01
Physical violence
Hitting, choking, or any use of physical force.
What is GBV?
What is gender-based violence?
Gender-based violence is any harm directed at a person because of their gender. It's rooted in inequality and the abuse of power, and it takes many forms: physical and sexual violence, harassment, threats, coercion, and control.
Where it happens
It can happen anywhere
Wherever it happens, it works the same way. It makes people feel unsafe, unequal, and unseen.
- At home
- At work
- In the street
- On public transport
- In nightlife
- At school or university
- Online
Who it affects
Gender-based violence is not random.
It overwhelmingly targets women and girls, and it is overwhelmingly committed by men. It is rooted in inequality and the imbalance of power between women and men. Young women face the highest risk of harassment and sexual violence.
What it can look like
The forms it takes
It's far more than physical violence. These are the main forms it takes, often more than one at the same time.
02
Sexual violence
Rape, assault, coercion, or any sexual act without consent.
03
Psychological & emotional abuse
Intimidation, threats, humiliation, or manipulation.
04
Coercive control
A pattern of controlling behaviour that isolates, monitors, or dominates someone over time.
05
Economic abuse
Controlling money, work, or resources to create dependence.
06
Stalking & harassment
Repeated, unwanted attention or contact that causes fear.
07
Online & image-based abuse
Threats, harassment, or sharing intimate images without consent.
These forms often overlap. Abuse may involve more than one form at the same time.
How abuse develops
Patterns, not incidents
Most abuse isn't a single event. It's a pattern that builds over time: control, isolation, repeated harm. Systems built to respond to one-off incidents miss most of it. Seeing the pattern is how abuse gets recognised, and how it gets stopped.
- 01
Control
- 02
Isolation
- 03
Repeated harm
This is an illustration of how a pattern can build, not a sequence every situation follows.
Beyond one person
It doesn't stop with one person
Gender-based violence is rarely contained to the person it targets. It reaches into whole families and friendships, including the people who witness it, worry about it, and carry it too.
Growing up around violence can shape how a child sees safety, trust, and love, and its effects can last long into adulthood, even when they were never touched. Parents, siblings, friends and partners live with the fear and helplessness of watching someone they love be harmed.
When we talk about who is affected by gender-based violence, it is never just one person. It's everyone around them.
What to notice
Recognising the signs
Gender-based violence isn't always visible, and it rarely looks like it does in films. It often builds slowly, and the person experiencing it may not name it as abuse for a long time. These are some of the signs in yourself or in someone you care about.
Glossary
Name it.
When you can name what's happening, you can understand it, and so can everyone else. Many forms of gender-based violence go unrecognised simply because people don't have the words for them. Here are the words:
- Gender-based violence (GBV)
- Harm directed at someone because of their gender, rooted in inequality and power.
- Coercive control
- A pattern of controlling behaviour that isolates, monitors, or dominates someone over time.
- Intimate partner violence
- Abuse by a current or former partner.
- Sexual harassment
- Unwelcome sexual comments, advances, or behaviour, often at work or in public.
- Consent
- A clear, freely given yes; without it, a sexual act is assault.
- Stalking
- Repeated, unwanted attention or contact that causes fear.
- Gaslighting
- Manipulating someone into doubting their own memory or perception.
- Femicide
- The killing of a woman or girl because of her gender.
- Victim-blaming
- Holding the person harmed responsible for the violence done to them.
- Image-based abuse
- Sharing or threatening to share intimate images without consent.
You don't have to figure it out alone.
If any of this feels familiar, you're not overreacting, and you're not alone.