Preview

Violence Against Women: The Sociological Perspective Of Violence Against Women

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
748 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Violence Against Women: The Sociological Perspective Of Violence Against Women
Introduction
Violence against women refers to acts that target women exclusively, resulting in physical or emotional harm or the loss of their liberty, through threats, coercion, physical or sexual assault. It cannot be seen as the actions of a deranged individual, but as an interplay of varying socio-cultural institutions, historical preconditions and societal change, which shapes attitudes towards women. This essay seeks to understand violence against women through the lens of the sociological imagination, which situates private, gendered troubles within a broader, socio-cultural milieu that qualifies as public issues (Lemert, 1999).

Situating private troubles within public issues
In understanding violence against women, the sociological imagination necessitates an examination of societal factors such as traditional gender roles, which is characterised by a hierarchical distinction between the sexes and the differential treatment of males and females with regards to responsibilities in work situations and the family. Gender roles outline a scripted set …show more content…
While market forces driving the employment of women are comparatively more egalitarian as compared to prevailing patriarchal beliefs, it has also brought men from patriarchal cultures to work alongside women, leading to incidences of violence against women (Deb, 2011). Female labour force participation has also led to a subsequent loss of male control over women as their economic capital made them less reliant on their husbands, who may perceive this as a threat to their masculinity and authority. As such, modernity has caused a shift in the role of women in society, which disturbs existing power dynamics within households and relationships. Therefore, violence against women is a reaction towards modernity and a social repercussion arising from the breach of cultural
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Using Material from the Items and Elsewhere, Assess Sociological Explanations for Inequalities Between Husbands and Wives
    • 647 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Using Material from the Items and Elsewhere, Assess Sociological Explanations for Inequalities Between Husbands and Wives

    Feminists suggest that domestic violence is a problem of patriarchy. In particular, research indicates that men's view that women have failed to be 'good' partners or mothers is often used to justify attacks or threats. These gendered expectations may be particularly reinforced is a woman goes out to work and earns more than her partner. Many boys and men are still brought up in traditional ways to believe that they should…

    • 647 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Assess Sociological Explanations of Gender Differences in Patterns of Offending, Victimisation and Punishment
    • 690 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Assess Sociological Explanations of Gender Differences in Patterns of Offending, Victimisation and Punishment

    Radical feminists such as Heidensohn claim that women’s lower crime rates can be explained in terms of patriarchy. She claims that both in the family and at work men exert power and social control over women. Women who challenge the traditional roles of women within the family run the risk of having them imposed by force. In public, women are controlled by the male use of force and violence, by the idea of holding on to a ‘good’ reputation, and by the ‘ideology of separate roles’. Women often choose not to go out into public places because of the fear of being attacked or raped. Heidensohn argues that the consequence of this control is that women have fewer opportunities to commit crime and acts of deviance whereas men have more opportunity.…

    • 690 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Torr And Swisher's Violence Against Women
    • 191 Words
    • 1 Page

    Torr And Swisher's Violence Against Women

    According to Torr’s and Swisher’s Violence Against Women, women still currently experience the dangers of domestic violence that many other psychologists and medical professionals have stated daily. In a male dominated world, women do not have the confidence or self-esteem to stand up for their rights and have a voice in government. Many girls and women from ages as low as under 12 to as high as 44 experience domestic violence during their lifetime in a ratio of 1:3 and only 20% of the women who are abused by their spouses report their incidents which have proven to be more dangerous than diseases, injuries, and wars (Torr and Swisher 110). Many reasons for men’s hostile behaviors towards women include the belief that males are the sole…

    • 191 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Socio-Political Model Of Violence Against Women
    • 790 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Socio-Political Model Of Violence Against Women

    These models provide different lenses to see the intersection of multiple forms of oppression. Women are exposed to violence in home, sexual assault, sexual harassment and corporate violence. As a result, women experiences a wide range of health impacts as a consequence of violence including direct physical consequences of inquiry and sexual abuse, long term consequences of stress and mental and emotional abuse. So, steps needs to be taken to prevent violence against women by understanding the women’s diversity and drawing attention to the ways, where people in positions of professional privilege and power have potential to either reproduce and reinforce, or resist and oppose…

