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Abstract
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Violence against women (VAW) is a global public health concern. One in three women face intimate or non-intimate partner violence during their lifetime. Every woman has the right to live with dignity, freedom, and without fear, and each country needs to protect women by promptly amending legislation systems and recognising laws as important legal determinants of health.
VAW includes physical, mental, sexual, or economic violence. Among six WHO regions, the South-East Asia region ranks second for lifetime intimate partner violence with a prevalence of approximately 33%. However, due to reasons such as fear, financial vulnerability, or associated stigma, VAW is usually under-reported and prevalence estimates do not necessarily indicate the true pervasiveness. In India, 30,216 rape cases were reported in 2021, of which 11.2% involved women from Scheduled Castes and Tribes (members of the lower caste known as Dalits). Shockingly, the number of rape victims among Dalit women and girls increased by 160% from 2009 to 2019, with an average of ten cases per day in 2019. In some parts of India, police refuse to register a rape case unless there is an uproar on social media. Occasionally, a survivor of rape is enquired by judges about their willingness to marry the rapist or is forced by the family members to do so, which often results in extreme mental agony and suicide. Such examples lead to perpetrators of VAW becoming less fearful of persecution, while protection of women remains in peril. In Nepal, rape cases increased by 44% during 2019.Çô20 compared with 2017.Çô18. Unfortunately, in countries such as Myanmar and North Korea, incidences of sexual violence by the governing military continue and other countries are mere spectators to these human rights violations.
Dowry harassment also leads to significant violence against women in the South-East Asia region, for instance in India and Bangladesh. In 2021, 6589 dowry deaths were reported in India and 45 were reported in Bangladesh. A newly married woman experiences indirect aggression with the mother-in-law instigating violence through her son. Multiple rounds of assault or unwanted pregnancies cause severe psychological trauma in women, sometimes culminating in suicide. On Sept 29, 2022, the Supreme Court of India upheld a woman's right to abort unwanted pregnancy (from 20 to 24 weeks gestation), irrespective of marital status and criminalised marital rape. However, the Exception 2 of the Indian Penal Code 375.Çöwhich legalises marital rape.Çöneeds to be removed to really empower women in India. Empowerment of women by education or vocational training would help women to get employment, be independent, and escape domestic violence. However, depending on the region, employment might increase a woman's vulnerability to domestic violence when the husband tries to gain control over her salary. In some rural parts of India, the joint control by a woman of her husband's income or possession of land property decreased her vulnerability to domestic violence. Some countries are making strides to improve women's safety. In Indonesia, women affected by VAW were generally persuaded to sort it out within the family. The sexual violence bill passed in April, 2022, after almost a decade, provides legal support for women in Indonesia to report sexual violence.
Language: en |