender-based violence in some non-governmental organisations in recent years. Protective measures have been taken as a result. But is that enough? An interview with Christine Ash Büchner.

By Aida Fatić

The Heinrich Böll Foundation (hbs) stands for full respect for human rights and social justice for all. Gender democracy and a zero-tolerance policy towards all forms of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment are firmly anchored in the hbs at the normative, programmatic and organisational levels. We are committed to protecting all our core principles and see them as a shared responsibility and duty of all staff, partner organisations and individuals. Gender-based violence is the result of a culture of discrimination and privilege based on unequal power relations. As part of its commitment to promote gender democracy and to create and maintain a safe working environment for all, hbs has developed a protection policy based on the International Guidelines on Protection against Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (PSEAH).

PSEAH - Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung

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Impact of the Covid pandemic on gender based violence

In crisis situations, the level of gender-based violence increases. During the Covid pandemic, multiple factors such as curfew or financial dependence have also increased the risk of domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence.

schwarzer Frauenschatten hinter zersplitterter Scheibe

Thailand’s Silent Pandemic: Domestic Violence during COVID-19

Porntip wanted out of her abusive marriage and filed for divorce. But her husband wouldn't leave. Then the Thai government's COVID-19 response locked them both behind the same front door in the northeastern Khon Kaen countryside. His drug abuse continued, and the tensions between them increased. As did the beatings. He often told their two daughters he wanted to kill their mother.

By Annelie Langerak

Gender-based violence in digital spaces

Digital technologies are an integral part of people’s lives, enabling us to connect, share and collaborate in online spaces. However, their emergence has also created new spaces to gender injustice and discrimination, whereby women and girls are often particularly targeted. Digital technologies can aggravate existing forms and enable new forms of gender-based violence. Different categories of online GBV include among others: trolling, stalking, disinformation, non-consensual pornography and the most recent form called deepfakes – fake photos generated through AI Technology-based tools. They all can result in silencing women and other vulnerable groups and have other harmful and far-reaching impacts on their online and offline lives.

European Democracy Conference 2022: Illustration Nina Jankowicz

What will Happen if I Use my Voice?

Interview

Gendered disinformation online silences women in the public sphere. The disinformation and democratization expert Nina Jankowicz explains how.

By Nina Jankowicz , Claudia Rothe and Georg McCutcheon

Locating Gender in the Disinformation Landscape

Commentary

Digital Rights Foundation, in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Stiftung, conducted a series of focus group discussions with researchers from across the globe in order to deconstruct ‘gendered disinformation’, understand existing work on the subject and identify areas for future interventions.

By Shmyla Khan and Amna Khan

Algorithmic misogynoir in content moderation practice

E-Paper

"Algorithmic misogynoir in content moderation practice" from Brandeis Marshall, offers an intersectional perspective by exploring the discrimination specifically faced by Black women in the United States

Versammlung von Menschen in Brasilien unter dem Santa-Tereza-Viadukt in der Innenstadt von Belo Horizonte, um der vor einem Jahr ermordeten Marielle Franco und des Fahrers Anderson Gomes zu gedenken.

Violence in social media threatens women active in Brazilian politics

Commentary

In Brazil, misogynist discourse and attacks against female politicians have rapidly increased since the election of Jair Bolsonaro. Especially those who dare to challenge gender norms have become targets of online vitriol. A new law that criminalizes political gender violence may bring some relief, but may not be enough to turn the tide.

By Manuela D‘Ávila

The state of content moderation for the LGBTIQA+ community and the role of the EU Digital Services Act

E-Paper

"The state of content moderation for the LGBTIQA+ community and the role of the EU Digital Services Act" by researcher Christina Dinar, focuses on the challenges faced by the queer community in Europe and offers detailed recommendations for the forthcoming EU Digital Services Act.

Gendered disinformation: 6 reasons why liberal democracies need to respond to this threat

Policy brief

Gendered disinformation is a form of identity-based disinformation that threatens human rights worldwide. It undermines the digital and political rights, as well as the safety and security, of its targets.

Infographics

Child marriages

Before COVID 19, the UN estimated more than 100 million girls would be forced into marriages over the next decade. Today, it estimates that further 10 million girls would be forced to be married before their 18th birthday.

Gender based violence

Introduction

Gender-based violence is one of the most widespread human rights violations in the world. How can we recognize it, who suffers the most, and what can we do about it?

Latin America: Three ways to understand the situation of transgender persons

“To stop the violence we use the power of data”

It is Time for Action to end Gender Based Violence

CEDAW and the USA: When Belief in Exceptionalism Becomes Exemptionalism

The Istanbul Convention: Our Struggle for Equality

The Istanbul Convention: A Chronicle of the Feminist Struggle

Gender-based violence in politics - a threat to democracy