Double Victimization

Gender based violence/Double victimization

One form of gender based violence is sexual assault. Sexual assault is any inappropriate sexual touch by someone who was not given the right to do so. Women are by far more likely to be a victim of sexual assault then a man is. Sexual assault happens all over the world. In the state I live in, sexual assault is the second highest crime committed by criminals. There are so many sexual assaults that go unreported. Women fear of retaliation, people would blame them, and embarrassment. In the state I live in, sexual assault is tiered into 4 degrees; 1st degree, 2nd degree, 3rd degree and 4th degree. The degrees are tiered based on what act the criminal performed. 1st degree has the highest penalty
and it goes down from there. Sexual assault had life long effects on the victim. It is not like once the act is over the trauma is over. Victims of sexual assault are known to have reproductive issues, STD’s, and psychological issues.
Another of form gender based violence is domestic violence.
Domestic violence occurs between when an intimate partner uses violence against their partner. Domestic violence can range from physical abuse to psychological abuse. Victims of domestic violence are more likely women than men. Victims of domestic violence do not always tell someone about the incidents they have been subjected too. Victims of domestic violence have a tendency to blame themselves for their partner’s behaviors; they believe that if they would have done something different, or just have kept their mouth shut, the incident would not have occurred. Domestic violence is also seen as something that stays within the family, that no one else is too know. When there is a domestic violence call to the police department in the city I live in, one of the people are going to go to jail. The police take the aggressor to jail, even if the victim doesn’t want to press charges. This makes it easier for the victim to not blame themselves for the departure of the aggressor. The aggressor may blame the victim and threaten more violence once released; but by the state picking it up, it alleviates the burden off of the
victim.
Another form of gender based violence is harassment. Gender based harassment occurs when someone is of one gender, but enjoys doing things that the other gender socially enjoys doing. An example of this can be when a homosexual male high school student who joins the cheerleading squad. The male is harassed verbally and physically by his peers for his choice of joining an extracurricular activity that usually is female based. The male has the right to join if he makes the team. The male then quits the cheerleading squad because he cannot emotionally handle all the harassment he is being subjected to. Some people who have been harassed like this have committed suicide.
Sexual norms and traditional gender support all gender based violence.
Society has made it acceptable for people to demise, belittle, harass and pass judgment on these types of incidents. Our judicial system is an example of this as well. All states have different penalties for the severity of crimes that are committed. A person who bullies a peer may only get probation because it was their first offense. Police officers may not want to be bothered with all the paper work of a bullying situation, so they tell the kid who was bullied to go home and stay away form the person doing the bullying and if the problem persists, give us a call back. The office then talks to the bully and tells him to leave the kid alone. At this time, the kid who called the cops in the first place is going to be more of a target by the bully because the police officers made light of the incident. The majority of people within our society just want to fit in and go with the flow. People follow what is accepted by their peers; whether this is really how they feel or not. People want to be socially
accepted.
Women’s double victimization occurs when a woman is a victim of a crime, and then is victimized again because of the crime that was committed against her. An example of this is a woman is sexually assaulted; she goes to the hospital and has “the rape kit” procedures done. The victim is then prescribed a pill which is similar to the morning after pill. This pill will not make it possible or the woman to become pregnant by the criminal who assaulted her. The victim goes to Walgreens and gets her prescription filled (this incident occurred 20 years ago when this pills were not easily accessible). The pharmacist hands her the bag and says, are you sure you want to take that pill? That pill will kill your baby if you are pregnant. The pharmacist had no idea of what the victim had gone through, but that incident was one where the pharmacist was blaming the victim for wanting to take that pill that would not allow a baby to form. The victim was sexually assaulted and then made to feel shameful for not wanting a child out of the situation.