Gender Inequality in the Courtroom - Assignment Example

Gender Inequality in the Courtroom Introduction In the courtroom, gender bias affects women the most. As such, this paper will focus on gender inequality in the courtroom. Gender inequality results from a bias that people may hold against a specific gender. The discussion will subsequently focus on identifying why gender inequality exists in the courts, how this gender inequality is perpetrated and suggestions on how to create equality. The dangers of gender inequality will also be discussed. In the court system, it is important that all people have confidence in the judicial system and view it as a fair system. If members of the public and the court staff perceive one group to be more credible than the other, then the system is weakened as the concept of free and fair justice is then compromised (Riger 83). Gender inequality results from gender biasness. Over the last centuries women have been victims of gender biasness (Rhode 47). The society defined a woman’s role. She was limited to domestic work and child bearing. With time, women through women empowerment campaigns have managed to fight for their right to equality. There is a perceived notion of this equality but women are far from being completely equal to men. Men still side-line women and undermine their capability to deal with roles that were traditionally reserved for men such as the law profession. Gender biasness is an attitude that affects a person’s judgement. It is bias that is based on a stereotype. Therefore, it is side-lining a certain gender mostly female based on culturally defined roles for each gender. Sometimes it is intentional while at other times, it is purely accidental. However, despite the intentions, gender bias must be eliminated to maintain fairness and justice in the court systems. Cultural assumption that lead to gender bias is that women and the work they do is less valuable than a man’s work. Another assumption is that women should be dependent on men. As such, behaviour that deviates from the traditional model among women is seen as unnatural and unacceptable. Since gender bias results from longstanding cultural assumptions, it is very difficult to eliminate. For example common speech such as overuse of the word ‘he’ to refer to both women and men has the effect of making women less visible and thus enforce superiority among men (Donovan 67). Gender biasness among women is based on race, language, ethnicity, disability, economic status and age. An example of courtroom gender bias is the judges’ tendency to treat women with more courtesy and deference than their male counterparts. The male colleagues tend to view this as a point of weakness and favouritism towards women. Women, on the other hand view this behaviour as paternalistic and annoying. Another example is a scenario where a judge fails to take notes and assumes a boring expression when a woman speaks. This conveys a message that women presentations are not important as a man’s. This creates hard feelings and erodes confidence in the system of judgement. Some judges are also hesitant to address issues of gender-biased misbehaviour during court proceedings (Riger 124). If the male lawyers use insensitive language in interrogations, the judge should address this concern immediately. Statements that are demeaning to women should not be used in a court of law. The reasons as to why women face gender based inequality is mainly due to a culture that is discriminatory and stereotyping against women. Historically, women have fallen victim of cultural limitations. The society defines the roles of a woman to be limited to domestic work only. Women who engage in profession and other roles that fall out of the societies’ defilations are seen as doing unnatural activities and condemned. The society has empowered the man to be a superior being with the ability to do all the important work. Women are the weaker sex and should thus remain at home doing domestic chores (Rhode 37). This attitude has led to discrimination of women. Men view women work as less important to theirs. Women who sue men are thus taken lightly and rarely do men get the severe judgement they deserve. Some courts also despise women lawyers. The judges look bored and disinterested when women lawyers are presenting their case. The result is a judgement that is highly biased against the female gender. It thus becomes very difficult for a woman to win a legal suit against a man. Some men think that gender based issues such as violence should be handled privately away from the court (Eaton 73). They feel that the courts should be used for more serious litigation such as murder and robbery. This attitude denies women justice. Gender inequality at times can be a crime especially where sexual violence is concerned. Dismissing such incidences as so minor as to be handled outside the court is a big injustice to the women. How can women achieve fairness and justice if the court won’t give them a hearing ear? In the United States, women have for a long time, established that their gender has affected and defined their interactions with the court systems. During 1970s, women litigators were fighting for equality and inclusion of more women in the legal system. They found that women were being discriminated in the court systems that are supposed to protect them. A research conducted by the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights highlight the inequalities in the courtroom. It outline that some men view their violent response to nagging women as natural and are unapologetic (Donovan 34). A man who murders his wife may obtain a lenient judgement if the wife was unfaithful. Such cases are not decided on impartiality of the law but by notions that are deeply embedded and limit a woman’s protection by the law system. A woman may be denied equal pay at workplace compared to the men of the same skills and expertise. The reason cited is that the woman will quit working to bear children. Those women fail to obtain a fair justice in a law court since the judges feel that their role is limited to domestic work men and women. Women have experiences gender inequality in courts through gender stereotype i.e. beliefs on the culturally defined roles for women and men are ubiquitous and discriminatory. It creates a deep rooted prejudice that affects both men and women. Women are more affected than men because the prejudice is deeply skewed towards them. The beliefs prevent women from enjoying their human rights. Stereotype is harmful, no matter how small or