The “Problem” with Protecting Women from Violence

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kara Ellerby
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
Gender Roles ◽  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Economic Order ◽  
Global Organizations ◽  
Informal Labor ◽  
Feminist Movements

This chapter explores policies aimed at addressing violence against women, including domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking, and sexual harassment. Most states criminalize all or some of these, thanks primarily to active feminist movements within and between states. However, violence against women remains an epidemic, in part because of gendered beliefs about violence. These include notions that violence against women is a “women’s issue”; it is not really violence; it is a private affair; and it is a woman’s fault. These pervasive beliefs mar efforts to prosecute violence though a “leaky” justice pipeline in which women are discouraged from seeking redress. Global organizations that promote women’s empowerment as a way to eradicate violence ignore how neoliberal economic order is destabilizing gender roles. Paradoxically, women’s cheap, temporary, and informal labor are preferred, undermining men’s gender roles that are reinforced with violence.

Violence Against Women and Children Following the 2011 Great East Japan Disaster: Making the Invisible Visible Through Research

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (7) ◽  
pp. 862-881 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mieko Yoshihama ◽  
Tomoko Yunomae ◽  
Azumi Tsuge ◽  
Keiko Ikeda ◽  
Reiko Masai
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Sexual Contact ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Women And Children ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
Unwanted Sexual Contact ◽  
Structured Questionnaire ◽  
The Invisible

This study reports on 82 unduplicated cases of violence against women and children after the Great East Japan Disaster of March 2011. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire from informants who worked with the disaster-affected populations. In addition to domestic violence, reported cases involved sexual assault and unwanted sexual contact, including quid pro quo assault perpetrated by nonintimates. Perpetrators often exploited a sense of fear, helplessness, and powerlessness and used threats to force compliance with sexual demands in exchange for life-sustaining resources. Findings point to the urgent need to develop measures to prevent and respond to postdisaster gender-based violence.

Impacts of Agency Coordination on Nonprofit Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Programs in Communities With STOP Formula Grant Funding

2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 613-624
Author(s):  
Janine M. Zweig ◽  
Martha R. Burt
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Service System ◽  
State Level ◽  
Community Agencies ◽  
Community Interaction ◽  
Agency Support ◽  
State Context

The goals of the current study are (a) to understand the community and state context in which STOP(Services* Training* Officers* Prosecutors)-funded victim service (VS) programs operate, (b) to assess the degree to which receipt of STOP funding for VS programs and the degree of state-level STOP agency support for collaboration among community agencies have led to improved program services and community interaction, and (c) to assess the degree to which improved interaction between community agencies leads to improvements for VS programs. The results show that community interaction between VS programs and other community agencies can improve VS program services as reported by service providers. In addition, the higher the pre-STOP levels of activity around violence against women issues in communities, the more agencies can enhance their service system with STOP funding. Also, STOP funding has facilitated greater levels of change for communities whose pre-STOP attention to violence against women was lower.

scholarly journals A Two-Year Experience of Gender-Based Violence at a Pioneer One Stop Crisis Center: Sukoon

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 172-180
Author(s):  
Sunil Gambhir ◽  
Akash Deep Aggarwal ◽  
Aatika Mahajan ◽  
Ritu Setiya
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
One Stop ◽  
Gender Based

This paper examines violence against women, with a special focus on domestic violence, along with sexual violence and sexual assault, in multidimensional perspective for the period of two years so as to understand its magnitude and its impact on the rights of women in the northern part of India. Among all such cases, there were 57.2% cases of domestic violence, 20.3% cases of sexual violence and sexual assault, 17.8% cases of attempted poisoning, 1.5% cases of homicidal burns, and 1.2% cases of attempted suicide. The greatest number of cases was recorded during the spring, followed by summer. It was observed that the greatest number of cases (60.24%) was recorded under the homemaker (housewife) category of women followed by the working category (26.80%). The greatest number of cases is seen in the age group of 20 to 30 years (42.77%), followed by the age group of 30 to 40 years (23.49%). A slightly higher number of cases (51.20%) was reported from rural areas. The greatest number of cases was recorded under the domestic violence category. The second highest percentage of cases reported involved sexual violence and sexual assault. The greatest number of married cases had a duration of zero to ten years (43.37%), followed by the unmarried category (19.87%). With reference to duration of violence, the greatest number of cases is seen in the age group of zero to six months (32.53%). The greatest number of cases is seen under the no child category (40.96%). Regarding the alleged perpetrator, the greatest number of cases is seen under the husband category (23.79%), followed by unknown category (22.28%).

The Title IX Movement Against Campus Sexual Harassment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Chi Cantalupo
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Title Ix ◽  
Direct Action ◽  
Campus Sexual Assault ◽  
Feminist Organizing ◽  
Feminist Movements ◽  
Remarkable Progress

Beginning in 2009, hundreds of thousands of students and their allies began to mobilize against campus sexual assault, organizing around the groundbreaking civil rights statute, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and achieving remarkable progress in advancing gender equality in only about a decade. Moving from the Title IX movement’s genesis during the Obama administration to the movement’s direct-action protests and litigation challenging regulations issued in May 2020 by then-Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, this chapter tells the story of how Title IX and the student movement interacted from 2009 to 2020. During these years, the movement not only weathered backlash but also influenced later feminist movements such as #MeToo and nonfeminists’ understanding of sexual harassment, demonstrating the continued power and promise of both feminist law and feminist organizing.

