The construction of gender plays a very important role in men’s violence against women. In society women are supposed to be feminie – helpless, submissive, and dependent. Women are supposed to rely on men to take care of them in every aspect of their lives. Therefore it is a man’s position in society to be authoritative, controlling, and have full responsibility. This controlling and authoritative nature can cause men to be violent towards women. If a women goes out of her social range and decides to stand up for herself, a man might see that as a threat and be abusive. Or even if another man upsets a man he might take his anger out on his wife, girlfriend, etc., because he believes he has complete power and control over her.
Because this issue is one that is socially constructed it is hard to get it out of our culture. It is reinforced through every generation as a young child watches his or her parents interact. They see the role each of them plays in society. If they are not taught that they should show respect towards the opposite sex, miscommunication might cause boys to act in violent ways towards women as they grow older.
In order for violence towards women to stop, the chain needs to be broken. Young boys need to be taught at an early age that it is wrong to be abusive and violent towards women. Whether they learn this from their parents at home or teachers at school, it is the only way the chain will be broken.
Furthermore, young women need to be taught the signs of someone who has a tendancy to be abusive. They need to learn self defense. Mothers need to teach their girls at an early age that it is wrong for men to be abusive towards women so they understand that if a man hurts them, the man is doing the wrong thing. Naivity is also a problem of violence. Women are taught to be submissive and that is something that young girls need to be taught is not a role they must play in society.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Interviews about sexual abuse
In my interviews I shared information found on the feminist.com website. Almost 18% of women in the United States have survived a rape or an attempted rape. Of these women 64% of the violence they received was from a former or current boyfriend, husband, cohabiter, or date. About one in four college women are raped. Most likely half of the rape incidents are not reported to the police. In the year 2000 alone 800,000 children were victims of sexual abuse. Every fifteen seconds in America a woman is abused by her partner. These are only statistics from the United States, throughout the world woman are sexually abused.
The four people I interviewed were my mom, my dad, my step-dad, and my sister who is 18. My sister wasn’t surprised by the statistics which does not surprise me because in recent education, these issues have been addressed. She was surprised however that every fifteen seconds in America a woman is abused by her partner. She thinks that male’s sexual prejudice, the fact that they believe they are dominant, causes sexual abuse. She also believes that women feel too safe and comfortable in certain situations. She believes that community education, law enforcement, and offering women’s protection courses would be a good way to solve the problem of sexual abuse.
My mom was surprised that so many women are violated but was not surprised that most of them were by someone they knew. She feels that men use their strength and violence against women to show they are more powerful than women are. She believes that education for women to understand what kind of people are victimizers or self defense classes are the best way to stop sexual abuse and violence.
My step-dad was very intrigued by the statistics and actually looked up more information. He was curious why women do not report rape incidents. Are they told that they will not win if they take the man to court? He also thought it was interesting that ethnicity plays such an important role. He believes that these statistics are unacceptable and the prosecution and conviction needs to be stricter. He believes that the cause of abuse is the lack of teaching respect to young boys. For example, the way women are treated on TV, in magazines, or in rap songs. Even religion can be an issue such as Southern Baptist treating men as the leaders with submissive wives. He believes that on college campus drinking and drugs play a large role in rapes. He suggests that women need to take control to fight rape. There needs to be stronger penalties, enhance support for victims, make women more aware of risky situations, and provide more training for women.
My father was alarmed at the high numbers, especially the 800,000 children that are sexually abused. He thought that rape victims were usually abused by strangers and was surprised that in reality 64% of victims knew the person who raped them. He believes that anger is a major cause of rape and sexual abuse. It could be someone with a troubled past, someone who is controlling, or someone who was abused as a child. He suggests education and stricter punishment as a solution for the rape problem.
My reaction is similar to my mothers. I was not at all surprised that most rape victims knew the person who raped them. I was surprised that it happens so often. I believe that many cases go unreported simply because women do not understand all the aspects of sexual abuse. Sexual abuse is anything that is done to you without your content. I would agree with my step-dad that on the college campus drugs and especially alcohol play an important role. It is important for women to understand that under the influence of drugs and alcohol they are more vulnerable to sexual abuse. I also would agree with him that the lack of respect that men are taught at an early age is a major cause for sexual violence. Although many victimizers may have been sexually abused as a child, I believe that most are probably just controlling and want to show their power over women. Education is the best solution to this problem. Men will always sexually abuse women, no matter what the consequences are. They will always have that idea in the back of their mind that they can get away with it. Therefore, it is important for women as individuals to be aware of the risks that are out there.
The four people I interviewed were my mom, my dad, my step-dad, and my sister who is 18. My sister wasn’t surprised by the statistics which does not surprise me because in recent education, these issues have been addressed. She was surprised however that every fifteen seconds in America a woman is abused by her partner. She thinks that male’s sexual prejudice, the fact that they believe they are dominant, causes sexual abuse. She also believes that women feel too safe and comfortable in certain situations. She believes that community education, law enforcement, and offering women’s protection courses would be a good way to solve the problem of sexual abuse.
My mom was surprised that so many women are violated but was not surprised that most of them were by someone they knew. She feels that men use their strength and violence against women to show they are more powerful than women are. She believes that education for women to understand what kind of people are victimizers or self defense classes are the best way to stop sexual abuse and violence.
My step-dad was very intrigued by the statistics and actually looked up more information. He was curious why women do not report rape incidents. Are they told that they will not win if they take the man to court? He also thought it was interesting that ethnicity plays such an important role. He believes that these statistics are unacceptable and the prosecution and conviction needs to be stricter. He believes that the cause of abuse is the lack of teaching respect to young boys. For example, the way women are treated on TV, in magazines, or in rap songs. Even religion can be an issue such as Southern Baptist treating men as the leaders with submissive wives. He believes that on college campus drinking and drugs play a large role in rapes. He suggests that women need to take control to fight rape. There needs to be stronger penalties, enhance support for victims, make women more aware of risky situations, and provide more training for women.
My father was alarmed at the high numbers, especially the 800,000 children that are sexually abused. He thought that rape victims were usually abused by strangers and was surprised that in reality 64% of victims knew the person who raped them. He believes that anger is a major cause of rape and sexual abuse. It could be someone with a troubled past, someone who is controlling, or someone who was abused as a child. He suggests education and stricter punishment as a solution for the rape problem.
My reaction is similar to my mothers. I was not at all surprised that most rape victims knew the person who raped them. I was surprised that it happens so often. I believe that many cases go unreported simply because women do not understand all the aspects of sexual abuse. Sexual abuse is anything that is done to you without your content. I would agree with my step-dad that on the college campus drugs and especially alcohol play an important role. It is important for women to understand that under the influence of drugs and alcohol they are more vulnerable to sexual abuse. I also would agree with him that the lack of respect that men are taught at an early age is a major cause for sexual violence. Although many victimizers may have been sexually abused as a child, I believe that most are probably just controlling and want to show their power over women. Education is the best solution to this problem. Men will always sexually abuse women, no matter what the consequences are. They will always have that idea in the back of their mind that they can get away with it. Therefore, it is important for women as individuals to be aware of the risks that are out there.
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