Gender-Based Violence-Domestic Violence

Gender-based violence is defined as damaging acts perpetrated against a person because of their gender. Gender inequality, power abuse, and destructive norms are at the basis of it.

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a grave violation of human rights as well as a severe health and safety concern. One in every three women will be subjected to sexual or physical assault at some point in their lives. The threat of GBV for women and girls increases considerably during displacement and times of crisis.

What Are The Issues Here?

One of the issues at present, in this case, is Child Abuse- Jamal who is 6 months old, at his tender age has been through a lot due to child abuse and neglect, with the recurrences of him falling off the bed and his father choosing violence of slapping him on different occasion to stop him from crying. It also stated that Jamal was admitted to the hospital with a brain hemorrhage. Which resulted in him having significant developmental delays and possible mental retardation. For example, abuse or neglect may stunt the physical development of the child’s brain and lead to psychological problems, such as low self-esteem.

The second issue, in this case, is Domestic Violence- Michelle’s first motherly instinct is to protect her son Jamal from being abused by her boyfriend Errol. Upon doing so he turned his anger and aggression to her and physically abused her with a cutlass, where she sustained chop to her body and was bleeding profusely when her neighbor took her to the hospital. While being visited by her boyfriend Errol who beat on her, Michelle was also verbally abused and choked by him until she was unconscious. Michelle being in this relationship and having to suffer through so much can cause her to struggle with emotional and psychological trauma, substances abuse, and even homelessness.