Women Are More at Risk for Disease and Poor Health 5
Violence
Violence is often overlooked as a health problem. But
violence can lead to serious injuries, mental health problems,
physical disabilities, and even death. Rape and sexual harassment
are a constant threat to all women. Many girls are sexually
abused by family members or friends. Many women are
forced to have sex or are physically abused by their partners.
Increasingly violent and damaging rapes and sexual assaults have
become common practices during wartime.
Even though these kinds of violence
against women and girls happen in
almost all parts of the world, most
of it is not reported, because
the police and others often
blame women rather than
men for the problem. The
men causing the violence
are rarely punished.
➤ When women
suffer violence, it is
usually from men
they know. But most
violence against
women is not
reported, and men
are rarely punished.
violence, 313
rape and sexual
assault, 327
How women are forced into a life of poor health
Although not all women suffer
from the health problems
described above, most
will suffer from 3 of
them: poor nutrition,
pregnancies that are
too close together,
and overwork. Each of
these problems affects a
woman’s general health
and wears her body out,
making her more likely to
get sick. Pregnancy also
makes certain medical
problems—like malaria,
hepatitis, diabetes, and
anemia—worse, just as they
make pregnancy more difficult.
All these things make a woman
much more likely to suffer from
general poor health than a man.
Where Women Have No Doctor 2012