Gender and Sexual Violence - Essay Example

Gender and Sexual Violence Sexual violence is one of the many unfortunate realities of our history, especially with gender biases and with homophobic attitudes against lesbians, gay, and transgender individuals. These incidents of sexual violence often impact negatively on the victims, causing them much physical and psychological harm. This study shall explore the different current issues in gender and violence. It shall mostly focus on violence directed towards lesbians, gays, and transgenders. Lesbians, gays, and transgenders are exposed to violence because of the discrimination which society often perpetuates against them. Stotzer (p. 172) discusses that according to surveys of transsexuals, there seems to a significant number of sexual assault incidents, including rape, especially for the younger transsexuals. The most common forms of violence against transsexuals include unwanted sexual activity with about 60% of these incidents being forced intercourse (Stotzer, p. 172). These transsexuals are often victims due to their perceived non-conformity to the standards of society. The motivation for these sexual assaults includes hatred and negative attitudes towards the transgenders (Stotzer, p. 172). Victims are quick to declare that they are often victims of sexual assault or rape and mostly due to homophobia and hate. They also feel that they are often victims of sexual assault because of their gender identity, their gender expression, and their transgender status (Stotzer, p. 172). Abuse is also often carried out by various people, mostly strangers. Police officers, parents, siblings, neighbors, friends, and other relatives are also often the perpetrators of the abuse (Stotzer, p. 173). Most acts of violence include sexual assaults, harassment, and in some cases, muggings. Unfortunately, some are carried out by persons known to the victim (Stotzer, p. 174). Some of these offenders include fathers, stepfathers, mothers, stepmothers, current spouse/partners, brother, siblings, or a former spouse or partner (Stotzer, p. 174). Other perpetrators not closely known to victims include landlords, tenants, ‘pick-ups,’ security personnel, and in some cases, service providers. Murphy (p. 7) further discusses that violence against lesbians and gays are the most apparent dangers which these individuals face. However, they are also likely to face structural violence and episodic violence. Structural violence against gay men is often caused by heteroxism which basically embodies a system that degrades homosexuals for their behavior and their identity (Murphy, p. 7). Psychological heteroxism is often linked with individuals’ attitudes and behaviors and cultural heteroxism often refers to their societal customs and institutions, including their religion and laws (Murphy, p. 7). The cultural heteroxism is the most common cause for violence as it can also lead to discrimination against these lesbians and gays in their housing and employment. Murphy (p. 7) cites the cases of Margarethe Cammemeyer, a military veteran who was dismissed from the army after years of exemplary service to her country; also the case of Sherry Barone who faced opposition from a cemetery who refused to include the epitaph ‘life partner’ on the headstone of her deceased partner (Murphy, p. 7). More indirect incidents of discrimination are perpetuated against gays and lesbians; and those who often decide to reveal their sexuality end up being dismissed, demoted from their work or driven out of their homes. The causes of gender violence seem to stem from preconceived notions and assumptions of gender. Specifically, these assumptions are based on the expectations for each gender which often refer to extremely different behavior, mostly referring to dominant males and subordinate females (Perry, p. 417). Violence is considered to be a way by which males can impose their authority and dominance over women; and it seems to be expected for men to enforce such violence in order to keep women in line (Perry, p. 417). The gender-based violence therefore stems from these perceptions and in some regards, is perpetuated by society. The standards of the society at large which seek to regulate homosexuality are based on phallocentric bias in science and law (Ussher, p. 388). These fields portray the “interests and fears of the normal heterosexual man” and they also cite examples and proof of the unnatural nature of homosexuality. Homosexuality for a while was labeled as an illness and sex crime which is more or less in the deviant categorizations of society (Ussher, p. 388). Within these notions, the idea of the abnormal nature of homosexuality was founded and this became the justification for the lack of acceptance and eventually of the violence which followed homosexuals. There are only fewer than 10 states who provide civil rights security for gays and lesbians, other citizens in other states do not have a legal or civil recourse for acts of discrimination against them (Murphy, p. 9). Attempts at seeking legal protection to secure and protect the rights of homosexuals have been met by stiff opposition, and as a result, these attempts have often been in vain or have taken years to pass muster from legislators. The Vatican has also been quick to express its support of discrimination against gays and lesbians, opposing any laws which seek to ensure civil rights for homosexuals (Murphy, p. 9). In Colorado, in 1992, passed policy in order to prevent the state from entertaining incidents of discrimination complaints filed by homosexuals; Oregon also followed suit and declared that their institutions must acknowledge homosexuality to be wrong, abnormal, and abhorrent, something to be discouraged (Murphy, p. 9). Other discriminatory laws against homosexuals have been passed throughout the years, including the most controversial one on the laws preventing same-sex unions. Most are also not legally allowed to claim family health insurance policies, as well as visiting rights in hospitals (Murphy, p. 9). Kimmel (p. 216) discusses that homophobia is an attitude and perception which is highly linked to sexism and racism. For closet homosexuals and even for some heterosexuals, there is often a conscious or unconscious perception for