    • 790 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Best Essays

    Domestic Violence: Annotated Bibliography
    • 6077 Words
    • 25 Pages

    Domestic Violence: Annotated Bibliography

    17. ^ a b Michael P. Johnson (1995). "Patriarchal Terrorism and Common Couple Violence: Two Forms of Violence against Women". Journal of Marriage and Family 57 (2): 283–294.doi:10.2307/353683. JSTOR 353683.…

    • 6077 Words
    • 25 Pages
    Best Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examine the Patterns of and Reasons for Domestic Violence in Society
    • 870 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Examine the Patterns of and Reasons for Domestic Violence in Society

    Radical feminists help explain why abuse patterns are concentrated around women and why they are more likely to be victims of abuse by men. Kate Millett and Shulamith Firestone argue that all societies have been founded on patriarchy; men are seen as the oppressors and exploiters of women, for radical feminists widespread domestic violence is inevitable in a patriarchal society and serves to preserve the power men have over women, they see male dominance over institutions as the reason police and courts are reluctant to deal with cases of domestic violence efficiently. To explain why most domestic violence is committed by men radical feminists argue that…

    • 870 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Duluth Model Of Domestic Violence
    • 1375 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Duluth Model Of Domestic Violence

    Our culture has had an influence on individuals’ awareness and reactions, or lacking thereof, to incidents of domestic violence. The average individual has a conditioned brain to not associate normal feelings surrounding violence and harassment when a woman commits domestic violence against a man. One may actually find the situation comical at times. In relation to media, there is a low frequency of women hitting men or being the aggressor on television shows or movies. Based on the perception of domestic violence and the actual statistics of it, this culture is creating an environment with a major double-standard. Society is highly aware of violence from men towards other men yet when seeing violence from men towards women it is regarded as a serious matter, never comical or innocuous; it is seen as deadly. Therefore, the effect of this double-standard likely increases the chances for women to be violent in relationships while it is overlooked by the media, the general public and by activist who study the matter of domestic…

    • 1375 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Male Dominant Feminist Analysis
    • 236 Words
    • 1 Page

    Male Dominant Feminist Analysis

    The dominant feminist description for men’s violence towards women is that it is “essential to a system of gender subordination” (MacKinnon, 1989). Feminists argue that sexual violence is a man’s way of preserving male dominance and female subordination, which are fundamental to the patriarchal social order (Stanko 1985). It is argued that a range of sexual violence outlines the everyday lives of women (Kelly, 1988), and similarly Stanko (1985) establishes that the appreciation of physical and sexual security by women is so firmly merged with their concern for sexual integrity as to “render the concept of safety problematic for women” (Stanko, 1985). It is argued that the safety which women do actually have is not used to their advantage and…

    • 236 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Intimate Partner Violence
    • 3108 Words
    • 13 Pages

    Intimate Partner Violence

    As the definition written by Sandra (2006, p. 6),” Intimate partner violence is a pervasive social problem that has devastating effects on all family members as well as on the larger community”. Intimate partner violence, or domestic violence is more well-known to the public written by Donnellan in 1999 based on the report of Women’s Aid Federation of England, is the physical, emotional, sexual or mental abuse of one person (usually a woman) by another, with whom they have or had an intimate relationship. In recent years, the problem of domestic violence is becoming more and more serious. From the figures researched by the NCH Action for Children (cited in Donnellan, 1999), the second most widespread reported violent crime belongs to Domestic violence. As early as in 1992, the British survey estimates that there are 530,000 assaults on women by male in the home annually and Department of Justice Statistics also shows that the incidence of intimate partner violence is about 1 million cases per year for women and 150,000 cases per year for men (Rennison and Welchans, 2000 cited in Sandra 2006 ). Although domestic violence is very complex crime including different family members play different kinds of victim or perpetrator, however, according to these figures showed which highlight the fact that women are more vulnerable to be the victims in this kind of crime, this essay will mainly focus on domestic violence against female. The essay will be fundamentally divided into four sections. To begin with, the first section will discuss the history about domestic violence against women from the factors of gender, race, and culture and announce the severity of the crime in the modern period.…

