Gender-based Violence

One of the main reasons women choose not to run for political office: They fear their safety inside and outside social networks, as well as attacks from the opposition and from within their own ranks.

War and armed conflict almost always go hand in hand with sexual violence – rape, sexual slavery, forced marriage. On occasions when it seems pertinent, such as in the context of the current war in Ukraine, politicians and the media talk about the issue and condemn the violence, but their rhetoric is short on substance.

The elimination of violence against women is tied to the elimination of all forms of heteropatriarchal, homo- and transphobic, (neo-)colonial, racist, capitalist, ableist violence.

Since 2020 a war has been ongoing in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. The conflict quickly spread to the neighboring regions of Amhara and Afar, leading to a humanitarian crisis. Sexual violence is being employed deliberately and systematically as an instrument of war by all parties to the conflict in northern Ethiopia. 

In Brazil, misogynist discourse and attacks against female politicians have rapidly increased since the election of Jair Bolsonaro. Especially those who dare to challenge gender norms have become targets of online vitriol. A new law that criminalizes political gender violence may bring some relief, but may not be enough to turn the tide.

Physical or sexual violence is part of women's everyday experience in many places - also in the workplace. Often it is about abuse of power. There have also been cases of gender-based violence in some non-governmental organisations in recent years. Protective measures have been taken as a result. But is that enough? An interview with Christine Ash Büchner.

Gender-based violence, participation in political and social processes and shrinking spaces: How do women's rights activists work under increasingly constrained circumstances in Cambodia?

More than 50 people were injured in attacks on journalists and civil society in Tbilisi in early July in connection with Pride Week. The German Federal Government and the EU should strongly urge their Georgian partners to address the violence through prompt and comprehensive legal and political action. 

The experiences of women in the Second World War with sexualised violence show that some suffering was gender-specific. According to the sources, sexualised violence against Jewish women and girls was not a by-product of the war, but the war itself, organised and controlled by those who denied Jews their right to exist.