INTRODUCTION
Gender-based violence exists in all societies, and individual women experience it in every social and economic group. Different studies in Africa have shown that there are significant percentages of females who have suffered from violence. Most societies encourage the manifestation of manliness through violence in the workplace, among friends, and in the community as a whole. Violence based on gender is a serious problem that affects women and girls from all walks of life
TYPE OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
Gender-based violence is an umbrella term for any harmful act that results in or is likely to result in physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to a woman, man, girl, or boy based on their gender. GBV is a result of gender inequality and abuse of power. GBV includes but is not limited to sexual violence, domestic violence, trafficking, forced or early marriage, forced prostitution, sexual exploitation and abuse, and denial of resources, opportunities, and services.
GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IN ETHIOPIA
In Ethiopia, GBV has been a growing concern for a long time. It has mostly affected women and girls, making it very difficult for them to participate in developmental activities at family, school, and community levels. GBV is an issue that has not been taken seriously by the government, media, and society at large, especially in developing countries where many women are afraid to report their assaults. This creates a culture of silence and victim blaming, which leaves many women feeling hopeless and powerless by imposing adverse effects on the victims’ physical and psychological well-being, which affects their academic achievements.
EFFECT OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AGAINST FEMALE STUDENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Educational outcomes: Lack of concentration, Inability to study, Falling grades, Disruption in class, Non-school attendance, dropping out of school.
Physical health and health risk behaviour outcomes: Injuries, including bruises, burns, fractures, gun wounds, assaults, Rips and abrasions, Disability, Genital-urinary symptoms, Unwanted pregnancy STIs, including HIV, Eating disorders, Substance misuse, and Risky sexual behaviour
Mental health outcomes: anxiety, depression, anger or hostility, low self-esteem, suicide ideation, attempts, and actual suicide; self-harm, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); shame; obsessive-compulsive disorder; dissociation; loss of memory
CONCLUSION
In Ethiopian higher education in general and specifically at Salale University, female students are prone to different types of gender-based violence. Female students, when faced with GBV, preferred to remain silent because of a lack of trust in the system. Victim female students suffered from physical and psychological problems and lower academic achievements. Therefore, we need to work on female students in higher education to defend their human rights violations, and their good academic achievement, and to make the people who commit gender-based violence against them.
