Gender violence and early education: inexorably linked?

Violence against women in its various manifestations has an important meaning for women who suffer it and for society. It can be considered a 'virus' in Latin America as in the world, which seems to be inserted into the male brain for some reason that we still do not understand.

Two out of three women have suffered violence on the planet at some point in their lives. In Central America, they are being killed, just for the simple fact of being what they are and being considered the 'weaker sex'.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, indicated last year that the prevalence levels of violence against women are so high that it is one of the most violated human rights in different countries. The representative of the international entity exposes in his message that "up to 70 percent of women suffer physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives and a percentage that is one quarter in regards to pregnant women." "Millions of women and girls around the world are attacked, beaten, raped, mutilated, and even killed in what constitutes a horrific violation of their human rights," he said.

On the other hand, a violation of the fundamental rights of women, not only happens to those who are already adults, but it also happens to girls, who can be sexually, psychologically and physically abused.

According to World Bank data, 69% of women in 15 countries in Latin America, who reported having been physically abused, were victims of their partners. 47% have been victims of at least one sexual attack during the course of their lives.

Reporting rates by women who are victims of violence are very low, while the number of violent acts against women increases and diversifies.

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In some Latin American countries, their laws have been expanded to protect women, criminalizing violence against women as a heinous crime or serious crime. These nations have evolved in their regulations, but by implementing these new laws, their effectiveness with respect to reducing violence against women does not meet what was expected.

The norms and laws that are changed in different countries for the protection of Latin American women are based on a comprehensive perspective. The victim receives support at the time, but why do these violent acts against women continue to occur? Both the aggressor and the victim should be attended to and more extreme measures should be taken to decrease the cases.

Various psychologists and experts on the subject of gender violence, assure that women who suffer violence in silence, end up accepting and getting used to the violation of their rights and allow themselves to be abused, by submission, low self-esteem, sense of guilt, among other behaviors.

So is it the woman's fault?

In the first months of the year, the latest murders of women in Mexico caused horror, among them the case of Ingrid Escamilla, who was atrociously murdered by her partner, and the images of the skinned and bloodied body were released by some media that, without any kind of modesty, revealed them to the curiosity of those who may have lost sensitivity to this type of event.

Escamilla's death set off alarms regarding female violence, and thousands of Internet users on social networks reflected that these events should not continue to happen, since there are countless stories of violence in the world, and we should pay more attention to those boys who are growing up and who will soon be men.

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There are ways to discover abusive men and many know it, but it is still an endless problem that the ladies denounce and that their aggressors change; so, what to do?

Abuse arises from the early cultural formation of man, from his male role models, and from his education. In other words, as Lundy Bancroft explains, abuse lies in a deficiency of values, not something psychological, and it can be corrected in time when you are little.

In an opinion article published by the Costa Risa Free Press, called: "Crisis and loss of values in today's society", Luis Fernando Allen Forbes, Executive Director of the Association Save the Pacuare River in that country, states that: " it is essential to redesign and re-educate society, starting with the children who are the pillar of the future. We must introduce subjects where social values are sown in the early stages of education, bringing about rebirth of moral and ethical behaviors ".

Regarding the above, governments may continue to seek the necessary measures to save more and more women, but the underlying problem regarding abuse seems endless, because children have been neglected. It is about protecting the man today from 'anti-values' when he is a boy so that the girl who is still a girl is respected and the one who will be a woman tomorrow too.

LatinAmerican Post does not share or support the views expressed in this opinion column