Transcript Scottish Executive Definition of Domestic Abuse

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
Housekeeping
Fire drills
Loos
Break & lunch
Mobile phones
Group agreed contract
Self care & time out
‘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
4
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-reliant
Defends own
beliefs
Independent
Individualistic
Assertive
Leadership ability
Makes decisions
Dominant
Aggressive
Ambitious
Yielding
Childlike
Shy
Affectionate
Flatterable
Loyal
Sympathetic
Compassionate
Soft-spoken
Loves children
Does not use harsh
language
Gender stereotypes encourage us
to think that:
Men:
Should be aggressive and dominate
Should make the decisions in a relationship
Should be prepared to defend their own wants
Women:
Should be submissive, yield to others’ wants,
and be shy
Show loyalty by being softly-spoken and
affectionate
Ought 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.
Time for a tea refill!
46
Definition & Prevalence of
Violence Against Women
47
Definition & Prevalence of
Violence Against Women
48
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)
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
50
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 expartner.
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
It is mostly committed by men that women know,
or are in a close relationship with.
www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk
56
Female genital mutilation
(FGM) includes
procedures that
intentionally injure female
genital organs for nonmedical 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/violencewomen/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.
A minimum of 750,000 British
children and young people
a year are witnesses to domestic abuse.
BMA Board of Science, 2007
62
What does ‘functional’ mean?
‘of, pertaining to, or serving a function,
office or purpose’
Purpose
Role
Job
Task
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.
With the kind permission of Nel
Whiting - SWA
Connections?
Domestic
abuse
Rape &
Sexual assault
‘Honour’ based Sexual
crime
exploitation
Stalking
FGM
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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Power relations associated with multiple
identities
-
‘race’
colour
sexuality and sexual orientation
religious identity
economic position
age
level of education
69
Any questions?
Lunch
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