Violence Against Women: What Everyone Needs to Know

by Jacqui True

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a longstanding problem that has increasingly come to the forefront of international and national policy debates and from the US reauthorization of the Violence against Women Act and a United Nations declaration to end sexual violence in war, to coverage of gang rapes in India, cyberstalking and "revenge porn", honor killings, female genital mutilation, and international trafficking. Yet, while we frequently read or learn about particular experiences or incidents of VAWG, we are often unaware of the full picture.

Jacqui True, an internationally renowned scholar of globalization and gender, provides an expansive frame for understanding VAWG in this book. Among the questions she addresses What are we talking about when we discuss VAWG? What kinds of violence does it encompass? Who does it affect most and why? What are the risk factors for victims and perpetrators? Does VAWG occur at the same level in all societies? Are there cultural explanations for it? What types of legal redress do victims have? How reliable are the statistics that we have? Are men and boys victims of gender-based violence? What is the role of the media in exacerbating VAWG? And, what sorts of policy and advocacy routes exist to end VAWG? This volume addresses the current state of knowledge and research on these questions. True surveys our best understanding of the causes and consequences of violence against women in the home, local community, workplace, public, and transnationally. In so doing, she brings together
multidisciplinary perspectives on the problem of violence against women and girls, and sets out the most promising policy and advocacy frameworks to end this violence.

272 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2020

Reviews

[Behrooz Parhami · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the unabridged 8-hour audio version of this title (read by Cat Gould, Tantor Audio, 2021).

Women of the world have come a long way in terms of sociopolitical participation, including gaining voting rights, which happened in the US a century ago and in other world countries around the same time or somewhat later. Yet, when it comes to women's rights and men's attitude toward women, particularly in "traditional" societies, we still have a long way to go.

One of the areas in which progress has been particularly slow is prevention of violence against women and girls (VAWG). This is why the United Nations has made VAWG one its key targets of attention. As alarming as official data on VAWG are, there is reason to believe that the situation is much worse, owing to significant under-reporting. And the problem pervades all societies and cultures, cutting across sociopolitical backgrounds and economic-development levels.
The book is organized into four parts.

Part 1 (Chapters 1-5) presents an overview of VAWG as an all-encompassing phenomenon.

Part 2 (Chapters 6-12) addresses the root causes of VAWG from a sociological perspective.

Part 3 (Chapters 13-16) covers the relationship between structural inequalities and VAWG.

Part 4 (Chapters 17-20) discusses alternative responses to VAWG and solution frameworks.

Dearth of educational and economic opportunities for women is one cause of VAWG. A woman who depends on men for her livelihood, tends to become obedient and is often punished for disobedience. Ironically, however, when women achieve some level of economic independence, they still face violence from men whose "manhood" and authority are threatened.

The main culprit across many cultures is a misguided sense of masculinity, which gives men a sense of ownership over women. And this sense of ownership intensifies in conflict zones, producing horror stories that we read about daily. In many countries, women who report instances of violence against them may be subjected to violence (sexual abuse, in particular) by the authorities, and this is one of the reasons for under-reporting.

Some facets of violence against women are "honor" killings, (gang) rape, female genital mutilation, revenge porn, cyber-bullying, and sex/human-traficking. We can deduce from this list that perpetrators of violence against women are both insiders, including intimate partners, and outsiders.

Discussing violence against women and girls does not mean that men and boys are not victimized. In a number of cultures, young boys are also traded as sex slaves. And, there is violence against children, which affect both boys and girls. Boys are even less likely than girls to report violence against them, given that they are often told to be tough and to "man up." Overall, however, VAMB is much less prevalent than VAWG.

There are a few bright spots for VAWG, though. The enormous success of the #MeToo movement, first in the US and now internationally, is heartening. In the book's final four chapters, the author formulates a number of legal, policy, economic, and advocacy frameworks for confronting VAWG.

[Alexandra Wernberg]

DNFing:

A book that is supposed to adress violence against women and girls can't skirt around the subject of commercial sexual abuse/exploitation (and then on top of that label it as "work"). That is normalizing and trivializing one of the most widespread and serious types of violence against women and girls.

I also noticed one big claim that was factually incorrect (about non-straight relationships having a higher percentage of domestic violence than straight relationships; this is the opposite of what research on the subject suggests).

[rarelyifever · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative and comprehensive analysis of violence against women and the many structural and systemic systems that enable it. More academically focused but thorough and damning nonetheless. Recommend for those wanting a holistic understanding and exploration of violence against women.

[Selena]

Need to read this in paper, can't stand the slow audio