What forms of violence are common in our schools? Various forms and levels of violence are present in many schools. For example, beating/corporal punishment, fighting, learner–learner racial/sexual/homophobic bullying or harassment, cyberbullying, stalking, intimidation and threats, educator– learner sexual and gender-based violence, rape (including gang rape) and even human trafficking and murder. Violence can take the everyday form of bullying and harassment in schools. Bullying learners (and educators, too) may repeatedly persecute learners who are less powerful because they are younger, shy, unpopular, new, disabled, foreign, homosexual or female. Even low-level bullying and harassment (such as insults) make it easier for more extreme violence to take place.
How does violence affect people?
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It results in deaths, injuries, disabilities and deprivation. Psychologically, it creates fear and dread and erodes people’s self-esteem and sense of identity. Violence tends to ‘take over’ people’s lives and limit their freedom. They may feel fearful, trapped and vulnerable, especially if they are dependent on the perpetrator. Young children, for example, are very vulnerable to violence. Violence can reduce hope, resilience, confidence and the power of independent action, so that it impacts on people’s performance in the world (e.g. at school or at work). Just as people fear walking in the street in a violent neighbourhood, children may fear and avoid going to school when they are bullied, harassed and/or feel unsafe there. In addition, violence breeds more violence, thus increasing its severity. A lesser form of violence often leads to a more extreme form. Some forms of violence cannot easily be separated: the term ‘gender-based violence’ is sometimes used interchangeably with violence against women. However, it is different, as violence against women is just one of many types of GBV. Furthermore, many people experience various forms of violence at the same time. For instance, children who are bullied will be called names and may also be beaten up, and women who are beaten by their partners may also be sexually, verbally, psychologically, financially and emotionally abused.
Gender inequality From an early age, boys and girls receive messages about what is expected of them as a boy or girl. These early ‘gendered’ messages usually come from parents, caregivers and other family members or educators, and are often explicit: Act like a lady; Do as you are told like a good girl; Be strong, like a man. Only girls are crybabies; Hit him back. Show him who’s the man! Other more implicit (hidden) messages are socially constructed and are often seen as ‘natural’, as if they were biological facts about males and females, e.g. who plays which roles and who has the highest status, power and control in family relationships, in the community, in the workplace and nationally.
Gender-Based Violence: An Introduction
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