Geographies Of Fear: Violence Against Men And Women

Differences in Fear of Crime Between Men and Women

Question:

Discuss about the Gendered geographies of Fear.

Fear of crime includes different states related to emotion, attitudes and perceptions. It can be a vast field of human interest, which includes women as well as men. From the very beginning, women’s fear and violence has received more attention and sympathy, whereas men’s fear received less attention. The geographical dimension of both men’s and women’s fear of crime is same (Bannister and Fyfe 2001).

The essay throws light on the geographies of fear of men and women. Of lately, women are not the only ones, who are the victims of violence. Violence against men is taking a serious turn these days. It is not easily identified but can pose a serious threat. Violence can take many forms like, emotional, physical and sexual abuse, molestation, threats and others. It can happen in many ways be it heterosexual relationship or homosexual.

The essay mainly highlights the differences between the geographies of men and women’s fear of crime, how men and women become victims of violence and how to recognize violence. It further explains how to overcome such a situation. It is important to be well acknowledged with the rights against this silent crisis.

The city portrays an abundance of pictures ranging from the high rise buildings or skyscrapers to people and crowds. These pictures affect our everyday journeys and interactions with that of the city. All of us have a composite imagination of the city along with several experiences which can be positive as well as negative. At times, the city we live in can turn into a scary one (Brownlow 2005). Violence, threats, molestation have made the city unsafe for all. However, the magnitude of violence varies from class to class and from men to women. It is seen that men are also not safe and are subjected to many kinds of violence and threats. It’s time to face the ugly truth that men are not only the attackers or murderers of the opposite gender (Bannister and Fyfe 2001).

Fear of crime is a major concern for all genders. According to studies, women all across the world are more vulnerable to crimes and violence, having much higher rates of crime than that of men. It can reduce the environmental mobility of women. It is often seen that women feel unsafe to walk or travel alone during the night time which hampers their daily activities as they are afraid of crimes. Many of them are uncomfortable going out alone at night even if they have important works (Brownmiller 2013). Current studies have concluded that women generally fear physical or sexual attacks by male strangers. Patriarchal ideology suggests women need men’s protection in order to survive an attack, which lessens their importance. Women are often subjugated to domestic violence, marital rape and others. This makes them subordinate to their male counterpart. In the society which demands equality, women are often harassed, molested and abused publicly. Even they are not safe at their workplace (Chesney-Lind and Pasko 2013). 

Impacts of Violence on Women

Honor killings can happen in case of both men and women. It is a very common practice in certain parts of the world, where the judicial system is not that strong. In certain killings, men and women are killed by their family members or the societal head, if they feel that the victim has brought upon shame and dishonor to the family. This is a common traditional practice, which has originated mainly from the tribal customs and is still continuing in several remote parts of the world (Doran and Lees 2005). Women are generally the victims of such a case in comparison with men. It is a belief that women tend to cause more damage to their family’s reputation if they have a relationship with someone which is not approved by their family, or having a sexual relationship with someone, or dressing in a way which their family and society think is inappropriate. At times, women are often gang raped before honor killing and it is seen as a punishment given to them (Hay 1995). Moreover, women are often killed for becoming a victim of rape, which is not even their mistake. Honor killings are still practiced in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and more. Even in countries like Europe, Canada and United States, this evil practice is going on (Little, Panelli and Kraack 2005).

To show their masculinity, men, at times, often raise their hands on women, in order to dominate them. In a male dominated society, women are often seen as subordinates to men. Recent studies revealed that many women are raped and killed by their male partners. Marital rape is a common domestic violence in many households (Lorenc et al. 2012). In most of the countries, marital rape is not even considered as rape. Women are the victims in case of such violence, which can be heterosexual as well as homosexual. Studies have revealed that twelve Latin American countries have highest rate of domestic violence against women. France, England and others are also the victim of such violence against women (Megoran 2004).

Women are also victims of dowry violence in which they are beaten up and killed mercilessly. This happens when the bride’s family is not able to fulfill the groom’s demands by transferring their property, money or gifts at the time of her marriage. Bride burning is the most common violence practiced by the bride’s in laws or husband, in addition to mental and physical harassments. Acid attack is also a malpractice, where the attacker intentionally throws acid on the victim’s body or face in order to seek revenge or out of jealousy.

Impacts of Violence on Men

Women have always been victims of forced marriage, forced feeding, mob violence, sexual harassments and stalking, trafficking, forced prostitution, mistreatment, forced abortion and killing of girl child, forced sterilization, eve teasing, genital mutilation, casting couch, breast ironing and many more. It is high time that women should raise their voice against violence and know their rights. Countries should have stringent laws in order to lessen their rate of crimes against women (Megoran 2004).

Just like women violence, violence against men is widely spread and also under reported. Violence against men is treated in a different way than that of women and often not recognized by the law. Reports revealed that even men can be victim of spousal or domestic violence just like women. Such violence is not reported often, due to societal taboos, self respect and male ego (Pain 2001). Many of them think that reporting such an incident can raise question on their masculinity and self respect. This is the main reason why such incidents are not filed and recognized. They feel reluctant to file a report against it or seek help. Often, such issues involves biasness of the police officials, those are involved with the case. They feel that women belong to the weaker section of the society and they can’t cause harm to their male counterpart. In this way, male victims are neglected and not believed even if they are injured (Pain 1997).

Just like female genital mutilation, men are also subjected to forced circumcision. Unneeded and forceful circumcision is wrong and considered to be a violence form in the case of young boys and men. It has been banned in some countries, but many countries still perform this evil practice. It causes serious harm to the person’s health.

