Gender Based Violence: If It’s So Wrong, Why Is It So Normal? By Carrie Tuo

Introduction:

Gender-based violence is a widespread global issue. Nearly 1 in 3 women worldwide have experienced physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime. Despite how serious and far-reaching this issue is, it still exists across communities, cultures, and everyday environments.

For many people, this creates a contradiction. We recognize gender-based violence as harmful, and most people would agree that it is wrong, yet we still see behaviours related to it being dismissed, minimized or even joked about. So this raises an important question:

If gender-based violence is so widespread and so widely understood to be harmful, why is it still so normalized?

Context: 

We hear the term gender-based violence floating around a lot, and most of the time, we recognize it as something serious. But even though the term is familiar, it doesn’t always mean we fully understand what it actually includes.

So what exactly is gender-based violence?

Gender-based violence (GBV) is an umbrella term for any harmful act that is carried out against someone’s will and is based on the socially ascribed differences between genders. Although the definition may sound broad, that is because GBV itself takes on many different forms. It is not limited to a single type of action or a specific situation. However, GBV is generally categorized into four main forms: physical, sexual, psychological, and economic. 

It is also important to understand that GBV can happen in both private and public spaces, occurring almost everywhere: within relationships, schools, workplaces, and online environments. Because of this, GBV does not always look obvious or extreme, and is not always immediately recognized as violence.

Gender-based violence can affect any person and is not limited to one group. However, around the world, GBV has a disproportionately greater impact on women and girls compared to men and boys. 

Why Is It Normalized?:

It’s hard to pinpoint one single reason why gender-based violence is so normalized. There is no simple explanation, and it is not caused by any individual factor. Instead, the normalization surrounding GBV is shaped by a complex and interconnected web of social, cultural, and structural influences that make harmful behaviours appear ordinary and even acceptable. 

One of the key factors is desensitization. Because GBV is so widespread, people are constantly exposed to it through news outlets, social media, and everyday conversation. Over time, this constant exposure can reduce the emotional response people have to it. Acts that should feel alarming and concerning may begin to feel familiar or expected, not because they are “okay”, but because they are seen so often. This creates a shift where GBV is no longer always processed as urgent, but instead as something that just “happens”. 

Desensitization does not mean people necessarily believe GBV is “okay”. It means the frequency of exposure can dull the urgency to recognize and challenge it. 

Another major factor is the minimization and dismissal of harmful behaviour. Many forms of GBV, such as persistent unwanted comments, pressuring someone into sexual acts, or controlling behaviour, are often dismissed as “not that serious” or “just a joke”. Language shapes perception. When harmful behaviour is constantly softened or rebranded in less serious terms, it creates an environment where early signs of violence are not recognized for what it is.

Closely connected to this is victim blaming, which also plays a large role in reinforcing normalization. Victim blaming happens when responsibility for harm is shifted away from the one who caused it and placed onto the person who experienced it. This can sound like questioning what someone was wearing and suggesting they were “asking for it”. Gradually, this discourages people from speaking openly about their experiences and supports the idea that they were to blame for the harm experienced.

Together, minimization and victim blaming contribute directly to a culture of silence and underreporting. In Canada, only 6% of sexual assaults are reported to the police. People feel pressure to tolerate mistreatment, downplay and not disclose their experiences due to fear of being judged, shamed or not believed. As a result, GBV is significantly underreported worldwide. 

Finally, social media and digital spaces can reinforce and amplify all of these factors. Online platforms provide new and far-reaching tools that can enable GBV, accelerating the spread of harmful content that normalizes mistreatment through jokes or trends and allowing perpetrators to reach victims easily. 

At its core, gender-based violence is both a cause and a consequence of gender inequality. Unequal power dynamics between genders create the conditions that allow violence to occur, and when that violence is normalized or left unchallenged, it reinforces those same inequalities, allowing the cycle to continue.

Why This Matters For Youth:

Gender-based violence is often treated as something that exists outside of young people’s everyday lives. In reality, adolescence and early adulthood are some of the periods where individuals are at increased risk of experiencing GBV. Young women and girls in Canada aged 15 to 24 are at significantly higher risk for violent victimization. They are 5 times more likely to experience sexual assault and 3 times more likely to experience physical assault compared to women aged 25 and older. 

The increased risk is especially concerning because it occurs during a vulnerable stage of life where many young people are still developing their understanding of boundaries, relationships and consent. Experiences during this time can shape how individuals interpret behaviour in the future, and harmful dynamics that are not recognized can be internalized as normal.

Ultimately, when these behaviours are normalized at a young age, they do not simply disappear, but are often carried forward. This creates a cycle where unhealthy and harmful patterns are repeated, reinforced, and in some cases passed on to others, allowing gender-based violence to persist across generations. 

Empowerment And Conclusion: 

Although young people are at increased risk of experiencing gender-based violence, they are also in a powerful and unique position to challenge it.

The first step is education. This means actively taking the time to learn about and recognize gender-based violence, what it is, how it shows up, and how it may be hidden within everyday situations. Awareness begins with being able to identify harmful behaviours for what they are, rather than dismissing or overlooking them.

From there, awareness must be turned into action. This includes supporting those around you by listening, standing up for them, and taking their experiences seriously. It can also mean educating others, challenging misinformation, sharing accurate resources, and helping create conversations where people feel informed, supported, and safe to speak openly rather than silenced.

Most importantly, it means refusing to be a bystander. Taking action does not always require a large-scale impact. It begins with speaking up and not allowing harmful behaviour to go unchallenged. What we choose to ignore enables gender-based violence to persist. What we choose to challenge is what begins to dismantle it.