PHYSICAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN:

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, HONOR KILLINGS,

& DOWRY DEATH

Presented by:

Caitlin, Cassie, Toni, and Angel

Domestic ViolenceCaitlin & Cassie

Domestic Violence“Bodily harm, usually accompanied by verbal threats and harassment, emotional abuse, or destruction of property as means of coercion, control, revenge, or punishment on a person with whom the abuser is in an intimate relationship” (Burn, 2011, p.26) Also known as intimate partner violence

(IPV)

Statistics Women are more likely to be victims of domestic violence than men1

35% of women across the globe have experienced domestic violence1

Violence can be physical, mental, and sexual1

15% of women in Japan have reported physical and/or sexual violence while 71% of Ethiopian women have reported the same1

1/3 of women in Egypt have experienced physical abuse from their spouse2

42% of women who have experienced violence have reported a resulting injury1

38% of women’s murders across the globe have been committed by the intimate partner1

Domestic violence can lead to many long-term health problems, such as constant pain, limited mobility, poor overall health, among many others depending on the case1

1. (Violence Against Women, 2013) 2. (Monazea et al., 2010)

Why is there an increased risk for violence against women? Women are more likely to be economically

dependent on men This results from gender inequality in the work

place ex. Longer hours with lower wage, fewer benefits, and job is not as secure

Lack of laws against IPV Women have less political power In some cultures women have a very low status

especially if widowed, divorced, or unmarried; social status depends on her husband

Women learn to tolerate intimate partner violence because of few alternatives

(Burn, 2011)

Misconceptions and Stereotypes

The women involved are weak“Why don’t they just leave the situation?”Excusable when the man was angry/under

the influenceOkay in some culturesMen were provokedIt’s okay if it stays behind closed doors

The Truth About Domestic Violence Many women begin blaming themselves

for the violence they receive According to Rhonda Copeland in

Understanding Domestic Violence as Torture, domestic violence “…often produces anxiety, depression, and sleeplessness (pp. 125). ”

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among other mental problems can also be the result of domestic violence

(Copeland, 1994)

IPV comparable to torture Torture is used as a power tool; women

are sometimes controlled, isolated, and not allowed to leave

IPV can be comparable to torture of prisoners of war; some women are hit, kicked, have their head pounded against objects, have pain inflicted by burning or cutting, or be forced to do sexual acts while being beaten

(Copeland, 1994)

“Why Don’t Women Leave?” In many cases, the men control the finances and money,

and this makes it near impossible for women to take money in order to survive when they leave, hindering their ability to

Many women fear for their lives as well as their family’s if they were to leave

Threats of increased violence, murder, or suicide scare women into staying

Some cases, women are not allowed to leave the house Don’t want to tear their family apart Cultural reasons (men overpower women, divorce is

unacceptable, men are ‘allowed’ to) Some women believe that the behavior will change

Cultural Differences

Women have a low status, cannot own or inherit property

“Women are trained to believe that their value is attached to the men in their lives – fathers, husbands, and sons” (Burn, 2011, p. 28)

Some cultures believe that beating a wife is justifiable if the woman has disobeyed her husband

Image from: (Manushi, 1983)

(Burn, 2011)

Cultural Views on Divorce In order for Iranian women to divorce there

must one of the following: a signed premarital contract which allows them to; her husband is unable to provide for the family, is a drug addict, or insane.

Muslim women can initiate divorce if physical abuse can be proven by two male witnesses or one male and two female witnesses

Muslim men only have to say “I divorce you” three times with no reason

(Burn, 2011)

Laws Against Domestic Violence

There are many countries where laws nor police will protect woman against domestic violence

It is often viewed as a family matter and ignored Progress is being made in the past ten years; 109 of

192 countries now have laws regarding domestic violence

First law against domestic violence in Japan was enacted in 2001, 2006 for Zimbabwe , and 2007 in Mexico

Romanian law is ineffective because restraining orders were not provided, police could not enter homes, and there were no resources for the women

(Burn, 2011)

How to Leave a Violent Situation

There are organizations to help survivors of domestic violence immediately National Domestic Violence Hotline Shelters

○ Rape and Abuse Crisis Center (in Fargo) Authorities

If there are signs of domestic violence, it is so important to try and help the victim and speak up

There are also organizations to help women with injuries Program to reconstruct faces as well as plastic surgery to victims

called Face to Face Give Back a Smile: Damaged front teeth from domestic violence are

repaired for free

“Through violence men seek both to deny and destroy the power of women. Through violence men seek and confirm the devaluation and dehumanization of women” --Rhonda Copelon as cited by Burn (2011, p. 25)

References Burn, S. M. (2011). Women across cultures: a global perspective (3rd ed).

