Womens Abuse

     Women have been subjected to a lot of things over the centuries. Things such as no rights to vote to things as arranged marriages. But what no one wants to elaborate on are the horrible hardships that women endure. Some feel like it is the women’s fault because they choose to act out, so they deserve to take the punishment. Imagine daughters, mothers, and sisters subjected to beating, rape, or even death. There has been an increasing number of Violence against women in the year 2010. There is rape, sex trafficking, domestic violence and to our own horror honor killings the list goes on and on and women are getting the short end of the stick. Women have been the main subject of violence done onto them.

     Rape has been a disgusting action that has been around since ancient times that it is even mention in the bible which was written over hundreds of years ago. The history of rape is that it use to be not a crime against women but a crime against another man’s property. If the women was unmarried and raped her virginity was taken there for making her unable to be married off and a problem for the family. In old times if a women was not a virgin as well as unmarried they had a very slim chance of getting married unless they were to marry their rapist or offender.  If a child was brought into the equation and the women and offender did not marry the baby would either be killed or given up for adoption. In Europe they defined rape as a private affair and not to be discussed in public by anyone and if you did discuss it in public you could face consequences. 

     Today rape is defined by Black’s Law Dictionary as the criminal act of assault that entails some sort of sexual intercourse with another person without his or her consent. There are many types of rape; there is acquaintance rape, date rape, marital rape, relationship rape, and statutory rape. Acquaintance rape is a sexual act committed by someone that the victim knows. Date rape is a sexual act commented by the person attending a social event with the victim. Marital rape is a husband’s sexual intercourse with his wife by force or without her consent. Marital rape was not a crime at common law, but under modern statues the marital exception no longer applies, and in most jurisdictions a husband can be prosecuted for raping his wife. Consent is defined as agreement or approval or permission as to some act or purpose. (All definitions provided by Black’s Law Dictionary). The U.S. Bureau of Statistics in 2009 estimates that ninety one percent of rape cases are preformed against women and nine present are male. It also states that ninety nine present of offenders are male. According to American Medical Association (AMA) in a report done in 1995 sexual crimes, mostly rape is the least reported crime. Women are afraid to go to the police and tell them that something bad happened to them. They do this out of fear that the person or persons will come back and either rape them again or maybe even kill them. According to the AMA, some effects from rape are dissociation which is a feeling of numbness and detachment, like being in a daze or a dream. They could also have a feeling that the world is strange and unreal anymore. Some women even have an avoidance of any social life and have terrible nightmares about their offender and the crime. 

In my life I had the pleasure of knowing and becoming a good friend with this sweet and caring girl, she was smart and never let anything get her down. The summer before our junior year of high school she was walking home from a party and she was almost to her house and a man approached her saying that he was hurt and needed to borrow her cell phone. She let him use her phone and in the process of giving it back to her he grabbed her and took her behind a building nearby and raped her. It was her first time and she was scared and hurt. She was in the hospital for a few days from the loss of so much blood. She didn’t want to go to the cops because she was so scared. Her family and I convinced her that it would be better if she went to the police because if she did go and tell them about the rape it could prevent another girl from having to go through what she had to do. She said “it was the horrible thing that has ever happened to me and I would not wish it upon anyone.” Unlike my friend most women are scared to tell the police and still believe that their offender will be back. According to the AMA for this reason only 5.2 present are convicted and given a sentence.

     Honor killings happen in many different societies. Rape victims, women who have been accused of adultery (cheating on their husbands) and women who have been suspected of engaged premarital sex (having sex before marriage) are murdered by their relatives. These girls get killed, brutally murdered by their own parents, brothers, and uncles. They were accused of dishonoring their families so they now have to pay. This takes place because it is said that the destruction of a woman’s chastity is viewed as an insult to the families honor because it means that the family is not somehow tainted.

Today the United Nations Population Fund or the (UNFPA) says that the yearly world-wide number of “honor killing” victims may be as high as 5000 women but also could reach even a higher number. Can you imagine, if you are a woman in this world and you were raped, your own family killing you because you have disrespected them? You feel violated already from being raped and now your family loses respect with you. This really makes no since, why should you pay the ultimate price of your life for something you have no control over?  According to the UN Special Reporter on Violence against Women, “honor killings” take place in areas such as Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Iran, Morocco and other Mediterranean countries. These are the places that they will most likely happen in but not the only. Even so it does also occur in countries that are more known by people. They are countries such as Germany, France and the United Kingdom.  This means it is not only taking place in Islamic countries or communities. It is happening all around the world. There are even laws in these places that prevent anything from happening to the party in question. It is even believed to be happening in the United States.

