The Female Sex as Target of Harassment and Offending - Article Example

The Female Sex as Target of Harassment and Offending Introduction Girls and women, in general, are often at the receiving end of abuse and harassment, whether in real or virtual life. This abuse and harassment may take the form of verbal abuse, or even offenses that involve physical injuries. In 2008-2009 alone, the Australian community shelled out an estimated $13.6 billion to cover expenses for crimes against women and their children (AIC 2011). A recent published study also indicated the comparatively higher incidences of sexual assault of women 15 years old and above in Australia and New Zealand at 16.4% vis-à-vis 7.2% in the world (Levine 2014). The Australian Bureau of Statistics validated the high incidences of sexual assault amongst women in Australia in its 2013 release of crime victimisation showing 15, 137 women sexually assaulted in 2012 as compared to only 2,959 men (ABS 2013). Similarly, the Bureau’s offender statistics for 2012-2013 indicated 304,777 male offenders as against 85,331 women offenders (ABS 2014). Heather Nancarrow, who is the Director of a family violence research institute, attributed rising sexual assault against women to a “culture of hyper-masculinity” practised by many Australian men and tolerated by society in general (Levine 2014). The harassment and offending against women do not only occur in the real world, but also extends to the virtual world of the Internet. Gender-based harassment directed against women, is a common occurrence in the internet that takes the form of gender-humiliating comments, sexual remarks and dirty jokes (Barak 2005). Violence against women is a pervasive practice that not only occurs in Australia, but everywhere else. A United Nations survey in 71 countries, for example, revealed that at least one in every three women falls prey to intimate partner violence during the course of their lives (cited Carmody 2009). Emerging theories on the cause of targeting girls and women for harassment and abuse point to the a highly patriarchal perspective where men are the dominant sexes and the women as the inferior gender, as the underpinning causes. Gender-based Violence It is a fact that most crimes against women are committed by men. Many studies have associated harassment and offending against women to constructions of masculinities, according to Tomsen (2008). These emerging set of theories on masculine discourse emphasised societal practices that legitimised or reinforced a patriarchal system and are widely entrenched in various settings, such as the employment environment. Women victimisation is, therefore, perceived by feminists as a means of validating the supremacy of the male sex not only against other males, but also against women. Male offending against women is thought to be a particular form of male domination. The United Nations defined gender-based violence as “any act 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 private life” (cited Russo and Pirlott 2008, p. 181). Gender-based violence, therefore, does not encompass every violent action against women, but only those form of violence perpetrated against them largely because of their sex or because of the sex of the perpetrator. Gender-based violence is deemed to be the offspring of “gender-based entitlements, power, objectification, and status” claimed by men as against women, according to (Russo and Pirlott 2008). Patriarchal constructions of masculinity is underpinned by the belief that men are superior than women, which allows men to believe that they are entitled to subjugate and control women. Abusing and harassing girls and women are not only manifestations, but also a reinforcement of that belief. This belief cuts across culture, but is more pronounced in traditional societies. The honour-related violence (HRV hereafter) or honor killing practised by Muslim men against their women in Bangladesh, Brazil, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Sweden, Turkey, Uganda, the UK, Canada and other countries, is an example of this. The UN estimates that 500 women a year become victim to HRV (Meetoo and Mirza 2007). In 2012, a family of husband, wife and eldest son was found guilty of murdering their three teen-age girls, along with an older woman who was the first wife of the husband. The girls became a source of embarrassment to the family when they started adopting Western culture and manner of dressing wearing short skirts and going out on dates. Apparently, they transcended the boundaries of appropriate behaviour for girls that their family had to drown them in an old Nissan care purchased a day before the incident (Carrick 2012). Honour killings were also reported in Sweden perpetrated by male Muslim family members against their own daughters, sisters or nieces. HRV is essentially a gendered killing because there is no counterpart for it for the male sex, which implies that only female family members can be subjected to it. Although this form of cultural violence against women is mainly perpetrated by men, women participation, especially older women, is noticeable (Elden 2010), validating the view that male hegemony continues to flourish in some cultures because it is tolerated by society. The spate of HRV against Muslim women by their male kin was rationalised by Abbas (2010) as a symptom of the tension within the male Muslim psyche whose masculinity, particularly those living in westernised countries, is under attack from many sides. Traditional male Muslims dominate and regulate their women, who they consider as their property. For migrants to western countries, especially, Western Europe, this male hegemony, however, is being challenged. Like their Western counterparts, Muslim women in these societies have become more educated, more confident and have become less dependent on men, whilst men, on the other hand, have loosened their grip on superiority in employment and other aspects of life. In addition, the sexual liberation in western societies is beginning to infect Muslim women and this has further threatened the male Muslim ego. Women who ‘transgressed’ the traditional Muslim boundaries are, therefore, punished by HRV and such decision is essentially