Violence against women

Violence against women is a technical term used to collectively refer to violent acts that are primarily or exclusively committed against women. Similar to a hate crime, this type of violence targets a specific group with the victim's gender as a primary motive. The United Nations General Assembly defines "violence against women" as "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life." The 1993 "Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women" noted that this violence could be perpetrated by assailants of either gender, family members and even the "State" itself. [ [http://www.unhchr.ch/huridocda/huridoca.nsf/(Symbol)/A.RES.48.104.En?Opendocument United Nations General Assembly "Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women" (1993)] ] Worldwide governments and organizations actively work to combat violence against women through a variety of programs. A UN resolution designated November 25th as "International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women". [ [http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/news/vawd.html UN Resolution 54/134-"International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women"] ]

History of violence against women

Some historians believe that the history of violence against women is tied to the history of women being viewed as property and a gender role assigned to be subservient to men and also other women. [ Penelope Harvey & Peter Gow "Sex and violence : issues in representation and experience" (1994) pg 36 Routledge ISBN 0-415-05734-5 ]

Impact on society

The World Health Organization reports that violence against women puts an undue burden on health care services with women who have suffered violence being more likely to need health services and at higher cost, compared to women who have not suffered violence. [ [http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs239/en/index.html WHO Factsheet "Violence against women"] ]

Types of violence

Domestic violence

Women are more likely to be victimized by someone that they are intimate with, commonly called "Intimate Partner Violence" or (IPV). The impact of domestic violence in the sphere of total violence against women can be understood through the example that 40-70% of murders of women are committed by their husband or boyfriend.cite web
author =
year = 2002
title = Intimate Partner Violence
publisher = World Health Organization
accessdate = 2007-09-04
url = http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/world_report/factsheets/en/ipvfacts.pdf#search=%22most%20common%20Intimate%20Partner%20violence%22] Studies have shown that violence is not always perpetrated as a form of physical violence but can also be psychological and verbal.cite journal
last =A Pourreza
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =A Batebi; A Moussavi
title =A Survey about Knowledge and Attitudes of People towards Violence against Women in Community Family Settings
journal =Iranian Public Health Journal
volume =33
issue =2
pages =33–37
date =2004
url =http://diglib.tums.ac.ir/pub/magmng/pdf/119.pdf
doi =
id =
accessdate =2007-09-04 ] [ [http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/vawprog/vaw_portfolio.pdf "Violence & Victimization Research Division's Compendium Of Research On Violence Against Women 1993-2005" 1998-WT-VX-0014 pg 35, 1999-WT-VX-0014 pg 59] ] In unmarried relationships this is commonly called dating violence, whereas in the context of marriage it is called domestic violence. Instances of IPV tend not to be reported to police and thus many experts believe that the true magnitude of the problem is hard to estimate.cite web
author =
year = 2006
title = Intimate Partner Violence: Overview
publisher = Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
accessdate = 2007-09-04
url = http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/ipvfacts.htm]

Though this form of violence is often portrayed as an issue within the context of heterosexual relationships, it also occurs in lesbian relationships,Girshick, Lori B., "No Sugar, No Spice: Reflections on Research on Woman-to-Woman Sexual Violence." "Violence Against Women" Vol. 8 No. 12, December 2002, pgs. 1500-1520.] daughter-mother relationships, roommate relationships and other domestic relationships involving two women. Violence against women in lesbian relationships is about as common as violence against women in heterosexual relationships. [ [http://www.musc.edu/vawprevention/lesbianrx/factsheet.shtml Fact Sheet: Lesbian Partner Violence ] ] Violence against women by women also exists outside the sphere of relationship violence, probably even less research has been done on this subject.Fact|date=March 2007

