On the Significance of Religion in Violence Against Women and Girls

Reviewed by: Rahmanara Chowdhury, Markfield Institute of Higher Education, UK 

Published by: Routledge, Abingdon/New York 2023, 194pp. ISBN: 9780367769499.

It is estimated that 65 million people were forcibly displaced by the end of 2015. Measuring such figures is riddled with difficulties. Forced displacement refers to those impacted by conflict, generalised violence or human rights violations. In addition to this there are further categories to consider such as those who are internally displaced, or those who return to their homes, and those who live in displacement affected host communities. From this figure, it is estimated that 75% were women and young people. Given that this is potentially what we know about, it raises significant questions in terms of accurate figures, particularly in environments where young males are portrayed as the majority of those experiencing forced displacement.

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is now known to be a global pandemic. The authors in this book offer evidence to demonstrate that between 2000 and 2018 almost a third of females globally had experienced some form of VAWG. These figures are pervasive. Within a UK context it is known that VAWG happens within the most vulnerable of spaces, the family home. Yet, in the case of forced displacements, this vulnerability becomes compounded.