male-centred, although it may involve other women whose role can only be described as tolerant (Abbas 2010). Meeto and Mirzi (2007) also pointed out that aside from migrants, ethnic communities, refugees and other sectors of society suffering from some form of socio-economic deprivation may be triggered to commit and foster violence against women. In the Canada case, however, the perpetrators belong to a well-off family. Salter (2013) studied multi-perpetrator violence against women and concluded that collective violence plays a role in validating norms of masculinity as constructed from a patriarchal perspective in certain groups and culture. Although it has been theorised that gender is a construct that is attended by elements of culture, environments, values and other external influences, the usual targeting of women for harassment and offending as a consequence of male hegemony is a common pattern in almost all cultures and society, albeit there are dissimilarities in degree or manner of perpetration. Thus, the tension being experienced by traditional masculinity is not confined only to the male Muslim population. The threat of homophobia hanging over the heads of men like the sword of Damocles compels men everywhere to doubly substantiate their masculinity. It is said that homophobia is important in shaping the construction of masculinity and the male gender is forced to conform to the norms of society’s perception of masculinity. Homophobia forces men to adopt ‘aggressive hyper-masculine behavior’ to prove their manliness and this particularly occurs during late childhood and adolescence - a process Rich (1980) called ‘compulsory masculinity’ (cited McCann et al, 2010). Apparently, the need to limit the female gender to specific behaviour that implicitly reinforces maLe hegemony does not only exist in the Muslim culture. In her article Lolita speaks: ‘Sexting,’ teenage girls and the law, Karaian (2012) cited the attempt of the American government to censor three teen-age girls from expressing their sexuality through ‘sexting’ or sending sexually-suggestive messages through cell phones or the Internet classifying such activities as child pornography. The refusal of the girls to undergo a ‘reeducation’ program escalated the case to a civil action filed by the teen-agers parents to enjoin the District Attorney from filing child pornography charges against their children. The case Miller v. Mitchell, 598 F.3d 139 (3d Cir. 2010) granted the injunction prayed for the parents of the children on the ground of lack of basis to make a case for child pornography. Patriarchal construction of masculinity is also underpinned by the power relations between the sexes in which men are supposed to emerge as the victor. This power struggle and the continued hold of power by the male victors are reflected and well-entrenched in institutions, such as the family, and places of employment, where the dominant figure is always the male (Russo and Pirlott 2008). Sexual harassment, which is the most common form of offending against women in Australia, is “one of the most extreme and effective forms of patriarchal control,” according to Kelly (cited Kelly (2000). It has the effect of destroying the lives of women by undermining their self-worth and eroding their confidence as persons. It is a form of women victimisation that displays and validates the dominance of male masculinity and the weakness of their female counterparts. Australian women are exposed to sexual assault to a degree higher than women in other countries (Levine 2014). The victimisation of the female sex by men to reinforce their masculinity does not only occur in peacetime, but also during conflicts as documented by history. Aside from invading territories and other lands, soldiers of invading countries often rape women on the side. This happened during the invasion of the English on Scotland in 1888, the Germans on Belgium and France in 1914. The rape of women was rampant during World War II, particularly by the Japanese soldiers against Filipina women. The Japanese refused to investigate charges of rape against its soldiers because it feared it would find every Japanese soldier guilty. Kelly theorised that the close association of violence against women during armed conflict is due to its masculine undertone and, therefore, raping and other violence against women is considered an expression of that masculinity, from a patriarchal perspective (Kelly 2000). Conclusions Girls and women are often the target of abuse and harassment, whether in real or virtual life. Recent studies pointed to validation of the patriarchal perspective in a world where masculinity is besieged from all sides as its underpinning catalyst. Some authors have suggested the engagement of men to solve the marginalisation of women brought about by such abuse and harassment. Flood (2011), for example, suggested the use of men in the prevention of harassment and offending against women. His rationale for involving them is precisely to change their role from perpetrators to partners in prevention. By exposing them to education programs, social marketing campaigns and policy making in the prevention of violence against women, it is hoped that men will become more aware of their role as offenders against women. Pease (2008), however, pointed out the dangers of engaging men towards prevention of violence against women without first ascertaining specific obstructions that can derail the efforts. Forms of alliances and conditions must be first laid down to ensure that their engagement will serve the purpose for which they are used, namely, to reconstruct the relations between the sexes, and to enhance the advancement of women. 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N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1087: 178–205 Salter, M 2013, Multi-perpetrator domestic violence, Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 201x, Vol Xx(X) 1–11 Tomsen, S 2008, Masculinities, crime and criminalization,” in T Anthony and C Cunneen (eds), The critical criminology companion, Sydney, Hawkins Press Why are girls and women the frequent targets of online abuse and harrasment? Answer this question using case studies and the theories covered in this course. Read More