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Gender
Issues In Psychology (PSY -
512)
VU
Lesson
29
GENDER
AND VIOLENCE
Violence
against women is an important
gender-issue for all
concerned. It is a matter of concern
for all these
involved
in the efforts for women
empowerment and gender equality.
Violence in all forms whether at
workplace,
or on the roadside, or domestic violence, is
and indicator of one class
of citizens being oppressed
and
exploited by another in a dominant positions. Before
discussing this issue further,
let us imagine these
hypothetical
situations:
Situation
A:
"You
are an educated, quite good
looking, civilized, well groomed,
capable, earning professional;
you are living
with
a person, whom you have to
be with for the rest of your
life; that person criticize
you all the time
without
any
reason, ridicules you, makes
fun of your looks, laughs at
your ability, hurts you
unnecessarily, and shouts
at
you,
and abuses you all the
time".
May
be irritated, agitated, angry,
aggressive and hostile; or may be
helpless, heart-broken, and depressed;
or
may
be all of these feelings are
experienced by you.
Case
B:
"You
are a moderately educated,
nice looking, sweet natured,
shy, and quite person;
you try your best to
please
others;
you are married to an ill
tempered person who slaps
you, beats you and pushes
you at even the
slightest
mistake
that you make".
How
will you feel?
Case
C:
"You
were married off by your
parents, who gave a very
lavish dowry on the wedding. After a few
months
there
were problems in the marriage
and you are sent
back to you parents by the
in-laws, who confiscated
the
entire
dowry."
How
will you feel?
The
purpose of stating these
hypothetical situations are to
make you imagine and
visualize how women in
such
situations
feel. All these situations
represent only a few forms of violence
practiced commonly against
women.
Women,
from childhood, are trained
and taught to accept and
adopt what others decide for
them. In the same
manner
they learn to accept minor forms of
violence as a routine part of their
life. Violence becomes an
issue
when
it is practiced on an ongoing basis,
persistently, and in a severe
form. Although both men
and women
may
be victims of some form of violence, the
rate of female victims is higher.
Besides domestic violence,
many
other
forms of violence are experienced by
females much more than
males. Rape being the most
common and
severe
form of violence experienced by women.
Many other forms of violence are
used in our part of the
world
as
compared to others, e.g.,
acid burning, stove burning
etc. Violence can be defined
as an emotionally charged
act
marked by aggression, involving
infliction of hurt or injury to the
victim. Violence can be
physical as well as
psychological.
Sexual harassment is one
form of violence.
Domestic
Violence
Domestic
violence is one of the commonest forms of violence
experienced by women. "Domestic violence
or
partner
abuse is the physical, sexual or
psychological maltreatment of a spouse, a
former spouse, or an
intimate
partner
so as to gain or maintain power or control"
(Papalia, Olds, and Feldman,
2001, p. 542). As compared
to
other
forms of violence e.g. homicide, domestic violence is
quite unreported or under reported.
Domestic
violence
is exercised all over the
world but no exact figures
are available for any
society, since most victims
do
not
report its occurrence due to
various reasons i.e.,
_
Shame
and embarrassment
_
Fear
of breaking a relationship
_
Hope
for an improvement in the
relationship
79
Gender
Issues In Psychology (PSY -
512)
VU
Whatever
data is available is based
upon the reported cases that
are actually under reported. A survey
of
women
showed that out of the
severely physically assaulted
women, only 46 % reported the happening to
the
police
(Acierno, et. al.,
1997).
There
are two types of domestic
violence (Johnson, 1995):
a)
Common
couple violence
b)
Patriarchal
terrorism
Common
Couple Violence
This
is the commonly exercised form of
domestic violence. The conflict
between the parties leads to
an
argument
that turns into a fight. It
does involve physical violence
that can be minor or major
and serious. In
case
of serious physical violence the
likelihood of women being injured is
higher form women than for
men.
Patriarchal
terrorism
This
form is exercised by men
alone. The man uses
physical force along with other
contrast strategies
for
dominating
his family. This form of violence
may end up into injury
and even death to women
and children.
The
likelihood of women being homicide victims as
consequence of domestic violence is higher
than the
likelihood
of the same happening to men (Brannon,
and Feist, 2000). Men
are more likely to be
physically hurt,
injured,
or killed by strangers, whereas
women are more likely to
experience the same by the husband. In
our
society
and other group cohesive
societies, it is not the husband
alone who exercises domestic
violence. Most
of
the times he is supported, aided, and
assisted by other relatives as
well e.g. the in laws. Usually very
severe
forms
of domestic violence are reported;
otherwise it does not come
out of the boundaries of the
household.
The
victims do not report it due to
fear or shame (Bachman,
1994).
The
analysis of reported cases in the U.S.
has shown that:
_
More
than 9out of 10victims were
women and as compared to
men, they were more likely
to be
seriously
harmed.
_
Also,
a woman abused once is more
probable to be abused again
(Holtzworth-Munroe,
and Stuart, 1994; U.S
Bureau of Justice Statistics,
1994).
What
Type of Women are Usually
More Likely Victims of Domestic
Violence?
_
Those
belonging to the lower socio-economic
class
_
Those
financially dependent upon
men
_
Less
educated or uneducated
women
_
Young
women
_
Women
less exposed to life outside
the household
What
Type of Men Usually Exercise
Domestic Violence?
_
Less
educated or uneducated
men
_
Those
belonging to the lower socio-economic
class
_
Unemployed, or
financially over burdened
_
Drug
or alcohol abusers
_
Those
who have experienced
domestic violence being exercised in
their home, as a
child.
_
Those
who do not feel any familial
or social pressure against
their violent acts.
Wife
beating is more common in some
societies than others. These
are societies:
_
Where
aggressive behavior is common otherwise
too
_
Where
women have an inferior
status
_
Where
physical force is used to resolve
disputes, among other
factors (Broude, 1994).
Impact
of Domestic Violence on Women
_
Low
self esteem, a shattered
self-confidence, and heightened
self-doubt
_
Fear
of being tortured again
_
Helplessness
80
Gender
Issues In Psychology (PSY -
512)
VU
_
Passive
acceptance in many cases; they
start believing that this is the
way the life of a women is
like,
and
they deserve it too
How
to Tackle the Issue!!!
Creating
awareness of basic human
rights
Education
of legal rights
Establishment,
and accessibility of legal
aid centers, and shelter
homes
Individual
counseling and therapy
Family
therapy
Men
need to be educated, at all
levels, about gender equality,
human rights and civilized
conduct
Media
can play an important
role
Other
Forms of Violence against
Women
Besides
domestic violence, many other forms of
violence are also experienced by
women more commonly
than
men:
_
Sexual
violence
_
Rape
_
Physical
assault by strangers
The
Solution
Awareness
and education about the
likelihood of an incident, the probable sites,
and places where help
can be
found
Self
defense training in case of a probable
attack
Sensitization
to the significance of prompt reporting
in case an incidence has
taken place
BUT
remember, women alone are
not the victims of domestic violence.
Many men also experience
domestic
violence
from women.
In
less serious violent
incidents, many wives
initiate the events and
attack their
husbands.
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