Violence Against Women

Is Baptism a Male Birthing Ritual? By Michele Stopera Freyhauf

by Feminism and Religion

Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project

Quite a number of years ago I had a conversation with one of my professors, a feminist theologian, who posed the... more Quite a number of years ago I had a conversation with one of my professors, a feminist theologian, who posed the question “Why do I need a man to purify my baby with the waters of baptism?  Is there something wrong or impure about the blood and water from a mother’s womb – my womb?”  Before you jump and shout the words Sacrament or removal of original sin, this question bears merit in exploring, especially in today’s world where women are taking a serious beating religiously, politically, and socially.  In today’s world, violations and rants are causing women to stand up and say STOP!  This is MY Body.  This outcry was provoked by chants of ethical slurs against women– Slut! Prostitute! Whore!  The cry got even louder when the issue of religion and government was raised in the fight of healthcare coverage of contraception. The cry got even louder with the enactment of the laws in Virginia and Texas (and many other states to follow suit) that forces women to undergo transvaginal ultrasounds in early stage abortions.  The mandatory insertion of a wand into a woman’s vagina (mandated by the government, mind you), is a violation and has women crying RAPE!

Advancing International Criminal Law. The Special Court for Sierra Leone Recognizes Forced Marriage as a ‘New’ Crime against Humanity

by Micaela Frulli

published in Journal of International Criminal Justice 6 (2008), 1033-1042

The Appeals Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) in Brima, Kamara and Kanu recognized that forced... more The Appeals Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) in Brima, Kamara and Kanu recognized that forced marriages may amount to crimes against humanity, falling under the sub-heading of ‘other inhumane acts’. This decision is to
be welcomed because the practice of forced marriage is not adequately described by existing categories of sexual crimes. As forced conjugality results in particular psychological and moral suffering for the victims, it is argued that this heinous
practice may be more appropriately pursued as a separate crime, under a definition that describes the entirety and complexity of the criminal conduct. The SCSL decision
may also be important for its impact on the activities of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The widespread practice of forced marriage presently features in all the situations being investigated by the ICC and the inclusion in the ICC
Statute of the offence of forced marriage as a separate crime against humanity could be discussed during the Review Conference in 2009.

Women being “Raped too much?”: Fox News, Liz Trotta, and Rape Culture by Gina Messina-Dysert

by Feminism and Religion

Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project

I may be a bit late to the conversation, but it is impossible for me not to comment on the infuriating statements made... more I may be a bit late to the conversation, but it is impossible for me not to comment on the infuriating statements made by Liz Trotta on Fox News about the staggering 64% increase in sexual assaults against women in the military since 2006.  Responding to reports from the Pentagon about women serving in combat, Trotta complained that money is being wasted on women in the military who are “raped too much.”  The statements by the Fox News pundit well demonstrate the existence of rape culture within our society and the continued problem of victim blaming and double victimization experienced by women who have been raped.

Notes for the Researcher-Practitioner Discourse on Initiatives to End Violence Against Women webinar National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 2010: New Knowledge and Unanswered Questions, hosted by the Battered Women’s Justice Project/PreventConnect, May 16, 2012.

by Molly Dragiewicz

Un modèle multifactoriel pour l’explication de la violence verbale à l’égard de la femme mariée

by Dhafer Malouche

L’objectif de ce travail est de montrer à l’aide de l’estimation d’un mod`ele graphique d’interactions certaines... more L’objectif de ce travail est de montrer à l’aide de l’estimation d’un mod`ele graphique d’interactions certaines causes directes et indirectes de la violence verbale à l'égard de la femme mariée et dans la sphère conjugale. Ce travail a été fait à partir d’une enquête nationale effectuée en 2010 sur un ´echantillon de 2558 femmes mariées.

An Introduction to Issues of Gender in Stalking Research

by H. Colleen Sinclair

Physical violence in dating relationships

by H. Colleen Sinclair

Initial Courtship Behavior and Stalking: How should we draw the line?

by H. Colleen Sinclair

Intimate stalking and partner violence

by H. Colleen Sinclair

GENDER-MOTIVATED BIAS CRIMES: EXAMINING WHY SITUATIONAL VARIABLES ARE IMPORTANT IN THE LABELING OF HATE CRIMES

by H. Colleen Sinclair

The Virtues of Dockside Dalliance: Why Maritime Sugar Girls are Safer then Urban Streetwalkers in South Africa's Prostitution Industry

by Henry Trotter

in Susan Dewey & Patty Kelly (Eds.), Policing Pleasure: Sex Work, Policy and the State in Global Perspective (New York: NYU Press, 2011), pp. 86-99

South African sex workers are exposed to different amounts of violence depending on the prostitution sector that they... more South African sex workers are exposed to different amounts of violence depending on the prostitution sector that they work in, such as the street, truck stop, hotel, agency, brothel, and dockside trades. By comparing the structural features of these sectors, we can not only gauge the likelihood of violence within each, but also devise more precise policy instruments to reduce violence at an industry-wide level. I focus here on the neglected dockside prostitution sector, showing how its structural characteristics enhance the women’s power vis-à-vis their clients. Detailed policy recommendations conclude the article.

