The article ¨Street Harassment of Women Just Became a Hate Crime in this County¨ from the Washington Post by Elahe Izadi explains that prejudice against women now has legislation in Nottinghamshire, England. They are the first to create as well as enforce laws against misogyny. In this case, street harassment, also know as “catcalling.” The FBI is mindful when it comes to protecting freedom of speech and other civil liberties. This assures that hate, in general, is not a crime, but laws like these are be enforced because they’re beneficial to females everywhere.
Gender only recently was added to the hate crime definition which means that it was finally seen as a serious problem. Some examples of misogynistic hate crimes are, ¨Street harassment,
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This means that while this issue was being contradicted, women were being scarred for life. The article explains that, ¨A female BBC reporter covering the 2015 conference was harassed by a man as she reported from outside the event [the Nottinghamshire Safer for Women Conference], (Izadi). This means that issue was happening as it was being discussed.
The issue of misogyny has been a problem for decades. Cornell University and the advocacy group “Hollaback!” directed an international survey and found 90% of women in the U.K. first experienced misogyny when they were younger than 17. This means that misogynistic approaches were directed towards children: young girls.
Nottinghamshire, England wasn’t the only place to outlaw misogyny. The article says that Portugal outlawed verbal sexual abuse. In the United States, many states have hate crime laws that called for additional punishment for offenders who target victims based on race, ethnicity or religion and, in some states, gender as well as gender identity, (Izadi). Belgium criminalized certain kinds of sexual harassment, whether in-person or online, and made it punishable by a year-long prison sentence or by paying a fine. Insults aimed at men are also covered by the Belgian law because women are just as guilty. Men are not the only offenders of gender-based hate
Women of color are treated differently; law does not function as a social mediator between relationships of all people. The focus is on women of colour and how non-white communities are considered inherently violent. By such stereotypes, rape myths create a belief that certain races are more dangerous than others, creating fear based on the social construction of society. Using the ``Slut Walk`` article as an example: women have argued ``it is different for a white middle class women to wear something slutty and march in a parade than a women of colour.`` Due to the social construction black woman are more likely to have their characters stereotype and are seen more promiscuous compared to white woman. (Julie Dowsett Lecture).Stereotyping has even gone so far where a police official made a comment about York university students, referring to the females saying “they should not dress like a slut” to reduce assault (Slutwalk 249). Such rape myths put women on the line, claiming that it is their fault for getting sexually assaulted because they provoke men. “Such stereotypical assumptions find their roots in many cultures, including our own. They no longer, however, find a place in Canadian law” (R. v. Ewanchuck
This institutionalized oppression of females that began in the young ages of 5-12 is still present in our everyday lives. I have noticed it more this as I observed
illustrates the discrimination against women and the issues that arise from a gender double standard society.
Sexism can have many negative impacts on the way women view themselves, research was conducted and it showed that when exposed to modern sexism, women expressed negative self-directed emotions. Modern sexism exposure also resulted in stereotypical self-presentation, where in contrast, women who were exposed to old-fashioned sexism displayed less self-defeating behavior. This research concluded that women were more likely to stand up and defend themselves against the old-fashioned gender stereotypes, but let the modern day expectations defeat them (Ellemers & Barreto, 2009).
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals people make up more than ten percent of the population; that means if you are sitting in a classroom of thirty, then more than three of those people are LGBT individuals. However, this overwhelmingly large minority group continues to be one of the least protected by the government as well as most heavily targeted by discrimination and hate crimes. Regardless of the powerful shift in public opinion concerning LGBT individuals during the last twenty years, the laws concerning hate crimes have remained invariable.
When the criminal justice system was established, the main objective was to create neutrality and fairness between the sexes. Even though people might believe that there is no such thing as ‘stereotyping’ in the criminal justice system, it is quite obvious that women are constantly being looked down upon because of their sexuality. In general, women tend to be treated like fragile objects that could break at any moment; the truth is that women can be strong and courageous just like men. Society stereotypes about women and the criminal justice system are no different. Throughout history, certain crimes have been separated into different categories based on their prevalence.
