Social and ethical determinants of human sexuality: 2. Gender-based violence

To describe the many forms of gender-based violence and their consequences for society and women's health, focusing on various aspects of the problem, including harassment, stalking, incapacitated rape and war-related violence.

For each main area a search was made using PubMed, Medline, ScienceDirect, Scopus, classic books, Google and religious websites. The most relevant publications were then utilised for preparing the manuscript.

Gender-based violence persists worldwide in spite of efforts by many governments and international organisations to quench it. Men continue to exercise dominance over women, often their own or prospective partners or dates. Abuses are physical, psychological or verbal; they all aim at subduing women. Those that occur during pregnancy are associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes. Acts of violence can take the form of aggression, coercion, harassment or trafficking; are often committed against minors; may be prompted by an ill-conceived need to defend the family honour and be widespread during armed conflicts.

Men's violent sexual behaviour has often been interpreted as a consequence of blind sexual drive. Today, however, aggressive behaviour is considered to be sensitive to and influenced by environmental cues. Eradication is possible and efforts to eliminate gender-based violence should be intensified.