Domestic Relationship Evidence in Queensland: An Analysis of a Misunderstood Provision

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Physical Violence ◽  
Fair Trial ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Law

Relationship evidence or evidence that reveals an individual’s propensity to engage in certain offences has been the subject of much discussion in the context of domestic violence. Our understanding and awareness of domestic violence has developed immensely over the past decade and we now understand that domestic violence encapsulates much more than just physical violence against women. We now acknowledge it extends to sexual assault and child sexual abuse. This article examines the current protections provided by the law to restrict the admission of relationship or context evidence in order to ensure an accused person receives a fair trial. It does so by considering the development of the law surrounding relationship evidence, particularly the introduction of s 132 of the Queensland Evidence Act 1977 in 1998. This article explores the application of s 132B and questions whether its aim to simplify the process for admitting relationship evidence has actually been realised.

Women Rising

2020 ◽  
Vol 97 (4) ◽  
pp. 119-132
Author(s):  
Senator Connie M. Leyva
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
The State ◽  
Prison Reform ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Women And Children ◽  
Women And Girls ◽  
At Home

The California Legislative Women’s Caucus has been a strong bipartisan and bicameral advocate for women and children since its founding in 1985. In 2020, more women have been elected at one time than ever before, making up 31.6 percent of the legislature, and they are working to increase the representation of women and advocate on their behalf. The Caucus has fought, and continues to fight, for change in policy areas such as childcare and prison reform, and on behalf of survivors of domestic violence, sexual harassment, and sexual assault. The Legislative Women’s Caucus has passed successful legislation that protects women at home and in the workplace. It has focused on helping women shatter glass ceilings and worked to create equitable employment environments for women and girls—working continuously to ensure that the state attends to matters that are important to California.

scholarly journals The #MeToo Movement as a Global Learning Moment

2018 ◽  
Vol 94 ◽  
pp. 5-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Regulska
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Global Learning ◽  
Teaching Tools ◽  
Diverse Environment ◽  
Internationalization Strategies ◽  
Global Nature

This article places the #MeToo movement within the context of global learning. Given the global nature of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and violence against women, it asks what responsibilities we have as international educators. It raises numerous questions that can be utilized as teaching tools—and it proposes that institutions rethink internationalization strategies and seize this moment of opportunity to create aninclusive and diverse environment conducive to advancing intercultural and intracultural understanding.

“With All My Force …”

Women Rising ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 50-52
Author(s):  
Lina Abirafeh ◽  
Ghida Anani
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Resource Center ◽  
Arab Men

In this chapter, Lina Abirafeh discusses how ABAAD, a resource center for gender equality in Lebanon, is engaging Arab men in the advocacy against domestic violence. ABAAD aims to inspire men and boys to advocate for women’s empowerment and end violence against women in Lebanese society.

scholarly journals The Endemic Amid the Pandemic: Seeking Help for Violence Against Women in the Initial Phases of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052199794
Author(s):  
Susan B. Sorenson ◽  
Laura Sinko ◽  
Richard A. Berk
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Interrupted Time Series ◽  
School Closure ◽  
Interrupted Time Series Analysis ◽  
Government Interventions ◽  
Seeking Help ◽  
Changes Over Time

During the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments instituted a series of measures to control the spread of the virus. The measures were widely believed to increase women’s risk of violent victimization, most of which is by an intimate partner. We examined help-seeking during this period in a large U.S. city and used an interrupted time series analysis to assess the effects of three government interventions on domestic violence and sexual assault hotline calls and on “911” calls regarding domestic violence, assault, and rape. Declaration of an emergency appeared to reduce victim calls to the rape crisis hotline and the few “911” calls about rape. School closure was associated with a reduction in “911” calls about assault and rape and victim calls to the domestic violence hotline. Implementation of stay-at-home orders was associated with a gradual increase in domestic violence hotline calls. Although “911” calls regarding assault fell by nearly half, calls to police for domestic violence were unchanged. In sum, there was a decrease in help-seeking for sexual assault and assault in general but not for domestic violence during the initial phases of the COVID-19 outbreak. The analysis underscores the importance of distinguishing between the violence itself, calls to police, and calls to helplines when claims are made about changes over time in violence against women. The opportunities and constraints for each can differ widely under usual circumstances, circumstances that were altered by public health interventions related to the pandemic.

Is Women’s Fear of Crime Fear of Sexual Assault? A Test of the Shadow of Sexual Assault Hypothesis in a Sample of Swedish University Students

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 511-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Mellgren ◽  
Anna-Karin Ivert
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
University Students ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Fear Of Crime ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Fear Of Rape ◽  
Shadow Of Sexual Assault

Prior research shows that women’s higher fear of crime compared with men can largely be explained by women’s fear of rape. Whether women’s higher fear can also be explained by fear of nonviolent sexual harassment has not been explored. This study tested the shadow of sexual assault hypothesis in a sample of almost 3,000 Swedish university students. Our results confirm previous tests of the shadow thesis on the effect of fear of rape. In addition, we show that fear of sexual harassment also explained differences in fear between men and women. Based on the findings, we recommend that strategies to reduce sexual violence should focus on the entire continuum of violence against women.

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