big it is. For example, benign stereotype is very harmful (Martin 45). An illustration of benign stereotype is the notion than women are considered more nurturing than men. This creates a notion that women should do domestic work. This may lead to violation of women’s rights when translated to laws and activities that hinder women from accessing education and professional opportunities. Discrimination is another way in which gender inequality is perpetrated. This is very damaging as women approach the court system to obtain justice, only to be discriminated. This is very frustrating and nerve wrecking for women. Discriminatory law compromises the search for fairness and justice. For example, legislation that prevents women to travel, work away from home or undertake certain medical procedures without express permission from their partners and male relatives hinder women from being independent (Eaton 66). Another harmful discriminatory situation is a situation where a judge may be influenced by gender stereotyping in interpreting the law and making of legal rulings. This is often experienced in cases of gender based violence, family and reproductive health. When judges make court rulings based on discriminatory gender notions, justice is defeated. An illustration is a judge using a woman’s sexual activities in deciding her legal right and protection of the law in instances where she has been sexually abused. Some judges have ruled that women who work as prostitutes cannot claim that they were sexually abused. This notion makes men get away with the rape crime and leave women hurting (Riger 101). Another way in which inequality is perpetrated is through asking for sexual favours from women in order to succeed in law suits and in the law profession. Women have fallen victim of sexual abuse for them to obtain the facilities that their male colleagues enjoy freely. A woman may be required to engage in sexual intercourse with their current supervisor for them to rise in the ranks. Some female lawyers have been forced to give sexual favours for the judges to rule in their favour. This is a very demeaning situation for the women (Martin 87). It is sad how women have to be twice as equally good as the men for their efforts to be recognized. As such, women spend more time preparing and presenting their cases in courts. Missing simple details can render them as incompetent and their cases dismissed. A man in the same situation may be given time to prepare his defence. This situation prevents justice for the clients represented by the female lawyers. There are many ways in which gender inequality may be eliminated. First, the number of women who hold high positions in the legal system has to be increased. This will enable the women influence policies that are made in courts. They will advocate for impartiality of the law and the importance of ending gender inequality (Eaton 76). The number of women litigators such as court judges, advocates, lawyers and other court staff. This will change the notion that women are incompetent and incapable of winning litigations against their male counterparts. The states should take deliberate measures to end gender stereotyping and discrimination in law systems including prosecution, investigation, sentencing and protection of witnesses. Explicit action should be taken by the government to ensure that judges who are biased against women are fired from their positions. The government should ensure that court officials identify and condemn negative cultural beliefs that undermine the rights of women (Donovan 56). More energy and time should be devoted to eradicating prejudicial assumptions against women. The justice system must stop holding the notion of what women can and cannot do. Instead, women must be seen for who they really are i.e. unique people with diversified capabilities. This is the call for equality that is a basic foundation of human rights. Treating women equally with men at courtrooms will be an important step in obtaining gender equality. The judges should refrain from treating women with deference and more courtesy than men. This will prevent men from viewing women as a weak sex that has to be favoured to win a litigation. Women are competent enough to win court battles without intervention of the judge. Women should be rewarded equally as the men for ding work that is similar to a man’s. The notion of paying women less because they will stop working to bear children is misplaced and totally discriminatory. Every person in the justice system has a role to play in ending gender inequality. This can be achieved through treating women with respect and addressing people with gender neutral title such as counsellor (Rhode 121). Recognizing stereotypes such as race and sexual orientations and make deliberate efforts to eliminate them is very important. Ensure that all communication is gender neutral and discussing bias behaviour with people who perpetrate these acts without their conscious knowledge. Gender inequality results from gender bias. This involves viewing a given gender based on the culturally defined roles rather that their unique capabilities. Gender inequality is mainly perpetrated when people fail to view women as unique and keep on defining them according to the historical defined roles. Gender inequality is mainly committed through stereotyping and discriminating against women (Martin 56). It denies women a chance to obtain justice in the court system. The implication of this inequality is a society of oppressed women who cannot obtain protection of the law. The women and the society has no confidence in the judicial system that offers protection selectively to the male gender. This inequality can be eliminated through the government and the justice system working together to recognize the bias and take deliberate action to eliminate it. Work Cited Donovan, Brian. "Gender Inequality and Criminal Seduction: Prosecuting Sexual Coercion in the Early‐20th Century." Law & Social Inquiry 30.1 (2005): 61-88. Print. Eaton, Mary. Justice for women?: Family, court and social control. Milton KeynesPhiladelphia: Open University Press, 1986. Print. Martin, Patricia Yancey, John R. Reynolds, and Shelley Keith. "Gender bias and feminist consciousness among judges and attorneys: A standpoint theory analysis." Signs 27.3 (2002): 665-701. Print. Rhode, Deborah L. Speaking of sex: The denial of gender inequality. Harvard University Press, 1999. Print. Riger, Stephanie, et al. "Gender bias in courtroom dynamics." Law and Human Behavior 19.5 (1995): 465. Print. Read More