Gramática III (Textual) Objetivos Generales
CIENCIAS DEL LENGUAJE Justificación
Lifetime and current prevalence of sexual violence
It is more difficult for women to disclose experiences of sexual violence compared with experiences of physical violence. Nevertheless, in the survey, about one sixth (17%) of ever-partnered women in Tonga reported experiencing sexual violence by partners during their lives. The prevalence is higher in urban than in rural areas (20% and 16%, respectively) and higher among lesser educated women compared to higher educated women (17% vs. 13%). Regarding current prevalence (i.e. in the past 12 months), the overall rate for the whole country is 11%, with not much difference between urban and rural areas. (Table 4.1 and Figure 4.6.)
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What is striking is that – unlike lifetime physical violence – lifetime sexual violence by partners is reported much less by women 30 years and older, compared to women younger than 30 years old (Figure 4.7). For current sexual violence we also see that this decreases with age (similar to what we saw for physical partner violence), but – unlike what we saw for physical violence – current sexual violence by age group follows quite closely the level and pattern of lifetime sexual violence, possibly suggesting that many of the women who have ever experienced sexual violence continue experiencing it up to the time of the interview.
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However this does not explain the pattern for the prevalence of lifetime sexual violence, which, as noted above, also goes down with age (the pattern of lifetime prevalence should reflect cumulative experiences over time; if different generations have had more or less similar experiences you do not expect that the prevalence by age decreases significantly). One of the possible explanations could be the taboo around the topic and the difficulty of older women to talk about sexual relations and sexual violence, resulting in a possible higher level of non-disclosure of sexual violence in older women.
Acts of sexual violence
The three different behavioural acts of sexual violence against a woman measured in the survey are: being physically forced to have sexual intercourse against her will; having sexual intercourse because she was afraid of what her partner might do; and being forced to do something sexual that she finds degrading or humiliating.
Overall, the proportion of women nationwide ever having been physically forced into intercourse is 12%. For the past 12 months, the rate is a high 8%. A slightly lower percentage (10%) of ever-partnered women in Tonga reported ever having had sexual intercourse because they were afraid of what their partner or husband might do; for the past 12 months, this was 6%. In Tonga, 5% of women reported ever having been forced to do something sexual that they thought was degrading or humiliating during their lifetimes. This was 4% the past 12 months. (Table 4.2.)
Frequency of sexually violent acts
With regard to sexually violent acts that occurred in the past 12 months, respondents were asked how often they occurred: once, 2-5 times or more than five times. Most acts, if they occurred, happened more than once (usually 2-5 times) in the past 12 months. (Table 4.2.) The qualitative component showed that sexual violence in the form of forced sexual intercourse is often taken for granted by the partners who see their wives as their property and that she should be willing to sleep with him at all times even after she is beaten.
‘When my husband comes to sleep with me, he is like an animal. If I refuse him, he will kick, punch and beat me up. At one time, he left me and my children for a year and a half. When he came back, I thought that he had changed, but no... He only came back to me because the woman he was living with was pregnant. I know that if I get pregnant too, he will leave me again to find a woman who is not pregnant so that he could satisfy his needs.’
Woman, Talanoa, Tongatapu
In the qualitative study in Tongatapu, we recorded 3 cases of forced sex occurring within marriage, where the wives were forced to have sex. In the same cases, these women have also experienced being locked up for days in the bedroom and in the house. In two of these cases, the phone lines were disconnected and the husbands hid their wives from her relatives.
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Sexual violence is also associated with a risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases including HIV. This is particularly relevant when most women cannot protect themselves against sexually transmitted infections. One of the women in the Talanoa cases studies told us:
‘My husband once left me to live with his new girlfriend. When he came back, he was very sick from different diseases. He could not go to the toilet to urinate because it was painful and he also had lice all over his body. I did not care about this. I did not want to take him to the hospital because I wanted him to suffer and to know that what he is doing is wrong. I told my mother about this and she offered to take my husband to the hospital. When he was cured, he went back to beating me and forcing himself upon me.’
Woman, Talanoa, Tongatapu In the outer islands, sexual violence within marriage is also evident but to a lesser degree. It is important to note here that most of the women who reported sexual violence have husbands from Tongatapu. Some of the women said that most often, they have sex with their husbands to avoid arguments and also more importantly, to ensure that their husbands do not go out and look for another woman. In most of these cases, the husbands are having extra-marital affairs and the woman knows of them. None of the women mentioned that they were using condoms or any form of protection.