Activity #6

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. There are many different kinds of violence against women that occurs:
Domestic violence
State violence
Labor camps
War and militarism
Sexual slavery
Trafficking

There are numerous studies out there that show statistics of violence against women. I chose to share with the four people I talked to a few of these statistics so that they could get a better picture of the topic at hand and also where I was coming from. I decided to share both statistics from the U.S. and also globally to see the comparisons and magnitude of it.

U.S. Violence

Fact #1: 17.6 % of women in the United States have survived a completed or attempted rape. Of these, 21.6% were younger than age 12 when they were first raped, and 32.4% were between the ages of 12 and 17. (Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women, Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey, November, 2000)

Fact #2: Fewer than half (48%) of all rapes and sexual assaults are reported to the police (DOJ).

Fact #3: About 81% of rape victims are white; 18% are black; 1% are of other races. (Violence Against Women, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Justice)

Fact #4: Only about half of domestic violence incidents are reported to police. African-American women are more likely than others to report their victimization to police Lawrence A. Greenfeld et al. (1998).

Fact #5: Boys who witness their fathers' violence are 10 times more likely to engage in spouse abuse in later adulthood than boys from non-violent homes. (Family Violence Interventions for the Justice System)

Fact #6: An estimated 50,000 women and children are trafficked into the United States annually for sexual exploitation or forced labor. (U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 2000)

Global Violence

Fact #7: Globally, at least one in three women and girls had been beaten or sexually abused in her lifetime. (UN Commission on the Status of Women, 2/28/00)

Fact #8: More than 90 million African women and girls are victims of female circumcision or other forms of genital mutilation. (Heise: 1994)

Fact #9: At least 60 million girls who would otherwise be expected to be alive are "missing" from various populations, mostly in Asia, as a result of sex-selective abortions, infanticide or neglect. (UN Study On The Status of Women, Year 2000)

After I showed them these statistics, surprisingly they were not too shocked by them. One of the guys I interviewed, Josh, said he knew there was a lot of violence against women in the world. To him it was not right but unfortunately it was true. I asked what he was doing to help stop the violence and he said he showed support for the cause and had attended “Take Back the Night” marches before. My other interviewee, Daren, was surprised that the number of women in the U.S. who had survived a completed or attempted rape was so high. He said “I knew it was a lot but I didn’t expect that much”. Josh did know of a girl that had been raped at his old high school a few years ago but he did not go much into it. As far as the two girls I interviewed goes, they both felt very strongly about ending violence against women. Jess repeatedly said she felt that what has been done still isn’t enough. “Things might be better in the U.S.” she said, ”but globally it’s a disaster.” She mentioned that the fact that worldwide 1 in 3 women are abused shows that a lot of work still needs to be done. Also both girls were horrified about the female circumcision that occurs in some African countries. Jess had heard about it but my friend Nicole was shocked to hear that they even did that in some places.

Josh and Daren both felt that the main cause of violence against women is through the poor upbringing of young men. They said that young boys who are raised right from childhood and do not come from a bad home where violence occurs frequently tend to not show signs of violence against women. Jess felt that it was that as well as the media and society. “I think the media has a lot to do with violence at home. All we see on TV everyday is non-stop violence and we take it in. Men see this and some feel as if it is ok to hit a woman. It’s wrong”.

All seemed to some what agree on how to end violence against women. Organizations that promote and enlighten people as to how serious the problem is definitely help. Also it starts at home; if you raise your children the right way then you can avoid them having violent behaviors later on in life. And lastly tone down the violence on TV. Especially where you see images of men beating women and it’s deemed as okay.
I felt this assignment was a good one because I got to see how other people felt about the topic. Personally I feel very strongly about violence against women. I have three sisters and I am an only boy in the family so I look out for all my sisters. Also my father was influential in my life because he is very passive and calm and I never saw him lay a hand on anyone so I am the same way. I think raising your children right is a big part of ending violence against women. Also stricter laws with more jail time for people who do commit these crimes.