Across the world, more often than not, women usually fall victims of violence of different forms. In the United States today, violence against women has been marked as the most prevalent social problem. Domestic violence for that matter is common in many homes worldwide. As a result, women tend to live their lives in fear of being at risk. Research studies further outline that the perpetrators of violence against women are not strangers. In an actual sense, these are people, men to be precise, who work, live or socialize with them. In most cases, this phenomenon is linked to the fact that men in most cases would want total control against their female partners and in the event that they unable to assume such control, they show violent behavior against their women partners. This paper seeks to analyze violence against women as a social issue looking at some of the debates, policies, controversies as well as social theories relating to this issue.
Domestic violence occurs in a number of homes across the world with women being the primary victims. Women are less likely to report such cases of violence due to the fear that they might get their partners in trouble. As a result, they ignore violence meted against them because they love and care for the persons who are abusing them ignoring the common assumption that the home should act as a safe haven for many. In some parts of the world, violence against women is taken seriously unlike other parts. In some areas, domestic violence is considered a private issue which should be dealt with at home levels and most people are less likely to admit that such is going on in their lives. Such thoughts are quite ridiculous and should be dealt with accordingly (Alhabib, Nur, & Jones, 2010). In essence, no woman whatsoever deserves to be violated in any way by their husbands, friends or strangers for that matter.
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Since time immemorial, patriarchal society has been created whereby exclusive authority has been vested in males bringing about a universal phenomenon where adversarial relationships are developed between genders. The patriarchal societies created therein has allowed for the formation of distorted gender roles which as history have it, have contributed to the denial of basic human rights, gender oppression and a crime against women. In this context, therefore, it can be concluded that patriarchy has been made the norm in the society and as a result, inverse power relations between genders and sexism have become near universal and imperceptible.
Evolutionary psychologists, as well as anthropologists, have unearthed factual evidence from primates and other proto-humans indicating that female resistance and male coercion offer a suggestion that sexual conflict underlies patriarchy. In this fashion, therefore, it can be deduced that gender-based adversarial relationships are rooted deeply in human evolutionary past, human biology and to a greater extent reflected in the contemporary cultural constructs. However this might be true, genetics, as well as evolutionary processes, cannot dictate human choices. On the flip side, evolutionary processes and genetics have constructed culture universally and this is the aspect which has constructed culture and in turn imposing norms on the manner in which human beings interact with each other. These interactions include physical assaults and even sexual violence.
Violence against women continues to be a global problem which does not choose, age, education, class, race or culture. Currently, there are a number of international organizations pushing for the protection of women against elements of violence. The framework of human rights has prompted the creation of various international legal mechanisms which in one way or the other would promote the protection of women against violence. The efficacy of these mechanisms as well as their responsibilities in combating domestic violence meted against women cannot be satisfactorily established.
Despite the gruesome evidence outlining domestic violence affecting women, beyond geographical locations, cultural backgrounds and ethnicities, the issue was first handled a matter of international human rights agenda in the early 1980s. In recent years, however, it has been said that there is a greater understanding as to some of the effects and causes of domestic violence. In addition, with the growing significance of this issue, many organizations in regional and international levels concerned with violence against women have in essence paved the way for a new era in women’s rights. A significant number of conventions which are a product of global consensus on domestic violence include the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and Rights of the Child and the Platform for Action among others.
In often times, feminist sociologists have used symbolic interactionism, constructivism and conflict theory in explaining the forms of violence meted against women. According to feminist, the fundamental assumption is that there are institutional and structural divisions existing between genders. These divisions include unequal pay, education, legal and political inequalities among others. Interactionist feminists, on the other hand, argue that men are socialized in a manner to display virility and strength. This coupled with the inverse power relations between genders, men in most cases turn out to show violent behaviors against women. This theory has been supported by research studies whereby men who aggressively seek dominance over women hold on to the stereotypes which outline women as being passive and timid thus making them ideal targets.
