Violence Women Violence Against Women:

Violence Women

Violence Against Women: Its Portrayal in Newspaper Media

The problem of violence against women is both pervasive and historically omnipresent. Though its definition has often been subject to extreme variation, sociological exploitation of women, domestic abuse and sexual assault have nonetheless shown themselves be a real and self-perpetuating conditions in the Canadian family and community. Domestic violence is usually a term used to describe physical assault or sexual assault levied by a family member, romantic partner, caretaker or acquaintance against such a relation. This typically is a crime which is committed against women or children, most often by husbands or fathers respectively. That is less exclusive than conditional upon commonality however, as domestic violence may also describe such violence against men. In spite of this broad definition, violence against women has especially been a challenge to prevent or even detect, with its long-term consequences on its victims being significant and often emotionally crippling. This is the focus of the literature review which is here conducted on the subject, with the understanding that a long-term persistence of violence against women bears a connection to sociological, economic, political and legal realities. The research sources selected are intended to investigate these connections.

Literature Review:

Marriner (2003):

The article by Marriner (2003) takes on this issue of violence against women with consideration of its portrayal by the media and in the public discourse. To the perspective of the article's author, one of the core problems relating to the social pattern of violence against women is that in spite of its prevalence, it tends to be framed and discussed in non-confrontational ways. Marriner discusses the use of language in particular as leading to a poor or limited understanding of the subject. For instance, the author refers to phraseology decisions concerning the assignment of gender as being problematically neutral. The article makes the argument that "using gender-neutral terms or statistics in order to present an image of 'fairness' ends up not being fair to the facts of the issue at all. Gender can be reintroduced into the discourse by including quotes & statistics that reflect the disproportionate threat women face from men in their lives, or simply by using language that reflect it, such as 'male violence against women' instead of the non-gendered violence against women." (Marriner, 11)

Marriner decries the job performed by the media where this is concerned, arguing that though these are all factors which have a contextualizing impact on the pattern of violence perpetrated by men against women, most media reflections are only invoked in the face of culminating events such as murder. This is well-revealed in a number of sources which have been encountered through the course of this research process. Indeed, the set of newspaper articles gathered for the literature review are both anecdotal in nature and poorly contextualized in terms of the issues of violence against women. To the point, it is more appropriate to examine these articles within the context of Marriner's discussion about the media. Articles such as that by Dimanno (2008), Rieti (2009), Burgmann (2009), Walton (2009) and Aulakh (2009) warrant individual consideration as each of these alone constitutes an anecdotal discussion on the sociological patterns of violence against women.

Dimanno, R. (2009). Natural Born Killer. The Toronto Star:

While writing for the Toronto Star in 2009, Rose Dimanno reviewed the details of the case and conviction of David Bagshaw. The article proceeds from the perspective that significant warning signals existed to alert people of the danger that Bagshaw represented. The fact that nothing was done to prevent this drives the Dimanno perspective and brings into consideration the Marriner argument.

The article by Dimanno describes a conspiracy between a young man and woman where the latter seduced the former to commit an act of murder. 18-year-old David Bagshaw stabbed a 14-year-old girl in the chest six times at the behest of his girlfriend, and though the event appears as anecdotal in nature, it reveals a failure on the part of the public, the legal system and those around Bagshaw to recognize characteristics in him which had naturally made him prone to this ultimately irreparable act. Dimanno describes a young man who "was an anti-social misfit from a young age, an only-child boy who was charged with assaulting his poor-health mother . . . And sexually aggressive far beyond even the extreme end for testosterone infused male teens." (Dimanno, A1) the shocking aspect of this story is not the culmination of Bagshaw's tendencies but the fact that these tendencies went unchecked by those around him.

Even in the article by Dimanno, there is not necessarily an effort to contextualize the neglect which allowed Bagshaw's behavior in sociological terms. Referring us back to the article by Marriner, it is clear that this is an oversight made by the media in general. And the reciprocating reality of this is that members of the public are then able to overlook the clear warning signs that should have protected Bagshaw's victim from her chosen association with him. Such is to say that the family of the victim, upon reflection, could point to myriad justifications in the young man's behavior, demeanor and even in his explicitly aggressive tendencies, to notify authorities or at the very least avoid his company. This is particularly clear in such details as that relayed by Dimanno which indicates that Bagshaw "left an explicit message on the [victim's] family's answering machine in which he damned that [she] perform fellatio on him, during the brief period when they were 'dating.' Red flags should have been waving all over the place." (Dimanno, A2)

This article underscores the regret felt by many family's whose loved ones become the victims of violence perpetrated by intimate relations. However, this reveals the need to reinforce an understanding of the threat represented by intimates with the tendencies demonstrated by somebody such as Bagshaw. This is a need which contributes to what the article by Marriner characterizes as a fundamental failure to define and detect such violence in a preemptive fashion. The article contends that there is a cultural resistance to defining violence and sexual violence potential clearly to the extent that far too many cases perpetrated against women go fully undetected by the legal system until it is too late.

