In most parts of rural Africa, gender-based violence takes many forms, most of them overt, perpetrated almost exclusively against women. These run the gamut from routine physical and psychological abuse to bearing the brunt of the most burdensome tasks in the household. In the absence of legislation to protect them, or the enforcement of such legislation where it does exist, women have been the mostly silent victims of this violence for ages.

Gender-based violence constitutes one of the most widespread human rights abuses and public health problems, especially in the largely neglected rural areas of Africa. It also has devastating long term consequences for victims’ physical and mental health. Simultaneously, the broader social effects of gender-based violence compromise the social development of children in the household, the unity of the family, the social fabric of affected communities, and the well-being of society as a whole.