When the topic of hate and bias crime legislation is brought up two justifications commonly come to mind. In her article entitled “Why Liberals Should Hate ‘Hate Crime Legislation” author Heidi M. Hurd discusses the courts and states views that those who commit hate and bias crimes ought to be more severely punished. She takes into consideration both sides of the argument to determine the validity of each but ultimately ends the article in hopes to have persuaded the reader into understanding and agreeing with her view that laws concerning the punishment of hate and bias laws should not be codified. Hate crime is described as a violent, prejudice crime that occurs when a victim is targeted because of their membership in a specific group. The types of crime can vary from physical assault, vandalism, harassment or hate speech. Throughout the article Hurd tried to defend her view and explain why there should be no difference of punishment for similar crimes no matter the reason behind it. Her reason behind her article came from the law that President Obama signed in 2009 declaring that crimes committed with hatred or prejudice should have more sever punishments. While the court has their own views to justify their reasoning behind such decisions, in the article Hurd brings up points and facts to prove the wrongfulness of creating such a law. However, though Hurd has made her views clear in the following essay I will discuss reasons why the penalties are justifiable, why they should receive the same degree of punishment, less punishment and my personal view on the topic.
Hate crime can also be called a bias crime, which means that someone commits a crime against someone based solely on their particular characteristic that they cannot or do not want to change such as religion or gender (Hate Crimes, n.d.). Sadly, hate crimes occur often and can have a lasting effect on the victim. The definition of what constitutes a hate crime has broadened over the years, as the FBI has changed it to address those who are victimized by disability or gender identity as society has continued to grow more diverse and change substantially (Hate Crimes, n.d.). It is crucial that the United States understands how many people are victims of hate crimes and how often it occurs to better understand the scope of the problem. According to the FBI, the most frequent hate crimes are racially motivated at almost fifty percent (Latest Hate Crime Statistics, 2015). This means that there are many people that are victimized because of their race, which is unchangeable and pre-determined. Religious hate crime and sexual orientation hate crimes were tied for the second most prevalent in the United States (Latest Hate Crime Statistics, 2015). These people are victims because of who they are and how these offenders see
Leaper, Campbell, and Christia Spears Brown. "Perceived Experiences With Sexism Among Adolescent Girls." Child Development 79.3 (2008): 685-704. Print.
According to a statement addressing the sexual victimization of college women The Crime and Victimization in America states that, “ One out of four women will be sexually assaulted on a college campus.” This disturbing fact has not minimized throughout the years, instead it is continuing to worsen throughout college campuses. Sexual assault is not an act to be taken lightly. Society must stop pinpointing the individuals who commit these crimes one by one, but rather look at the problem as a whole and begin to understand the main cause of sexual assault and possible methods to reduce these acts of sexual coercion.
Hate crimes are not a new concept for society, because hate crimes have always been around. While the study of hate crimes and the laws that have been passed because of hate crimes is relatively new, hate crimes have always been around. Hate crimes were committed as far back as the 1800’s and even back to The Civil War. Hate crimes are prevalent in society today just like they were in the past; because whether the crimes are aimed towards Muslims, the gay community, or any other minority group; they are fueled by something that every person has come into contact with- prejudice. Prejudice is defined as a preconceived thought or opinion about someone. While prejudice can be positive, in the concept of hate crimes they are negative feelings, thoughts, or opinions that are aimed towards a certain religious, ethnic, race, or even sexual orientation group. The typical definition of hate crime is that a crime has been committed by a majority member against a minority member simply because the victim was a minority. However, as of recent the definition has been expanded to allow for any crime committed by bias towards the victim’s social group such as anti-gay or anti-lesbian. Hate crimes are an extreme, potential effect due to prejudice and discrimination towards someone based on ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. These crimes are committed against an individual or a group of individuals based solely on the fact that they are part of a group that the offender doesn’t approve of whether it is because they are a different race or following an alternative lifestyle. While the hate crimes are not something that is new in society because prejudice has always been around, the concept of a bias-crime and the legal precedent that it ha...
Hate crime is defined as ‘any criminal offence, which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards someone based on a personal characteristic.’ This common definition was agreed in 2007 by the police, Crown Prosecution Service, Prison Service (now the National Offender Management Service) and other agencies that make up the criminal justice system. There are five centrally monitored strands of hate crime: race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and transgender identity. (Home office 2007)
"Misogyny Runs so Deep in This Society, It Is Even Used against Abused Children." Theguardian.com. Polly Toynbee, 7 Aug. 2013. Web. 23 Nov. 2013. .
WIth a counterpart for sexism there is also one for misogyny, of which is called misandry, a deep hatred or distrust of men. However, most comments, actions and public displays made, are targeted towards women. This can be seen at both a personal (micro) level but also at an institutional (macro) level. An example of this is if a woman were raped (individual/personal) and were then told by the judge and/or jury (institutional) they were responsible or culpable for what had happened due to the way she dressed (provocatively). THis example exerts the inequality of relative power and authority as demonstrates the fact that many people still believe, whether it be subconscious or not, that men are superior to