We often hear or read in reports that women and children are, in the largest percentage, all over the world, victims of various forms of violence. Wouldn't it be important and useful to know precisely which women and children are more vulnerable than others to such risks? Which are most exposed to beatings, rape, human trafficking, poverty, or denied their right to education, etc.?
Are older women or those in developed countries specifically sought out for prostitution and sex trafficking? No. Young women from less developed countries, especially certain regions like Eastern Europe, are more at risk. It is not the "girls" who are exposed to marriages between minors, but especially young girls of Roma ethnicity. Are German or Canadian children being sold illegally? No, but emigrant and immigrant children, as well as those from poorer countries and regions of the world.
It is therefore natural to have a more nuanced approach to issues related to gender inequalities and discrimination given that "experiences and positioning in society are influenced by gender AND other social categories" (https://eige.europa.eu/publications/intersecting-inequalities-gender-equality-index). This intersectional approach to gender inequalities and discrimination (and therefore to issues related to gender-based violence) is more recent in social science research and in gender policy.
There are already a number of legal provisions that try to capture the issues of inequality in their real complexity. In Romania, for example, we have had for years a special clause related to combating multiple discrimination (point H, law 202/2002 on equal opportunities and treatment between women and men): “multiple discrimination means any act of discrimination based on two or more discrimination criteria”.
The Istanbul Convention, also signed by Romania (but rejected by other countries such as Bulgaria, for example) talks about the intersectional approach to gender-based violence. The European Institute for Gender Equality in Vilnius (EIGE) is making progress in gathering statistics for the gender equality index, including on intersectional aspects of gender-based violence.
In conclusion, the nuance of research related to gender violence through the attention paid to several categories of analysis (sex, gender but also age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, level of education, etc.) contributes to finding more appropriate solutions to prevent and combat direct forms and indirect sexual and gender-based violence that still claimed so many lives around the world.
Author: Laura Grünberg, Professor Ph.D. University of Bucharest, Faculty of Sociology, founding member of AnaLyse Feminist Society AnA, expert on gender issues and children's literature author.
This article has been prepared and published as part of the thematic package by Terre des hommes Romania, within the regional project 'Building Relationships through Innovative Development of Gender-Based Violence Awareness in Europe - BRIDGE'.
The BRIDGE project is implemented under the lead of the Terre des hommes Regional Office for Europe together with partners from Belgium (Defense for Children International DCI-Belgium and FEDASIL), Greece (ARSIS), Malta (Kopin) and Romania (Tdh Romania), and has the general objective to strengthen the statutory response to GBV affecting children and young people on the move in EU countries.
The BRIDGE project is supported by the European Union’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme (2014–2020).
The content of this article represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility. The European Commission does not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.