Essay on Models and Programs to Address Violence Against Women and Girls

Violence against girls and women is still prevalent in the society today despite the significant trends made in technology, public health, and social justice. Women of diverse cultures and different social classes continue to express abuse by their intimate partners or people well known to them. The implication of that results not only in injuries and psychological trauma, but also deaths in the worst case scenarios (Dillon, Hussain, Loxton, and Rahman, 2013). Women fail to attain their goals in life; they are denied opportunities to maximize their potential and also experience limitations to grow in the corporate world. As such, there is a need for interventions and programs to address this risk and danger and restore dignity in the life of women and protect them from the negative implication of violence. The programs need to be sustainable and transcend time as such; they need to be based on well-researched theories with a broad scope of the problem to ensure all key aspects are included. Some approaches and methods that have been used before have not solved the problem and created milestones as it should because of narrowness and subjectivity.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

The program that should be used is women and girls empowerment based on the legal provisions and rights in the constitution and general laws. It is imperative that women should know their rights and what the law requires of them to do and what is outright abuse as highlighted by Garcia-Moreno and Watts, (2011). It is unfortunate that some women do not have an understanding that they are in abusive marriages. In fact, some think that domestic violence is something that they deserve based on the cultural environments they find themselves in. Some group of women suggests that they did something wrong to experience battering as they are in the mercies of their spouses though abusive. Another group of women knows they are being abused, but they lack the inner strength to stand up and take their different positions by affirming their value. As such, training and creating awareness of the importance of women would be something of great significance. Apparently, most women even the enlightened do not recognize their value, and they feel like the men even in public offices are doing them a favor when they treat them right. It is important to note that building the inner strength of women is better inculcated in young girls in schools and even at a younger age so that as they grow up. They will have a high self-esteem and have the ability to make rational decisions like of walking out of an abusive relationship early enough (Orenstein, 2013). Young women with a high self-esteem will take an unpopular position against their male counterparts without the need to feel apologetic. Such women, will take equal challenges like men and peg their worth or who they are instead of trying to find their approval from men such that their value remains stable. It is hard to abuse such kind of a woman because she will only allow men who will affirm her value and make her better and not one who will degrade her. Women of value can seek justice where abuse occurs even in their neighborhood and can stand up for other women and girls when the need arises. It is such women that are transformational.

The challenge that exists is the ability to bring to pass such kind of women in the modern society that is paved with so many responsibilities and activities demanding time. However, the cost of investing in the women to empower them and affirm them of their worth is less than the cost of treating battered women, paying for counseling sessions or taking care of orphans whose mother dies in an abusive relationship. As such, teachers in schools should take the first instances to encourage girls that they are worth more than tools of mens manipulation as noted by Shetty Hans, (2015). Parents should bring up their children especially girls continually affirming them to build their self-esteem. There should be various forums in the society that encourage girls to develop inner strength and inculcate virtues associated with self-worth.

Apparently, this ideology is supported by the power and control wheel model. This theory asserts that the perpetrators of violence against women want to exercise control and power over their victims who feel powerless (Rankine, Percival, Finau, Hope, Kingi, Peteru and Selu, 2015). That is why the issue of loss of control is a wrong reason for battering or raping girls because those men do not do the same to their bosses or workmates. The exercising control becomes the motivating factor to the victims who are subjects who cannot reciprocate with the same control. So as men target weaker beings than them, they are able to abuse their victims, instill fear and run away with the consequences of their actions. However, if women are empowered and know their position, they are going to prevent the escalation of abuse and such negative implications will be averted. Resources of time and money allocated to aftermaths of abuse will be directed to promoting public health.

References

Dillon, G., Hussain, R., Loxton, D., & Rahman, S. (2013). Mental and physical health and intimate partner violence against women: A review of the literature. International journal of family medicine, 2013.

Garcia-Moreno, C., & Watts, C. (2011). Violence against women: an urgent public health priority. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 89(1), 2-2.

Orenstein, P. (2013). Schoolgirls: Young women, self esteem, and the confidence gap. Anchor.

Rankine, J., Percival, T., Finau, E., Hope, L. T., Kingi, P., Peteru, M. C., ... & Selu, E. (2015). Pacific peoples, violence, and the power and control wheel. Journal of interpersonal violence, 0886260515596148.

Shetty, S. S., & Hans, V. (2015). Role of Education in Women Empowerment and Development: Issues and Impact.