After decades of advocacy, aglobal summitwas finally convened in London three years ago to find a way of ending sexual violence in conflict situations.The aim was to focus attention on this often-overlooked aspect of warfare.While this is right and good, over emphasizing conflict-related sexual violence runs the risk of making us lose sight of the fact that a war zone is not the most dangerous place for a woman. Her home is.Nearly a third(30%) of women worldwidein intimate relationships will experience violence at the hands of their partners. This is according to the World Health Organisation, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the South African Medical Research Council. Globally, about38% of all women murdereddie at the hands of their intimate partners.South Africa is a case in point. According to a 2016 health and democraticsurvey, a fifth (21%) of women over 18 years old in intimate relationships have experienced physical violence from a partner; 6% experienced sexual violence from a partner. And aretrospective national studypublished in 2009 put the South African mortality rate from intimate partner violence at 8.8 per 100 000 womentwice as high as the USA.Not that America is a safe place for women. The Centre for Disease Controls 2010 National Intimate Partner andSexual Violence Surveyfound that 9.4% of women have been raped by intimate partners in their lifetime. 15,9% of women have experienced sexual intimate partner violence other than rape, and nearly 33% of women have been subjected to physical violence at the hands of their partners.Shocking new findings show that even in conflict-affected countries infamous for the high rates of sexual violence perpetrated by fighting forces and where soldiers and rebel fighters are a daily danger to women, their husbands and boyfriends are the bigger threat. Abaseline household surveydone in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) showed that women reported very high levels of intimate partner violencemuch higher than the rate of sexual violence perpetrated by soldiers and militias.DRC researchThe baseline household survey was done in 15 communities in the Ituri Province of the DRC and 769 people were interviewed.It was conducted byTearfundandHEAL Africaas part of a project called "Engaging with Faith Groups to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls inConflict-affected Communities."This project is funded by UK aid from the UK government, via the What Works to Prevent Violence AgainstWomen and GirlsGlobal Programme. The funds are managed by the South African Medical Research Council.The eastern DRC is still racked by ongoing violence from different rebel groups. This has been going on for decades, and the eastern DRC is known for high rates of very violentsexual attacksperpetrated by soldiers as well as rebels.The survey showed that non-partner sexual violencewhich would include sexual violence perpetrated by soldiers and rebelswas very high20.8% of women reported non-partner sexual violence within the last year. This is much higher than theglobal figure of 7%for lifetime experience of non-partner sexual violence.This outcome of the survey was expected. What wasnt was the shocking finding that more than two thirds (68.7%) of the women who reported having experienced non-partner sexual violence in the last 12 months, said that the perpetrator was a known person or a family member. Only in 6% of the cases was the perpetrator a militia member or another unknown person.As shocking was the very high levels of intimate partner violence: 68.8% of women in relationships who took part in the survey reported having experienced some form of intimate partner violence in the previous 12 months, and 38,4% had been sexually violated by an intimate partner in the last year. Over 68,2% of men in relationships reported perpetrating intimate partner violence.War versus the homeWhile still under researched,there is evidence suggestingthat intimate partner violence increases during times of conflict, is more common in couples that experienced or were affected by armed conflict.Nevertheless, the survey confirms that, even in areas affected by conflict, intimate relationships are the biggest and most consistent threat to a womans safety.What this underscores is that yes, there is need to address the abuses suffered by women at the hands of those waging war. But what musnt be forgotten is that, for many women all over the world, their homes are the battle front.Feminist theories explaining violence against women have gained increasing traction in the past few decades. They explain that such violence is a result of male power withinpatriarchal society, revealing the relationship between gender and power. Even sexual violence is about power, as through the act men aim to prove their dominance and control over women.Addressing this imbalance in society is difficult. One possible avenue through which it can be done is religion and religious institutions. Religion is able to influence behavior and motivate and facilitate social change.While research has shown us that religious institutions are usually patriarchal institutions, upholding the status quo that is detrimental to women, the opposite can also be true. Tearfund and HEAL Africa, focusing on religious leaders to act as catalysts to prevent violence against women and girls in Ituri province, are banking on this.SEE ALSO:Britain is one of the worst developed countries for children facing food insecurity and sexual violenceJoin the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: All the nasty things inside a pimple ' and why you should stop popping them
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