This document discusses violence against women, including statistics showing that 1 in 4 women in the US have experienced rape or physical assault. It covers different types of violence like intimate partner violence, rape, stalking, and abuse of children and adolescents. Contributing factors include cultures that assign superiority to men and issues like isolation, mental health problems, and substance abuse. The document provides information on medical considerations after rape, safety planning, and ending violence through education, intervention, and community support.

1. B Y K A R I S O U C H U N S
Chapter 24
Violence Against Women

2. “ A L M O S T O N E I N E V E R Y F O U R W O M E N I N T H E
U N I T E D S T A T E S H A S B E E N R A P E D A N D / O R
P H Y S I C A L L Y A S S A U L T E D B Y A C U R R E N T O R F O R M E R
S P O U S E , L I V E - I N P A R T N E R , B O Y F R I E N D , O R D A T E ”
“ O N A V E R A G E , M O R E T H A N T H R E E W O M E N A R E
M U R D E R E D B Y H U S B A N D S O R B O Y F R I E N D S E V E R Y D A Y
I N T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S ”
Violence Against Women

3. Understanding Violence Against Women
 “Violence against women is about power and
coercive control exerted over another person in the
context of a relationship, culture, or social and
institutional system”
 Violence is often the result of
 Individual psychological problems
 Sexual frustration
 Childhood abuse
 Life pressures
 Drug and/or alcohol abuse

4. Understanding Violence Against Women
 Many cultures – including the United States –
assigns men to the superior position in a relationship
 Mens violence against women affects men too;
 Harms the women and girls in their lives and prohibits the
man from ever having a loving and positive relationship with
them

5. W O M E N O F C O L O R
O L D E R W O M E N
Y O U N G W O M E N
W O M E N W I T H O U T L E G A L I M M I G R A T I O N
S T A T U S
R E F U G E E S
L E S B I A N S
P O O R W O M E N
T R A N S S E X U A L S
T R A N S G E N D E R S
Factors that put Women at
Greater Risk for Violence

6. I S O L A T I O N
M E N T A L H E A L T H P R O B L E M S
S E L F B L A M E
T H E F E E L I N G O F B E I N G U N S A F E
S U B S T A N C E A B U S E
S E L F H A R M
E A T I N G D I S O R D E R S
F E A R A N D A N G E R
D E P R E S S I O N A N D S U I C I D E
Common Reactions to
experiencing Violence

7. Recovery from Violence
 The violence was not your fault
 Many believe that it was
 You made the best choices you could
 There is no right way to feel or heal
 Healing takes time, and there may be set backs
 You deserve support
 MYTHS ABOUT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
 “It must have been her behavior, she provoked him somehow,
it must have been what she was wearing, or where she was”

8. RAPE
 Most common form of sexual assault
 18% of women have experienced rape
 Young women are at particular risk
 “Because we live in a culture that blames women for
sexual violence and downplays the actions of the
perpetrators, and because so few of us get comprehensive
sex education that would teach us about rape, we may not
realize that we have been sexually assaulted until
sometime after the incident”
• *QUOTE THAT STOOD OUT TO ME*

9. Campus Rape
Most common violent crime occuring on
college campuses today
It is estimated that there is 35 rapes per
every 1000 females per year
A mere 5% are reported

10. Gray Rape
 This term masks the reality that any nonconsensual
sexual activity is sexual violence
 Makes it easier for women to blame herself for the
violence

11. •H O S P I T A L E X A M
•R A P E K I T
•A V E R B A L H I S T O R Y O F T H E A S S A U L T A N D
R E L A T E D M E D I C A L C O N C E R N S
•A P E L V I C O R R E C T A L E X A M
•C H E C K I N G F O R E X T E R N A L I N J U R I E S
•C H E C K I N G F O R S T I ’ S
•P R E G N A N C Y T E S T
•F O L L O W U P E X A M S
MEDICAL CONSIDERATIONS
REGARDING RAPE

12. Intimate Partner Violence
 Also known as domestic violence
 Most common, yet least reported crimes in the world
 Can be expressed in many ways;
 Threatening or harmful behavior, ridiculous demands, physical
violence, sexual assault, verbal and emotional abuse, destruction
of personal belongings, threats of harm or actual harm to loved
ones

13. •CALL A VIOLENCE HOTLINE
•BUILD A SUPPORT NETWORK
•TEACH CHILDREN HOW TO CALL 911 FOR
EMERGENCIES ONLY
•PREPARE A SAFETY PLAN
•CARRY IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS, FIND
SOMEONE YOU TRUST TO TELL, FIND A SAFE PLACE,
What to do if Someone is
Experiencing Abuse

14. STALKING
 Working definition is “intentional behavior directed
at a specific person that would cause a reasonable
person to feel fear”
 Examples” Visual or physical proximity, nonconsensual
communication, and verbal or written threats
 Stalking is very serious, and sometimes violent, and
can escalate over time

15. Sexual abuse of Children and Adolescents
 The least reported form of sexual abuse
 Incest, childhood abuse and childhood sexual abuse
 One in every six boys has been sexuallly abused
 One in every four girls has been sexually abused
 In 2004, U.S. Department of Justice reported that
15% of all sexual assault and rape victims were under
the age of 12, and 29% were between the ages of 12
and 17

16. •RECOGNITION THAT VIOLENCE IS A RISK
THROUGHOUT AN ENTIRE LIFEESPAN
•ADVOCATE TO MAKE NECESSARY SERVICES
AVAILABLE TO WOMEN OF ALL AGES AND
BACKGROUNDS
•SPEAK OUT AGAINST OPINIONS IN SOCIETY
THAT GLORIFY VIOLENCE
•TEACH AND MODEL NONVIOLENCE
ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST
WOMEN

17. •INTERVENE IN S SAFE MANNER WHEN WE
RECOGNIZE THE EXPRESSION OF VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN
•STRENGTHEN COMMUNITY AND FAMILY
SANCTIONS AGAINST VIOLENCE AS OPPOSED
TO RELYING ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
•MAINTAIN A STRONG NETWORK FOR
EVERYONE AT RISK
ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST
WOMEN

18. DISCUSSION
QUESTION
 Why do you think transsexual and
transgender abuse is considered a
form of violence against women,
even if the person involved was
not always a woman?

19. REFERENCES
Our Bodies, Ourselves. New York:
Simon and Schuster, 2o11. Print.