Six deaths every hour: The report of the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability notes that around the world, every hour, six women are killed by men they know. Femicide, or the killing of women because they are women, is underpinned by patriarchal ideologies that define how women should comport themselves. This ideology, grounded in the belief that men own women and that women need to be controlled, is also at the heart of gender inequities.
Remembering everyday violence against women and girls on Dec. 6 an article by Yasmin Jiwani published in the conversation.
women have been fighting for their lives all around the world in more ways than one
According to the results of the National Survey of Adolescents, 8% of the sample (n=4,023) reported having been victims of sexual assault. 74% of these sexual assault victims indicated that they had been assaulted by someone they knew well, 32% were friends, 21% were family members, 23% were strangers. Nearly 31% of these sexual assaults occurred in the victim’s home or in the victim’s neighborhood (24%), another 15% occurred at the victim’s school.
SOURCE: SAFEBAE.ORG
Kilpatrick, D.G., Saunders, B.E., and Smith, D.W. (2003). Youth Victimization: Prevalence and Implications. Washington, D.C.: National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice
it’s a human rights issue
Every year thousands of women in Pakistan face some form of violence, ranging from acid attacks, to sexual assault, to kidnapping, rape or murder, often in the name of honour. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, an independent watchdog, stated in its annual report of 2019 that “despite legislation enacted to protect and promote women’s rights in recent years, violence against women has escalated.
SOURCE: REUTERS
Kilpatrick, D.G., Saunders, B.E., and Smith, D.W. (2003). Youth Victimization: Prevalence and Implications. Washington, D.C.: National Institute of Justice, Office of JusticeReuters information published in Dawn.com’s article Child bride to elite police, the film focusing on women pioneers Programs, U.S. Department of Justice
12 million CHILDREN married each year
Even though child marriage is declining globally, there are still 12 million girls married in childhood each year, and the global number of women alive today who were married before 18 is estimated at 650 million.
SOURCE: https://www.letgirlsdream.org/
Femicide or feminicide – The intentional killing of women or girls because they are female.
and thousands more
It’s true, not all the women’s stories are of women being murdered by men because they are women. We don’t need to put everyone in neat little categories – we need to stop labeling people and besides, you don’t need to pull the trigger or plunge a knife into someone to kill their soul. There is not always justice and some survived too.
Fouzia Azeem1 aka Qandeel Baloch
Born: March 1990 and Died: 15 July 2016 (aged 26)
Cause of death: Homicide by asphyxia
Fouzia Azeeml was popularly known as Qandeel Baloch. She was an independent woman who modelled and acted during the period of 2013–2016 and is known as Pakistan’s first female social media celebrity influencer. She was murdered by her brother who proclaimed that he did it out of honour. Her parents wanted their son held accountable.
Deepshika Godara
Born: 1982 and Died: 13 December 2014 (aged 32)
Cause of death: Homicide by asphyxia and stabbing
Deepshika Godara was a career woman and mother that married through an arrangement. She suffered abuse from her husband and was ultimately murdered by him even though they were apart. Her attacker committed suicide, leaving their only child without parents.
Saba Qaiser
Born: March 1990 she did not die, she survived (aged 19),
Cause of near-death: Shot in the head for “honour”
Saba Qaiser is one of two on this list who is alive today. Her father and uncle kidnapped her and shot her in the head before dumping her body in the river. They claimed their actions were out of honour. She survived. Her father and uncle were released from prison. for marrying for love without family consent. A Girl in a River is a documentary that tells her story.
Rekia Boyd
Born 1990 and Died 21 March 2012 (aged 22)
Cause of death: Shot in the head.
Rekia Boyd was shot in the back of the head by police officer Dante Servin who intentionally shot at her and her friends. Even though the judge acknowledged that he committed first-degree murder, he remains free.
Tanisha Anderson
Born: 1977 and Died: 13 November 2014 (aged 37)
Cause of death: Homicide by restraint
Tanisha Anderson was violently restrained by police near her home, whilst her brother watched. She died. According to the coroner’s report, this was an act of homicide – “sudden death in association with physical restraint in a prone position in association with ischemic heart disease and bipolar disorder with agitation.”
Daisy Coleman
Born 30 March 1997 and Died 4 August 2020 (aged 23)
Cause of death: Suicide
Daisy Coleman after being raped in high school, shamed publicly, and victim-blamed her life was a living hell. Her house was burnt down to the ground for speaking up. She founded SAFEBAE to help others. In August of 2020, she ended her own life by suicide. Her work continues. Like Audrie who’s story is below, her story was a part of the documentary, Audrie and Daisy.
Audrie Pott
Born 27 May 1997 and Died 12 September 2012 (15 years old)
Cause of death: Suicide by hanging
Audrie Pott was raped by three boys that she knew, who also shared photos of her marked nude body. Nude pictures of her were posted online with accompanying bullying. She ended her own life by suicide eight days later. Her story became known worldwide through the documentary, Audrie and Daisy.
Chanel Miller
Born 12 June 1992 and survived her rapist was caught in the act and chased off by two passerbys, attacked in 2015 and survived (aged 22)
Chanel Miller was raped near a dumpster and her attacker was caught by two grad students who were passing by. Although the rapist was found guilty of the crime – his time was minimal. He wasn’t a body in this, he was an identity with a “future.” Chanel Miller wrote a memoir about this story because she wants you to know her name.
Misogyny
Moral philosophy professor Kate Manne in her book Down Girl, argues that the definition of misogyny goes deeper than the hate or hostility that misogynist men feel towards most women. Misogyny is instead about controlling, policing, punishing, and exiling the bad women who challenge male dominance. It rewards the status quo, singling out other women to serve as warnings punishing those who are out of order. It also includes the whole of “social systems or environments where women face hostility and hatred because they are women in a man’s world — a historical patriarchy.”
Read an interview with Kate Manne on Vox here: http://bit.ly/misogyny-kate-manne
Patriarchy
Patriarchy is a social system where men take and hold primary power in leadership roles, control property, and predominate in roles of social privilege; entitlement used to one’s personal benefit or the detriment of others with groups advantaged based on a variety of factors and, in this case, gender. Patriarchy has manifested itself in the social, legal, political, religious, and economic systems and organizations across cultures worldwide. Most contemporary societies are patriarchal even through their constitutions and, laws do not always explicitly define themselves to be so.
the Wounded Male Ego
Dr Vijay Nagaswami, author, psychiatrist and relationship consultant brings the male wounded ego into focus in an article in The Hindu. He tells us that in a patriarchal society, unwarranted attention given to the male child creates challenges in relationships even in the 21st century. When asked, Why are male egos fragile? he says: “Any ego that derives itself from the perceived superiority of one gender over the other is bound to be incomplete and fragile. The mere fact of being born a male cannot be the primary parameter to derive one’s sense of self-worth. Also, the object of the male ego is to establish dominance over the female ego. When masculinity alone is used to establish dominance and control, it’s bound to be fragile, since it’s incomplete.”
https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/The-big-fat-male-ego/article16876419.ece
Men Helping Women
RESOURCES FOR MEN
Share these resources with the men in your life.
National Organization for Men Against Sexism (NOMAS) 1-720-466-3882 www.nomas.org
A Call to Men 1-917-922-6738 www.acalltomen.org
Men Can Stop Rape 1-202-265-6530 www.mencanstoprape.org
Men Stopping Violence 1-866-717-9317 www.menstoppingviolence.org
https://womencountusa.org/resources/