Other forms of GBV

Psychological violence or abuse involves behaviours designed to cause another person mental or emotional harm, and often co-occurs with or precedes other forms of violence such as physical, sexual, and economic violence. Forms can include love bombing; gaslighting and lies; negging; emotional manipulation; cold shouldering; social restriction; sleep deprivation; and DARVO (deny, attack, reverse victim and offender).

Stalking is a pattern of fixated, obsessive, unwanted and repeated behaviour that is intrusive and makes someone feel watched, followed, controlled or unsafe. It can happen in person, online or through technology, including through phones, social media, location sharing, tracking devices, smart home technology or other digital tools. Stalking can have a significant impact on someone's sense of safety and wellbeing, causing anxiety, panic, hypervigilance, nightmares, intrusive thoughts and a constant feeling of being watched or unsafe.

Stalking can also escalate and, in some cases, lead to physical or sexual violence.

Physical violence is an act of attempting to cause, or resulting in, pain and/or physical injury. This includes beating, burning, kicking, punching, biting, maiming, killing, or the use of objects or weapons. It demonstrates a difference in social power between the perpetrator and the victim.

Forced marriage is when one or both people do not or cannot freely consent to the marriage. This may be because of age, disability, lack of capacity, or because pressure, threats or abuse are used to make someone feel they have no choice. Pressure can include physical violence, threats, emotional or psychological abuse, including being told they are bringing “shame” on their family, and financial abuse.

Forced marriage can happen to anyone, regardless of background, nationality, gender or age. It is a form of domestic abuse and a violation of human rights. In some countries, like the UK, forcing or attempting to force someone into marriage can be a criminal offence, whether or not the marriage takes place.

Sexual violence is any sexual activity that happened without consent. This can involve pressure, manipulation, bullying, intimidation, threats, deception, or force. Examples include sexual assault, indecent exposure, sexual teasing or innuendo, rape, stealthing, image-based sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and child sexual abuse. See also the dedicated Sexual violence Learn page.

FGM includes all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. There are four types of FGM, three of which have subtypes. See the dedicated FGM Learn page for full detail.

Forced abortion is the involuntary ending of a pregnancy, usually through coercion, threats, violence, or state control. This also includes abortions performed without a fully informed decision by the person who is pregnant. Coercive or controlling behaviour in intimate relationships can include forcing or manipulating pregnancy or termination decisions and isolating survivors from healthcare access or reproductive choices.

Forced sterilisation is the practice of permanently removing a person's ability to reproduce without their free and informed consent. This practice often targets people based on race, ethnicity, disability, HIV status, gender identity, or perceived social “unfitness.”

“Honour”-based abuse describes a range of abusive and violent behaviours carried out in the name of so-called “honour”. This can include physical violence; domestic violence including emotional and psychological abuse; controlling or coercive behaviour; forced marriage; sexual harassment and sexual violence; isolation from friends or family; threats to kill; and murder. Other forms can include neglect and abandonment; theft of a passport or other identity documents; child abduction; abduction of a woman by force or for the sake of her property; forced repatriation; kidnapping; false imprisonment; and aiding and abetting a criminal offence.

Digital violence refers to harassment, degradation, discrimination, or social isolation on the internet or by electronic means of communication. Forms include image-based violence, cyberbullying, deepfakes, doxxing, disinformation, face-swap abuse, hate speech, phishing, and romance scams (fraud on dating apps).

Economic abuse is a form of control that impacts a person's ability to acquire, use, and maintain economic resources. This includes behaviours that affect employment, housing, and essential items, for example controlling access to bank accounts and financial information; forcing someone to take out loans or credit cards; preventing a partner from working or studying; refusing to contribute to household expenses; and damaging or destroying property. This form of abuse can continue after leaving and can have lifelong effects.

Human trafficking involves using coercion, deception, threats, or other forms of control to exploit another person. People can be trafficked for a number of reasons, including sexual exploitation, forced labour, domestic servitude, forced criminality, or reproductive exploitation, including being forced or coerced into pregnancy or childbearing.

Trafficking often begins with manipulation or coercion, and people who are trafficked may experience further violence, abuse and exploitation as a result. The control can continue even after someone leaves the trafficking situation, particularly through threats, financial control, intimidation, isolation or concerns for their own safety or the safety of people they care about.

Trafficking can also be referred to as modern-day slavery.

Child marriage is a formal marriage or informal union involving someone under the age of 18 and an adult or another child. Around 1 in 5 girls worldwide (4) are married in childhood, while the prevalence among boys is around one-sixth of that among girls. Although rates are higher in some regions, child marriage is a global issue affecting children and young people around the world.

It is also important not to assume that child marriage is only an issue in certain parts of the world or particular cultures. Laws and legal exceptions that permit or facilitate marriage involving people under 18 exist in a number of countries, including some states in the United States. Legal frameworks vary widely, and the existence of a legal pathway does not necessarily mean that a child can freely and meaningfully consent to marriage.

Child marriage can limit a young person's education, independence, health, safety and future opportunities, and can increase their exposure to other forms of violence and exploitation. Every child deserves the opportunity to grow up safe, make decisions about their own future and enter relationships free from pressure, coercion or harm.

Intimate image abuse is when someone shows, or threatens to show, a private sexual photograph or film of someone to another person or people without consent. Whether the image is shared or not, threatening to share it can still be an offence, even if the image does not exist. Re-sharing or re-posting can also be an offence.