Two girls residing in Texas, their names Amina (18) and Sarah (18) Said and this is their story. The girls were with their father and their father started shooting them. After he shot them and left them to die Sarah called 911 and the heartbreaking last words were spoken. Sarah Said’s last words were “Oh My God I’m Dying. My dad shot me, I’m dying. Please come. (Crying) I’m dying.” It was said that the girl’s father did not like that the girls were getting to “Americanized” and he did not like that one of the girls wanted to date someone who was not a Muslim like their family. This is the “road to the tragedy” this is what cops and detectives had to go through to figure out if this was an honor killing or just a murder by a raging father. “Between the actions of the girls' father, brother and mother; coupled with the societal fear, cultural sensitivity and political correctness that sometimes cripple; these girls didn't stand a chance.” – this is a quote taken from a yahoo article right after the girls were murdered and left to die in their fathers cab outside a hotel down the road.

     Sex trafficking has become a huge problem for women.  According to the Department of Health and Human Services “Sex trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act is under the age of 18 years.” According to the Department of Health and Human Services women who are subjected into sex trafficking have to do activities such as  “prostitution, pornography, stripping, live-sex shows, mail-order brides, military prostitution and sex tourism.” According to United States State Department an estimated 600,000 to 820,000 men, women, and children are trafficked across international borders each year.  Approximately 80% are women and girls and up to 50 percent are minors. The reports have said that sex trafficking is targeted to eighteen year old girls. They look for girls who are traveling by themselves or with another girl the same age. Some sex traffickers even trick women into the “trade.” They do “favors” for these women then they say in order to pay them back they have to do things for them such as sell themselves for money.

There was a movie that was recently released called “Taken.” The movie is about this girl who goes to Italy with her friend to follow a band across Europe. When the girls arrive in Italy they meet a boy who flirts with them (this is the person who gets the girls for selling). After the guy takes their picture he tricks them in to sharing a cab by saying that cabs in Italy are really expensive. When they arrive to when the girls are staying he then invites the girls to a party later that night. Being a cute guy the girls say yes, that’s when he asks which room is theirs. When the girls are unpacking the men come in and kidnap them from the place they were staying. The movie goes on to the father trying to find his daughter. Though her dad worked for the government he was able to get a hold of a lot of different contacts and goes in search of his daughter. 

One chilling story was about a girl named Debbie. Late one night Debbie got a call from one of her friends asking her to come outside of her house and talk. When Debbie went outside she saw that along with her friend was an older man. Debbie really did not think anything of it and just let it go. When her and her friend were done talking she went to go give her friend a hug and her friend pushed her in the car when the man told her friend to tie her up and make sure she could not talk or see. The man said if she did not do it he would shoot her and the man also told Debbie that if she talked or made a scene that he would shoot her to. Debbie was taken to an apartment that was about twenty five miles from her home in phoenix. Debbie’s captors then gang raped her, she was scared and confused. After they were threw raping her she heard someone in the apartment that said “I want to take advantage of a fifteen year old girl.” She was then rape more and then her life became just that. She was given drugs and she must have had sex with fifty men not including the periodic gang rape. Debbie did not know what to do, she was trapped. She finally got to a neighbor and was able to have a safe haven until the police came. By the time the police came to help her it was too late and the men who took her was gone and never caught. Debbie says “I’m just so glad that I am home and with my family again.”

     Now having an understanding of all the hardships that women go through we need to work together to help stop the abuse of women. It is a horrible fact that women are going through these things. They are subjected to Rape, Honor Killings and Sex Trafficking. There are many different organizations that are put together to help women. We need to help put a stop to this, we need to do it for our mothers, sisters, daughters, and friends. Edward Everett Hale said “I am only one, but I am one.  I cannot do everything, but I can do something.  And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.”

 <----- (The Story) of Amina and Sarah Said

Danielle: My suggestion, without even reading this, is to break up your paragraphs, because if not, no one will want to read it.  Also, look to my sex trafficking as well as how men are more valued piece here for some guidance or more information - andrea