Equalogy

Posts Tagged ‘feminist blog’

According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, which includes crimes that were not reported to the police, 232,960 women in the U.S. were raped or sexually assaulted in 2006. That’s more than 600 women every day! There are many factors that contribute to the increasing numbers of women being violently assaulted. The economic decline, foreclosures, and the highest unemployment rates in years have all triggered an atmosphere of anger, desperation and hopelessness.

The entertainment industry creates images which mirrors what is happening in today’s society, and there is some truth that the profusion of murder, sex, and rape may trigger violent reactions in certain individuals. However, I personally do not think the media is a major contribution to the violence against women happening in today’s society. It all starts within the family and parents must take the time in educating their sons to respect the opposite sex as well as teaching them that equality is true across all cultures, races, and religions. In turn, female members of a family unit need to be taught self-respect and that they have the power to control the destiny of their lives without fear of intimidation and violence. Women and girls need to be taught how to protect themselves whether it is through self-defense classes or carrying a personal protection device such as a stun gun, pepper spray, mace, or TASER.

At the end of the day, violence against women is not going away anytime soon, at least until there is tough law reform on how criminals are prosecuted and sentenced. The ignorance from cultural beliefs, prejudice and in some respect media images of women as being the inferior sex all are contributing factors to the victimization of women on a global level. The elimination cut of $20.4 million in funding to 94 domestic violence shelters in California, is another indication that violence against women is not taken into serious consideration. Almost half a century after the feminist movement of the early 1960s took action, have we really come a long way baby? If you think about it, women are still paid lower wages than men, their reproductive rights are under scrutiny, and women in other countries are still being sexually mutilated so they cannot reproduce.

It is not just the entertainment industry at fault here and in fact, if it weren’t for the exposure of heinous treatment of women through the art of filmmaking, many of us would be ignorant to the truth of what is happening not only in the U.S. but around the world. We need to wake up and realize that there is not one factor to blame but a collective response from hundreds of years of intolerance, discrimination and chauvinism.

Susan Fredricks is the general partner of http://www.stingergirlz.com Her Company’s goal and vision is to empower women to protect themselves from predators and to stay safe. Stingergirlz offers a wide variey of personal, travel and home protection devices as well as self defense training literature and videos. Visit http://www.stingergirlz.com today and protect yourself and your loved ones today.

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