Navigating Risk: Lessons From the Dockside Sex Trade for Reducing Violence in South Africa's Prostitution Industry

by Henry Trotter

Sexuality Research & Social Policy: Journal of NSRC, 4/4 (Dec 2007): 106-119

The diversity of South Africa's prostitution industry exposes sex workers to varying levels of violence. The street,... more The diversity of South Africa's prostitution industry exposes sex workers to varying levels of violence. The street, truck stop, hotel, agency, brothel, and dockside trades are characterized by different structural features that determine the prevalence of client, police, and third-party abuse against prostitutes. Comparing the structural elements of each sector allows not only gauging the likelihood of violence within a given niche but also devising more precise policy instruments to reduce violence at an industry-wide level.

This article, "Navigating Risk," focuses on the dockside prostitution sector in Cape Town and Durban, showing how its structural features enhance the women's power vis-à-vis their clients and the police. It discusses 5 key variables that influence the likelihood of violence within each prostitution sector:

* the social and legal status of the client
* the location of the negotiation
* the location of the sexual act
* the level of discretion in the solicitation process
* and the role of third-party involvement

Detailed policy recommendations conclude the argument.

"We Couldn't Just Throw Her in the Street": Gendered Violence and Women's Shelters in Turkey

by Kim Shively

Published as a chapter in Anthropology at the Front Lines of Gendered-Based Violence, Jennifer R. Wies and Hillary J. Haldane, eds. pp. 71-90.  Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.

This chapter discusses the success and limitations of the Turkish state shelter system for victims of domestic... more This chapter discusses the success and limitations of the Turkish state shelter system for victims of domestic violence.  The chapter aims to demonstrate how these shelters are explicitly and implicitly based on a notion of domestic/gendered violence that is broader than in Western conceptions.  In Turkey, the new laws and institutions established to deal with domestic violence have largely been borrowed from European precedents in a process of “transplantation” – a strategy Sally Engel Merry has outlined in her book Human Rights and Gender Violence.  Due to pressure from the European Union accession process that has required Turkey to match its legal system to European standards, the importation of domestic violence/gender violence laws into Turkish Civil and Penal Codes has been relatively successful – that is, follows the European models closely.  The chapter traces the rewriting of the Civil and Penal codes in recent Turkish history to show how the legal standards have changed in favor of women who are victims of domestic violence.  Unlike the legal code amendment process, though, the chapter argues that the transplantation of the institutional models, in particular the state women’s shelters, has been a much more complicated procedure.  Based on research conducted in state women’s shelters in Izmir Province, Turkey, in 2004, 2006 and 2007, I discuss the fact that most residents of the state shelters have not fled forms of intimate partner violence.  Thus, the shelters do not function primarily as “battered women’s” shelters, as are the European institutions they are modeled on.  Rather, the shelters most often deal with women who are suffering from more generalized, structural forms of gendered violence, such as exclusion from education and the means of economic independence,  and from a shortage of institutions that serve the needs of poor women.  In sum, while the Turkish shelters may fall short of Western expectations in that only 10% of the residents are victims of intimate partner violence, they serve the needs of women who suffer from gendered violence in its broadest sense. 

Violence agaist women in the context of mental illness: Hidden costs of sisters' caregiving

by Charmaine C. Williams

“Spatial and Corporeal Identity in Mexican Women’s Performance. Windows on Comparative Literature No.2 (April 06). 5-17.

by Roselyn Costantino

DeKeseredy, W.S. & Dragiewicz, M. (in press). Woman abuse in Canada: sociological reflections on the past, suggestions for the future. Violence Against Women.

by Molly Dragiewicz

Woman abuse in Canada started receiving much sociological attention in the mid-1980s. This paper describes past... more Woman abuse in Canada started receiving much sociological attention in the mid-1980s. This paper describes past scholarly achievements, assesses current contributions, and suggests progressive ways of responding to future challenges. Special attention is given to how broader political economic forces help shape and constrain research on a variety of highly injurious male-to-female assaults that occur in private settings.

Feminicides in Area: interactive visualizations of Feminicides in the Spanish State. Feminicidios en Area: Visualizaciones interactivas de los Feminicidios en el Estado Español.

by Nuria Verges Bosch

Dragiewicz, M. (in press). “You only get what you fight for”: Theorizing the backlash against the U.S. battered women’s movement. In S. Winlow and R. Atkinson (Eds.) New directions in crime and deviance: Papers from the York Deviancy Conference. London: Routledge.

by Molly Dragiewicz

Dragiewicz, M. & DeKeseredy, W.S. (2012). Confronting campus sexual assault. In W.S. DeKeseredy & M. Dragiewicz (Eds.) Routledge handbook of critical criminology (pp. 454-464). London: Routledge.

by Molly Dragiewicz

Las muertas de Juárez. Bioética, género, poder e injusticia

by Jorge Alberto Álvarez-Díaz