Men are victims of homicide and mass killing. Mass killing occur mainly during war where young men and boys are encountered. Even they are sexually harassed and raped in many places. These cases are under reported at many times and regarded as a societal taboo. A recent report shows that a man was brutally murdered by his wife, as she stabbed him through his heart (Panelli, Kraack and Little 2005). Many a times, men are mentally tortured and harassed due to their sexual orientation, preference or feminine nature. These issues are not taken seriously when reported, creating a mental stress upon them which causes depression. Such cases lead to suicidal attempts of the victims (Salem and Lewis 2016).

Honor Killings

Geographies of fear include the five faces of oppression, that is, exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, cultural imperialism and violence. Firstly, exploitation means taking advantage of someone or making use of them. Over the years, both men and women have been victims of exploitation in terms of assaults, violence and threats. However, the geographies of their fear of crime are different. Studies revealed that women are more prone to violence than men. Women are exploited through physical assault, rapes, eve teasing, acid attacks, dowry violence, honor killing, marital rape, trafficking, forced prostitution and many more (Snedker 2015). On the other hand men are vulnerable to mental tortures and harassments, bullying, mass killing and homicide, forced circumcision, abduction and murders. Homicide is a major issue in case of male violence. According to US Bureau of Justice Statistics, the rate of male homicide victim is 65.3%, whereas female homicide victim is 22.7%. Secondly, marginalization means pushing a person to an edge of some group and giving him or her less importance. Women mainly face gender discrimination or marginalization in the society as well as at their workplace. There are several challenges that women have to face in the society they live in. Racial marginalization is also a major challenge that men and women face in many places (Snedker 2012). Thirdly, powerlessness is the lack of authority or power over someone. Mainly, non professionals are the ones who experience powerlessness and exploitation. It also includes the labor class and those who are not economically stable. Fourthly, cultural imperialism is maintaining an unequal relationship between the civilizations, where one culture is dominating the other culture. It is mainly stereotyping a group or making someone feel secluded. Last but not the least, violence is the act of using physical force intentionally, to cause someone serious damage or injury. Violence is the extreme form of aggression, which includes rape, assault and even murder. It can be directed to show power or authority over someone (Salem and Lewis 2016).

In a recent video it was seen that a man was beating up his female counterpart. Many came to stand for her and protested. When the same girl was physically assaulting the man, nobody came to help him and rather laughed at the scene. It is very disturbing to see that if a man is being tortured, it becomes a matter of joke. Many of the male victims feel reluctant to file a complaint against physical abuse or bullying. According to them, it will cause damage to their reputation and male ego (Starkwether 2007). Even, many police officials do not believe male victims and laugh at such issues. In a novel named Gone Girl, the author Gillian Flynn, portrayed a woman as the villain who tortured her husband mentally. The woman secretly disappears, by leaving several proofs which made his husband the prime suspect. Both the public and the police officials thought that the man has killed his wife and didn’t believe him. The wife was successful in fabricating the fact that her husband physically assaulted her (Flynn 2012).

Forced Circumcision

Such cases happen in real life also, where a woman intentionally accuses her husband to seek revenge or out of jealousy. Like women issues, violence against men is also a major issue, our society deals with. It is very disturbing to see that many a times, men feel shy to report such cases, just not to become a matter of laughter. These cases need to be reported instantly, to avoid confusion. Many a times, women intentionally accuse men in rape and dowry cases. In such sensitive cases, the judicial system favors the woman more than the wrongfully accused person. This needs to be taken care of (Whitzman 2007). Moreover, during conflicts, men are also subjected to sexual violence. They are raped by other men in order to demoralize their enemy. These shameful acts are also not reported as they feel that nobody will support them. Many minor boys and girls are also physically assaulted which remains unreported. It is high time officials start addressing such problems and issues. Men are not even treated as victims of domestic violence (Starkwether 2007).

In some countries, the laws for domestic violence are applicable for both men and women and provide protection to both. A man can file a complaint against his abusive partner for physical or mental torture. Some countries still lack such stringent laws against men’s domestic violence (Whitzman 2007). There are many cases of husbands being battered or abused or tortured by their wives. At times, the violence becomes so brutal that it can end up to killing as well. Some men are courageous and do not run away from such abusers, instead they file for divorce. However, in most of the time they lose the cases and get accused of false dowry harassments (Salem and Lewis 2016).

To conclude, the geographies of fear can come across different groups and genders within a community. Both men and women can be victims of violence, assaults and harassments. Laws against abuse and harassments should be equal for women as well as men. Many are scared in sharing their pain and feel left out. Organizations should come forward with their helping hands in order to help them, listen to their problems and provide some relief. However, harassments can also take place in homosexual relationships or environment. Those cases, at times, are also unreported. Research on such issues may uncover major and important findings. Gender safety is a major concern for every society and until the mentality of people changes such an issue cannot be curbed.

Geographies of Fear

References

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Brownmiller, S., 2013. Against our will: Men, women and rape. Open Road Media.

Chesney-Lind, M. and Pasko, L., 2013. The female offender: Girls, women, and crime. Sage. Differences’, Crime and Delinquency, vol. 61, no. 1, pp. 45-70.

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Snedker, K.A. 2015, ‘Neighborhood Conditions and Fear of Crime A Reconsideration of Sex

Snedker, K.A., 2012. Explaining the gender gap in fear of crime: Assessments of risk and vulnerability among New York City residents. Feminist Criminology, 7(2), pp.75-111.

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