Violence against women
What is violence against women?
People experience violence, because: they identify exclusively or not exclusively as women. They are or were read as girls or women. They are or were socialised as women.
Every person experiences violence differently. Discrimination based on age, sexuality, disability, race, body or other factors will, in addition to gender, influence the experience of violence.
Persons affected by violence against women have one thing in common: they experience violence because of their gender or gender perceptions. This violence is a result, as well as a guarantee, for unequal power relations between genders.
Violence against women can manifest itself in various ways:
Femicide
Killing of women and girls because of their gender
Sexualised violence
Harassment by words, whistles, touching; stealthing, rape
Physical violence
Hitting, wounding
Psychological violence
Hate speech on the internet, threats, humiliations, stalking
Economical violence
Prohibition to work, retaining wages, wage inequality, (old age) poverty
Social violence
Restricting social movement, locking someone up
Societal violence
To judge and value a person based on their gender, to reduce a person to their gender role and to gender stereotypes.
Structural violence
Discrimination at work, in media, politics, sports, language
What is needed
In order to fight violence against women, real gender equality for all genders is needed. That requires deep social changes. Thanks to the empowerment of women and a strong feminist movement in Switzerland violence against women is being discussed. But a lot more is needed!
And Switzerland already agreed to this with the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Women CEDAW and the Istanbul Convention of the Council of Europe. The Confederation, cantons and municipalities must implement these conventions and provide sufficient funds for this purpose. Different legal and practical measures are needed in the areas of prevention, protection/support and law enforcement. These include, for example, crisis centres for victims of (sexualised) violence, annual nationwide prevention campaigns and compulsory training for police, public prosecutors and courts.
What Brava is doing
Brava offers information and counselling to women affected by violence, members of their family and experts.
Brava's political work is aimed at ensuring that the Federal Government and the cantons take effective measures and provide sufficient funding to combat violence against women.
Brava makes violence against women visible through political campaigns.
Brava initiated the Istanbul Convention NGO Network and has a coordinating role in the network.
Brava organises empowerment workshops with and for migrants.
In its training courses for asylum and migration professionals Brava raises awareness on the issue of violence against women.
Brava was a long-standing expert voice on the issue of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Switzerland. Brava initiated the NGO Network against Female Genital Mutilation Switzerland and was an active member of the network from 2016 until summer 2021.