Oceania is the continent with the highest gender violence (1 in 3 women is attacked)
In a world that every day fights against the scourge of gender violence, plus the action of groups all over the planet promoting laws and advances that allow us to improve the healthy coexistence that is convenient for all of us, it causes some regret to know that Oceania, that continent that many times we leave forgotten in a corner of the map, presents a serious number of attacks and abuses of this type.
According to the UN Women report, 17.8% of women around the world suffered some type of aggression by their partner, this includes physical and even sexual violence (living together as a couple does not make the sexual act mandatory in all moment). These figures speak of almost 1 in 5 women attacked.
In Oceania the reality is different. The study reveals that, for women between 15 and 49 years of age, Oceania has a percentage of 34.7% of females assaulted by their partners. This leads to an outrageous proportion of 1 in 3 assaulted women.
In 2012, Oceania leaders pledged to attack the problem
From August 28 to 30, at the Pacific Islands forum and thanks to Amnesty International's wake-up call, the leaders of Oceania made a commitment to fight for the improvement of women's rights on the continent, since the figures were already alarming for the moment.
The declaration was signed as a commitment on August 30, 2012 in Rarotonga, Cook Islands. However, so far no improvements have been seen on the subject. It is clear that signatures and commitments in forums are not enough without laws and a strict application of them as a deterrent to prevent women from continuing to suffer such abuse.
Europe and North America with the lowest rate of gender-based violence
According to the UN study, Europe and North America had the lowest percentage of abuses of this type with 6.1%, which is close to 1 in 18 women attacked by their partner. Although in this evil no figure is acceptable, the difference with Oceania is gigantic, but that does not prevent Europe and North America from continuing to fight against gender violence and constantly review their laws in this regard.
East and Southeast Asia have an equally low percentage, with 9% joining Latin America with 11.8% and Europe and Latin America with the lowest proportions among world regions in terms of gender-based violence.
Along with Oceania in the negative extreme for gender violence, is South Asia with 23% and Africa with 21.5% of women victims of physical or sexual violence by their partners.
Cultural traits create big gaps
The large gaps between Latin America, Europe / USA and East and Southeast Asia, with Africa and South Asia and then from this region to Oceania stand out in the analysis of the figures. The difference between each of these groups is more than 10% and between the first group and Oceania, more than 20%. This implies the existence of predominant cultural traits that somehow normalize gender violence.
In all this it follows that, hand in hand with legislative initiatives, there must be campaigns aimed at a cultural transformation that could take decades to really penetrate the peoples, but that as long as it is not started, it will take longer to have an effect on the root of the problem. While discussing or thinking about discussing the issue, women are beaten or killed.
