Content Warning: This article discusses and provides examples of forms of violence including sexual violence, coercive control, sexism, homophobia and transphobia.
Let’s Talk About X was founded with the aim of helping to prevent gender-based violence through education. As two secondary teachers, we wanted to use our deep understanding of how people (especially young people) learn to create educational programs and resources that are effective at changing the attitudes and behaviours that enable gender-based violence to occur. But what do we actually mean when we use the term ‘gender-based violence’? What does gender-based violence look like? What are these attitudes and social norms that contribute to its high prevalence? And how are we working to change them?
What does ‘gender-based violence’ mean?
When we talk about gender-based violence (GBV), we’re talking about harmful acts directed at a person or group of people based on their actual, or perceived gender, sex, sexuality and/or gender identity. (UN Women, n.d.; European Commission, n.d.) Basically, it's any harmful act that is rooted in inequality and harmful norms.
You may have heard the term ‘violence against women’ used interchangeably, but it’s not only women who suffer gender-based violence. Violence experienced by LGBTIQA+ people can also be described as gender-based violence when it arises, due to notions people have about masculinity/femininity or gender norms.
Gender-based violence is an umbrella term for a range of acts, such as domestic violence, family violence, sexual assault, stalking, coercive control, both physical and non-physical, and we’ll discuss more of these in detail later in the post. It’s important to note that these acts aren’t always gender-based, but the term acknowledges the fact that women and LGBTIQ+ people are disproportionately affected by these violent acts due to societal norms.
Gender-based violence is driven by unequal power dynamics and is used to intimidate, dominate and humiliate. In essence, a person who society affords more power to due to gender norms, may use gender-based violence to control another person. In other words, gender-based violence is a tool for oppression, allowing individuals and groups who society deems more powerful to take from another person, or keep them from gaining autonomy and power.
Gender-based violence arises in a range of forms
Here are just some of the ways that gender-based violence can present itself:
Domestic and Family Violence: This involves people who are in intimate, personal, family or informal carer relationships. Domestic and family violence occurs when one person in these relationships uses violence or abuse in order to have power and control over the other person. Domestic and family violence can be just one isolated incident, but usually it involves an ongoing pattern of behaviour. The abuse used can be physical, sexual, emotional and even financial.
Sexual Assault: Sexual assault includes physical acts such as rape (sexually penetrating the mouth, anus or vagina without the person’s consent), indecent assault (nonconsensual touching, exposing of body parts or kissing), stealthing (not using, removing or tampering with a condom without consent) and sexual coercion (using pressure, threats, trickery or drugs/alochol to get someone to do something sexual).
Sexual Harassment: This refers to any kind of sexual words or actions directed at someone who doesn’t want them. This includes text messages (including pictures/videos/cartoons), commenting on or talking about sexual things and making innuendos.
Emotional and Psychological Abuse: These are mostly non-physical behaviours that are used to break down a person’s self-esteem and self-worth in order to make them feel dependent on the person abusing them. Emotional and psychological abuse includes tactics such as isolation, gaslighting, sleep deprivation, threats, occasional acts of kindness, insults, intimidation and enforcing trivial demands. These behaviours fall under the larger umbrella of coercive control, which refers to a pattern of controlling behaviours that create an unequal power dynamic in a relationship.
Financial Abuse: This includes controlling a person's finances, preventing them from accessing money, manipulating their financial decisions, using their money without consent or using money as a tool of coercion.
Gender-based violence is a widespread social problem not only in Australia, but all over the world.
Violence is not just physical
When people think of violence, their mind often jumps to images of physical violence, like pushing, shoving and hitting. But it’s important to note that violence encompasses more than just physical behaviours.
Violence is "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation." - The world report on violence and health (2002)
If you note the use of “threatened or actual” in the first line of this definition, you can see that behaviours that use power (coming from as social standing, status or strength) to threaten someone are also violence if they’re likely to result in any of the listed harms. In other words, using physical force is not required for an act to be considered violent.
The bottom line here is that using power to hurt or deprive someone (physically and/or psychologically) is in and of itself a form of violence.
If we look at family or intimate partner violence for instance, it’s not just violence if someone’s partner or family member hits them or hurts them physically. Emotional abuse (threats, insults, intimidation), or financial abuse (controlling someone’s access to money) are also acts of violence.
