VIOLENCE, ABUSE & HARASSMENT

14 VIOLENCE, ABUSE & HARASSMENT

14 “Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live in every experience, painful or joyous, to live in gratitude for every moment, to live abundantly.” - Dorothy Thomson -

14 INTRODUCTION WHO’s CLASSIFICATION OF VIOLENCE • Self-Directed Violence • Interpersonal Violence • Collective Violence

14 SELF-DIRECTED VIOLENCE Self-Mutilation Examples of Self-Mutilation: • Skin cutting with razors and knives • Burning or biting one’s self • Picking one’s skin or hair • Extreme injuries such as autoenucleation, castration, or amputation

14 Risk Factors for Self-Mutilation: • Female gender • Adolescence and college age • Substance abuse or personality • History of self-mutilation

14 PERSPECTIVES ON VIOLENCE SOCIOCULTURAL ISSUES Events That “Trigger” Violence • Not obeying one’s husband/partner • Talking back to one’s husband/partner • Not having food ready on time • Questioning one’s husband/partner about $ or girlfriends • Going somewhere without permission • Refusing one’s husband or partner sex

14 Percentage of Women Reporting Rape in Their Lifetime by Race/Ethnicity of Victim

14 HISTORICAL TRENDS • No punishment for husbands in England murdering their wives until 19th century • U.S. courts did not criminalize wife beating until 20th century • Spanish explorers used female Native American captives for sexual services • 17th century New England female servants represented 1/3 of rape victims • African female servants in the South victimized by white overseers

14 POVERTY INFLUENCES • Women in families with incomes <$10000 are more likely than other women to be victims of violence by an intimate partner ALCOHOL/DRUG INFLUENCES • 75% victims report alcohol/drug use by the offender at the time of the crime MEDIA INFLUENCES • 1 in 5 children (10-17 years old) receives unwanted sexual solicitations on the Internet

14 COSTS OF VICTIMIZATION • U.S. government spent $147 billion for police protections, corrections, and judicial and legal activities in 1999 • Victims and families received $370 million in compensation benefits in 2001 LEGAL DIMENSIONS • Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) • Decrease in the number of violent crimes by intimate partners against females is attributed to VAWA

14 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) • Crime to cross state lines to continue to abuse a spouse/partner • Creating tough new penalties for sex offenders • Prohibiting anyone facing a restraining order for domestic abuse from possessing a firearm • Substantial commitment of federal resources for police and prevention service initiatives • Requiring sexual offenders to pay restitution to their victims

14 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Continued… • Requiring states to pay for rape examinations • Providing funds for federal victim-witness counselors • Extending rape shield laws to protect crime victims abusive inquiries into heir private conduct • Requiring that release offenders report to local enforcement authorities

14 GLOBAL ISSUES • 20% to 50% of the female population world-wide will become victims of domestic violence in their lifetime • Sexual harassment in healthcare settings • Genital mutilation • Forced gynecological exams • Obligatory inspections of virginity • Rape as a weapon of war • Bosnia-Herzegovina conflict = an estimation of 10,000 to 60,000 women raped

14 FAMILY & INTIMATE VIOLENCE STALKING Course of Conduct: • Reported visual or physical proximity (on 2 or more occasions) • Nonconsensual communication • Verbal, written, or implied threats • A combination thereof that would cause fear in a reasonable person

14 The Stalking Realities: • 81% of women stalked by a current husband, former husband, or cohabitating partner were physically assaulted by that partner • 31% of women stalked were sexually abused by that partner • 1st anti-stalking law was passed in California in 1990 • Cyberstalking is a factor in 20% to 40% of all stalking cases reported • 45 states are now protecting their residents from cyberstalking

14 Beware of Cyberstalking:

14 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE At Least 1 out of Every 3 Murdered Women is Killed by Her Husband

14 CHILD ABUSE The Reality: • 903,000 children were victims of abuse in 2001 • 45% of the mothers of abused children are themselves battered women 4 Major Types of Maltreatment of Children: • Physical Abuse • Child Neglect • Sexual Abuse • Emotional Abuse

14 ELDER ABUSE 3 Major Situations for Abuse of the Elderly: • Domestic Abuse • Institutional Abuse • Self-Neglect 7 Types of Elder Abuse: • Physical Elder Abuse • Sexual Elder Abuse • Emotional Elder Abuse • Financial Exploitation 5. Neglect 6. Self-Neglect 7. Abandonment

14 RAPE & SEXUAL ASSAULT Estimated Occurrence of Forcible Rapes

14 Women Victims’ Age at Time of First Rape

14 VIOLENCE BY STRANGERS COMMON CRIMES INCREASING • Carjacking • Robbery • Murder • Gang Violence • Sexual Assault • Rape HATE CRIMES • 9,726 hate crimes were reported in 2001

14 SEXUAL HARASSMENT TYPES OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT • Gender Harassment • Unwanted Sexual Attention or Advances • Sexual Coercion DEALING WITH HARASSMENT • Human Rights Commissions • Fair Employment Practice Agencies • Civil Rights Act

14 INFORMED DECISION MAKING SOURCES OF HELP

VIOLENCE, ABUSE & HARASSMENT