By Rev’d Keba Cuffy

[Content warning: this piece contains mentions of physical and sexual abuse, rape, FGM, and other forms of gender-based violence.]

I am Rev’d Keba Cuffy, a newly ordained priest in the Diocese of the Windward Islands.

From the moment we are born and grow up, we are told how a girl and a boy should be and what role they should play.

Women were stereotyped as sensitive, submissive, dependent, and weak, whilst men were perceived to be dominant, strong, independent and in-control leaders. Thus, this was society’s way of naturalizing violence through language to gain power and build the patriarchal system.

Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is a general term for violence that occurs because of normative role expectations of the two sexes, resulting in an unequal power relationship between the two sexes in society. Gender-based violence is thus a crisis that is deeply rooted in gender inequality and remains one of the most significant human rights violations in our societies.

It should be noted that gender-based violence is perpetrated by both men and women, but the majority of victims are women and girls. Studies have shown that in a domestic setting, a woman can be a perpetrator of GBV against men which usually goes unreported, and they can be physical acts such as hitting, choking and slapping, emotional acts such as humiliation, false allegations, emasculating by insults and they can be sexual abuse by genital torture, rape and castration.

Women can also be the ones to perpetuate GBV through Patriarchy according to Sargini Nadar in her article on Formenism, which like Masculinism subscribes to a belief of the superiority of men over women, but this is designed, developed and sustained by women. This is where women believe that they too will benefit from an increased responsibility and leadership of men, which can lead to putting their well-being and freedoms at risk.

Statistics from the Grenada Gender Violence Unit indicate a total of 657 victims in 2022, of which 545 are female, 105 are male, and 7 are undetermined. This number is down slightly from 2021, as it was higher during the Covid blackout period. However, these numbers are the reported cases and not the unreported cases.

Therefore, based on these facts, the terms gender-based violence and violence against women are interchangeable. Gender-based violence is nothing new; it has been around for a long time and is known as a silent crisis. I grew up in an environment where this took place behind closed doors and people did not talk about it openly.

However, the world we live in is heavily permeated with violence against women, which comes in many forms, such as rape and sexual assault, physical abuse, mental and psychological abuse, female genital mutilation, and trafficking, all of which threaten a woman’s development and, in particular, results in health consequences such as stress, unwanted pregnancies, depression, and death.

This can affect a woman’s cognitive and interpersonal skills, leading to chaos in the home, workplace, and community. Therefore, gender-based violence is a universal reality that occurs in all societies regardless of income, culture, and class. At one point or another in a woman’s life, structures make her feel afraid or threatened because she is a woman and thus subordinate to a man. This has limited a woman’s ability to exercise her right to end this abuse.

There are even some people who use Bible verses to justify or excuse violence against women, and this is part of the problem created by such misuse or misinterpretation of the sacred text. One such text is Colossians 3:18, which is misused because all that is quoted is, “Wives, submit to your husbands,” while conveniently leaving out “as is right in the Lord,” and further in verse 19, “Husbands, love your wives and do not treat them harshly.” Another text that is also misused and similar to Colossians is Ephesians 5:22, where only verse 22 is taken out of context instead of taking the entire context of verses 21-33, which talks about submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Not one over the other.

God does not tolerate violence. He wants us to live in peace, and that is the essence of Jesus, that we have peace. When Jesus was born, the Scriptures tell us that the angels said peace and goodwill to men. This means that Jesus brought peace to us, the people. Jesus is also known as the Prince of Peace. So, Jesus is peaceful and does not tolerate violence.

So, if Jesus brought peace between God and us, we must also show it to each other, regardless of gender. Therefore, the Church has an important role to play in providing safe spaces for victims in such situations, and through such spaces, creating structures to raise awareness to ensure that everyone is educated about this issue. We need to take note that gender-based violence is not just a women’s issue, it’s an issue that affects everyone. And one of the most important things we need to know is who we are in Christ in terms of our identity.  If we do not know who we are, we have a false identity and low self-esteem, which is most likely associated with a life of violence against others.

Gender-based violence, then, can be caused by someone who lacks identity, and although the church is there to teach and help, it also goes back to parenting. When parents teach their children certain values and certain belief systems, they grow up with a sense of self-worth and know that they do not have to control another person to feel like someone. This creates a much better product for a society where all citizens are treated fairly regardless of their gender.