    • 3108 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Katz Violence Against Women
    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Katz Violence Against Women

    The textbook offers factual evidence of gender inequality by way of statistics such as, percentages of rape victims and graphs of the gender pay gap. In relation to Katz’s speech, more personal views of the problem of violence against women are highlighted. By using both the textbook and the speech, a clear balance of facts and personal beliefs are presented then broadening the understanding of the issue. By acquiring the information from the textbook along with the speech, a victim is better equipped to report and stand against harassment later causing change in issues and violence relating to gender. As social barriers fall and more activities are degendered, both males and females have greater freedom to pursue activities that are compatible with their desires as individuals (Henslin,…

    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Feminist Theory Of Crime
    • 1669 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Feminist Theory Of Crime

    The feminist criminological theory aims to understand minorities in race, gender socioeconomic status and many more and their intersection with one another and their relation to crime. In relation to interpersonal violence and gender, females are greatly underrepresented in studies- particularly regarding those who commit offences. As mentioned above this places a pressure on the legal system that does not know how to properly respond to these women. Feminist theories aim to bridge the gap between males and females in the criminal justice system and provide gender appropriate crime responses for all. Furthermore, breakthroughs discovered in feminist criminology regarding female crime and victimisation may assist in explaining male crime to some extent. Since feminist theory looks at all female crime and victimisation- including crimes involving males- reasons as to why males become victims of female assault and why they assault females are…

    • 1669 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Violence Against Women In The 1970's
    • 1068 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Violence Against Women In The 1970's

    The criminal justice perspective provides a narrow definition, defining violence against women as a division of crimes against women and female children by an offender. However, a definition such as this fails to include acts that are harmful to women but not illegal such as emotional abuse and neglect. This criminal justice approach is also hindered by the fact that criminal codes vary greatly across countries and among various jurisdictions within a country.…

    • 1068 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Gendered Intersections
    • 1040 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Gendered Intersections

    Both in the past and present, for many different reasons violence towards women has been a concerning issue for the safety of females in private and public life. Although my grandmother never experienced this type of male domination, she agrees that violence has always been apparent in the lives of females and its effects on the female both physically and mentally are detrimental. Joanna Harris writes in one of her sections of “Gendered Intersections: An Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies” about violence against women. She writes, “It is seen as ‘essential to the struggle to restore dignity to disempowered women’ and ‘necessary conditions to self-empowerment in a socio-economic and cultural context where access to and mobility within public space is still largely controlled by men and where women’s roles and opportunity are frequently defined against their own interests’” (Harris 465). Violence towards women stems from many different areas of society and for many different reasons. Violence towards women in the past was never as much of an issue as it seems to be today and that is reflective on some of the rights women have gained in society that men do not necessarily agree with, an example of this is violence towards women in the…

    • 1040 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Hillary Clinton's Violence Against Women
    • 1604 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Hillary Clinton's Violence Against Women

    Violence towards the female population in countries all over the world is continues to be prevalent because there are no laws at the time to prevent such behavior, which further promote negative cultural norms opposing…

    • 1604 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examine the patterns of and reasons for domestic violence in society
    • 764 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Examine the patterns of and reasons for domestic violence in society

    According to the British Crime Survey in 2007, domestic violence accounts for 16% of all violent crime. Catriona Mirrlees- Black’s survey of 16,000 people estimates that there are 6.6million domestic assaults a year, almost half involve physical injury. As domestic violence does not occur arbitrarily, there must be a social pattern which results to social causes. Violence by men and women is the most conspicuous pattern. Kathryn Coleman found that women were more likely than men to experience violence, which included four types of abuse; family abuse, sexual assault, partner abuse and stalking. Similarly, Catriona Mirrlees- Black found that 99% of incidents against women are committed by men and that one in four women had been maltreated by a spouse at a time in her life. Rebecca and Russell Dobash’s research in Scotland identified jealousy, money, children, drunkenness and arguments over food as common ‘triggers’ to domestic violence. Examples of this are: why were you late home for a meal, why did you borrow money from my account and why did you do a new hairstyle. The examples above exemplify the argument that marriage legitimates violence against women by conferring power and authority on husbands and dependency on wives.…

    • 764 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics