The Uncured Disease: The Societal Trauma caused by Violence against Women
Tags: College, Violence Against Women, Domestic Violence, Sexual Harassment, Sexual Assault

The Uncured Disease: The Societal Trauma caused by Violence against Women Jacob Apr 25·6 min read

Introduction

Violence againt women is a pandemic of its own right that has been an uncurable disease that soceity has suffered from for far too long.

The Cause

This topic became a focul point in mind after the horrfic statistics and events that have taken place during the Covid-19 pandemic, in which we saw higher reports of domestic violence due to the fact people were forced to spend more time at home. Opening ones eyes to the pain a group of poeople are experiencing and listening to them with empathy is the first step in tackling issues that target certain people, but that still have consequencxes for society as a whole. This cause is important to understand and to fight for because it affects us all. Women are disrespected and have their rights undervalued in soceity because the common ackowledgemnt of their suffering andd when they speak out for help their pleas often go unheard.

Kyal Sin

Sarah Everard, Kyal Sin, Oluwatoyin Salau, and the Atlanta shooting, each name listed including the victims of the Atlanta shooting serve as high profile deaths that have occured within the last year. You probably saw details surrounding their deaths and the circumstances surrounding them on social media sometime this year. While they all represent a reoccuring problem they each have differences both Kyal Sin was protesting the millitary coup d’etat of Myanmmar. Oluwatoyin Salau was a BLM protestar in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd. They where both high profile protesters who where voicing their opposition to unjust actions that had been carried out, and both were murdered in cold blood for standing up and speaking out on what they believed in. Sarah Everard was walking home from a friends home when she was abducted by a police officer and murdered. The Atlanta shooter took the lives of 8 people 6 of which being women of asain descent. These situations show women being murdered for speaking up ad using their voices as well as simply existing and living there lives.

Sarah Everard

Context

The instances of violence against women are not limited to singular instances. The shooting in Atlanta, Georgia characterized another issue that is not adressed that directly effects women. The man who carried out the shooting said he was trying to cure his own sex addiction, so he chose to target spas that were opperated by women of Asian descent. These women by no fault of their own where reduced to a fetishization in the eyes of their killer. The stereotypes that hollywood and other sources of content have often portrayed asain women as hyperseual, docile, and obedient. Stereotypes have a resounding affect on the lives of those who they target because they are so ofen believed and used as a prior label to place on someone. Women in general face a great deal of obstacles and have to overcome these obstacles along with the fear of violnece, and women of color have an added struggle with there race and ethnicity used as a way to further sexualize their existence in the eyes of the male gaze.

Executive Summary

Violence against women stems from a lack of respect for women and what they can do beyond being seen as objects of sex. A lot of men see sex as something that they do to a girl but not with, which fosters a more aggressive and less empathetic approach when it comes to sex because it was already pre-determined before even meeting someone that they like or attempt to establish an attraction beyond physical with that the value of the women in front of me is only that she could please me. The baseball metaphor is often used to describe steps within achieving the goal of having sex with women from the point of view of a man. Sex is something that men can often see as what they are entitled to after following steps 1–5. This since of entitlement for a womens body has created and further perpetuated the current state of rape culture that infest college campuses.

Once again this baseball metaphor for sex is damaging and the competitive drive that accompanies it is dangerous, referring back to a male perspective on sex it is something that I am going to do to another person and not with, there is no stopping to discuss what each party likes or doesn’t like in this matter the thoughts ar I am doing this to win. To further explain my opinion I’ll use basketball instead of baseball because of my understanding of it and the comparison should work with any sport. In basketball, if a player drives to the basket to score a layup the thought isn’t I hope the defense is ok with this or maybe they’d prefer I shot a jump shot instead because in sports you act instinctively instead of talking it out.

Findings

There are ever growing amounts of stories that have been told by women regarding their pain and the abuse that they have had to endure. A common similarity between all these stories is that they often contain an absence of any real justice for the victims. This discouraging truth has often served as an example set upon by the justice system that has often failed survivors in their search for justice and further added a layer upon their trauma. Through research and study we can further understand the depths of this created blind spot in the justice system that tends to delay justice if there is any for victims while simultaneously protecting abusers. The further you look the more you realize how often simply “trusting the process” isn’t enought.

Sexual assault is an underreported and underprosecuted crime. The story of Channel Miller the women who was sexualy assaulted by Brock Turner is just one of many cases in which the abuser recieved a light sentence or no sentence at all for commiting a haneous crime that is extremly physically and psychologically damaging to a person. Victims may not feel comfortable coming forward to tell their story until much later because the standard has been set that id their abuser is someone of importance or simply ssen as a higher valued memeber of society over them than their word will not matter nearly as much.

Links to Study Information

Final Solution Design

The solution to putting an end to soceities uncurable disease will have to include everyone working together and to realize this isn’t and women only issue because trauma is passed down. People who have been victims of abuse can become abusers themselves from a desire to experience that sense of power over someone else. Looking for oppurtunities to support and empower women instead of belliting their struggles or their accomplishments. Listen when they chose to speak about their experiences and be willing to step up as an ally in their fight instead of being apart of the opposition.

Conclusion

This is not an easy issue and a simple solutionwill n ot suffice. This is an institutionalized issue that has remained in soceity for far too long. An answer to this must be developed by people who are willing to come together and put in suffice effort in order to achieve this. Bandaids have been put on complex issues with the goal of getting people to stop talk about them and not to truly put an end to the issue at hand. Sexual and Domestic violence againt women has persisted because soceity has allowed it to persist through each generation eventually it must be addressed with the goal of a solution and not a quick fix.