homosexuals being recognized as such, and this often prompts them to act in exaggerated masculine ways in order to prevent any wrong perceptions about them (Kimmel, p. 216). In order to detract from such a perception, these individuals often act in overly masculine ways – being disrespectful to women, and engaging in manly or masculine activities. In this way, they believe that they would not likely be perceived as homosexuals and they can believe that there can be no possible way they can be thought of as homosexuals. By staking a claim on their masculinity, including its perceived privileges and qualities, they can continue to reject perceptions of homosexuality on their part (Kimmel, p. 216). Among American men, exclusion and escape have been utilized as the main methods by which they could guard their feelings against humiliation. They fear emasculation by other men, as well as humiliation, and of being perceived as ‘sissies’. As a result, they believe that by displaying masculine qualities, they can prove that they have mastered their part in providing their American manhood (Kimmel, p. 219). However, many homosexuals in current American society feel anxious and restless about their masculinity because escapism and exclusion have not resolved their feelings. Some of them have successfully made the transition towards a welcome acceptance of their homosexuality, however, many more hide behind their fears and humiliation. From 2009 to 2010, incidents of homosexual-directed hate violence increased by 13%. Murders have actually increased by 23% from 2009 to 2010 and these figures represent one of the highest rates in the decade (National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, p. 8). Colored individuals registered with the highest incidents, but the reports of violence in their group were actually the lowest. This implies a disturbing trend in society, indicating that there are many unreported incidents of hate crime and violence against homosexual colored people. Transgendered women also have high incidents of murder, and these rates seem to be increasing with each year (National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, p. 8). For gay non-transgendered men, about 48.8% of them have been recipients of violence and they were often victims of sexual assault and murder by heterosexuals. In evaluating police response to violence against homosexuals, transgendered women were less likely to report incidents of abuse to the police, and the police were often unlikely to qualify acts of violence against homosexuals of color as hate crimes (National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, p. 8). In fact, most of them deny these incidents. Most survivors also reported that they often experienced indifference and abuse from police officers themselves; many colored transgenders were often ignored, and to a lesser extent, white survivors encountered such indifference from police officers (National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, p. 8). Among survivors who made reports to the police, officers often filed complaints without actually making the arrests and in some incidents, the police officers often refused to acknowledge these incidents of abuse. However, when alleged offenders were homosexuals, the police were often likely to make the arrests (National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, p. 8). A good percentage of violence occurs in private residences, much less so on the streets (National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, p. 10). Non-transgender men were the likely offenders and a lesser percentage included non-transgendered women; most of these offenders were from 19 to 39 years of age, with whites being the more likely perpetrators of hate violence (National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, p. 10). Recommendations for the improvement in the management of these incidents of violence include the creation of funding streams in order to increase access to assistance services for homosexual victims of violence. The barriers in assisting these homosexual victims must also be lifted and reduced by federal and local authorities in order to improve first-responder actions for these victims (National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, p. 10). In general, these remedies seek to improve the response available to the authorities, ensuring that these responses are timely and that they are responsive to the needs of the victims. Based on the above discussion, homosexuals are common recipients of sexual violence and hate crimes. These crimes often cause significant physical and psychological damage to homosexuals. Most of these acts are founded on homophobia, gender biases, and sexism. Most recipients of these acts of violence are transgendered colored people and most of their concerns are often not adequately addressed by police officers. The issue of sexual violence against transgendered individuals is deeply rooted in values and perceptions, including fears and cultural dictates. In effect, the attitudes of homosexuals are often dictated by the attitudes of society as they fear the reprisal of society for their sexuality. Works Cited Kimmel, M., ‘Masculinity and homophobia,’ Reconstructing Gender: A multicultural anthology, USA: McGraw Hill, 1994: 213-219. Murphy, B., ‘Chapter 2: anti-gay/lesbian violence in the United States’ in Christie, D., Wagner, R., and Winter, D. Peace, Conflict, and Violence: Peace Psychology for the 21st Century. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 2001. National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, Hate Violence against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and HIV-Affected Communities in the United States in 2010. New York : New York City Gay & Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, 2009: 1-79 Perry, B., ‘Doing gender and doing gender inappropriately: violence against women, gay men, and lesbians.’ 2001. Stotzer, R., ‘Violence against transgender people: A review of United States data’. Aggression and Violent Behavior 14 (2009): 170–179 Ussher, P., ‘Sexual science and the law: Regulating sex-reifying the power of the heterosexual man.’ New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. Read More