Kiawyna, Ally, Allie, Marie & Kim-mee

Introduction: Kiawyna
Quote: The guarantee of safety in a battering relationship can never be based upon a promise
from the perpetrator, no matter how heartfelt. Rather, it must be based upon the self-protective
capability of the victim. Until the victim has developed a detailed and realistic contingency plan
and has demonstrated her ability to carry it out, she remains in danger of repeated abuse.
Judith Lewis Herman
The effects of violence on a victims health are severe. In addition to the immediate
injuries from the assault, battered women may suffer from chronic pain, gastrointestinal
disorders, psychosomatic symptoms, and eating problems. Domestic violence can be fatal;
women are both intentionally murdered by their partners and lose their life as a result of injuries
inflicted by them. In addition to the danger of death from injury or intentional homicides,
research also indicates that women who are abused may be more likely to commit suicide. The
Family Violence Prevention Fund, reporting on a 1995 study, stated that 29% of all women in the
United States who attempted suicide were battered. UNICEF (a.k.a United Nations International
Children's Emergency Fund) reports that a close correlation between domestic violence and
suicide has been established based on studies in the United States, Fiji, Peru, India, Bangladesh,
and more. Suicide is 12 times as likely to have been attempted by a woman who has been abused
than by one who has not. works cited From UNICEF, Domestic Violence Against Women and
Girls, 6 Innocenti Digest 1, 4 (2000).

Today, we will be presenting the history of domestic violence in relationships, its impact
to women, and the reasons why issue is and should be a concern to women, for reasons such as
our main topics, which are; sexual assault/rape, battering and physical abuse, domestic violence
against women of color as for their human rights, and then we will provide solutions for each
situation, but first lets jump into discussing sexual assault and rape with Kim-mee!

Sexual Assault/Rape: Kim-mee

According to Womens Voices, Feminism Visions Vision Sexual assault is the act of any
sexual contact without consent, rape is a form of sexual assault but is the penetration of any body
part with another body part or an object without consent. Statistically, sexual assault and rape
typically happen to women, with about 1 in 3 women have or will experience some sort of sexual
assault in their lifetime. This is a huge concern for women everywhere, not only is it a
traumatizing experience, the aftermath can have many disastrous effects on women, not only
physically, but emotionally and psychologically. Without the proper help many women will
experience physical pain like bruising, scars, and wounds. On the other hand many women will
not report when they have been assaulted out of fear whether it is because they know the person
or they were threatened, keeping something like that in and not seeking help can lead to a victim
experiencing self loathing, posttraumatic stress disorder, and depression, which can be more
harmful to a person than the assault itself without the proper help.
A big problem with sexual assault is the understanding of what consent actually is. A
person who is under the influence of drugs or alcohol can not give their consent, someone who is
asleep can not give their consent, and the lack of saying no or not putting up a fight does not
mean consent. Instead of teaching women how they need to dress and act we need to teach

everyone the meaning of consent, and that no means no. April is sexaul assault awarness month
which is a good way for schools and people to get aware of the severity sexual assault. At our
own University the fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon took a stand against Sexual Assault and hosted a
week long event to raise awareness about sexual assault to the students here at UNI. If more
students and more schools did events like this maybe it would make a difference in the amount of
sexual assaults that happened, or at least raise enough awareness that people would be able to
spot the signs and step in and help, or call someone for help.
Sexual assault has been around for a long time, with the earliest form being in religious
texts. In 1994 President Biden enacted the Violence Against Women Act. The Violence Against
Women Act worked to improve the response women received when the were sexually assaulted,
they created the rape shield law, which prevented offenders from using a victim's sexual
history as a defense. The Violence Against Women Act also gave victims more access to
resources, resources like, The National Violence Hotline which responds to urgent phone calls
made by women. On March 7, 2013 President Obama signed into law the Violence Against
Women Reauthorization Act. According to The United States Department of Justice this new law
will give tribes sovereign power to investigate, prosecute, and convict both Indians and nonIndians who commit sexual assault against Indians in Indian Territory.

Battering/Physical Abuse: Allison C

One form of violence against women is physical abuse and/or battering. Physical abuse
against women dates all the way back to 753 B.C. during the reign of Romulus in Rome. Under
the Laws of Chastisement husbands had the right to physically discipline their wives. In that time
men were held responsible for crimes that were committed by their wives, so this law was

designed to protect husbands from harm caused by their wives. Physical abuse against women
has been prevalent since 753 B.C. and is still a problem in todays society.
Physical abuse is defined as the use of physical force that may result in bodily injury,
physical pain, or impairment. It can include, but is not limited to acts of violence such as
striking, hitting, beating, pushing, shoving, shaking, slapping, kicking, pinching, and burning.
Battering is defined as hitting someone heavily and repeatedly with violent blows. Women who
are physically abused are also always emotionally abused by virtue of being physically
terrorized. Violence against women can happen to anyone at any age. Women can be physically
abused as a child and it can continue throughout their lifespan. Elder physical abuse is also more
common than people think and it is more likely for a female to be victimized than a male past the
age of 60.
A majority of physical abuse cases against women involve someone known to the victim.
According to the Illinois department of Public Health, nearly two million women are assaulted
each year in the United States. Approximately 64% of women reporting rape, physical assault,
and/or stalking, were victimized by a current or former partner. As stated in Womens Voices,
Feminist Visions Women are five to eight times more likely to be victimized by an intimate
partner rather than anyone else. Most cases of abuse against women are acted out by men; 96%
of women experiencing non-fatal violence are victimized by men.
There are many ways to get involved to help spread awareness of physical abuse against
women. A few examples listed in the textbook Womens Voices, Feminist Visions are to volunteer
at a local domestic violence shelter, interrupt jokes about violence against women, organize
Domestic Violence Awareness Month activities, and create and distribute materials about
violence against women on campus. The best ways to support someone who has been physically

