Violence Against Women
Violence Against Women
Question 1
Feminist researches have made important contributions to the field of survey research and the methods of measuring sexual assault and intimate partner violence. Describe the major methodological contributions of feminist researchers as well as the advantages of dedicated violence against women surveys.
Response 1
The feminist researches materialized research models that are relevant, legitimate, and popular. Both the quality and validity of the findings are beyond contentions and it produced important results that provided suitable guidelines for policies vital in the modern society. The domains and basic methodological principles are very diverse and wide. In addition, the type of investigations the feminist researches have deserve better, not merely because of the methods spent or the results produced; however, of its conventional methods used on areas that it focused and the findings provided. Logically, the feminist researchers have an emancipator type of investigations. It implies that their documents do not simply demonstrate the aspects of reality, it also have the touched of political, personal, and strong stance in the world. The feminist researches’ foundations are critical on its theory, and the research models are critical, perceives reality, emancipator, and applies science in the contexts. Feminists’ researches study the social conditions of women in malestream, sexist, and patriarchal societies.
The violence against women is enabled by the power of the society structure that creates men dominant over women, its creation of unequal and separate roles of individual gender. The men dominance is strengthened by structures and rules based on the supremacy of males institutionally. Patriarchy is incomprehensible in the differences among cultures; that assumed men conquered women in everything, time, or places in exact and the same ways . Over all other forms of dominations, it privileged gender and ignored the factors; ethnicity, race, and class that could privilege the women over men in some conditions. In addition, it generated the ‘us versus them’ mentality that viewed the power used by men as provided unproblematically . Gwen Hunnicutt attempts to resurrect patriarchy while it recognizes the validity of criticisms and takes it in consideration. Modern or contemporary feminists that work in the areas of domestic violence are more sensitive to the raised issues in general than second wave feminists who first started to define the issues. The social conditions enlightens other people about the sexist practices that are taken for granted, and the government and community practices including the publications gender blindness that are ignored, displaced, and silenced women leading to unequal and discrimination on social orders and women are held captives for years.
The methodological issues in the study on violence against women are considered as public health problems that focused on the intimate partner violence or IPV. IPV is a form of violence with greatest results in the social and political levels respectively. The researchers are much focused on the issues defining the meaning of IPV, described the assessment of the magnitude of the issues, and obtained reliable data on IPVs complexity. The methodological issues are derived from the nature of the observable facts such as the private and intimate contexts that IPV usually takes place implying the problem as indirectly observed. The research examined the limitation and bias on violence that includes the lack of consensus regarding the events not represented by risk factor for violence against women or the problem related to the prevalence study methodologically. The research on violence against women is deeply considered as a vital objective of any program that is designed to eradicate or eliminate the issues. One of the strategic objectives is to investigate the causes and outcomes of the violence against women. In addition, the objective has the efficiency of its preventive measure, to encourage government and other organizations to promote every research in all areas or places where violence happened frequently. Although, social and political interests in the matter are growing, there are some researches studies on the certain aspects relates to the efficiency of measures that are implemented in the area of violence against women. Research shows that 69 percent of women worldwide and 58 percent of women in Europe suffered physical abused by their partners. The definition of violence against women or VAW is any act of gender-based violence resulting in physical, sexual, or psychological suffering or harm to women that includes threats of such actions, coercion, or deprivation of liberty, in public or private life. The great advantage of VAWs definition is that it creates violence against women in a social context wider and enables the interested parties to consider the majority of human rights of VAWs classifying under the gender-based violence heading. However, the disadvantage is the very broad definition being used, and the term loses the descriptive power.
There are three different types of survey of researches used to measure the prevalence of any form of violence against women. These are the general crime victimization surveys or CUVS, dedicated violence against women survey, and the family conflict surveys. The first section discussed the Canadian General Social Surveys or GSS, it pointed out that GSS evolved over time. The GSS is conducted by Statistics Canada currently runs every five years and incorporates a section on the crime victimization. These surveys provide information regarding the crimes that are not reported to the police authority, or the detailed information regarding perceptions of the respondents of the criminal justice systems. It is noted that changes in questioning resulted in higher rates of violence found significantly. This pointed out the significance of paying attention to the designs of a survey cited in the statistics produced. In addition, the GSS found lower rates of sexual assault consistently and the wife abuse than studies that focused on these issues particularly. The sensitive nature of the experiences of women of the violence, surveys are meant to focus on wide ranges of crimes. These practices draw artificial boundaries around specific experiences and confound discussions regarding violence and feelings of vulnerabilities. The random assignments of victim status to women who are assaulted in the previously and non-victim status to those are not victimized very recently misclassified many women. Some of those classified as non-victims in reality are victims of very serious violence that changes both their vulnerability and the perceptions of their vulnerability fundamentally.
The most significant survey conducted in 1993 is the Canadian Violence Against Women Survey or VAWS. It is the first national survey that attempts to measure violence against women in any forms, and served as a model for surveys conducted in other countries worldwide. The entire survey is devoted to ask women about their experiences of violence. It is based on telephone interviews of 12,300 women, used sensitive lead-in questions, some special training for interviewers who are selected for the sensitivity to the issue, and provided clinical psychologists to provide supports to women who desired it after the interviews. The definitions of violence used in the VAWS are drawn from the Canadian Criminal Code, and the definition is very specific. The respondents are asked very specifically, and detailed questions regarding individual acts of violence. Both the questions and introductions of the questionnaires are designed carefully to eliminate or eradicate any confusion that would arise from preconceptions or stereotypes.
