Violence Against Women

Violence against women

Intro:

Violence against women is an important world-wide issue; it affects numerous people. This kind of violence is also known as gender-based violence. This social issue has been practiced by many men, a family member, sexual partner, etc. Many violence against women cases are not persecuted for many reasons, primarily because of the gender power. Also, many people in our society are not well educated and, therefore, believe that violence against women is something normal or part of old traditions. Many people don’t understand what violence is or why it is important to oppose it. This is part of the root problems that lead to these traumatic violent cases. Violence against women is not only a women issue, but a men’s issue, too. Violence affects individuals in many ways: physically, emotionally, economically, and socially. There are different kinds of violence a person can perpetuate such as domestic violence, emotional abuse, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, dating violence, etc. 

Research: 

What is the origin and definition of violence against women? Gunilla Krants and Claudia Garcia-Moreno explain the definition of violence against women, “The UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (defines violence against women as: ‘‘….any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life)” (Garcia-Moreno and Kratz). This definition clearly explores and states the word gender-based to emphasize the inequality between both genders. The article also states a definition for gender-based violence, “The term gender based violence has been defined as ‘‘acts or threats of acts intended to hurt or make women suffer physically, sexually or psychologically, and which affect women because they are women or affect women disproportionally’’. Thus, gender based violence is often used interchangeably with violence against women” (Garcia-Moreno and Kratz).This inequality gap can women in having opportunities, access to certain resources, or responsibilities because we live in a masculine society.   

Most of the time the physical abuse is combined with the psychological abuse that generates a more complex issue. The nature of violence explains how psychological abuse works for example, “Deprivation and neglect can be considered as forms of psychological abuse.  Psychological, mental, or emotional violence describe acts such as preventing a woman from seeing family and friends, ongoing belittlement or humiliation, economic restrictions, violence or threats against cherished objects and other forms of controlling behaviors” (Garcia-Moreno and Kratz). Preventing a person from seeing their family, humiliation, or any restrictions made by a partner or family member is a red flag.

Physical violence against women is the most harmful yet less persecuted crime. The United States government created the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 1994. This law is a more comprehensive approach with the, therefore, having an act like this greatly benefits our society. Although there is a better framework and punishment violence women face; it provides justice and services for the victims. What the victims have to endure is great, and for those who abuse women, many people are not persecuted or many cases are ignored “The criminal justice system, on the other hand, does not deal effectively with offenders and does not deal at all with the victims. Even if the abusive behavior is classically processed as crime, and results in incarceration of the offender, who does that help? Not the offenders, and certainly not the victims either” (Clark). Also, many of the programs offered to the victims are short-term and inadequate that don’t help them actually to heal completely. 

                                                               

Red Flags:                                                         

-Extreme jealousy                                              

-Possessiveness

-Verbal abuse

-Extremely controlling behavior

 -Bad temper

-Forced sex or disregard of their partner's unwillingness to have sex

-Controls all the finances

-Abuse of other family members, children or pets

-Harassment of the victim at work

Personal: 

 Stories from women who have experienced abusive relationships and were sexually assaulted was something normal I grew up listening to. I never understood why women would go through this, or why they would stay in an abusive relationship. Not until I personally was affected by it; that was the day I came to realization of how it works and the reasons behind it. I was raised in a traditional family were you should only marry once and stay in that marriage, to oblige men and “serve” them in a way. This issue affects me because I believe no women should be touched or abuse in any way.  

During high school in 2011, a student was stabbed to death during lunch by her jealous ex-boyfriend. I never personally met the victim, Cindi Santana, but after her tragic death, I was able to understand her and others story's more. I remember I was eating my lunch when this took place. All that happened fast, I didn’t have time to react to the situation. Her ex-boyfriend-Abraham Lopez- forced his way into the school, and demanded Santana to speak to him after ending their three year relationship. During their confrontation a dean and a football player- my friend- rushed to help Santana. Lopez then stabbed Santana in the back and injured the Dean and the other student. We were in locked down for the rest of the day. I remember classmates and teachers crying, I was confused. They always seemed like a happy normal couple. I never thought she would be in an abusive relationship just as others.  Santana’s mother had notified the school’s principal and authorities that Lopez had made threats against Cindi. After her death and his arrest, Lopez was sentenced 42 years to life in prison. Cindi's mother and sister sued LAUSD for wrongful death. After that terrible situation, my high school was never the same. This brought up awareness of abusive relationships and violence against women to me and others as well.

Community Members:

  
Trinidad Meza
"It is important to be aware of this social issue, I want a safe environment for my daughter"


Susana Franco
"No one should touch or abuse a woman "


Cynthia Cuevas
"We need to teach our children more about this issue"

References: 

Clark, Lorenne M.G. "Feminist Perspectives on Violence against Women and Children: Psychological, Social Service, and Criminal Justice Concerns." Canadian Journal of Women and the Law 3.2 (1989).

Garcia-Moreno, Claudia and Gunilla Kratz. "Violence Against Women." Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 10 (2005): 818-821.

http://www.laweekly.com/news/cindi-santana-south-east-high-student-allegedly-stabbed-to-death-by-ex-boyfriend-abraham-lopez-mom-had-warned-lausd-2395860