At Let’s Talk About X, we’re relationships and sexuality educators. This means we have a big focus on the primary prevention of sexual violence, but it’s not all we do. We teach understanding, acceptance, and communication skills to help people of all genders and sexualities form more respectful relationships, thereby preventing other forms of violence as well.
Is it really gender-based violence?
In Australian society, when people hear the term “gender-based violence, they most often think about physical violence committed by a man against a woman. And while this is certainly an example of gender-based violence, it’s definitely not the whole picture.
To help you better understand what is and isn’t gender-based violence, here are some examples that may not be so obvious:
Jordan shares a picture of herself in her formal dress to social media profile next to her friend Felix, and in response receives a barrage of comments and private messages from her male classmates. The comments and messages are sexual in nature, and say things like “you’re so hot”, “love how slutty you look in that dress” and “🍆🍆🍆💦💦💦”. None of the comments were about Jordan’s male friend, Felix - they were all about her. This is gender-based violence.
In this example, Jordan is being sexually harassed by her male classmates. The fact that nobody commented on Felix’s appearance highlights that these comments were directed at Jordan because she is a woman. Whether or not her classmates realise it, they have internalised society’s unequal power dynamics between men and women, and this has made them feel entitled to make sexual comments about Jordan’s appearance against her will.
Van posts a photo of an LGBT+ pride flag on social media in support of LGBTIQA+ communities. In response, he receives a flood of hateful comments and derogatory messages from anonymous accounts, calling him harmful slurs like “sissy” and “faggot”, even though he himself isn’t LGBTQ+.
This is gender-based violence.
Remember that violence experienced by LGBTIQA+ people can also be described as gender-based violence when it arises, as it arises due to notions people have about masculinity/femininity or gender norms. And even though Van is not LGBTIQA+ himself, gender-based violence refers to harmful acts directed at a person based on their actual or perceived gender, sex, sexuality and/or gender identity. So regardless of Van’s identity, because the comments have been made due to him being perceived as LGBTIQA+, it is still gender-based violence.
Both John and Steve are both tall, muscular cis-gender men. On a night out in the city Steve cuts in front of John and is served first at the bar. John is very frustrated by this. He shoves Steve and asks him what the fuck he thinks he’s doing. Steve pushes back and is turning to leave, when John takes a swing and coward punches him in the back of the head.
This is not gender-based violence.
This is just plain violence. Although we are still seeing toxic masculinity play out here, because the violence is not perpetrated due to one person deeming the person’s sex/gender/sexuality as lesser, it is not gender-based violence.
Who is affected by gender-based violence?
You might remember a series of television ads promoting the message “Violence against women: Australia says no”. But as we’ve already mentioned, it’s not just women and girls who are affected by gender-based violence. However, some populations are more affected than others.
That said, there are some groups that are disproportionately impacted.
Women: Women experience a disproportionately higher rate of intimate partner violence than men. When it comes to intimate partner physical or sexual violence, 1 in 6 women have experienced this compared to 1 in 16 men. On average, one woman every nine days and one man every month is killed by a current or former partner.Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Family, domestic and sexual violence in Australia: continuing the national story (2019). Canberra: AIHW
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are 32 times more likely to be hospitalised for family violence as people who don’t identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait IslanderAustralian Institute of Health and Welfare, Family, domestic and sexual violence in Australia: continuing the national story, 2019: in brief, 2019
LGBTQIA+ individuals: People in LGBTIQA+ communities are disproportionately affected by violence based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Almost 1 in 2 LGBTIQA+ people have experienced sexual assault.Hill et. al., 2021
People with disabilities: People with disabilities are almost twice as likely to experience gender-based violence, including domestic and family violence and sexual violence, than non-disabled people.Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Family, domestic and sexual violence in Australia: continuing the national story, 2019: in brief, 2019
While the exact reasons that each of these groups is over-represented in gender-based violence statistics vary depending on each group’s unique context, one common theme remains - that when a group of people is marginalised and oppressed, they have less power within a society. Because gender-based violence, like other types of violence, involves an imbalance of power, people using violence will often target people who already belong to marginalised groups.
Consequences of Gender-based Violence:
Gender-based violence has devastating consequences, affecting not only those who are victim/survivors, but also society on the whole. Here are just some of the short and long term impacts.
long-term and short-term impacts on the individual and community
Physical Health: Those who experience gender-based violence can suffer physical injuries such as cuts, bruises, fractures and effects of strangulation, but they can also experience more indirect symptoms. These include sleep disturbances, low energy, headaches, back pain and stomach issues.More long term physical effects can include an increased risk for chronic diseases such as heart disease, arthritis, diabetes and some cancers, as well as a higher likelihood of developing an eating disorder.
