Sexual Violence in Government and Politics - Essay Example

Introduction Sexual violence is a menace haunting the world today. Averagely, seven hundred cases of sexual abuses get reported in the United States of America each day. These cases differ in nature with some being committed in the streets, some in offices while the rest happens in schools and other institutions of higher learning. Initially, sexual violence was inclined to the female gender being the major victims but due to changes in societal structures, the male sex has also been victimized in the recent past and as a result a number of sexual assault cases involving the male victims are being reported in the U.S. (Harrington, 2010). To begin with, let’s define what sexual violence is. Typically, sexual abuse refers to acts of omission that involve the making of sexual advances to individuals that are unwilling. They can be in the form of a derogatory language being used against individuals; being touched in a disrespectful manner or even being engaged in sexual acts without consent. Sexual violence has become a prevalent phenomenon in governments and politics through which senior government people are luring their victims into sex in return for promises of some favors. Relatively, the context of sexual violence has expanded in scope, and today many people in senior positions in the governments or the private sector are utilizing their positions to get sexual favors from their juniors in return for certain services or favors. These acts amount to sexual violence since the victims are forced into compromising scenarios that often may lead to sex or suggest the same without the consent of the other party (Harrington, 2010). Politics governs the world since most of the policies used to implement the law and order are as a result of political ramifications. However, politics goes beyond the formulation of rules and laws that are used as a benchmark to govern societies. State have their foreign policies that regulate the extent to which they engage with other global allies. In the twenty-first century, sexual violence has become a tool for creating a compromise between opposing groups in the case of political conflicts. For instance, if a conflict ensues between two opposing sides of the government one may kidnap some members of the community’s particularly women and girls to exploit them sexually as an act of provocation to compromise the other group to come to consensus (Harrington, 2010). It is a common scenario that has occurred, in countries like India, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Central Africa Republic, to name but a few. Women are a sacred gender in many civilized societies since they are perceived to be meek and helpless in times of war. For this reason, it is crucial that in event a war, women and children are spared since they cannot defend themselves. However, many of the modern conflicts are characterized by killing of male sex and holding hostage of their female counterparts where they are sexually violated to force the opponents to agree to particular demands. For instance, based on the UNHRC report, approximately 800,000 women are sexually assaulted annually due to political conflicts globally (Harrington, 2010). Sexual violence is thriving in governments, but most of the cases go unreported since their perpetrators threaten the victims because of the influence they command. It is a common phenomenon in most governments that people have to part with sexual favors in order to receive certain services from government officials. For instance, if one is looking for a job in a government agency, the bosses often demand sexual favors in return for the job. In essence, it is a kind of a barter exchange that occurs, but that result because the victims find themselves in a compromising situation in which they either give in to the demands or else they miss the opportunity, benefits or service that they were to receive. For this reason, many government agencies have established professional ethics for their personnel that they should maintain in the course of discharging their duties. However, rogue workers occasionally go against these professional ethics and sexually assault their colleagues in return for particular favors and services (Harrington, 2010). In-house sexual violence cases have been on the rise both in government and private offices. The vice is rampant among the senior management who demand sexual favors from their juniors in order to promote them or do any appraisals as far as their job is concerned. In other instances, whenever junior employees are caught up in scandals big enough to cost them their job, managers often resort to demanding sexual favors from them to vindicate them from their wrongdoing. Findings from the California State University indicate that 35% of secretaries in government agencies have either been, sexually, violated by their bosses or sexually advanced in one way or another (Harrington, 2010). The revelations from these findings elaborate how deep-rooted the vice is in the society. Corporate executives have also not been left out as the number of them have been terminated from their jobs because of sexual violence issues being leveled against them by their junior employees. The U.S. military has also been accused of sexual assault cases committed against the female members of the military and civilians when in the field or on a mission to humanitarian assistance in war-torn regions. For instance, a report from a survey conducted by the DoD on 170,000 troops indicates that about 20,000 members both women and male have experienced some form of unprecedented sexual contact in 2014 representing about 5%of all women in active duty and 1% of men on active duty (Kime, 2014). Conversely, a breakdown of the 2014 sexual violence cases report released by the DoD indicates that 5983 cases of sexual assault cases were recorded in 2014 out of which 4501 were unrestricted while 1482 were restricted implying that the victims sought only medical care but avoided to participate in investigations (Kime 2014) Sexual violence is not isolated to the United States of America but is an ordinary vice that is familiar place in various governments across the globe. Civilized societies have implemented stringent