Transcript Women, Power & Economics

Gender Violence
Resisting the status quo
socio-cultural/socio-political, domestic & Sexual violence
Violence Against Women
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 deprivation of liberty, whether
occurring in public or in private life.
United Nations General Assembly
Gendered Violence
Violence against women must be understood in
context of socially constructed notions of gender
Male violence is related to power and patriarchal
dominance
Female victimization is related to women’s place in
society; her social, economic, and political power
Socio-Political Violence
Occupational Health & Women’s Work
– Blue Collar
• Toxic environment, hazardous equipment
– White Collar
• Income & benefit disparities
– Pink Collar
• Sexual Harassment
Corporate Violence
– Toxic & hazardous products
Domestic Violence
• Public issue, not private matter
• Leading cause of injury for women between 15 & 44
• Often connected to pregnancy, child-rearing, or
“outside obligations”
• “Equal opportunity” health risk
• Includes murder, mutilation, rape, battering, emotional
abuse, psychological torture
• Is itself a significant risk factor for depression, PTSD,
GAD, substance abuse & suicide
Cycle of Violence
• Tension Building Phase – Rise in batter’s anger,
walking on egg shells.
• Explosion Phase - Verbal attacks increase. A violent
outburst occurs.
• Remorse Phase – Fear of getting caught and
reprisal: “You shouldn't have pushed me, it was your
fault!”
• Pursuit/Honeymoon Phase - “See, we don't have
any problems!” Flowers, gifts, etc.
Who Batters?
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Men
European Americans
Pre-occupation with masculine behaviors
Totalitarian, dogmatic thinkers
“gay-bashers”
– young
– Homo-erotic tendencies
– Low educational attainment
Domestic Violence as a
Public Health Epidemic
• Private versus public sphere issue
• Institutional support
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Churches & social service agencies
Social science research
Law enforcement
Health care settings
Sexual Violence
Rape Spectrum—continuum of sexist behaviors that
have end result of harming women. Use of spectrum
allows us to make connections between institutions,
behaviors and ideologies
• Media
• The sex industry
• Blaming the victim
Female Genital Mutilation
• Prevalence
– Africa & Middle East
– 20 to 75 million in contemporary history
• Types
• Reasons
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Hygiene
Prevent masturbation
Aesthetics
Myths about the clitoris
Ensure fidelity
Women, HIV & AIDS
A Form of Sexual Violence Against Women
• Current Rates
• Problems unique to women
• Inequalities in:
– Treatment
– Prevention
– Research
HIV/AIDS Current Numbers
• As of 2002, 50% of HIV+ people worldwide
are women
• Heterosexual transmission main cause of new
infection
• Women more at risk because of sexual double
standards and lack of female sexual agency
How Serious Is AIDS for Women?
US AIDS Cases--Women
60
50
Percent
50
40
30
23
20
10
14
7
0
1985
1992
1999
2002
Race/ethnicity of women given a
diagnosis of AIDS, 2003
Transmission categories of African
American Women, 2003
Based on data from 32 states with confidential name-based HIV reporting.
Source. MMWR 2004; 53:1106-1110.
HIV & African American Women
• African-American women had a 23 times greater
diagnoses rate than white women
• AIDS is leading cause of death for African American
women ages 24-36
• Safe sex efforts to help curb the spread of AIDS are
often rejected by African American community
leaders because these efforts are seen as “sexually
suggestive or culturally inappropriate”
Latinas
• HIV infection rate among Latinas is seven
times higher than for white women
• Interventions aimed at reducing the prevalence
of STIs among women of color would be
effective if they are culturally relevant
Women’s Increased
Vulnerability to HIV
Biologically
Economically
Socially and culturally
Biological Vulnerability
• During sex, HIV is transmitted from men to women much
more easily than from women to men
• Viral loads are lower in women
• Gynecological problems can be early signs of HIV
infection
• Mothers can pass HIV infection to their babies
• Women get more and different side effects than men
Economic Vulnerability
• 1 in 5 HIV+ women is uninsured
– Women do not access health care at same rate as men
• 50% of HIV+ women have at least one child under age 15
– Many women are single parents
• Most effective preventive measures are male-controlled
– Condoms
– Drug kits
Socio-cultural Vulnerability
• Early 1990s, two research projects started to study
women and HIV
– The Women's Interagency HIV Study
– The Women and Infants Transmission Studies (WITS)
• 1997 women not allowed in clinical trials just
because they might become pregnant
• Most medications have never been specifically tested
in women
Prevention Needs of Women
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Equalize gender relations
– Employment
– Sexual Rights/Sexual Agency
• See HIV/AIDS in life context
– Address intersection of IV & sexual transmission
• Develop and widely disseminate effective female-controlled prevention
methods
– Microbicides
– Vaccines
• Better services for women’s general health
– Treatment and prevention of sexually transmissible infection
– Comprehensive health insurance
– Increase emphasis on prevention & treatment for young women & women of color