Established by the United Nations (UN) in 1999, November 25th is marked as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, in honor of three women who were murdered in the Dominican Republic in 1960 for being political activists opposed to the existing political regime at the time. This date aims to draw attention to gender inequality and violence – a violation of human rights that continues to occur worldwide today.
The UN defines violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in or is likely to result in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life”. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is estimated that 1 in 3 women worldwide will experience physical and/or sexual violence at some point in their lives.
In turn, this act is generally associated in our daily lives, mainly with physical or sexual violence against women by men. However, it is wrong to address this issue in such a redundant way. Violence against women can take many forms – physical, sexual, psychological, social, economic – and can occur in various contexts – family, professional, friendships, as well as by the State, highlighting the socioeconomic inequality between genders, as well as the lack of support for victims. Both the lack of support, the still-existing discrimination, and the continued "normalization" of this problem, contribute to it still being experienced in silence, both by the victims and by the people around them.
As a way to prevent this issue, it is important to act not only at an intervention level, but also from a preventive perspective:
– At the school level, educate against discrimination and gender inequality, starting in childhood;
– To promote equal pay and equal opportunities at the professional level;
– To act against moral and sexual harassment in any context;
– To raise awareness about reporting any type of violence;
– Support for victims of violence (physical, psychological and economic);
– Punishment of the aggressors.
It has been observed that violence against women persists year after year, and it is everyone's responsibility to report any instances of violence against women, as this is a public crime. To that end, we provide some contact information for victim support:
– Information Line for Victims of Domestic Violence: 800 202 148
– Victim Support Line: 116 006
– Portuguese Association for Victim Support (APAV): 707 20 00 77 or apav.sede@apav.pt
Dr. Telma Gomes
Taipas Termal Mental Health and Therapy Unit
