A Review on Impacts of Violence Against Women (VAW) on Socio Economic Development Sector

Violence against women (VAW) is one of the type of gender-based violence that encompasses harm and abuse to women on a physical, sexual, psychological and economic level. Domestic violence against women can take the form of intimate partner violence (IPV), rape, sexual assault, human trafficking, stalking and cyberbullying. According to Krantz and Garcia (2005) VAW is a serious violation of women’shuman rights. The nature of violence against women differs from one nation to another (Cousineau and Rondeau, 2004). De Judicibus and McCabe (2001) claimed that the traditional gender-role attitudes are associated with greater flourishing environment for violence against women. Gender-based violence is widespread in Nepal and is a public health problem. In the past ten years, women'sentrepreneurship has been recognized as a significant untapped source of economic growth (Georgeta, 2012). Violence against women (VAW) is a widespread global issue, with more than one-third of women worldwide having experienced VAW (World Health Organization, 2013). The physical and mental health of women is negatively affected by violence against them for avery long time. It can result in substance misuse, bodily harm, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and even death. It also has a financial cost in terms of medical expenses, lost wages from the victims' inability to work, and an impact on workplace efficiency. Finally, violence against women inhibits efforts to reduce poverty and advance human rights, as well as efforts to achieve gender equality.

According to a study conducted by Puri (2023) in Nawalparasi district of Nepal had found that along with the enforcement of laws against intimate partner violence (IPV) their findings indicate that special attention should be paid to women during a crisis time, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, particularly those who experience other household stressors. Gender-based violence is becoming more prevalent in Nepal. Nepalis experiencing a significant social issue with violence against women. Stakeholders must work together to increase awareness, strengthen legal enforcement, and offer required resources to survivors in order to address gender-based violence. A gender-sensitive public health response to violence against women has also begun to be promoted by the government, as has the Safe Cities Campaign. The root causes of Gender Based violence (GBV) are "gender inequality, abuse of power, and harmful norms." Governments must take action to guarantee that all laws and policies are inline with the recognized international commitments of the state in order to control violence against women. Teaching and training to police, prosecutors and other law enforcement professionals is necessary to combat GBV. Women who face violence must also receive proper support services. Governments must develop initiatives that give women access to economic and educational resources. Consent-based education should be taught in schools so that kids can learn about respect, healthy relationships, and gender-based violence (UNHCR, 2020). Violence against women is a global public health problem and a human rights issue with devastating consequences for the physical and mental health of women, their families, and society at large. World Health Organization, (2013) defines violence against women as any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty whether occurring in public or in private life. Campbell and Soeken (1999) had found that 40%–52% of women residing in USA and Mexico were found experiencing physical violence by an intimate partner. Intimate partner violence refers to the abuse taking place usually between husband and wife. World Health Organization, (2002) had divided violence into three broad categories viz. self-directed violence, interpersonal violence and collective violence. In many parts of the world including Nepal there is still social preference of boys over girls. According to Miller (2001) the social preference of boys over girls leads to sex selective abortions of females by identifying the sex of fetus through ultrasound technique. Women and girls were found victimized in the name of dowry. Dowry is the payment to be made to the groom’sfamily to marry daughter. Dowry has been the one of the major reasons for the disputes in families where the groom’sfamily demanding more than the bride’sfamily leading to dowry related of deaths of women and girls in certain parts of India and other South Asian countries (Gangrade, 1995). According to Rabbani et al. (2008), a number of factors playa role in the occurrence of gender-based violence (GBV) in Pakistan. Among the contributing causes include poverty, alack of education, alack of support for and protections for GBV victims, alack of women'sempowerment and alack of women'srepresentation in government.

Women engage in decision-making processes in both public and private enterprises, according to the results of a study carried out in Malaysia by Ismail (2023), but multicultural education is still in its infancy. When someone is harmed due to their gender identity or expression, it is referred to as gender-based violence. It can take many different forms, such as cyberbullying as well as physical, sexual, and psychological abuse. The United Nations has identified gender-based violence against women as a global health and development issue, and numerous pieces of legislation, public awareness campaigns, and action programs aimed at reducing gender-based violence have been put into place globally (Russo, 2006). It can afflict persons of any gender identity or expression, although it is more common among women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) people. Heise (2002) cites several instances of gender-based violence, including dowry-related murder, marital rape and selective malnourishment of female children, forced prostitution, female genital mutilation, and mistreatment of female children. The government of Nepal has put in place a range of legislative, regulatory, and programmatic actions to protect women and advance gender equality in order to combat gender-based violence.