Question

What are the principal forms of violence against women? According to the World Health Organization, how prevalent is violence against women on a world scale?

What are the main reasons why men commit violence against women? And what are the main reasons why women commonly remain in abusive relationships?

Describe the patriarchal and ecological perspectives on violence against women.

Compare the radical feminist perspective and the liberal feminist perspective regarding what must be done to reduce and eliminate violence against women.

250-word minimum; no maximum.  

Answer 1

Violence against women has been age old and has many manifestations in itself. The various manifestations of violence against women have been in the form of physical, emotional, economic, social and sexual. Domestic and intimate partner violence here takes its form in domestic violence, emotional abuse or toxic relationships, sexual harassment and emotional violence. Other widespread forms around the globe include: sexual exploitation, sexual trafficking, and harmful practices, such as female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), forced and child marriage. Many of the crimes across the globe committed in the name of honour are: femecide, prenatal sex selection, economic abuse, political violence, acid attacks and dowry based crimes.

Particular groups of women who are members of racial, ethnic and sexual minorities; HIV-positive women; migrants and undocumented workers; women with disabilities; women in detention and women affected by armed conflict or in emergency settings, may be more vulnerable and likely to be subjected to violence and may experience multiple forms of violence on account of compounded forms of discrimination and socio-economic exclusion. The source of such violence is not only at a personal/familial level but also at a State level. This is in the form of less women-friendly rules and policies. More preference to male members in political agencies and bodies has been another form of social exclusion. Moreover, patriarchy and misogyny is something that is propagated from the grass root level up to the highest forms of authorities who may be acting out in ways that are in subtle manners, subjecting women to violence or discrimination.

According to the statistical records of World Health Organization,

• 13–61% reported ever having experienced physical violence by a partner
• 4–49% reported having experienced severe physical violence by a partner
• 6–59% reported sexual violence by a partner at some point in their lives
• 20–75% reported experiencing one emotionally abusive act, or more, from a partner in their lifetime

The reason why men continue to fall for the patriarchy is because many implications are in person/professional/social/economic and political favour of their community. Also, the reason why women are continuously subjected to emotional abuse and chose to remain in toxic relationships is because just like men have been conditioned to patriarchal and misogynistic systems, so are women. This has been to an extent that women often get caught in vicious cycles of being in toxic relationships. The cognitive patterns are usually that this is how the world operates and women are expected to ‘give in’ to these systems and ways of functioning in order to survive.

From a patriarchal perspective for decades, women's rights activists, researchers, and programmers have emphasized how patriarchal systems shape social expectations in both functional and ideological terms to maintain male superiority over women. This has in fact an international finding. Normative ideals that define and reinforce certain men's dominance, privilege and power play the role of serving to produce gender hierarchies and validate men's use of violence against women. This normalises many of the crimes against women occurring today.

Looking at this from an ecological standpoint, at an individual level, limited socioeconomic resources, previous victimization and psychological or physiological factors may have a role to play in how people respond to such stimuli in their environment. At an interpersonal level, the domestic and familial violence as a result of the patriarchal systems are likely to subject women to being discriminated against in all the above domains that have been spoken of. Moreover, the community and societal levels cater to how the society at large responds to the violence against women in terms of strengthening the rules, policies and governance related to these themes. Therefore, from an ecological perspective, all these different levels have their unique roles to play in perpetuating this vicious cycle.