We need much stronger support systems in the fight against gender-based violence
The COVID-19 pandemic has renewed attention to rising rates of gender-based violence, highlighting an ongoing but worsening crisis.
For decades, service providers and stakeholders have called for greater support for victims/survivors and their communities, emphasizing the urgent need to invest resources in violence prevention and community services.
As an expert in gender-based violence and its prevention, I recently conducted a research review examining how the #MeToo movement and the COVID-19 pandemic have changed the landscape of gender-based violence in North America.
A key outcome of this project is that awareness of gender-based violence is growing. This outcome offers opportunities and hope, but my research also highlights the limitations of increased awareness. It raises some important questions: What does this awareness mean for victims/survivors? And what impact does it have on violence prevention efforts?
Awareness of gender-based violence
To be aware of gender-based violence, it is important to know how widespread it is, the different forms it can take – such as physical, emotional, sexual and economic – and the impact it can have on individuals and communities.
Raising awareness also includes knowing how to intervene, preventing violence and informing people about the support services available in their community.
Research shows that greater awareness helps people recognize abusive behavior and identify when they have experienced violence. This is an important first step that victims/survivors take before seeking help. Seeking help is a difficult process that requires disclosing your experiences in order to receive support.
This is why the #MeToo movement was so influential. It sparked a public dialogue about sexual violence and gender-based violence and led to more victims/survivors speaking out about their experiences.
The movement also led to a rise in sexual assaults reported to police. In 2017, the same year the movement originally founded by Tarana Burke emerged online, more sexual assaults were reported to police in Canada than in any other year since 1998.
Seeking help is crucial
Help-seeking is directly linked to improved well-being and social inclusion. Gender-based violence has both short-term and long-term harmful effects on physical and mental health. It is associated with injuries, chronic illness and pain, anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts.
Gender-based violence can also have negative impacts on employment and participation in community life.
However, these negative impacts can be significantly reduced when victims/survivors seek help and receive support, compassion, and resources. For this reason, positive responses to disclosures are critical and can influence whether a victim/survivor seeks help in the future.
This highlights the need to educate the public on how to respond to disclosures of violence and to ensure that all professionals working with victims/survivors receive the necessary training to support them.
Gaps still exist
Knowledge gaps make it difficult to seek help, especially for underserved and marginalized populations. These gaps prevent victims/survivors from receiving the help they need and deserve.
One such gap is misinformation about gender-based violence. For example, rape myths – false but widely held beliefs about sexual violence – can prevent victims/survivors from seeking help.
They can also create barriers to support and justice when victims/survivors reveal their feelings when listeners have misconceptions about sexual violence, victims and perpetrators.
Read more: Rape myths can influence jurors’ perceptions of sexual assault, and that needs to change
A study of online disclosures of sexual violence on a mental health peer support app found that rape myths appeared in one-fifth of disclosures.
This finding provides insight into the types of messages victims/survivors receive and the social environments they face if they decide to disclose or seek help—even when those environments, such as a mental health app, are intended to be supportive.
Lessons from the pandemic
Knowledge gaps also include a lack of knowledge about available community resources. This became evident during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the number of gender-based violence cases skyrocketed and many victims/survivors experienced increasing isolation.
As a result, victims/survivors had less access to informal support from family and friends as well as to formal support from medical care and mental health services.
Victims/survivors were also confused about which services were still operating and how to access them safely. A key lesson from the pandemic is the need for stronger communication strategies to reach victims/survivors in times of crisis.
(Shutterstock)
Responding to growing demand
While gaps remain, it is clear that increasing awareness of gender-based violence has led to more victims/survivors seeking help. However, awareness alone is not enough to effectively combat this form of violence.
The increasing demand for these services has placed additional strain on already underfunded community organizations such as emergency shelters, halfway houses and centers for victims of sexual assault.
Read more: Staff supporting survivors of gender-based violence demand change
Chronic underfunding has exacerbated both existing and new challenges as these organizations have adapted their services to meet the growing needs of communities during the pandemic.
As a result, waiting lists for sexual violence centers have grown longer and organizations dealing with gender-based violence are facing a staffing crisis. Staff suffer from burnout and organizations experience high staff turnover.
Building on progress in raising awareness of gender-based violence, governments and communities need to increase the capacity of community organizations and provide them with greater stability in the future. To meet current and future needs, resources must be allocated for violence prevention and victim/survivor services.