Diagnosis planning

The American Psychiatric Association planning and research committees for the forthcoming DSM-V (2012) have canvassed a series of new Relational disorders which include "Marital Conflict Disorder Without Violence" or "Marital Abuse Disorder (Marital Conflict Disorder With Violence)". [First, M.B., Bell, C.C., Cuthbert, B., Krystal, J.H., Malison, R., Offord, D.R., Riess, D., Shea, T., Widiger, T., Wisner, K.L., Personality Disorders and Relational Disorders, pp.164,166 Chapter 4 of Kupfer, D.J., First, M.B., & Regier, D.A. [http://appi.org/book.cfm?id=2292 A Research Agenda For DSM-V] . Published by American Psychiatric Association (2002)] Couples with marital disorders sometimes come to clinical attention because the couple recognize long-standing dissatisfaction with their marriage and come to the clinician on their own initiative or are referred by an astute health care professional. Secondly, there is serious violence in the marriage which is -"usually the husband battering the wife" . [First, M.B., Bell, C.C., Cuthbert, B., Krystal, J.H., Malison, R., Offord, D.R., Riess, D., Shea, T., Widiger, T., Wisner, K.L., Personality Disorders and Relational Disorders, p.163, Chapter 4 of Kupfer, D.J., First, M.B., & Regier, D.A. [http://appi.org/book.cfm?id=2292 A Research Agenda For DSM-V] . Published by American Psychiatric Association (2002)] In these cases the emergency room or a legal authority often is the first to notify the clinician. Most importantly, marital violence "is a major risk factor for serious injury and even death and women in violent marriages are at much greater risk of being seriously injured or killed (National Advisory Council on Violence Against Women 2000)."First, M.B., Bell, C.C., Cuthbert, B., Krystal, J.H., Malison, R., Offord, D.R., Riess, D., Shea, T., Widiger, T., Wisner, K.L., Personality Disorders and Relational Disorders, p.166, Chapter 4 of Kupfer, D.J., First, M.B., & Regier, D.A. [http://appi.org/book.cfm?id=2292 A Research Agenda For DSM-V] . Published by American Psychiatric Association (2002)] The authors of this study add that "There is current considerable controversy over whether male-to-female marital violence is best regarded as a reflection of male psychopathology and control or whether there is an empirical base and clinical utility for conceptualizing these patterns as relational."

Recommendations for clinicians making a diagnosis of "Marital Relational Disorder" should include the assessment of actual or "potential" male violence as regularly as they assess the potential for suicide in depressed patients. Further, "clinicians should not relax their vigilance after a battered wife leaves her husband, because some data suggest that the period immediately following a marital separation is the period of greatest risk for the women. Many men will stalk and batter their wives in an effort to get them to return or punish them for leaving. Initial assessments of the potential for violence in a marriage can be supplimented by standardized interviews and questionnaires, which have been reliable and valid aids in exploring marital violence more systematically." The authors conclude with what they call "very recent information"First, M.B., Bell, C.C., Cuthbert, B., Krystal, J.H., Malison, R., Offord, D.R., Riess, D., Shea, T., Widiger, T., Wisner, K.L., Personality Disorders and Relational Disorders, p.167,168 Chapter 4 of Kupfer, D.J., First, M.B., & Regier, D.A. [http://appi.org/book.cfm?id=2292 A Research Agenda For DSM-V] . Published by American Psychiatric Association (2002)] on the course of violent marriages which suggests that "over time a husband's battering may abate somewhat, but perhaps because he has successfully intimidated his wife. The risk of violence remains strong in a marriage in which it has been a feature in the past. Thus, treatment is essential here; the clinician cannot just wait and watch." The most urgent clinical priority is the protection of the wife because she is the one most frequently at risk, and clinicians must be aware that supporting assertiveness by a battered wife may lead to more beatings or even death.

tate violence

Labor camps

Many women underwent extrajudicial punishment in labor camps of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Their suffering was described in memories of former Gulag women prisoners Yevgenia Ginzburg, Eufrosinia Kersnovskaya and others.

