Violence Against Women

There are many interrelated elements related to the issue of violence against women. These are domestic violence, sexual assault and harassment, hate crimes transversing lines of race, gender, and sexuality, gender bias in the judicial systems, and the violence of poverty as seen by the extreme right's attacks on impoverished women and children.

These faces of violence against women were raised from the society's degraded outlook of women and their efforts to "hold women in their place." I read and heard and seen about these unpleasant occurrences almost everyday; from the daily dose of verbal abuse at home, to the lewd comments on street, to sexual aggravation in the workplace. Even jealous boyfriends who hurt their girlfriends because of entertaining doubts in their shallow minds is but a sign of violence against women.

Thus, any act of gender-based brutality which results in physical, sexual and/or mental damage or distress to women, even threats of such acts, intimidation or subjective denial of liberty, whether taking place in public or in private life, is a form of violence against women.

I am therefore glad that there are organizations around the world (such as WHO and ASEAN) which advocate laws and punishments against those who victimized women and violate their rights. Because of these groups every act of violence against women is given a name, has been considered as a capital crime punishable by law and has been put to shame. These acts were now even considered as socially intolerable as they were illegal.

I do believe that a massive public education is important to make everybody aware that even "small" actions such as receiving a harassment phone call is considered a crime and therefore must be properly dealt with. Further, I am convinced that aggression against women is a foremost health and human rights matter. It is also a social issue that deserves an immediate attention and coordinated reaction from various sectors, government or non-government.