Additionally, a number of feminists use conflict theory to explain the criminal sexual acts of women arguing that since most men are losing the dominating power in the society, some of these men resort to violence against women to reaffirm their declining autocratic power. In as much as different feminists attempt using conflict theory in explaining the concept of violence against women, the societal structural system and the norms therein reflect on the significant values and interests of the powerful elites who are basically men. Due to the fact that these structural systems and norms favor a patriarchal society, the male intra-group coalition has been promoted resulting into out-group animosity and to a greater extent preventing women from achieving equal social position (Devries et al., 2011). This, therefore, means that the crimes against women are a result of cultural and social patterns which through time have promoted inverse power relations between genders. This further reasserts the fallacious stereotype that women primarily cannot rise to power positions thus making them an easy target.
Social learning theory can also be used to explain violence against women. This theory is based on the assumption that any deviant behavior is acquired either through observation or through knowledge. Proponents of social learning theory posit that learning primarily takes place when an individual decides to associate with other differently regardless of whether the interaction occurs indirectly or directly since imitation is a common characteristic of human beings. This is confirmed when such interactions are not associated with significant social consequences. Male aggression and consequently violence against women in this manner has been maintained by various forms of intermittent reinforcements from every angle. Peers, family members, an individuals’ culture and the mass media among others have contributed significantly in propagating elements of aggression which in often times are followed by little or no social stigmatization. A violent male in this way might, therefore, attempt to associate violence through learning from different sources then try to model the same scenes against women expecting little or no significant consequences.
Today, the World Health Organization has included violence against women as a significant public health problem and to a greater extent a violation of fundamental human rights (World Health Organization, 2012). In the event that men try to express and maintain their sexist advantage against women, the result is that women end up with passivity, depression, eating disorders, dependence, inferiority feelings and they as well sacrifice their personal needs for others. Such elements deter women from seeking outside help or even restrict them from leaving their abusive relationships. The aggressive-submissive behaviors therein continue for a while to an extent where women get to internalize these aspects of oppression. The result is sexual, reproductive, maternal and sexual health problems. Further, these feelings of dominance do restrict women from assuming risks, for example, academic excellence, salary increment, career progression, and even socialization. In essence, these feelings perpetuate violence against women in the sense that it leads to fear and dependence on abusive spouses.
Since violence against women is, in reality, a societal problem influencing each and every individual in the society, consultations with the community coupled with discursive democracy as well as a cross-government approach are one effective way through which given communal problems can be solved thus a reduction in the gender-based violence (Garcia-Moreno & Watts, 2011). Additionally, public debates and discussions are some of the indispensable tools which can be used to create awareness on the scale of the problem within the community. This in a way can build huge confidence in women that this is actually an issue which can be addressed and dealt with proactively in the community. Further, a consultation program can be implemented in the sense that school programs to be designed such as to educate children on the manner in which interpersonal violence occurs, their consequences and eventually their prevention.
As social scientists and feminists among other groups aim at providing information as well as explanations as to why male aggression and violence against women, most people still believe the fact that there is genuine equality between men and women. This means that there is a need for awareness on this issue as well as communal interventions. In addition, governments should come up with strict legal measures and policies to address the issue of violence against women in a more effective manner. Women should be treated with the humanitarian dignity they deserve and this can only be achieved through the disruption of societal norms and stereotypes against women.
References
Alhabib, S., Nur, U., & Jones, R. (2010). Domestic violence against women: Systematic review of prevalence studies. Journal of Family Violence , 25 (4), 369-382.
Devries, K., Watts, C., Yoshihama, M., Kiss, L., Schraiber, L. B., Deyessa, N., ... & Berhane, Y. (2011). Violence against women is strongly associated with suicide attempts: evidence from the WHO multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence against women. Social Science & Medicine , 73 (1), 79-86.
Garcia-Moreno, C., & Watts, C. (2011). Violence against women: an urgent public health priority. Bulletin of the World Health Organization , 89 , 2-2.
World Health Organization. (2012). Understanding and addressing violence against women: Intimate partner violence (No. WHO/RHR/12.36). World Health Organization.