War and militarism

Militarism produces special environments that allow for increased violence against women. For example, during World War II, the Japanese military established brothels for soldiers, exploiting women for the purpose of creating access and entitlement for men (see Comfort women). Another example of violence against women incited by militarism during war took place in the Kovno Ghetto. Jewish male prisoners had access to (and used) Jewish women forced into camp brothels by the Nazis, who also used them. [Dworkin, Andrea: "Scapegoat: The Jews, Israel and Women's Liberation." pg. 316. Free Press, 2000. ISBN 0-684-83612-2]

Violence in empowerment systems

Shelter workers are often reduced themselves to contributing to violence against women by exploiting their vulnerability in exchange for a paying job. [Koyama, Emi "Disloyal to feminism: Abuse of survivors within the domestic violence shelter system." in Smith A, Richie BE, Sudbury J, eds. "The Color of Violence: INCITE! Anthology." Cambridge, Mass.: South End Press, 2006. ISBN 0-89608-762-X]

Activism

Many activists believe that working towards the elimination of domestic violence means working to eliminate a societal hierarchy enforced through sexism. INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence cited racism within the anti-violence movement and suggest that violence against women will not end until the anti-violence movement re-directs its goal from "ending violence against women" to "ending violence against women of color." [INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence: "Color of Violence: The INCITE! Anthology." pg 4. South End Press, 2006. ISBN 0-89608-762-X] The same conclusion can be drawn for other systems of oppression.

Criticism

In 1997, the Canadian Advertising Foundation ruled that a National Ad campaign that featuring Nicole Brown Simpson's sister Denise with the slogan entiled, "Stop violence against Women" was in fact portraying only men as aggressors, and that it was not providing a balanced message and was in fact contributing to gender stereotyping. (The murder of Nicole Simpson also included the murder of Ronald Goldman) ["The Power of One", Pamela Bron, Chronicle-Journal, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, April 18, 1997, p. B1]

ee also

*Acid attack
*Bride burning
*Domestic violence
*Female genital cutting
*Foot binding
*Human trafficking
*Infibulation
*Lissette Ochoa's domestic violence case
*Men's Movement
*Prostitution
*Rape
*Sati
*Sexual slavery
*Violence Against Women Act
*Widow inheritance

References

External links

* [http://www.who.int/gender/violence/en/ World Health Organization:Gender-based violence]
* [http://www.vday.org/congo_splash.html vday.org]
* [http://www.stopvaw.org StopVAW] , Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights
* [http://www.amnesty.org/actforwomen Stop Violence Against Women] , Amnesty International
* [http://www.4woman.gov/violence/ U.S. Violence against women: Home Page]
* [http://www.aph.gov.au/library/intguide/SP/ViolenceAgainstWomen.htm Phillips, J. & Park, M, "Measuring violence against women: a review of the literature and statistics"] Australian Parliament House Library E-Briefs: Online only, issued 06 December 2004
* [http://www.usdoj.gov/ovw/ US Dept of Justice Office on Violence Against Women]
* [http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/violencewomen.html UK Home Office "Violence against women"]
* [http://www.un.org/rights/dpi1772e.htm United Nations Human Rights Commission "Women and Violence" ]
* [http://www.fmreview.org/sexualviolence.htm Sexual violence: weapon of war, impediment to peace] , Forced Migration Review
* [http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/funding/daphne/funding_daphne_en.htm European Union "Daphne Project"]
* [http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs239/en/index.html World Health Organization "Violence against women"]
* [http://www.ncjrs.org/txtfiles1/nij/183781.txt "Full report of the prevalence, incidence, and consequences of violence against women: Findings from the national violence against women survey."] Publication No. NCJ183781
* [http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/pubs-sum/181867.htm "Extent, nature, and consequences of intimate partner violence: findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey."] Publication No. NCJ 181867
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/rcip//genderhc.html Rape as a hate crime (gender bias crimes)]
* [http://www.sagepub.com/journalsProdDesc.nav?prodId=Journal200837 Violence Against Women (Journal)]
* [http://www.endvaw.org/ "End Violence against Women: Information and Resources Website"]