Mental Health: Anxiety, depression and PTSD are commonly suffered by those affected by gender-based violence, including victim/survivors as well as those who surround them. Victim/survivors may self-isolate, and disengage from education and family. Feelings of fear, powerlessness, anger and guilt or shame are also very common.The children of victim-survivors can experience intergenerational trauma that may manifest in symptoms similar to those being experienced by the victim/survivor themself.
Reduced Quality of Life: Fear, isolation and trauma can significantly impact the wellbeing quality of life of those who experience GBV, especially when individuals withdraw themselves from education and/or their social life. Gender-based violence can also lead to long term problems with trust, and difficulty in maintaining relationships.
Social and Economic Costs: Gender-based violence results in lost productivity, healthcare costs, and contributes to rates of people experiencing homelessness. This costs Australia $26 billion a year (KPMG, 2016). Gendered financial abuse is estimated to cost $10.9 billion a year, with $5.7 billion of that cost borne by the victim/survivors (Deloitte, 2022).
The impacts of gender-based violence are powerful and far-reaching. That’s why we’re working to prevent it. Find out more about how we do this in our next post.
Eleonora Bertsa-Fuchs [she/they] and Mel Brush [he/they] are experts in fostering a culture of consent and LGBTIQA+ inclusion. For every booking for their training and keynote speeches they create free educational resources to help prevent gender based violence.
References:
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, (2020) Sexual assault in Australia, https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/family-domestic-and-sexual-violence/sexual-assault-in-australia/contents/summary
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) (2024). Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence, https://www.aihw.gov.au/family-domestic-and-sexual-violence/responses-and-outcomes/domestic-homicide#data-tell-us
Deloitte Access Economics (2022) The cost of financial abuse in Australia, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, accessed on 7 March 2023.
Ellis, J. (2008). Primary Prevention of Domestic Abuse Through Education. In C. Humphreys, C. Houghton, and J. Ellis (eds). Literature Review: Better Outcomes for Children and Young People affected by Domestic Abuse – Directions for Good Practice. Edinburgh: Scottish Government.
Flood, Michael, Fergus, Lara, & Heenan, Melanie (2009) Respectful relationships education: Violence prevention and respectful relationships education in Victorian secondary schools. Communications Division, State of Victoria (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development), Australia.
Goldfarb ES, Lieberman LD. Three Decades of Research: The Case for Comprehensive Sex Education. J Adolesc Health. 2021 Jan;68(1):13-27. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.07.036. Epub 2020 Oct 12. PMID: 33059958.
Hill AO, Lyons A, Jones J, McGowan I, Carman M, Parsons M, Power J, Bourne A (2021) Writing Themselves In 4: The health and wellbeing of LGBTQA+ young people in Australia. National report, monograph series number 124. Melbourne: Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University.
Ketting E and Ivanova O (2017). ‘Sexuality education: Lessons learned and future developments in the WHO European region.’ Conference Report, Berlin, 15-16 May 2017 at 32.
KPMG, The cost of violence against women and their children in Australia – Final Report, KPMG, 2016.
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Mathews B, Pacella RE, Scott JG, Finkelhor D, Meinck F, Higgins DJ, Erskine HE, Thomas HJ, Lawrence D, Haslam DM, Malacova E, Dunne MP. The prevalence of child maltreatment in Australia: findings from a national survey. Med J Aust 2023; 218 (6 Suppl): S13-S18.
Mathews B, Pacella RE, Scott JG, Finkelhor D, Meinck F, Higgins DJ, Erskine HE, Thomas HJ, Lawrence D, Haslam DM, Malacova E, Dunne MP. The prevalence of child maltreatment in Australia: findings from a national survey. Med J Aust 2023; 218 (6 Suppl): S13-S18.
OurWatch (2021). Change the Story (2nd ed).
Types of violence against women and girls - UN women australia. (No date) Available at: https://unwomen.org.au/types-of-violence-against-women-and-girls/ (Accessed: 20 August 2024).
What is gender-based violence? (no date) European Commission. Available at: https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/gender-equality/gender-based-violence/what-gender-based-violence (Accessed: 20 August 2024).