8. Challenging the state.

In Every 90 Seconds, Anne P. DePrince argues that to end violence against women, we must fundamentally redefine how we engage with it-starting by abandoning the idea that such acts are a problem involving only those who abuse or are abused. Instead, DePrince explains how violence against women is inextricably linked to other issues that stoke our greatest passions, including healthcare and education, immigration, economic security, criminal justice reform, and gun control.

What does it mean for men to join with women as allies in preventing sexual assault and domestic violence? Based on life history interviews with men and women anti-violence activists aged 22 to 70, Some Men explores the strains and tensions of men's work as feminist allies. When feminist women began to mobilize against rape and domestic violence, setting up shelters and rape crisis centers, a few men asked what they could do to help. They were directed "upstream," and told to "talk to the men" with the goal of preventing future acts of violence. This is a book about men who took this charge seriously, committing themselves to working with boys and men to stop violence, and to change the definition of what it means to be a man. The book examines the experiences of three generational cohorts: a movement cohort of men who engaged with anti-violence work in the 1970s and early 1980s, during the height of the feminist anti-violence mobilizations; a bridge cohort who engaged with anti-violence work from the mid-1980s into the 1990s, as feminism receded as a mass movement and activists built sustainable organizations; a professional cohort who engaged from the mid-1990s to the present, as anti-violence work has become embedded in community and campus organizations, non-profits, and the state. Across these different time periods, stories from life history interviews illuminate men's varying paths--including men of different ethnic and class backgrounds--into anti-violence work. Some Men explores the promise of men's violence prevention work with boys and men in schools, college sports, fraternities, and the U.S. military. It illuminates the strains and tensions of such work--including the reproduction of male privilege in feminist spheres--and explores how men and women navigate these tensions. To learn more please visit somemen.org

Winner of the Labriola Center American Indian National Book Award Despite what major media sources say, violence against Native women is not an epidemic. An epidemic is biological and blameless. Violence against Native women is historical and political, bounded by oppression and colonial violence. This book, like all of Sarah Deer’s work, is aimed at engaging the problem head-on—and ending it. The Beginning and End of Rape collects and expands the powerful writings in which Deer, who played a crucial role in the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2013, has advocated for cultural and legal reforms to protect Native women from endemic sexual violence and abuse. Deer provides a clear historical overview of rape and sex trafficking in North America, paying particular attention to the gendered legacy of colonialism in tribal nations—a truth largely overlooked or minimized by Native and non-Native observers. She faces this legacy directly, articulating strategies for Native communities and tribal nations seeking redress. In a damning critique of federal law that has accommodated rape by destroying tribal legal systems, she describes how tribal self-determination efforts of the twenty-first century can be leveraged to eradicate violence against women. Her work bridges the gap between Indian law and feminist thinking by explaining how intersectional approaches are vital to addressing the rape of Native women. Grounded in historical, cultural, and legal realities, both Native and non-Native, these essays point to the possibility of actual and positive change in a world where Native women are systematically undervalued, left unprotected, and hurt. Deer draws on her extensive experiences in advocacy and activism to present specific, practical recommendations and plans of action for making the world safer for all.

An urgent examination of how violence against women is inextricably linked to other issues that stoke our greatest passions. Every 90 seconds a woman is sexually assaulted. In that same minute and a half, another is a victim of domestic violence at the hands of a current or former intimate partner. Every sixteen hours, one of those intimate partners shoots and kills a woman. Nearly two in ten women are stalked, while one in sixteen is raped during her first sexual experience. Despite these jaw-dropping statistics, collectively we are well practiced at seeing such acts as someone else's problem. And yet, violence against women is tangled up with the most frequently discussed and debated issues of our time: healthcare and education access, immigration, gun policies, economic security, and criminal justice reform-issues that impact us all, nearly every day. In Every 90 Seconds, Anne P. DePrince argues that to end violence against women, we must fundamentally redefine how we engage with it-starting by abandoning the idea that violence is a problem involving only those who abuse or are abused. Instead, DePrince illuminates how violence against women is inextricably linked to other issues that stoke our greatest passions. For instance, each time a woman requires emergency medical attention as a result of violence and abuse, our overburdened healthcare system bears an entirely preventable cost. Meanwhile, the threat of violence is a significant cause of pressure on the US southern border, driving women and their families to seek safety far from home. Violence against women also takes a stunning toll on the US economy by contributing to widespread poverty. Drawing on these and other complex examples, DePrince builds the case that this very complexity offers an opportunity for mobilizing ordinary people to work to stop violence against women in a way we never have before. DePrince's call to action arises out of the reality that when we address violence against women, we can make progress on a range of other significant issues that we care deeply about too.

"Women have made significant inroads into politics in recent years, but in many parts of the world, their increased engagement has spurred physical attacks, intimidation, and harassment intended to deter their participation. This book provides the first comprehensive account of this phenomenon, exploring how women came to give these experiences a name - violence against women in politics - and lobbied for its increased recognition by citizens, states, and international organizations. Tracing how this concept emerged inductively on the global stage, the volume draws on research in multiple disciplines to resolve lingering ambiguities regarding its contours. It argues that this phenomenon is not simply a gendered extension of existing definitions of political violence privileging physical aggressions against political rivals. Rather, violence against women in politics is a distinct phenomenon involving a broad range of harms to attack and undermine women as political actors. Drawing on a wide range of country examples, the book illustrates what this violence looks like in practice, as well as catalogues emerging solutions around the world. Issuing a call to action, it considers how to document this phenomenon more effectively, as well as understand the political and social implications of allowing violence against women in politics to continue unabated. Highlighting the threats it poses to democracy, human rights, and gender equality, the volume concludes that tackling violence against women in politics requires ongoing dialogue and collaboration to ensure women's equal rights to participate - freely and safely - in political life around the globe"--

"The Secretary-General's in-depth study on violence against women, mandated by General Assembly resolution 58/185, was prepared by the Division for the Advancement of Women of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat"--P. ix.

This book examines the strength of laws addressing four types of violence against women--rape, marital rape, domestic violence, and sexual harassment--in 196 countries from 2007 to 2010. It analyzes why these laws exist in some places and not others, and why they are stronger or weaker in places where they do exist. The authors have compiled original data that allow them to test various hypotheses related to whether international law drives the enactment of domestic legal protections. They also examine the ways in which these legal protections are related to economic, political, and social institutions, and how transnational society affects the presence and strength of these laws. The original data produced for this book make a major contribution to comparisons and analyses of gender violence and law worldwide.

Throughout the world, one in three women will experience violence in their lifetime, such as beating, rape, or assault, yet it continues to be downplayed by the general public and by policymakers who fail to create and fund programmes to eradicate it. However, there have been some significant achievements made over the last few decades to combat gender-based violence and to promote women's empowerment. This publication examines the various forms of violence experienced by women around the world, drawing on the findings of research conducted by expert consultants. It highlights examples of good practices and explores the reasons why some activities have failed to meet their objectives. It goes on to consider policy options available and makes recommendations for actions required to build on these achievements. The report includes details of legislation on gender-based violence by country, selected indicators on violence against women, and information on projects supported by the UNIFEM Trust Fund to eliminate violence against women.

This is an edited volume of 12 articles previously published in Social Problems that may be considered among the most influential in the development of the sociological study of violence against women.