Indeed, points made here by Marriner hold consonance with the view that regardless of evidence that it is a broad sociological problem, far too little is done to take credible threats like Bagshaw seriously. The resolution of Dimanno's article therefore seems to be that the failure to prevent Bagshaw from realizing his potential is indicative of a larger and more threatening condition in both intimate circles and law enforcement culture. Such is to say that the violent capacities of those reflecting identifiable symptoms of aggression toward females must be contextualized accordingly if they are to be preemptively confronted.

Rieti, J. (2009). Killer Charged in Woman's Stabbing. The Toronto Star:

The article by Rieti (2009), published in the Toronto Star, demonstrates a significant connection between failures in law enforcement and the recurrent threat represented by violent offenders. This article identifies the particular legal shortcoming in terms of sentencing, rehabilitation and proper recognition of the recidivism represented in the psychological makeup of individuals.

Indeed, the case discussed in the article by Rieti reveals that the problem is greater than simple perception, and does so while simultaneously reinforcing the claims regarding media portrayal made in the article by Marriner. The Rieiti article relays a strange and troubling article prompted by the arrest of a man responsible for stabbing a woman 8 times who is now in critical condition. This article indicates that beyond simple perception, there is a failure to legally approximate the threat represented by individuals who demonstrate a proclivity toward violence. The man who was arrested, Ennio Stirpe, had only recently been released from prison for manslaughter charges relating to the shotgun killing of his ex-wife's boyfriend. Following a high speed chase with police in a stolen vehicle, Stirpe served 9 years of a 13-year sentence and was released into the public.

All who had interacted with Stirpe identified him as a dangerous and violence man, whose tendencies regarding women illustrated that he was a definitive threat to society. The article does not frame Stirpe's story according to legal and sociological patterns, which underscores Marriner's point on the shortcomings in the media's attendance to the duty of providing connective insights. The article explicitly relays an anecdote in which a legal failure to recognize and treat accordingly the danger of violence presented by those with core psychological dysfunctions concerning women. In many ways, broader research engagement reveals that this is likely pertinent to a shortcoming in data and consistency in the legal context relating to violence specifically perpetrated against women.

In the case of Stirpe, it may be argued that with the insight added by Marriner's perspective, a greater scrutiny might have been paid to his psychological disposition. Evidence tends to suggest the conditions of his first offense might have revealed a stronger likelihood of the offense of which Stirpe now appears to be guilty.

Indeed, this explains why it is necessary to achieve a more open discourse on the implications of violence with specific and tangible reference to women and how they are impacted. Proper psychological profiling of those with aggressive tendencies toward women or irrational behaviors relating to women should be factored into the type of sentencing and post sentence attention that individuals are given. Without receiving proper attention from legal, penal or social service agencies designed to address the problems of criminal violence, individuals like Stirpe are unlikely to be deterred from their aggressive proclivities.

To the point, violence against woman has been subject to a significantly raised degree of popular and legal scrutiny given its social pravelance and yet it remains unclear how the legal system can address such individuals as Stirpe, who have served their time but are likely to still represent a threat of violence.

Burgmann, T. (2009). Accused Killed 4 to Steal Their IDs, get rich, trial Told. The Canadian Press:

The article by Burgmann (2009), released by the Canadian Press, provides a troubling story in which an individual capable of grotesque violence and deception was nonetheless able to manipulate a series of victims within his personal orbit. Kembo is accused of murdering four women with whom he had developed intimate personal relationships. Preemptively constructing a plot in which he systematically murdered his wife, business partner, girlfriend and step-daughter and used their identities and life insurance policies for personal enrichment, Kembo was clearly capable of an extreme degree of violence which exclusively exploited and victimized women. Consistent with the findings provided by Marriner, it provides something of an anecdotal reference to some larger patterns or system failures which may be considered as associated.

