Psychologist's grim picture of violence against women
By Pooja Dhar
During an awareness session onviolence against women held by TVS Raider and Josh Talks in January, Karthik Hariharan said that 28.4% of pregnant women face domestic violence. The counseling psychologist and TedX speaker also claimed that “the number of cases of domestic violence on women has risen tremendously during the pandemic” and that “one out of every three women struggle with sexual violence.”
Hariharan said, “Violence is not only physical, but also emotional and mental”, which is why it is an urgent need to have open discussions on the issue. He showed some very disheartening statistics, that revealed that only 25% of the survivors of violence sought help to end the violence against them, whereas 33% of these victims never even tell anyone about it.
Talking further on the issue, Karthik explained in detail about what constitutes violence against women. He said that the “high number of cases reported of acid attacks, dowry deaths, child abuse, honour killings, trafficking and domestic violence, are all included in violence against women.”
According to the report presented by Hariharan, the violence a woman may face throughout her life can be divided into six different stages. The first one being foeticide and infanticide, followed by the school going age. This takes place if there is an economical or cultural preference given to the sons and when daughters are not given equal primary and secondary education. The third stage is adolescence, when girls become victims of abuse, both physically and through the internet. Events of exploitation and violence like acid attacks, rape, early marriage and even HIV/ AIDS are all included in this stage.
The fourth stage of violence a woman may face throughout her life is marriage, when women are tortured physically, economically and emotionally by the husband or the in-laws. The fifth one of motherhood, which is followed by the sixth one, which is the workplace. The fifth stage happens when a mother is not provided with proper medical care and healthy food during her pregnancy. Violence at the workplace includes events like exploitation, unequal pay, lack of promotions and physical, economical or emotional abuse.
(The writer is a second semester student of Post-graduate Diploma inDigital Journalism .)
During an awareness session on
Hariharan said, “Violence is not only physical, but also emotional and mental”, which is why it is an urgent need to have open discussions on the issue. He showed some very disheartening statistics, that revealed that only 25% of the survivors of violence sought help to end the violence against them, whereas 33% of these victims never even tell anyone about it.
Talking further on the issue, Karthik explained in detail about what constitutes violence against women. He said that the “high number of cases reported of acid attacks, dowry deaths, child abuse, honour killings, trafficking and domestic violence, are all included in violence against women.”
According to the report presented by Hariharan, the violence a woman may face throughout her life can be divided into six different stages. The first one being foeticide and infanticide, followed by the school going age. This takes place if there is an economical or cultural preference given to the sons and when daughters are not given equal primary and secondary education. The third stage is adolescence, when girls become victims of abuse, both physically and through the internet. Events of exploitation and violence like acid attacks, rape, early marriage and even HIV/ AIDS are all included in this stage.
The fourth stage of violence a woman may face throughout her life is marriage, when women are tortured physically, economically and emotionally by the husband or the in-laws. The fifth one of motherhood, which is followed by the sixth one, which is the workplace. The fifth stage happens when a mother is not provided with proper medical care and healthy food during her pregnancy. Violence at the workplace includes events like exploitation, unequal pay, lack of promotions and physical, economical or emotional abuse.
(The writer is a second semester student of Post-graduate Diploma in
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