Everyday there is a new report of crime, a victim with whom we share similarities; it is a story that thrives on each of our deepest fears and puts us on the lookout for those who might make us the next victim. False media images and one’s ability to fear the unknown reinforce stereotype threats and cause people to feel threatened in safe environments simply due to the presence of a person of a different people group. It is illogical and even harmful to be anxious around people of different ages, races, or genders than yourself. Age is a commonly stereotyped characteristic. In downtown Pittsburgh, two girls were walking home when a group of three adults attacked them. The adults, two men and a woman, appeared to be in their thirties and had …show more content…
A 40-``something year old woman journalist from New York recently wrote an article about ways women can protect themselves from being victims of violent crimes. Being born and raised in Manhattan, she claimed to have seen a countless number of women around her while growing up become victims of violent crimes committed by men and wanted to help those who do not realize how dangerous it is for women in a big city. Among her recommendations are things such as not having patterned behavior, like arriving to your apartment at the same time every day, and always keeping your eyes on your surroundings. She repeatedly asks women to not use their phone or electronics in public to discourage theft and increase situational awareness. Although her precautions are keys to think about while living in a big city, they cause women to feel anxious and vulnerable, like they could be attacked at any minute. Another young woman refused to wear headphones and took her dog with her when she jogged at night to help prevent a man from attacking her. In 2004, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, nearly 59% of all violent crimes were committed by men. Although the percentage of crimes committed by men to the percentage of crimes committed by women, 59% to 41%, is not incredibly different, it is enough to warrant fear on women’s behalves. However, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics 2014 survey, only 50.8% of all violent crimes were committed by men, leaving the other 49.2% of crimes to be committed by women. The belief that men are more dangerous than women is no longer true, yet women still feel fear while in the presence of unknown
National data gives us an indication of the severity of this issue. When 1 in 5-woman report being victims of severe physical violence (NISVS, 2010), we must ask ourselves if enough is being done to prevent this from occurring. From a historical point, there has always almost been a distinction from men on woman violence. Based on the disparity of cases reported, male inflicted violence on females is much higher and prevalent. When the perpetrators of DV, and IPV are predominately males, we can no longer dismissed this issue as a cultural, or
"Violence against women-it's a men's issue." Jackson Katz:. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. .
In the past century, America has made great leaps in terms of equality. With the efforts made by the civil rights and suffrage movements, all people gained the right to vote. We are even moving forward with marriage equality, and currently fifteen states recognize same-sex marriage. But regardless of all of our progressive institutional movements forward, we continue to socially oppress women. Men’s violence against women has grown to be an internationally recognized epidemic, and will continue to grow unless measures be made to stop it. Domestic violence continues to be prevalent in the lives of many families, and is the primary cause of homelessness in half of cases for women in children. Many women have been forced to alter their behaviors out of fear of being sexually or physically assaulted. One out of every three women is sexually or physically abused in their lifetimes. The first thing that comes to mind is, there are a lot of people abusing women out there. Many people with opposing ideas may claim that men can be victims of violence perpetrated by women, but in instances not used for self-defense, it is rarely part of a systematic pattern of power and control through force or threat of force. In fact, 99% of rape is perpetrated by men, but when confronting men about the issue of violence against women, it is often combated with denial. Jackson Katz writes in his book, The Macho Paradox, “We take comfort in the idea of the aforementioned child-rapist murderer as a horrible aberration. A monster. We’re nothing like him.”(Katz 30). The sad truth is that most women who are raped are raped by men they know, or even men they love. Many men have a hard time believing that saying that most violence is perpetuated by men does not...
Since 1970, there has been an increasing and alarming rise 138 percent of violent crimes committed by women. Still, while the equivalent percentage compared to male violence is small 15 percent to 85 percent the fact that the numbers have elevated so drastically points to something changing in society.
Whether or not America is truly sexist in one way or another is important and central to the argument, it is still made apparent by writers on both sides that many individuals feel threatened due to their sex/gender and writers will use these experiences to make their audience more aware of sexism in everyday life. Raphaëlle Soffe is one such person who feels this way even on heavily policed areas. In her article “Brits in America: sexism, safety and strength” she talks about what she experiences on a daily basis on a college campus. She states that “robberies and attack attempts are frequently reported to local police and, unfortunately, women are often seen as easy targets”. As an example, she talks about a situation where a woman was attacked by a man late at night while going on a run.
