Violence against women: speak up – plea

Church leaders must speak out more against violence towards women, an evangelical leader says.

Christian relief agency Tearfund’s Gender and Protection Unit Lead, Sabine Nkusi, says faith leaders around the world must play their part in ending violence against women.

She was speaking to en after the UK-hosted ‘Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative’, held to coincide with the UN Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

‘One in three women and girls will experience physical and/or sexual and gender-based violence in their lifetimes. That is about 1 billion women and girls,’ she said. ‘Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) includes rape, physical abuse, harassment, economic abuse and discrimination.

‘Violence against women is a global crisis, not just isolated to certain countries,’ she continued, adding: ‘But men can also be affected by sexual violence.’

Nkusi told en: ‘Our work in Nigeria has shown us that faith leaders, both Christian and Muslim, care for their communities. They know that SGBV affects those communities, regardless of which religion individuals might belong to.

We learned that focusing on harmful gender norms (for example, aggression as an expression of masculinity) can shift social norms at a community level. Addressing these issues with other faith leaders also improved overall social cohesion.

‘SGBV is widely prevalent, so churches will be affected. Addressing violence means addressing gender equality. A church culture in which women are seen as less than men can create an environment where violence can take place, especially when this is already the norm in society. It is important that survivors hear their faith leaders say that violence against women is not acceptable.

‘Some interpretations of the Bible or other sacred texts (such as those that do not recognise women as equals) are so deeply entrenched that they are hard to challenge and may result in negative behaviour. When decision-making power is only afforded to men, inequality can become embedded in the culture, so it becomes very hard to change.

‘Violence against women is wrong, but ending it is possible. In the Democratic Republic of Congo we saw over 60% reduction in intimate partner violence and over 80% reduction in non-partner sexual violence within two years of supporting communities effectively.’