Violence against women

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Violence against women (VAW) is a term of art 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. . 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.

History of violence against women

Some experts 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. .

Impact on society

The World Health Organization reports that violence against women put an undue burden on health care services with women who have suffered violence being more likely to need health services and at higher costs.

Types of violence

Domestic violence

Main article: Domestic violence

Studies have shown that violence is not always perpetrated as a form of physical violence but can also be psychological and verbal. Women are more likely to be victimized by someone that they are intimate with, commonly called "Intimate Partner Violence" or (IPV). In unmarried realationships 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.

Violence against women by women

Very little research has been done on lesbian relationship violence, so reliable source information is hard to come by. Contrary to sexist gendered beliefs, women have the capacity to be violent. Thus, this form of violence can occur in lesbian relationships, daughter-mother relationships, roommate relationships and other domestic relationships involving two women. Violence against women by women also exists outside the sphere of relationship violence, probably even less research has been done on this subject.

State violence

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 Auschwitz. Jewish male prisoners had access to (and used) Jewish women forced into camp brothels by the Nazis, who also used them.

"Shelter Industrial Complex"

The main challenge for feminists working to end violence against women comes from the very systems that claim to support their efforts: the court system, the media, their sources of Federal and State funding, and Academia, which is steeped in a system of power and control that is male dominated. Feminists are allowed - not empowered - to do anything that "looks good" and generates more funding, but doesn't really change the status quo.

Shelter workers, thus, are often reduced themselves to contributing to violence against women by exploiting their vulnerability in exchange for a paying job.

Activism

Many activists believe that working towards the elimination of domestic violence means working to eliminate a societal hierarchy enforced through sexism. Women of color have long cited racism within the antiviolence movement and suggest that violence against women will not end until the antiviolence movement re-directs its goal from "ending violence against women" to "ending violence against women of color." The same conclusion can be drawn for other systems of oppression.

References

United Nations General Assembly Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (1993)
UN Resolution 54/134-International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
Penelope Harvey & Peter Gow Sex and violence : issues in representation and experience (1994) pg 36 Routledge ISBN 0-415-05734-5
WHO Factsheet Violence against women
A Survey about Knowledge and Attitudes of People towards Violence against Women in Community Family Settings Iranian Public Health Journal Vol. 33, No. 2, pp.33-37, 2004
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
WHO IPV Facts
CDC IPV Fact Sheet
Dworkin, Andrea: Scapegoat: The Jews, Israel and Women's Liberation. pg. ?. Free Press, 2000. ISBN 0-684-83612-2
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
Incite! Women of Color Against Violence: Color of Violence: The Incite! Anthology. pg 4. South End Press, 2006. ISBN 0-89608-762-X

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