Terefe, Hirut (PhD)Megersa, Tsegaye2019-03-112023-11-042019-03-112023-11-042015-06http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/16689Gender based viol ence is any act of physical, psychological, and sexual impacts on women by men due to the fact that they are women. Different studies conducted on gender based violence among the communities of Arsi zone emphasizes on the magnitude of the problem and never mainly di scussed on the root causes of the problem. By understanding this gap, this st udy tries to look on some of the main causes associated with the culture of the local communi ty and other non cultural causes whi ch further aggravate the problems. In add ition, th is study revealed different consequences of gender based violence in the local co ntext and pave the way fo r further stud ies in the area of gender based violence. The objectives of this study are assessing how gender based vio lence is embeded in the socio cultural practices of the society, ide ntifying the possible causes that furth er exacerbate the situation of gender based vio lence against women in [-[etosa di stri ct, exploring the inequalities of gender as a social construction that paves the way for gender based violence, and fi na lly describing the consequences of gender based vio lence on individual and society of the study area. This study is conducted under the umbrella of qualitative research methodology and the data sources were both primary and secondary sources. [n that, systematic observation, interview and focus group discussion are the data gathering techniques under primary so urces and different earl ier studies by other researchers, and published books are the secondary so urces of this study. I made indepth interviews with women, foc us group d iscussion with women who experience gender based viol ence and were reporting there cases to the formal court system, the police, or women and children affai rs. Hence, the target groups of this study are women in the age of majority (18+) and women who have suffered from any types of gender based vio lence. Some men were also among my key informants who provided me with a wide range of information concerning gender based violence. In thi s stud y, [ used differe nt approaches to conduct women at the po lice office, women and children affairs office, local court compound and home to home vis it. It is found that the main cultural causes for gender based violence among the community of J-Ietosa di strict are traditional mari tal structure, religion based attitudes, gender sociali za tion, social attitudes toward sexes, patriarchical inst ituti ons, and the weaki nig of traditional inistitutions that safeguard the rights of women. Other non cu ltural causes include individual! group interest, low education/ illitrecy, alcohol and drug abuse, and ri sk ca lcul ation . This study a lso identifi ed the main types of gender based violence among the people of l-Ietosa distri ct like economic abuse, sexual harassment/ emot ional abuse, woman beating, and rape. Other ty pes of gender based vio lence like abduction, female genital mutilation, and early marriage are found to be rarely occur in in the area of my study. The earlier major types of gender based violence identifi ed among the people of Hetosa di strict has diffe rent consequences on individuals and communi ty at large. Some of the main consequences identified are marital divo rce, poverty, phys ical harm/ injury, unwanted pregnancy, child birth or abortion, vulnerabi lity to sexually transmitted di sease, mental illness, and murder.enGender Based Violence in the Rural Setting of ArsiThesis