War on Women Domestic Abuse

War on Women

Domestic abuse is one of the most prevalent social and criminological problems worldwide, affecting between 15% and 71% of all females (World Health Organization 2009). In fact, most violence committed against women occurs in the home in the form of domestic abuse (WHO 2009). Framed as a human rights issue, violence against women is a symptom of underlying social ills related to patriarchy, misogyny, and general biases against women.

Preventing and stopping violence directed against women requires a multifaceted approach that ultimately transforms patriarchal social norms into norms of equality and justice. An enormous task, the transformation of social norms requires the cooperation of numerous disparate institutions and organizations. Raising awareness via educational programs, promoting social justice in the media, and ensuring access to health and outreach services are some of the initial steps in the long and arduous road toward gender equity. Violence against women cannot be viewed in a vacuum, and must be placed within the greater context of gender disparity and misogyny.

The United Nations Women UNIFEM organization defines violence against women broadly, to "include physical, sexual, psychological and economic abuse," (UNIFEM n.d.). From a healthcare as well as from a policy perspective, violence against women and its most common manifestation as domestic abuse is best defined using a broad brush to include financial and psychological as well as physical and sexual abuse (Shipway 2004). A definition of terms with as many variables as those included in violence against women highlights the extreme prevalence of the problem and its linkage to misogynistic social norms. Unfortunately, misogyny and its patriarchal underpinnings are universal. UNIFEM (n.d.) describes the abuse of women on physical, sexual, psychological, and economical levels as a "global pandemic of alarming proportions." It is time to systematically stop all violence against women. Preventing and stopping violence against women requires a reframing of the problem; domestic violence must be taken outside of the bedroom.

In Domestic Violence: A Gender Issue? Marcelino (2009) focuses fully on the phenomenon of physical violence in domestic partnerships. Marcelino (2009) finds that "physical violence is often the result of years of intimidation and control" and reflects a "struggle for power," (p. 25). The power that is being asserted and imposed upon in the household may begin as emotional and psychological abuse, only to escalate into assault and battery. Domestic violence reflects the patriarchal control of women by men. Men who are uncomfortable with equitable power relations in the home may find that physical abuse is one way to reestablish roles of dominance and submission (Marcelino 2009). The fact that domestic violence was not even considered criminal behavior until a few hundred years ago, and is still condoned in many societies around the world, shows how much must be done to transform the underlying patriarchal social norms that cause violence towards women. It is no coincidence that the increased awareness of the problem of domestic abuse concurred generally with the women suffrage movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (Marcelino 2009). As women gain more political, social, and economic power and reach social parity, instances of domestic abuse will decrease.

A broad definition of violence against women that includes social, economic, and political issues allows the problem to be tackled from multiple directions at once. It is simply not sufficient to advise women who are in abusive relationships to leave their partners; such an attitude is woefully ignorant of the overarching constraints and root problems. McCue (2008) claims that a "common social perception is that physical abuse in the home is a private family issue -- not a national policy issue," (p. 95). Violence against women is a human rights issue and should be framed as one if the problem is to receive the political, financial, and sociological interventions it requires. As Marcelino (2009) states, "men and women have the right to live free and without brutality of any kind," (p. 34).

Sadly, violence against women is not taken as seriously as it should be. "In 102 countries there are no specific legal provisions against domestic violence, and marital rape is not a prosecutable offence in at least 53 nations," (UNIFEM n.d.). These alarming statistics reflect the overall misogynistic value system that continues to plague the planet. Patriarchy is killing the human species, and women are not the only victims. Even the economy suffers when women are systematically suppressed and abused. For example, the United Nations claims, "gender-based violence not only violates human rights, but also hampers productivity, reduces human capital and undermines economic growth," (UNIFEM n.d.).

