Stop abuse of women, children; they must be protected

Violence affects millions of women and children around the world, and poverty unfortunately makes them more vulnerable to a range of ev­eryday forms of violence.

According to statistics one in five girls is sexually abused at least once in her life. Additionally, around 736 million women have at some point in their lives been vic­tims of sexual or physical abuse.

Furthermore, girls under the age of 16 are the victims of up to 50 percent of sexual assaults worldwide.

It is really depressing that as­sault situations are frequently han­dled at home and viewed as family matters rather than being reported to the appropriate authorities to address the problems.

The Spectator is opposed to vio­lence against women and children, which is common in most homes but ought to end because these individuals have rights and require protection.

As a result of this, November 25 is celebrated around the world as the International Day for the Elim­ination of Violence Against Women (EVAW). It also signifies the start of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV), which continues until December 10, International Human Rights Day.

These 16 days offer a specific time frame for action and advoca­cy. The goal of the yearly campaign is to prevent and end violence against women and children. The theme for this year is “A woman is killed every 10 minutes.” #UniTE to End Violence Against Women #NoExcuse.

It aims to promote a shift in the attitudes, behaviours, and culture that contribute to violence against women and their children. The campaign seeks to permanently eradicate abuse from society and increase awareness of the detri­mental effects that violence and abuse have on women and children.

Physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, spiritual, cultural, verbal, and financial abuse are all forms of violence against women and children. In addition, it may involve coersion, threats, denial of freedom, digital or online abuse, forced or child marriages, and fe­male genital mutilation (FGM).

These are human rights abuses that occur daily, repeatedly, and everywhere in the world. They have detrimental short- and long-term effects on women and girls’ physical, economic, and psycho­logical well-being, though they can also target boys, preventing them from fully and equally participating in society.

In order to prevent violence against women and children we can empower women, educate others about gender equality and non-vi­olence, and support their indepen­dence and decision-making authori­ty in relationships and public life.

We should also treat all forms of abuse and violence seriously, apprehend those responsible, and punish them severely deter others from committing similar crimes.

We should also take all violence and abuse seriously by arresting perpetrators and dealing severely with them to deter others from engaging in similar acts.