McGraw-Hill: New York, NY. Copeland, R. (1994). Intimate terror: Understanding domestic violence

as torture. In R. Cook (Ed.), Human rights of women: National and international perspectives (p. 116-152). Philadelphia, PA: Pennsylvania Press

Manushi. (1983). Indian women speak out against dowry. In M. Davies (Ed.), Third world-Second sex: Women’s struggles and national liberation (pp. 201-213). Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Zed Books.

Monazea, Eman, and Ekram Abdel Khalek. "Domestic Violence High in Egypt, Affecting Women's Reproductive Health.” Popular Reference Bureau. 1 May 2010. Web. 8 Oct. 2014. <http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2010/domesticviolence-egypt.aspx>.

“Violence Against Women.” World Health Organization. WHO, 1 Oct. 2013. Web. 7 Oct. 2014. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs239/en/.

Honor KillingToni

What is Honor Killing

Honor killing is different than the plain and psychopathic homicides, serial killings, crimes of passion, revenge killings, and domestic violence.

Their motivation is different and based on codes of morality and behavior that typify some cultures, often reinforced by fundamentalist religious dictates.

Performed on women who typically “dishonor” their family or cultural morals.

Honor Killings Today Study’s indicate that honor killings

accelerated significantly in a 20-year period between 1989 and 2009.

The worldwide average age of victims for the entire population is 23.

Just over half of the victims were daughters and sisters, about a quarter were wives and girlfriends or the perpetrators. The remainder included mothers, aunts, nieces, cousins, or non-relatives.

Honor Killings Today Cont. Honor killings are a family collaboration, two-

thirds of victims were killed by their families of origin.

Worldwide, more than half of the victims were tortured, and did not die instantly, but in agony.

Torturous deaths included; being raped or gang-raped before being killed, being strangled or bludgeoned to death, being stabbed many times (10-40 times), being stoned or burned to death, being beheaded or having one’s throat slashed.

Pakistan Honor Killings are known as Karo-Kiro Country with most honor killings Community and political authorities do a good job

of covering them up 83% of Pakistanis support stonings for adultery "The concepts of women as property and honor are

so deeply entrenched in the social, political and economic fabric of Pakistan that the government, for the most part, ignores the daily occurrences of women being killed and maimed by their families." (Hassan, "The Fate of Pakistani Women."

Pakistan cont. Usually women killed in honor killings are

recorded as suicide or accident deaths. The killers are almost never punished, but

maximum is usually 2-3 years prison About 1,000 women die in honor killings a

year in Pakistan Tragic Example: 25 year old woman was

stoned to death with bricks by her family for marrying the man she loved instead of marrying her cousin that was arranged.

Muslim Honor killings

Burning, cutting, mutilating, raping, and abusing women is perfectly legal and fine in some cultures.

91% of honor killings are committed by Muslims worldwide

Tragic Example: One mom and dad allegedly killed their 15 year old daughter with acid because they said she looked at a boy and they “feared dishonor”

In 2014, why is this still happening? Some Islamic fundamentalist think that

only through the murder of an offending family member can honor be restored to the rest of the family.

Honor Killings predominantly affect women, almost 1,000 a year, it is harder for women to have a voice and fight back.

ReferencesChesler, P. (2010). Worldwide trends in honor killings. The Middle East Quarterly 17 (2) pp. 3-11. Retrieved from http://www.meforum.org/2646/worldwide-trends-in-honor-killingsMcCoy, T. In Pakistan, 1,000 women die in “honor killings” annually. Why is this happening? The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/05/28/in-pakistan-honor-killings-claim-1000-womens-lives-annually-why-is-this-still-happening/Gendercide.org. (2008). Case study: “Honour” killings and blood feuds”. Retrieved from http://www.gendercide.org/case_honour.html

Dowry Death/ MurderAngel

Dowry

Dowry includes gifts, money, goods or property given from the bride’s family to the groom or in-laws before, during or anytime after the marriage, occurs mostly in the countries of Southeast Asia (Burn, 2011; “Dowry-Related Violence”).

