Information on Gender Based Abuse

Types of Gender Based Abuse

Domestic Abuse

Domestic abuse can happen to anyone, regardless of age, background, gender identity, sex, religion, sexual orientation or ethnicity. However, statistics show most domestic abuse is carried out by men and experienced by women. Across England and Wales, 1 in 4 women will experience abuse in their lifetime and on average, one woman is killed by an abusive partner or ex every five days. 

Domestic abuse could involve Emotional abuse, including gaslighting, Coercive control, Physical abuse, Tech abuse, Economic abuse, Sexual abuse. 

Sexual Violence

Sexual violence includes any form of sexual activity involving physical contact, words, or photographs that takes place without the other person’s full and informed consent. 

If you have just been raped or sexually assaulted, try to remember that you are not alone and you are not to blame for what has happened. 

Tech-Facilitated Abuse

Modern technology gives abusers ever-growing ways to stalk, isolate and control women using the tools of everyday life. If you’d like to read more about technology-facilitated abuse and tips to stay safe online, please visit Refuge’s specialist tech safety site.

So called ‘honour-based’ Abuse

‘Honour’ can be the motivation, excuse or justification behind a range of violent acts against women and girls. The Crown Prosecution Service describes ‘honour-based’ abuse as an incident or crime “which has, or may have, been committed to protect or defend the ‘honour’ of the family and or the community.” You may recognise ‘honour’ as Izzat, Ghairat, Namus or Sharam. 

Female Genital Mutilation

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a collective term for a range of procedures which involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. It is sometimes referred to as female circumcision, or female genital cutting. FGM is a global issue and happens all over the world. Practising communities tend to originate from parts of the Middle East, Asia and Africa. 

FGM is a crime in the UK and many other countries and is recognised internationally as a gross violation of the human rights of girls and women. It is also illegal to take a British national or permanent resident abroad for FGM or to help someone trying to do this.  

Forced Marriage

A forced marriage is where one or both people do not consent to the marriage and where duress is used to enforce the marriage. ‘Duress’ includes psychological, sexual, financial or emotional pressure and physical violence. 

Forcing someone to marry without their consent is a criminal offence. The maximum penalty is seven years imprisonment. It is also illegal to take someone overseas to force them to marry (whether or not the forced marriage takes place) or to marry someone who lacks the mental capacity to consent to the marriage (whether they are pressured to or not). 

Economic Abuse

Economic abuse involves an abuser restricting a person’s ability to acquire, use and maintain money or other economic resources. It includes: 

• Controlling your money or other financial assets 
• Spending your money 
• Damaging your possessions or property 
• Putting debt in your name 
• Preventing you from accessing education or work 
• Withholding child maintenance payments 

Stalking

‘Stalking’ may be understood as a pattern of Fixated, Obsessive, Unwanted and Repeated (FOUR) behaviour which is intrusive. 1 in 5 women and 1 in 10 men over the age of 16 have been stalked in the UK. 

Stalking is intrusive and causes fear of violence or serious alarm and distress. The stalker may be someone you know like an ex-partner or a person you were friends with, or it could be a stranger. Stalking is never your fault, and it is crime. 

Stalking may include: 

• Regularly following you 
• Turning up at your home and work or a place you frequently visit 
• Checking your internet use, email or other electronic communication 
• Interfering with your property 
• Watching you or spying on you 
• Sending you excessive or unwanted gifts 

Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is where a person is recruited or moved into a situation of modern slavery through deception or coercion. The terms ‘modern slavery’ and ‘human trafficking’ are often used interchangeably. 

If someone has been forced to work, provide services or commit a crime against their will, they may have experienced modern slavery.