Violence Against Women: Exploring the Issues

Tayside Domestic Abuse & Violence Against Women Training Consortium

Autumn/Winter 2010

Learning objectives for the day

• Defining the problem

• Learning about the roots of Violence Against Women

• Exploring the links between forms of Violence Against Women

• Understanding our attitudes and beliefs about Violence Against Women

• Thinking about women’s needs

• Building knowledge of agencies accepting referrals

Fire drills

Loos

Break & lunch

Mobile phones

Group agreed contract

Self care & time out

Housekeeping

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‘Violence Against Women is associated with wider gender inequality and should be understood in its historical context, whereby societies have given greater status, wealth, influence, control and power to men’.

National Strategy to Address Domestic Abuse,

Scottish Executive, 2003

What is gender?

The pattern of masculine or feminine behaviour of an individual that is defined by a particular culture and that is largely determined by a child's upbringing.

Gender is the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women.

World Health Organisation

Bem’s sex role inventory

Self-reliantDefends own beliefsIndependentIndividualisticAssertiveLeadership abilityMakes decisionsDominantAggressiveAmbitious

YieldingChildlikeShyAffectionateFlatterableLoyalSympatheticCompassionateSoft-spokenLoves childrenDoes not use harsh language

Gender stereotypes encourage usto think that:

Men:Should be aggressive and dominateShould make the decisions in a relationshipShould be prepared to defend their own wants

Women:Should be submissive, yield to others’ wants, and be shyShow loyalty by being softly-spoken and affectionateOught to be easily ‘won over’ by flattery

‘Who said washing was a chore?’Bosch - 1989

‘Give yourself more time … let this dishwasher do the washing up’.

Servis, 1994

‘Ironing day’

Tefal, 1999

The buxom stunner has evidently lost her culinary touch since winning the contest in 2004 though, judging by her inability to handle the eye-watering vegetables in a new TV ad for Febreze.

But she more than makes up for her cookery shortcomings by drawing our attention to her bulging assets. We wonder what those watching the ad would prefer to tuck into...

John White shoes

Puma training shoes

Little girl, grown woman . . . what’s the difference?

Primark, April 2010"The early sexualisation of girls is not harmless, and, if we are serious about achieving genuine equality between women and men, it is time to put an end to women and girls being viewed, treated, portrayed and groomed into sexual objects through clothing ranges like these,"

Van Heeswijk, Object

I then stumbled away as the tops of my legs shone red raw with the friction

burns.

But as the hour-long class continued, I started enjoying myself, my thighs

became numb and I no longer felt the pain.

Fife Direct

Gender and Violence• If we can see that women and men are defined by society

in terms of gender very differently (and we understand how these messages are reinforced)…

• And if we can see that these definitions, whilst affecting both men and women, result in an inequality of social power in which women have less of this power…

• Then we can begin to look at how VAW is a consequence of the wider social inequalities of women.

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Time for a tea refill!

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Definition & Prevalence of Violence Against Women

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Definition & Prevalence of Violence Against Women

Violence Against Women is:

Any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivations of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.

United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (1993)

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Violence Against Women

includes….

Domestic abuse

Incest

Rape and Sexual Abuse

Harassment

Female Genital Mutilation

Trafficking

Forced marriage

Other crimes in the name of ‘honour’

Prostitution

Son-preference

Pornography

to name but some….

There were 53,681 incidents of domestic abuse in Scotland recorded in 2008/9

(an increase of nearly 2% on the previous year).

Statistical Bulletin Crime and Justice Series: Domestic Abuse recorded by the police in Scotland (Nov, 2009)

A woman is murdered in the UK every three days by her partner or ex-partner.

Home Office, 2001

In 53% of female murder cases in Scotland over the last ten years, the main accused was the woman's partner.

www.scotland.gov.uk

In the 15-44 age group, domestic abuse causes higher morbidity than war, accidents and cancer combined. This is estimated to affect 22 million women per year.

Domestic abuse is a global health problem and a human rights issue. 

www.wgn.org.uk

The rape conviction rate in Scotland is 3.7%.

Out of a reported 908 rapes in Scotland in 2007-08, only 88 were prosecuted and only 34 cases led to conviction.

This is only a percentage of the rapes and attempted rapes that occur.

www.vawpreventionscotland.org.uk

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It is mostly committed by men that women know, or are in a close relationship with.

www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk

Female genital mutilation (FGM) includes procedures that intentionally injure female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

It is mostly carried out on young girls sometime between infancy and age 15 years.

World Health Organisation

An estimated 100 to 140 million girls

and women worldwide are currently

living with the consequences of

FGM. www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets

A study in 2007 estimated that nearly 66,000 women aged

between 15 and 49 living in the

UK had undergone FGM and

over 21,000 girls were at risk.

'A Statistical Study to Estimate

the Prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation

in England and Wales' (2007)

A forced marriage is one where one or both parties are coerced into a marriage against their will and under duress … this is not the same as an arranged marriage.

Duress includes both physical and emotional pressure. Victims can suffer many forms of physical and emotional damage including being held unlawfully captive, assaulted and repeatedly raped.

Although we recognise that the known cases of forced marriage will be much smaller than the actual number of incidents, 40 cases from Scotland were notified to the Forced Marriage Unit during the period January to October 2008.

www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Equality/violence-women/forcedmarriage

Estimates suggest that 4,000 women might be trafficked into and within the UK each year.

Statistics are limited for Scotland, however there is no doubt that trafficking happens within our country.

UK Action Plan on Tackling Trafficking (2007)

Trafficking does not always involve illegal immigrants - many victims are brought in legally, or are British citizens, but are exploited when they are here.

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A minimum of 750,000 British

children and young people

a year are witnesses to domestic abuse.

BMA Board of Science, 2007

With the kind permission of Nel Whiting, SWA

What does ‘functional’ mean?

‘of, pertaining to, or serving a function, office or purpose’

PurposeRoleJobTask

Meaning – symbolic?

With the kind permission of Nel Whiting - SWA

Exercise

• What is the function or purpose of the following:• An umbrella

• A teapot

• Ground-rules on a training day

• Ammunson planting a Norwegian flag at the South Pole

• Getting a Celtic FC tattoo on your forearm

• During a civil war, shooting all the men in a village?

With the kind permission of Nel Whiting - SWA

Functional v Expressive Violence

• Expressive violence• Annoyance-motivated aggression

• Does not serve a specific purpose

• Impulsive or a release of tension?

• Functional violence• Goal-orientated

• Motive-driven

• Controlled and controlling.

Stalking

Connections?

Domestic abuse

‘Honour’ based crime

Rape &Sexual assault

FGMSexual exploitation

What impacts do these have on those experiencing them?What is their purpose?What attitudes or ideas about women underpin them all?

What are the Connections?

Purpose:• The violence exists to ensure women

conform to a given society’s expectations.• It polices behaviour.• It punishes non-conformity.• It is controlled and controlling.

Attitudes:• That men should control women• That women are unequal to men.

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- ‘race’

- colour

- sexuality and sexual orientation

- religious identity

- economic position

- age

- level of education

Power relations associated with multiple identities

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Any questions?Lunch