Dowry and Dowry related violence Dowry murder (also known as bride burnings or

dowry deaths) is a form of IPV* and refers to the murder of wives by husbands or in-laws in the Southeast Asian countries of Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan for dowry purposes (Burn, 2011).

The most common forms of dowry-related violence are battering, marital rape, acid throwing, wife burning, and other forms of violence (“Dowry-Related Violence”).

* Intimate partner Violence

As defined by UNICEF, husbands often engineer an “accident” (frequently the bursting of a kitchen stove) when they feel the obligatory marriage dowry (gifts from in-laws) is not enough ("Dowry Deaths & Bride Burnings.").

Women’s Struggle Women are still fighting against dowry even though it has

been illegal for decades. Reports of rape, dowry deaths, molestation, sexual

harassment and other crimes against women in India rose by 6.4 percent in 2012 from the previous year, the government said, with the highest number of rapes recorded in the capital city (Bhalla, 2013).

Child marriages Many young women or girls are being married at a young age

without their consent In 2010, along with our partner Yemen Women Union (YWU)

Equality Now became involved in the case of 11-year-old Wafa who, in 2009, was taken out of school and married off by her father to a 40-year-old farmer. The groom gave him 215,500 Yemen Riyal (US $913) as a down payment for her dowry of 400,500 Yemen Riyal (US$ 1692)(“Adolescent Girls' Legal Defense Fund”).

After a year of being violently abused by her spouse, Wafa fled back home to her parents. Her father had passed away and her mother couldn’t help her because she had problems from abuse herself. Wafa warned here family that she would commit suicide if they sent her back (“Adolescent Girls' Legal Defense Fund”).

Women in favor

Burn explains that Many women, however, are in favor of dowry, believing that it is essential to marrying a “good” man, that it increases their value in their husband’s family, and that it is their share of their family’s wealth (qtd. in Srinivasan & Bedi, 2007).

Dowry Deaths in India National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figures state that

8,233 dowry deaths were reported in 2012 from various states. The statistics work out to one death per hour. The number of deaths under this category of crime against women were 8,618 in 2011 but the overall conviction rate was 35.8 per cent, slightly above the 32 per cent conviction rate recorded in the latest data for 2012 (Kumar, 2014).

In 2013, National Crime Records Bureau indicate that 8,093 crimes of dowry death were reported (“Crimes in India” 81).

During 2013, decreased by 1.8% during the year 2013 over the previous year (8,233 cases) (“Crimes in India” 83-84).

Work CitedBurn, Shawn Meghan. "Women's Low Status and Power." Women across Cultures: A Global

Perspective. Third ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. 16-39. Print.

"Dowry-Related Violence." Stop Violence Against Women. The Advocates for Human Rights, 2010. Web. 04 Oct. 2014. <http://www.stopvaw.org/dowry-related_violence>.

Bhalla, Nita. "Reports of Rape, Dowry Deaths, Molestation Rise in India in 2012." Thomson Reuters Foundation. Thomson Reuters Foundation, 14 June 2013. Web. 04 Oct. 2014. <http://www.trust.org/item/20130614134534-7zlfj/>.

"Adolescent Girls' Legal Defense Fund." Equality Now. Equality Action Network, Feb. 2012. Web. 04 Oct. 2014. <http://www.equalitynow.org/AGLDF>.

"Dowery Deaths & Bride Burnings." VDAY. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Oct. 2014. <http://www.vday.org/bride%2Bdeath#.VDN9eo3wuUl>.

Kumar, Amitabh. "Dowry an Illegal Social Reality!" Gender Matters India. Centre for Social Research, 03 July 2014. Web. 04 Oct. 2014. <http://csrindia.org/blog/2014/07/03/dowry-the-an-illegal-social-reality/>.

"Crime Against Women." Crime in India 2013. N.p.: National Crime Records Bureau, 2014. 79-88. Ser. 2013. National Crime Records Bureau. Web. June 2014. <http://ncrb.nic.in/>.