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Topic: Women Safety

Sexual Harassment and Domestic Violence

CASE STUDY 1: Rape and Domestic Violence in USA US is one of the most developed countries in world. It has a very high standard of living with their per capita income one of the highest in the World. Given this, one would expect the countrys women to be safe and out of any risks or to have a few, if any, cases of crimes like rapes and domestic violence. But this assumption is wrong. USA is not all that safe for a woman. A study which was launched by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in 2010 stated that nearly 1 in 5 women have been raped at some part of their life. Domestic Violence is the leading cause of women injuries more than car accidents, mugging and rape cases combined. We would think that the people in the developed countries would have a different mindset and treat women as equal but, sadly, they dont. However, the crime rate against women is much lower than other developing countries. The government has taken measurable steps but they dont seem to be very effective. The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was the first major law to help government agencies and victim advocates work together to fight domestic violence, sexual assault, and other types of violence against women. It advocated harsher punishments for certain crimes and started programs to prevent violence and help victims. Over the years, the law has been expanded to provide more programs and services. The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) provide the main federal funding to help victims of domestic violence and their dependents (such as children). Programs funded through FVPSA provide shelter and related help. CASE STUDY 2: Rape and Domestic Violence in Afghanistan Afghanistan is a country that has been fighting wars for decades and seems to always be in the dark ages. Women there are in a far worse state than most of the countries in the World. Afghanistan has a very orthodox and a radical society largely influenced by religion. There are so many rules and restriction just for women. If someone tells you to picture an Afghan woman, you would immediately picture a woman covered in a black veil from head to toe with only their eyes visible. Women have to cover themselves with a black veil at all times and cannot go outside anywhere without being accompanied by a male family member. It was in 2009, when the government passed the Law of Elimination of Violence against Women that violence against women became a criminal offence. The 2009 Elimination of Violence against Women (EVAW) law criminalizes child marriage, forced marriage, selling and buying of women for the purpose or under the excuse of marriage, baad (giving away a woman or girl to settle a dispute and 17 other acts of violence against women, including rape and beating. It also specifies punishment for perpetrators. Until then, violence of all kinds against the women was highly normalized in the Afghan society. Women have satisfactory marital relations while simultaneously reporting domestic violence. This mentality of people has not completely vanished even today. Women still dont mind being treated as inferior. Human Rights Commission officials said that more than 100 Afghan girls/women had been raped or victims of domestic crime in the first 6 months of 2012. Lack of proper justice, growing corruption, illiteracy and religious influence are the main reasons for the growth in violence against the women in Afghanistan.

CASE STUDY 3: Rape and Domestic violence in India Rape is one of the increasing crimes in India. In 2010, India stood third on the list of rape countries of the world with a little more than 22,000 cases. Reports say that a woman is raped in India every 20 minute. The legal news service Trust Law says that India is the worst country in the G20 to be a woman. It says that women and girls continue to be sold, married off at a young age and get exploited and abused as domestic slaves. The number of crimes reported against women, including kidnapping, abduction, and human trafficking exceeds 2.5 million. The country has 40,000 pending rape cases and the survivors have to wait years for their cases to be heard- and even then the conviction rate is 34.6 percent- according to the National Crimes Record Bureau. The Indian Penal Code lists punishments of up to life behind bars, but those convinced are often let off after serving short sentences. Domestic violence is yet another issue faced by millions of Indian women. One of the reasons for it being so is the prevalent and idiotic mindset of the society that women are physically and emotionally weaker than the males. According to the United Nation Population Fund Report, around two-third of married Indian women are victims of domestic violence and as many as 70 percent of married women in India between the age of 15 and 49 are victims of beating, rape or forced sex. More than 55 percent of women of these women belong to the states of Bihar, U.P., M.P., and other northern states. The most common causes for women stalking and battering including dissatisfaction with the dowry, arguing with the partner, refusing to have sex with him, neglecting the children, going out of the home without telling the partner, not cooking on time or properly, indulging in extra-marital affairs, not looking after the in-laws etc. Majorlyin the rural areas, alcoholism of the spouse, infertility or not being able to bear a male child is also a cause of this crime. There have been gruesome incidents of young brides being burnt alive due to dissatisfaction of dowry. When surveyed, women in India also admit to hitting or beating because of their suspicion about the husbands sexual involvement with other women. One such incident came out in the year 1995. The Tandoor Murder Case of Naina Sahni in New Delhi was extremely brutal. She was killed and burnt in a Tandoor by her husband because of suspicion of an extra marital affair which had led to discord and domestic violence against her. While in the urban areas, major reasons for domestic violence include more income of working woman than her partner, her absence in the house till late night, abusing and neglecting in-laws, being more forward socially etc. Violence against young widows is also on a rise in India. Most of them, after their husbands death, are deprived of proper food and clothing. They are not encouraged To remarriage. There have been cases of molestation and rape attempts of women by other family members in nuclear families or someone in the neighbourhood. At times, their partners themselves even sexually coerce women against their will. At times, women are brutally beaten and tortured for not being able to bear a male child. Female foeticide is also an important situation rising in India.

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