assaulted are by not blaming them, assuring them that it wasnt their fault, listen, offer support,
and respect the victims decisions.
Violence against color women/human rights: Ally B
Domestic violence in relationships, also known as intimate partner violence, is not only
considered a social issue but a human rights issue as well. All people, particularly women,
partaking in relationships are at risk for intimate partner violence, but women of color experience
intimate partner violence more often and significantly worse than white women. The United
States government inadequately serves women of color who are victims of intimate partner
violence for a multitude of reasons which includes the issues associated with framing intimate
partner violence as a human rights issue and the small amount of evidence on the subject.
The United States government inadequately services women of color who are victims of
intimate partner violence primarily because of the issues associated with framing intimate partner
violence as a human rights issue. In the 17th century, modern human rights discourse developed
with a focus on the strict division between the public and private domain. Early human rights
activists such as Thomas Paine envisioned human rights as protection for individuals against the
state, not for individuals against individuals. Because of this foundation upon which human
rights laws were built, legislators now experience difficulty framing intimate partner violence as
a human rights issue.
In the past 15-20 years, legislators have made strides to frame intimate partner violence
as a human rights issue due to, of all things, the United Nations. According to Karen Morgaine,
various United Nations conferences such as the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights in
Vienna and the 1995 Fourth World Womens Conference in Beijing have inspired an upsurge in
in the transnational womens rights movement. World leaders have passed groundbreaking laws

and declarations such as the 1992 19th General Recommendation by the Committee to Eliminate
Violence Against Women, the 1993 Declaration to Eliminate Violence Against Women, and the
1994 Violence Against Women Act. These laws focus on the criminalization of battering and
how the legal system should address domestic violence. These laws have served many female
victims of intimate partner violence, but not all of them.
Women of color need a solid solution to intimate partner violence more than any other
victim because they experience intimate partner violence more often and significantly worse than
white women. In the article IPV and Women of Color: A Call for Innovations, researchers
found that rates of partner homicide are higher among African American women than white
women; in instances of non-lethal intimate partner violence, African and Native American
women experience more wounds than white women and more often have weapons used against
them; and African American and Hispanic women suffer from greater mental health
consequences stemming from intimate partner violence than white women. The rates of intimate
partner violence against women of color has always been higher than those against white
women, but after 9/11, reports have skyrocketed because, according to the article, these women
are considered alien and a threat to the white nuclear family. These women need protection
because they suffer the most from intimate partner violence.

Solution/Conclusion: Marie
There is no simple solution or clear cut method to bring an end to the horrendous actions
of abuse between couples. In fact when it comes to methods to end this in our society it will take
everyone and not just women. This is something men must also be involved in and not just
labeled as a womens issue! Truth is there are things that can be improved that everyone could

do. Parents can teach and give example to a healthy relationship for their children, and talk with
them as they get to dating age about what makes a healthy relationship. Petition schools to also
talk to kids about healthy relationships as early as middle school as the ages that kids are dating
have become younger and younger over the years. If schools talk to both female and male
students about the importance of respecting their partner in their relationships, but also talk to
them about the effects and consequences of relationship abuse. If they are aware of this it could
help as a preventive factor.
Also, no one should be a bystander, especially if the person is someone you know. We
cannot continue with the bystander approach because the violence continues and the victims get
no help. Organizations such as No More are reaching out to the country as a whole about ending
the bystander approach to domestic violence and sexual assault. On top of this the victim
blaming has to stop as it is one of the worst things that can happen to victims. In fact, the Joyful
Hearts Foundation, which helps victims and has created campaign ads to bring light to domestic
violence, has acknowledged some of the excuses or ways we blame victims that is simply not
right. Some examples in the ads are: He couldnt do that, Im sure theyll work it out, shes
too smart to let that happen. This is still victim blaming, though it may not be what would be
expected in victim blaming, but words like this could cause victims to believe it is their fault for
what happened to them and this is simply not the truth. We should be protecting victims and not
making this tragic ordeal worse. The No More Campaign also noted that of women they
interviewed, 58% of the women who had told someone about the abuse received no help. To tell
someone about the abuse in itself is a big step for these victims, and to have someone that they
trusted or reached out do nothing to help them can only be another factor in causing them to
think they deserve the treatment they are receiving.

One of the other tools that can help to end this issue in our society is the involvement of
men, as this is not solely a womens issue. In fact, this is very largely a mens issue as, according
to Jackson Katz in Tough Guise 2, 86% of domestic violence is perpetrated by men. When it
comes to any prevention methods being used today they are being aimed at women and what
they can do to prevent or escape from these situations. We need to switch the focus to our boys
and help them to be men who try to prevent this from happening in their lives and to be aware of
the damage that it causes. We need to change the way we raise our boys and how they see
women and are taught about sex and relationships in schools and home. By making this a
societys issue we could hopefully lower rates of domestic violence and bring justice to the
innocent victims it has harmed over the countless number of years and the lives that were lost.

Sounds of depression
remembering rejection
Hope turns to despair
black roses everywhere

Keep hearing echoes

voices in my mind
repeating endless lies
evil in disguise
Diana Rasmussen,
Works Cited

http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/stop-domestic-violence-against-women (We made)

"About - NO MORE." Web. 29 Apr. 2015.
Tough Guise 2. Media Education Foundation, 2002. DVD.
Shaw, Susan, and Janet Lee. Women's Voices Feminist Visions. 6th ed. Vol. 1. Penn Plaza:
Mcgraw-Hill, 2007. 726. Print.