Research in the evaluation of Marriner's article denotes that there is a precedent, albeit an abstract one, for Kembo's behavior. Namely, most research driven thusly tends to illustrate that the correlation between male gender behaviors and violence against intimates is socially constructed. The problem of such violence, this research demonstrates, is directly tied to a culture with inherently patriarchal tendency. That Kembo's victims were all women but that his motives appeared to be non-sexual indicates a sense that women are more easily made as prey to this type of violence. In a manner, this is underscored by the assertion made by Marriner concerning the variant of abstract correlations to such violence. The economic motives which drove Kembo do actually have some precedent. Indeed, the Marriner article denotes that it is important to frame the conversation according to these realities because a failure to do so threatens to obscure many of the true patterns which provoke violence against women as a widespread sociological problem. Marriner indicates that there are causes for violence against women which transcend individual circumstances and the relationship between the gender. Beyond these surface features, patterns of this violence are "linked to numerous other social factors. Budget cutes, political announcements, taxations changes, immigration regulation, changes in the social safety net -- all these current events may have implications for the levels of violence women experience." (Marriner, 16)

Naturally, the failure to acknowledge these connections may not have been intended to protect activities such as Kembo's, but they were sufficient to hide his misdeeds long enough for them to be repeated to the loss of multiple lives. In fact, one of the most disturbing implications of the case is reflected in the article, which seems almost unwittingly to acknowledge the clear socioeconomic implications from the perspective of the legal system. The article indicates that "Kembo was able to fly below the radar for so long because each of his victims were 'low net worth people.'" (Burgmann, 1) the suggestion that the personal connections between Kembo and the victims did not stand out to authorities sooner because of their socioeconomic status is to demonstrate Marriner's primary argument.

It is clear again that revealing patterns in the individual case and in the legal context had been overlooked to the benefit of Kembo's intent. Ultimately, the connection to economic motives suggests that Kembo's violent tendencies may be seen as connected to both materialism and the associated objectification of women. Though this article stops just short of making such connections explicitly, it does affirm Marriner's initial claim about the insufficient nature of the public discourse on such behaviors, which is at fault for overlooking compelling sociological phenomena producing monstrous anomalies like Kembo.

Walton, D. (2009). Alberta Woman Assaulted After Answering Online Ad. Calgary.

In an article by Dawn Walton and coming from a Calgary news publication, the discussion is provided with an example of both traditional and new forms of violence against women in congruence with one another. The danger of sexually predatory behavior toward women is increasingly coming to play a role of importance in discussions about social networking through the internet medium.

Indeed, beyond relaying a specific case in which this has been demonstrated, the Walton (2009) source contextualizes its story as relating to broader patterns that are coming to the surface. Here, the article reports that a woman was lured to a house via an internet bulletin board, given a date rape drug and raped over a period of many hours. The article framed the incident as consistent with a pattern in which internet forums have become another ground for predators who seek to victimize women. The perpetrator had promised via internet to furnish the respondent with a house in exchange for a 'good time.' However, after the victim in question arrived at the location, was drugged and was sexually assaulted over a prolonged period of time, she escaped and reported the incident to police.

Officers issued a warning to users of online dating sites that should be considered relevant to Walton's reference. Drawing a connection to other incidences of similar nature, Walton relates that "this year, a 22-year-old Boston man became known as the "Craigslist killer' after he was charged with killing a woman and robbing another, both of whom advertised their services on Craigslist." (Walton, 1)

This article does a suitable though concise service to the issue by indicating that there is a connection between the nature of the crime being reported and others such as the case of the Craigslist killer. The connection is a purposeful one, revealing a context within which violence against women is now expanding into a new realm of sexual and social interaction. The result is the revelation of an increasingly complex context for law enforcement and for the judgment of individuals.

In many ways, the article by Walton reflects the changing nature of intimacy boundaries, with many using the internet to achieve certain relationships. The fact that this has also begun to reflect a danger to women is indicative of how deeply rooted the sociological problem is. In this regard, it may be said that the Walton article has done an effective job at approaching the real problem of violence against women by identifying its position in a pattern. A failure to do so, the Marriner article denotes, "removes the overwhelming prevalence of violence against women from its rightful context, and individualizes the problem instead. This then feeds a public perception of violence against women as the 'exception', not the rule, even while the statistics are staggering." (Marriner, 15)