Published: 12:46 AM, 07 April 2026
Preventing violence on women is still difficult despite efforts from local and international quarters
The United Nations 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."
Intimate partner violence refers to behavior by an intimate partner or ex-partner that causes physical, sexual or psychological harm, including physical aggression, sexual coercion, psychological torment and controlling behaviors. Sex crimes like gang rape and physical attacks on women in Bangladesh happened over and over again in Bangladesh during the ruling period of the immediate past interim government.
Non-partner sexual assault is sexual violence perpetrated by strangers, acquaintances, friends, colleagues, peers, teachers, neighbours and family members. Sexual harassment is an unwelcome sexual advance, unwelcome request for sexual favours or other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature which makes a person feel offended, humiliated or intimidated, where a reasonable person would anticipate that reaction under the circumstances.
Sexual violence is "any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, or other act directed against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting. It includes rape, defined as the physically forced or otherwise coerced penetration of the vulva or anus with a penis, another body part, or object." Health officials can assist in responding to and preventing violence against women and girls like helping identify abuse early, providing survivors with care and support and referring women to appropriate and informed services within and outside the health system. The health sector must also work in collaboration with other sectors and stakeholders to prevent violence from ever taking place. And as the public health approach to prevention clearly stipulates, the first step in preventing violence is to understand it and the health sector has a key role in helping us to measure and understand violence against women. Family violence is a broader term than domestic violence, as it refers not only to violence between intimate partners but also to violence between family members. This includes, for example, elder abuse and adolescent violence against parents.
Family violence includes violent or threatening behaviour, or any other form of behaviour that coerces or controls a family member or causes that family member to get scared. Primary prevention is different to other kinds of interventions that address violence against women. Interventions that occur when the risk of violence is already there are called ‘early intervention’ or secondary prevention. Doing something about violence that is currently happening is called ‘response’ or tertiary prevention.
