Gender-Based Violence and Human Rights Activism
Summary
Gender-based violence (GBV) encompasses physical, sexual, psychological and economic harm perpetrated against individuals on the basis of their gender or sexual identity. Rooted in unequal power relations and reinforced by social norms, GBV affects people across all regions, age groups and socio-economic strata. Human rights activism to combat GBV operates at multiple levels: legal reform to criminalise violence and remove impunity, policy advocacy to secure survivor-centred services, community mobilisation to challenge patriarchal attitudes and digital campaigns to amplify marginalised voices. Intersecting issues such as migration status, ethnicity and disability compound vulnerability, requiring intersectional frameworks in research and practice. Emerging approaches include data-driven mapping of violence hotspots, alliance building between grassroots groups and international bodies, and the integration of mental health and legal aid in survivor support. Sustained progress depends on interdisciplinary collaboration, culturally sensitive interventions and the translation of international norms into local action.
Research from Nature Portfolio
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Gender-Based Violence and Human Rights Activism publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in gender-based violence and human rights activism across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Gender-based violence (GBV): Any harmful act directed at an individual based on their gender identity or roles, including physical, sexual, emotional and economic abuse.
Intersectionality: Analytical framework that examines how overlapping social identities (e.g. gender, race, class, legal status) produce interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage.
Honour-based violence (HBV): Acts of violence, often sexual or lethal, justified by perpetrators as necessary to defend or restore family or community “honour”.
Precarious legal status: Condition of individuals whose residency, work or asylum claims are uncertain or unrecognised by state authorities, limiting access to rights and services.
Salutogenic theory: Health promotion model focusing on factors that support human well-being and resilience rather than on risk factors for disease.
Coloniality: Enduring patterns of power, knowledge and societal hierarchies rooted in colonial histories that shape contemporary discourse and practices.
References
- Gender-based violence (GBV) against women with precarious legal status and their access to social protection in advanced welfare societies: an analytical contribution to reconstruct the research field and its institutional development. Comparative Migration Studies (2022).
- HEALTH PROMOTION STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING GENDER- BASED VIOLENCE AGAINST ADOLESCENTS IN NIGERIA. International Journal of Advanced Research (2022).
- The Coloniality of Contemporary Human Rights Discourses on ‘Honour’ in and Around the United Nations. Feminist Legal Studies (2023).
About these summaries
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