Education is an important part of a child's independence, confidence and ability to participate fully in their community. Educational abuse involves deliberately preventing or restricting someone's access to education, or failing to provide appropriate support for their educational needs. This can include stopping a child from attending school, refusing additional learning support or assessments, preventing access to language education, or neglecting identified educational needs without a valid reason.

This form of control can disproportionately affect girls and women, particularly where cultural, family or gender expectations prioritise other roles over education. The impact can continue into adulthood, when someone may be prevented from learning a new language, accessing further education or training, understanding how local services and community systems work, or developing the knowledge and skills needed to live independently.

Restricting education can therefore be a way of limiting someone's choices, opportunities and independence.

Stigmas surrounding gender-based violence, such as victim-blaming, harmful media portrayals, and community norms, lead to shame around the incident and isolation within communities. Stigma hinders effective prevention, response, and survivor support. It is rooted in harmful cultural norms and victim-blaming attitudes. Systemic gender biases isolate survivors, discourage reporting, and perpetuate impunity for perpetrators.

Femicide is the intentional murder of women because they are women. It also includes the killings of women and girls. Femicide is usually perpetrated by men, and sometimes by female family members.

Spiking is giving someone alcohol or drugs without them knowing or agreeing. This can happen to anyone, anywhere, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, or sexuality. Examples include adding alcohol or drugs to someone's drink; injecting drugs into someone's body with a needle or auto-injector; giving someone drugs in a cigarette or e-cigarette; or adding drugs to someone's food — all without the person's knowledge or permission.

Bride capture, kidnapping, or marriage by abduction involves the abduction of women for the purpose of forced marriage. It has been documented in various cultures and regions and often involves groups of friends and relatives of the abductor. It is a violent and traumatic experience and can be followed by other forms of gender-based violence, including domestic violence, rape, and other sexual violence.

Particularly prevalent in some parts of the world, son preference and sex-selective abortions can involve aborting female foetuses because they are female. Son preference can also lead to premature mortality of female children through practices such as infanticide or neglect of healthcare and nutrition.

Death by stoning is a form of execution designed to prolong the suffering of its victims. The International Committee Against Stoning states that in stoning, the accused is made to wear a white sheet and buried in a hole in the ground — males up to their waist and females up to their chest — and then tortured to death by having stones thrown at them. Many people believe this practice is no longer used; however, some countries still use stoning as a form of legal punishment.

Also known as widow and bride inheritance, or levirate, this is a custom or law decreeing that a widow should, or in some cases must, marry her dead husband's brother. The brother is treated as a proxy for the deceased, and children from that marriage may be acknowledged as the children of the dead man. The practice aims to continue family lineage and denies the woman basic human rights, including the right to direct inheritance of her dead husband's property.

A widow may be forced to take part in ceremonies that, according to local practices, are said to ensure their dead husband's passage to the afterlife. Practices vary. Some require the widow to “prove” they did not use witchcraft to kill their husband, spend nights alone with their dead husband's corpse, or take part in other humiliating or harmful rituals. These practices violate women's human rights.

Bride price and dowry refer to payments made at the time of marriage, including transfers of property, land, money, or jewellery. Amounts can depend on region, religion, caste, education, and negotiation between families. These practices can dehumanise women and treat them like property. Dowry abuse is any act of violence or harassment related to dowry before, during, or after marriage, and can result in extreme harm including killing or driving a woman to suicide.

Polygamy is the practice of marrying more than one person. In nearly all instances, this takes the form of polygyny — a man may marry multiple wives but a woman may only marry one husband. Research has found strong links between polygyny and violence against women. First wives and their children are often neglected, and women who refuse sex may be beaten. The practice is inherently discriminatory. Where polygyny is forbidden by law but continues, subsequent wives may lack legal protections because only the first wife is recognised.

Also known as corrosive attacks or corrosive violence, acid attacks are when an attacker throws or sprays acid on the face or body of the victim. This causes immediate damage, disfigurement, pain, scarring, and long-lasting medical complications. Significant surgery is often required, as well as long-term support and rehabilitation. Victims also suffer psychological trauma and economic and social ostracism.

Also known as bride burning, stove burning is when a woman is burned alive through deliberate tampering with a stove, causing an explosion or setting her on fire. Other cases involve “accidental” burning from overheated oil in confined kitchens or kerosene lamps. This is typically linked to disputes over dowry payments.

Also known as breast flattening, breast ironing is the practice of pressing, massaging, or pounding a young girl's developing breasts with heated or hard objects — stones, belts, pestles, or heated implements — to suppress or reverse breast growth by destroying tissue. This can cause abscesses, cysts, burns, infection, and increased likelihood of breast cancer, as well as mental health harms including depression, self-harm, body dysmorphia, and anxiety. It is usually performed by family members trying to make a girl appear younger to avoid sexual interest, early pregnancy, sexual harassment, or violence.

Sorcery or witchcraft accusation-related violence is when individuals — predominantly women — are accused of using sorcery or witchcraft, which can lead to torture, killings, or marginalisation.

Forced circumcision is surgery to remove the foreskin performed against a man's will, or without informed consent. Male circumcision affects roughly a third of men worldwide and is generally performed on infants or young children who cannot give informed consent. Despite claims of tradition, religion, or medical benefit, forced or non-consensual circumcision of men and boys remains largely absent from many gender-based violence prevention and safeguarding policies.