What is Gender-Based Violence (GBV) or Sex-Based Violence?

While the term gender-based violence (GBV) is widely used in international law, Ukrainian legislation uses a different term - sex-based violence. 

According to the Law of Ukraine “On Ensuring Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men”, sex-based violence refers to acts committed against a person because of their sex or based on stereotypical notions about the social roles (status, duties, behaviour, etc.) of women or men in society. It also includes acts that predominantly affect persons of a certain sex or disproportionately impact them, resulting in physical, sexual, psychological, or economic harm or suffering, including threats of such acts, in either public or private life. 

The internationally recognized concept of gender-based violence (GBV) is broader. It encompasses violence not only against a person due to their biological sex, but also violence stemming from gender inequality, discrimination, and oppression related to gender, gender identity, gender roles, or societal perceptions of those roles. 

International legal standards recognize GBV as a violation of human rights and a form of discrimination. States that have committed to international human rights obligations must not only respond to such violence but also work to prevent it, address its root causes, and ensure that survivors have access to legal protection, support services, and rehabilitation. 

GBV is systemic in nature and is rooted in: 

• discriminatory social norms, 
• gender stereotypes, 
• unequal distribution of power, opportunities, and resources. 

This type of violence includes not only individual offenses but also broader patterns of behaviour that are often reinforced by societal norms which tolerate discrimination and diminish the experiences of survivors.