policies that are meant to safeguard sexual violence within the societies but this has not yielded enough results since thousands of sexual assault cases are filed daily in legal systems across the world (Harrington, 2010). A good example of sexual violence involving a member of parliament and an employee is the Kenyan incident in which an MP dismissed his female employee through a text message for denying him a sexual favor. Reports indicate the MP sent the lady a text message to inform her of the dismissal after she refused to become his mistress despite the many favors the MP had accorded to her (Gah, 2015). The report further indicate that the MP had on several occasions made sexual advances to the woman but she vehemently declined to give in to the MP’s demands (Gah, 2015). The sexual evils manifested in government and politics did not spring up suddenly, they trace their origin in domestic violence. Most of the men who opt to violate sexually their female counterparts are either mentally unstable, suffering from bad marital relationships or cannot control their sexual urges. Thus, there exists a positive relationship between domestic violence and sexual harassment. Men who are domestically violated by their wives tend to prove their manhood by sexually assaulting other women since their wives are beyond their control. Relatively, cases of women involved in domestic violence in their marital relationships tend to develop some animosity to the opposite sex. Thus, in some cases these women opt to violate sexually young men to satisfy their sexual urges. Although the cases are rare, it is prudent to note that the practice is in existence and it is only that a majority of the victims fear reporting due to victimization and low self-esteem (Harrington, 2010). Statistical data from the American Bar Association show that approximately 1.3 million females and 835,000 males are sexually assaulted by intimate partners annually in the U.S. (“Domestic”, n.d.). Conversely, the statistics also indicate about 1,006,970 females and 370,990 males are stalked yearly in the U.S. However, the data indicates that about 59 % of these women and 30% of the males are stalked by their intimate partners (“Domestic”, n.d.). Sexual violence continues to thrive in the modern society despite the elaborate measures that are being instituted to curb the menace. It is not evidently clear what are the principal instigators of the vice but a significant percentage of the cases can be blamed on the lack of control of individual urges and a tendency of exploitation that those in positions of power have towards their juniors (Harrington, 2010). A majority of the sexual violence cases are against married people, implying that despite being engaged in their marital relationships, these perpetrators exploit any slightest opportunity that comes their way by demanding for sexual favors. However, the current era contributes significantly to a number of these cases because sexism has become the order of the day, in that, everything that is done has a sexual perspective aimed at attracting the attention of target groups (Harrington, 2010). However, it is prudent to note that legislation alone cannot solve the problem of sexual and domestic violence, but can only be controlled through collective and individual efforts. For this reason, there is need for government to sensitize people through campaigns on the need to uphold personal moral obligations and respect for other people within the vicinity, that is, for both the male and female population either in active politics, workplace environment, homes or any other place. It is through such methods that involved stakeholders can manage to control the menace and reduce the escalating trend of sexual violence in government and politics. Conversely, drawing on the virtue of ethics by Aristotle, it is important to emphasize on the need of developing and nurturing good character lie of emphasizing on legislation, rules and consequences for the individuals involved in sexual and domestic violence (Swanton, 2003). Good character traits can be a good mechanism of controlling and curbing sexual violence in politics and government. Therefore, moral virtuous as articulated by Aristotle can be the only cure for this developing behavior that has cropped up among politicians, government officers as well as students. In addition, Mill’s theory postulates that often moral rules presume rules and morality anchors on the social rules of the society (Mill, 2010). Therefore, abuses such as sexual and domestic violence contradicts the social norms of the society. Thus, it is true emphasize on social rules that the menace of sexual violence can be curbed and controlled. Conclusion It is evident that in a world of money, politics and power sex will always come into play. Government institutions should be strengthened to deal adequately with issues of sexual assault regardless of the positions that the accused are holding in government because cases of sexual violence in government and politics have not been dealt with appropriately in many occasions the perpetrators have either been set free or handed petty penalties. Ultimately, it is imperative that proper mechanism are instituted to curb sexual violence in politics and government such as through institution of proper policies concerning recruitments and promotions by various governmental agencies. References Domestic Violence Statics. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.americanbar.org/groups/domestic_violence/resources/statistics.html Gah, C. (2015). Juja MP, Francis Munyua Shockingly Sacks Female Employee Via SMS For Refusing To Be His Mistress. Retrieved from http://www.ghafla.co.ke/news/tv/item/30375-exposed-juja-mp-francis-munyua-shockingly-sacks-female-employee-via-sms-for-refusing-to-be-his-mistress-evidence Harrington, C. (2010). Politicization of sexual violence: From abolitionism to peacekeeping. Farnham: Ashgate Pub. Kime, P. (2014). Incidents of rape in military much higher than previously reported. Retrieved from http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/pentagon/2014/12/04/pentagon-rand-sexual-assault-reports/19883155/ Mill, J. S. (2010). Utilitarianism. Broadview Press. Swanton, C. (2003). Virtue ethics: A pluralistic view. Read More