CHAPTER SIX

1
CHAPTER SIX

• THE IMAGE OF THE FEMALE VICTIM

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Invisible Victims

• Battered woman (1974)
• Sexual harassment (1975)
• Date rape (early 1980s)
• Stalking (1990s)
• Did they not start happening until the 1970s?
• Other example of violence against women

3
Female Victimization as a Social Problem

• What is a social problem?
• Examples from 1960s to 1980s
• Nonsexual child abuse
• Rape by a stranger
• Nonsexual wife abuse
• Sexual abuse of children
• Women are the big losers in family violence

4
Victimization and Fear of Crime

• Which sex is more likely to be a victim of crime?
• Which has the greater fear of crime?
• Why the difference?
• Are women irrational in their fear?
• Are the numbers real?
• What happens when women dont follow their
  proper role?
• Sexual predator laws

5
Culture and Gender Roles

• Historically
• Men as people
• Women as property
• Socialization of males and females
• Current societal views of men and women
• Who are the victims and perpetrators of sexual
  violence and battering?

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The Role of Power

• Rape is nothing more or less than a conscious
  process of intimidation by which all men keep all
  women in a state of fear.
• --Susan Brownmiller

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The Role of Power

• Conscious control by men v. consequence of
  disparity
• Cross cultural studies
• Victimization and power disparity reinforced
• Where do we find power disparity?
• Societal level
• Personal level

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Threat of Violence

• Precautions that restrict freedom
• King of his castle
• Brownmiller quote
• How does it affect womens lives?

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Victim Blaming

• Conservative views on womens roles
• Connection between alcohol and rape
• Does the woman provoke violence?
• Criminal Justice
• How court perceives victim
• Factors in victims responsibility
• Men are violent because they were abused

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Victim Blaming

• Just world hypothesis
• Why does she stay?
• Economic dependence
• Risk of further victimization
• Work things out
• Pressure from family
• What is the END RESULT of blaming the victim?

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Women of Color

• Statistics
• Blacks35 higher rate of battering
• Native Americanshighest lifetime rates of being
  raped
• Stereotypical views of Black women
• Lack of response by criminal justice system
• Madonna/whore analogy
• Any progress being made?

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Women with Disabilities

• Assumption about victimization
• What is the reality?

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THE IMAGE OF THE FEMALE VICTIM

• END CHAPTER SIX