Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence:

Domestic Violence By: Kelsey Stansberry

Domestic violence :

Domestic violence For the last decade, women’s rights activists have constantly struggled to place violence against women on the global agenda. Even though they have made a significant amount of progress by creating clinics for these women to go to and trying to help them as much as possible, it is still a huge issue that has failed to truly been acknowledged or stopped. Research has confirmed that the violence against women is endemic in every country around the world and that the home is considered the most dangerous place to be for women. Domestic violence is “violence committed by one family or household member against another ”. Domestic abuse can arrange from beatings, sexual abuse, and even restrictions.

Domestic violence and the restrictions:

Domestic violence and the restrictions UNIFEM sponsored a study on violence against women in Syria and statistics showed that 87 percent of women were beaten by their husbands or a family member and six percent of husbands did not let their wives visit friends or family. In Syria, women are constantly restricted from going anywhere or doing anything if the husband tells them that they cannot do it. For instance, not only do the husbands have the say in whether they can go see their friends or families, they also have the power to file a request with ministry of interior to prohibit their wife’s departure from the country.

Murder:

Murder Husbands go to the extent to the extravagant abuse that they eventually kill their own wife. For instance, in Zambia, they have what is called a bride-price murder. In India they have dowry-burnings, where husbands or men pay for their wives or women to be burned to death. Men find it completely satisfying to insult and beat their wives or any woman for that matter. Husbands have even come to the point to where they sexually abuse their wives. If the woman does not want to have sex with him he beats her until she does; whether their married or not, this could be considered rape.

Murder cont.:

Murder cont. Domestic violence occurs all over the world as well as in the United States. Women are beaten and killed daily by their husbands just like in the Middle East and North Africa. On average, 23 women a week are killed in the United States, whereas, 3 women a day are killed in the Middle East. Therefore, in both countries, women are constantly suffering from beatings and abuse; however, in the United States, for the most part women can usually escape this terrible violence and men can go to jail for this.

Home:

Home Although this violence is being factored into national programs, it is a very slow process. A home should not be a place where a woman should feel unsafe; it should be a place that they can go to and escape the stresses of every day life, not a place that could be considered a concentration camp.

The Middle East and North Africa:

The Middle East and North Africa Domestic violence has been an issue that has arisen all around the world for years, but specifically in the Middle East and North Africa. Many women have taken this problem to the government in the Middle East and have even taken this problem to United States government begging for help, but many of them do not succeed in finding a solution. Many women go through domestic violence and never get any help; each year, over 500 women seek help just in Lebanon.

Tragedies:

Tragedies A woman, who had been sexually abused by her husband and beaten for years, went to the religious courts to seek help with the representative after she had no progress at the hospital or with the police. T he only thing that the representative told her was that there was little they could do and that it was very difficult for her to get a divorce since her husband did not grant her one. She eventually went to KAFA and is now living with her parents but have no rights to see her children. O ften doctors don’t ask about bruises and if a woman makes a complaint about domestic violence, the hospital reports it as a ‘home accident’ and there is no further investigation .

Religious court:

Religious court These religious courts date back to the Ottoman era and almost always favor men over women. This is why these feminists wanted to make the first step in moving domestic violence cases to the civil system, that way they have a better chance in making it illegal. The religious courts rule on problems like marriage, divorce, and personal matters, including domestic violence; making it very hard for women to have an opinion or accomplish any of their goals on making this violence illegal.

Courageous women making a difference:

Courageous women making a difference Unlike all these women who have tried to make domestic violence illegal, women in Lebanon have made a different kind of achievement in working towards the illegalization of domestic violence . In 2007, these feminists set up a committee of lawyers and judges who drafted a new bill on domestic violence, recognized as the Family Violence Bill. This new law compels anyone who has witnessed domestic violence from now on to report it, ensures that the husband provides the court with disjunctive accommodation, and pays allowance and medical expenses as well. It also calls for specialized police officers, including female officers, trained in dealing with domestic violence. The new bill not only proposes to take domestic violence out of the religious courts and put it in the civil system, but will also cut across lines, giving the Muslim and Christian women equality and equal rights under the law.

New beginning:

New beginning For a long time now women have not been treated equally, and this bill is a key step for equality; however, this bill would have never came into place if these feminists had not fought for what they knew was right and went out of their safety zone to help other women who have suffered domestic violence.

References:

References Admin. (2007). Home | The Global Campaign to Stop Killing and Stoning Women. Retrieved 04 05, 2010, from LEBANON: Move to Take Domestic Violence Cases from Religious Courts to Civil Courts | The Global Campaign to Stop Killing and Stoning Women: http:// www.stop-killing.org/node/704 "Domestic Violence: A Global Health Priority." Center for American Progress. Web. 24 Mar. 2010. <http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2004/10/b224093.html>. "Domestic Violence | Define Domestic Violence at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 24 Mar. 2010. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/domestic+violence>. Seager, Joni. The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World. New York: Penguin, 2009. "Violence Against Women in the Middle East - Middle Eastern Culture." BellaOnline -- The Voice of Women. Web. 24 Mar. 2010. <http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art27334.asp>.