320 Violence Against Women
Harmful
Effects of
Violence
413
mental health
STIs, 261
HIV and AIDS, 283
lack of desire, 188
When a woman is
abused at home, her
children believe that
this is how girls
and women
should be
treated.
Violence not only hurts women. It also affects their children,
and the whole community.
Women
In women, men’s violence can cause:
• lack of motivation or lack of a sense of self-worth.
• mental health problems, like anxiety and problems eating and
sleeping. As a way to cope with the violence, women may
begin harmful or reckless behavior—such as using drugs or
alcohol, or having many sex partners.
• serious pain and injuries: broken bones, burns, black eyes,
cuts, bruises, as well as headaches, belly pain, and
muscle pains that may continue for many years after the
abuse happens.
• sexual health problems. Many women suffer miscarriages
from being beaten during pregnancy. They may also suffer
from unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections
(STIs) or be infected with HIV as a result of sexual abuse.
Sexual abuse often also leads to a fear of having sex, pain
during sex, and lack of desire.
• death.
Children
In children, seeing their mothers abused can often cause:
• angry or aggressive behavior—
copying the violence. Or they may
become very quiet and withdraw to
escape notice.
• nightmares and other fears. Children
in abusive familes often do not eat
well, grow and learn more slowly
than other children, and have
many illnesses, like stomach aches,
headaches, and asthma.
• injury and death if the violence is
turned on them.
Community
In a community, violence can cause:
• the cycle of violence to continue into new generations.
• the continued false belief that men are better than women.
• everyone’s quality of life to suffer because women take part
less in their communities when they are silenced or killed by
the violence.
Where Women Have No Doctor 2012