The ultimate goal in eliminating violence against women is getting to the root cause to address the problem solely at the level of law enforcement is like putting a band aid on a tumor. Misogyny and all its nefarious manifestations must be wiped out, cleared from the slate of humanity. Considering that women have been considered human beings for only a hundred years out of thousands of years of human history, changing the underlying patterns of patriarchy will not be easy. Women have been allowed to vote and participate in the political process for less than a hundred years -- in the most progressive of societies. Although some progress has been made in eliminating social, economic, and political barriers to gender equity, the United States has still not seen a female president and paltry few persons in positions of economic or political power are women. There is a clear and direct connection between the abuse of women and the abuse of power by men wielded at the economic and political level. The only way to effectively prevent domestic violence is to reveal the ways that domestic violence parallels the misappropriation of power by men throughout the world. Aggressive pro-women educational systems coupled with pro-female political policies are necessary to help provide young girls with the role models they need to cease being victims and begin taking part in the equitable control of the earth's resources.

Educational policy and community awareness are only a few of the necessary solutions to violence against women. Remedial interventions include the proliferation of safe homes and funding for women who are financially dependent on abusive domestic partners. Socio-economic class is a major risk factor in domestic violence cases, which is why outreach services must focus on at risk communities throughout the world. The WHO (2009) points out that "lack of access to education and opportunity, and low social status in communities are linked to violence against women." Poor women are doubly disenfranchised, and have few outlets for change. Therefore, empowering communities politically, socially, and economically will inevitably make an impact on reducing prevalence of domestic violence. In some developing nations, the education of girls must take a front seat in anti-abuse policy, because domestic abuse can be said to stem from the same problems that cause women worldwide to accept a life of patriarchal oppression and domestic servitude.

Specific direct interventions throughout the world, but especially in wealthier nations, include increased leeway for law enforcement regarding the arrest of suspected domestic abusers. Bolstered law enforcement may entail the installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in at-risk communities. Although draconian on the surface, CCTV has been shown to have a desired effect on crime reduction (Welsh & Farrington 2002; Phillips n.d.).

Tackling domestic violence from a law enforcement perspective is a small but necessary part of the overall strategy to prevent abuse. The installation of CCTV may be effective in preventing some types of domestic violence, but ultimately there are too many reasons why CCTV may not be feasible in the prevention of violence against women. For one, most domestic violence occurs behind closed doors. The precursors of domestic abuse, such as using belittling and abusive language in public, are problems that must be tackled at a social and psychological level and not by law enforcement. There is nothing that a CCTV can do to prevent men from refusing to participate in housework or calling a girlfriend stupid. Another reason why CCTV is not a feasible first-order intervention strategy is that violence against women begins on the level of social norms. Misogyny is a value system and an assumption under which men and women are born, and until misogyny is rooted out, men will continue to manipulate and control economic and political resources. Violence against women is a symptom of power imbalances throughout a society.

From a law enforcement perspective, domestic problems can be difficult to monitor and certainly cannot be caught on CCTV placed on neighborhood corners. What CCTV can do is to protect the lives of women who make a living in the sex trade. Sex trade workers are frequently the recipients of violence, as when a man pays for their services the sense of ownership and entitlement are often considered part of the package. Because prostitution is a taboo subject, and because women who work in the sex trade are stigmatized, they are often ignored by law enforcement. Sex trade workers are at risk for violence, and may be one of the populations that can best be served via the installation of CCTV. The reason why law enforcement plays an important role in preventing and stopping domestic violence is that all types of violence against women signal human rights abuses.

One of the main reasons women do not leave abusive relationships is that they are accustomed to domestic servitude and have no feasible means by which to achieve financial or social independence. Therefore, the education and re-education of women must become a primary priority in all nations. Schools cannot stop at the delivery of equal educational services for boys and girls, doing away with the "home ec vs. shop class" model that has prevailed in the past. Rather, schools need to stamp out signs of misogyny early by calling attention to sexist comments made in class, and by scrutinizing popular culture for media messages that perpetuate stereotypes about women. It may seem like a stretch to assume that gender stereotypes lead to domestic abuse and violence towards women in general. However, it is stereotyping that enables misogyny, which in turn fosters the cancerous growth of domestic violence.