forbidden words: gender based violence

gender-based violence (see GBV)

Gender-based violence (GBV) is one of the most pervasive human rights violations in the world. It occurs in every country, across all segments of society. GBV entails any harm or threat of harm inflicted on a person because of male-female power imbalances entrenched within a society.

Sexual violence, intimate partner violence, female genital mutilation, child marriage, sex trafficking and femicide are all forms of gender-based violence. GBV can be physical, sexual, mental or economic in nature.

While gender-based violence is inflicted on men and boys too, it’s women and girls who face the greatest threat. Nearly one in three has been subjected to sexual or intimate partner violence in her lifetime.

Survivors of this violence suffer devastating consequences. Many experience severe physical injuries, unwanted pregnancies and exposure to HIV or other sexually transmitted infections. Self-harm, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder are also common. 

What’s more, survivors are frequently subjected to victim-blaming or socially ostracized, leaving them at risk of poverty, isolation and further violence. Some are forced to marry their perpetrators. Others face retaliation for reporting their experiences – as in the case of so-called ‘honour killings’.

All the while, perpetrators often go unpunished, instilling a fear throughout communities that confines women and girls to their homes and robs them of education, employment and so much more. Gender-based violence is often inflicted to deprive survivors not only of their health and dignity, but also of their autonomy.

In emergency settings, GBV soars. Conflict, natural disasters and other humanitarian crises can significantly weaken a society’s ability to protect women and girls. Rates of intimate partner violence rise in these settings. Many armed groups use sexual violence as a weapon of war to advance military or political aims. And girls and women may be forced to trade sex for food, money and other resources they need to survive. 

from — UNICEF.org

June 23rd 2025
Flagstaff, Arizona

This is one of the words/ phrases you can’t say in the new Trump Administration. See a comprehensive list at the Forbidden Words Project.

image: feathered cement © Holly Troy 6.2025