According to the FBI, more than 75 percent of all murder victims are women, and more than 50 percent of the women are between the ages of 14 and 29 years old. A part of that statistic is Kitty Genovese,a murder victim who is the focus of an editorial, “The Dying Girl that No One Helped,” written by Loudon Wainwright. Kitty was a 28 year old woman who was brutally stabbed to death while on her way home from work. The woman, named Kitty Genovese, lived in a pleasant, welcoming, residential area, in New York. There was at least 38 witnesses that came forward, and they all heard her cries for help, but no one came to her aid. Wainwright effectively demonstrates how society has started turning a “blind-eye” toward problems that can endanger someone's
As a teenager walking the streets will I be a suspect like Trayvon martin, Mike Brown, Tony Robinson and Christian Taylor. Four black male that was shot and killed by police officers. Will there ever be a chance where teens can walk down the street without being stop by a police officers. There should be a limit on when they can use there gun and to what point they should use there gun. Now as we all know the story of Trayvon martin and what they said happen but as a teen I feel as though I can walk the street and become a suspect to a police officers I do not think its cause the color of my skin well sometimes, if I feel like my life is a risk and or somebody is following me, yes I am going to fight back but George Zimmerman didn’t have to
... female victims in mind to raise safety awareness among female students living on college campuses. Women are primary victims of crimes more strongly influenced by the gender factor; they have been known to be easily overpowered by men (assuming the attacker is male!). A male victim may be able to fight back his attacker, but for a female it seems that their best line of defense is simply locking the door.
He creates this tone to convey his purpose to the reader which is that prejudice is still an ongoing problem in American society, and that it will never be a thing of the past. Staples gives many personal anecdotes that are very somber; the readers are affected by this because they can emphasize and feel the prejudice that the victim, Brent Staples, faces. Although Staples is never delighted with the positions he is in, he never shows his resentment. In one part of the article, Staples said, “It is not altogether clear to me how I reached the ripe old age of twenty-two without being conscious of the lethality nighttime pedestrians attributed to me.” (Staples, 2). Staples attributes that he knows many people in American society automatically assume that he is a threat to “their” society because of
Representations of victims such as Allison Baden-Clay who was a regular mother, loving wife with kids can lead the public to assume only those who share her traits can be victims as well (Christie, 1986, p.19). Those who are incapable physically and have never done anything wrong in their life will be given the benefit of doubt and advantage in their case, in comparison to other victims different to them. This also overlooks the fact which asserts males are more likely to be assaulted and be victims of crime, which many are still not aware of (Australian Institute of Criminology, 2013). Therefore, the public will accept the stereotypes of the attributes a victim consists of, without being aware of the reality where anyone can be
Criminologists generally agree that young people are more likely to commit crime than old people, men more than women, city dwellers more than country folk, the poor more than the rich, and the minorities more than whites (Cole, 1999). Logically, there is no one criteria of who can be immediately classified as the “type” of person that would commit crimes and the...
Public opinion leads society to believe in the “good woman – stranger rapist” stereotype. In actuality, females are typically victimized by known perpetrators. According to Catalano (as cited in Kappeler and Potter, 2005, p.43), of all rapes and sexual assaults, seventy percent of women were perpetrated by someone known to the victim; thirty percent were committed by strangers. Regarding homicide, women are nine times more likely to be killed by a family member, a previous or current lover, or an acquaintance. However, Alice Sebold’s case actually played into the stranger stereotype.
principle differentiating the two is the intent of the perpetrator of either an assault or battery. A
In today’s society there is a high fear of crime by society. Society actions show that there is anxiety and fear about crime. Therefore, anxiety and fear about crime has placid our cities and communities. Society express fear of being victimized by crimes, criminal activities, and behaviors. Therefore, according to, (Crime, 1999) states that “ the level of fear that a person holds depends on many factors, including but, not limited to: “ gender, age, any past experiences with crime that a person may have, where one lives, and one’s ethnicity.” All of those factors have a huge impact on one’s fear level.
We are all affected by crime, whether we are a direct victim, a family member or a friend of a victim. It can interfere with your daily life, your personal sense of safety and your ability to trust others.