Question 2
Response 2
Feminism is a movement, or a set of beliefs that problematize the gender inequality. Feminists believe that women are inferior by the greater power of men expressed in different grounds variously. Feminism values the lives of women, is concerns, and works to improve the status of women. There are much feminism with diverse aims and emphases. Despite the variation, feminists are united through sense of accountabilities to movements that are best conceived as a contested and changing discourse. Any organization and occupation, feminists make decisions regarding how to take action to contexts institutionally that sometimes welcome and resist insights of the feminist; it considers how to use the resources in both material and intellectual aspects to promote the feminist goals, and demands of the institution resisted in the course of feminism. Feminists are advocates for women who are victims of domestic violence. They understand why victims stay or return to violent circumstances.
Why do victims stay even they are abused by their partners? A fair bit of research accumulated on the motivation of men; however, in 1970s, as wife battering appeared as a social issue the early focus of scholarly attention is on the woman particularly. For example, early theories developed explanations of the psychological motivations for women to stay in abusive relationships. Through these theories with explanations of the psychological motivations, there are six common rationalizations identified. First, the appeal to the salvation ethic is viewed in the wish of a woman to serve others. Some woman sees the batterers as troubled deeply, especially if the batterers are alcoholic or drug users, and believe that she can cure or change the violence or ease some of the pain the batterers feels. Second, the denials of the victimizer are similar; the cure is not the responsibility of a woman. The violence is recognized as an event beyond the control of man and not his fault. For example, the economic stress, the job loss, and mental illness. Third, the denials of injury are where a woman comes to witness and feel the pain as simply ordinary and bearable. The routine of life after violent incidents overrides the attack in the memory of a woman that is remembered as her bad dreams. Fourth, the denials of victimization are the belief that the incident could be avoided if the a woman is more pacifying that it is really her fault, or she asked for it; this view is encouraged usually by the abuser. Fifth, the denials of options are the belief that she has no other choice but to fasten herself and she could not make it on her own emotionally and economically. As terrible as the relationship she has an extreme emotional relationship with the batterer, and personally believes that no one would provide or care for her with companionship. Last, the appeal to higher loyalties are informed by religious beliefs that she is subject by her partner’s command or she would suffer according to God’s will, or her commitment to the ideal of the nuclear family.
However, there are identified numbers of factors that can swift a woman’s decision to leave her abusive partner. First, a change in the level of the violence that includes a realization that the battering would be fatal. Second, a change in resources available to a woman; a job, or help from an external agency. Third, a change in relationship or diminish the love affairs particularly. Misery, a final loss of hope that matters will be better. Fourth, a change of violence visibility, such as awareness of the children as an audience, batters in public or visible body injuries. Last, external definitions of the relationship; these can undermine or reinforce reasons. In the family, violence becomes normally accepted until someone from outside the family would provide alternate views. These helpful descriptions of the psychology of the women can be helpful to leave an abusive relationship, to families, professionals, or friends who are trying to understand or help, as well as. However, they put the primary focus of the problem on a woman than the behavior, motivations, and responsibility of the abuser. They have the tendency to suggest that if the woman thinks more realistically, she would not be abused.
The battered woman syndrome is debatably the best-known theory of wife abuse; it is another example of a theory that is developed from the question of why women stay in abusive relationships. It entered the public domain in the form of books, television docudramas, and even the laws. The theory is based on the two main components: first, learned helplessness and second, the cycle of violence. In 1960s, the first theory is developed by the researchers who are experimenting with animals. They found that animals that are subject to random negative reinforcement learn that voluntary behavior has no effect on what happened to them. For example, dogs that received electric shocks stopped trying to move to the other parts of the cage, when they found out it did no good to them, even if conditions are changed, the dogs could make a difference by moving, and the dog still would make no attempt. It is assumed that a similar dynamic works with battered wives. Whether or not they could leave is inappropriate. Battered women believe that they could do nothing that can change the situation significantly . In addition, it is argued that learning is reinforced by particular patterns in battering called the cycle of violence. Battering relationships are described by three distinct phases. First, tension building phase, this phase is characterized by shortness of temper, stress, unreasonable demands, and less control of jealousy, anger, and negative emotions. The wife or a woman tries to, to keep the children out of the way or pacify the batterer; however, both parties became aware that an affair is over. Occasionally, the stress becomes unbearable that the wife would provoke the incident. The husband put her in the position of doing deliberately and can rationalize his violent act. Second, it is the violent incident, or the actual incident of violence. It is described by the uncontrolled anger of the batterer, that last much longer and is followed by disbelief, shock, and the wish on both sides to downsize what happened. Third, loving contrition or the honeymoon phase, the most significant stage in the syndrome; it is the reinforcement of learning. It is described by expressions and apologies of love and care. The phase serves to reinforce the cycle; the wife or a woman is convinced that her abuser loves her. The power of these emotional experiences makes it easier to forgive the abuser. It is difficult to leave the relationship at this point; this is when the positive aspects of the marriage come through.
Over time, the cycle will change. The first phase becomes more common, the violence in the second phase will grow more serious, and the third phase will decline. When the ratio declines, there is less reinforcement and the wife will decide to leave eventually. Alternatively, fear will replace the belief that the abuser will stop beating her as the motivation for staying with him, or she learned helplessness is reinforced to the point that she will lose hope she can leave. As nothing, a woman learns the risk of violent response, ceases to assert control over the situation, and becomes flexible, submissive, and passive. Consequently, humiliation and shame are common patterns among the victims. They blame and believe that other people could not identify or understand them. Effectively, it is a form of brainwashing; abusers use their power to control their victims. Briefly, the syndrome conceives the inability of the woman psychologically to leave despite repeated beatings.
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