The Gender-based Violence

Millions of women and girls around the world are victims of gender-based violence, which is a major issue. About 70% of all women worldwide experience gender-based violence at some point in their lives (Johnson, 2009). Sadly, it is not unique to any one culture, location, nation, or socioeconomic class; rather, it has its roots in long-standing discrimination against women. In terms of severity, domestic violence and gender-based violence are both substantial issues in the United States. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence estimates that each year, 1.3 million women are hurt or killed by their spouses or lovers (Johnson, 2009). The organizations protecting the women say that the need for assistance increases in the conditions of economic difficulties. As usual, in most gender-based violence cases women become the main victims. The examples and methods of domestic gender-based violence are numerous ranging from beating and bullying and finishing by the cruelest murders committed against the backdrop of mental illnesses, jealousy, and sexual abuse. The present paper deals with the discussion of the case of Andrew Kiiti who was charged with robbing and raping of jobless women. The article is taken from Courtesy of The Standard Newspaper.

Current Event Description

Andrew Kiiti Musau, the arrested man, was delivered to the Thika police station. The reason for his arrest was attracting jobless women with a promise of providing them with jobs before purportedly raping and robbing. All the women suffered from the hands of the criminal were looking for a job and found the advertisement of Musau in the newspaper, in which he wrote that he was looking for the house girl and was ready to offer a salary of Sh10,000 (Correspondent). According to the police reports, they recorded the statements of three more women who had been robbed and raped after falling in the trap (Correspondent). All the crimes were committed at Thika, not far from the place of work of Musau.

One of the four victims from Naivasha reported that after she had contacted with Musau, he ordered her to travel to Thika for the interview. Except for attracting the women into trap, the man was swindling their personal information such as ID numbers and address in order to prepare, as he told, the employment contract. One of the victims reported: “He requested me to send him my full details including my ID number and CV so that he could prepare my employment contract. He also told me that my salary would be between KSh8,000 and KSh10,000. I was happy that I had lastly found a job” (Correspondent). She said that after she had arrived at Thika, the man picked her with a motorcycle together with other men. “On arriving at a bushy area, the men stopped and informed me about the technical problems with a motorbike. They removed a knife and ordered me to put my clothes off. I tried to escape but failed, and then one of the offenders beat me up and threatened to kill me in case I took an effort to escape again. The men raped me in turns” (Correspondent). After investigation, police found out that three other victims from Mombasa and Baringo have also suffered the same torment. The suspect confessed that he committed the crimes being ruled by the demon; however, it is difficult to believe his words as, at first sight, he seems criminally sane.

Analysis of the Current Event

Unfortunately, this is the example of the frequently happened events as the problem of gender-based violence is one of the most important in modern society. Approximately 1 in 4 women and girls experience violence or brutal attitude from a male (Jonson, 2009). In accordance with the data provided by the Bureau of Justice, almost half of all women and girls had been killed at the hands of men (Jonson, 2009). Such statistics proves that to date gender-based violence is a widely-spread phenomenon. Although there are cases when men and boys become the victims of female offenders, the statistics demonstrates that in most cases the huge majority of sexualized and gendered violence crimes is committed by males and experienced by females. Both sociologists and psychologists see the roots of the problem in modern trends and deep psychological mind of the offenders. Gender-based violence happens mostly because the society dictates the false meaning of the masculinity to the boys, and they tend to believe that being a male means taking control of the women and demonstrating stronger physical power. In many cases, the primary reason of violence against women is the culture based on the outdated patriarchal traditions and attitudes. For example, there is a case when violence is considered as an acceptable way of establishing discipline and order. Many women, due to lack of education or the mentality, would argue that the male is the major person in the house and in society, therefore, they even do not try to oppose the violence and endure it for years.

The roots of the gender-based violence go deep into history and take their beginning in the late sixties when the women’s liberation movement started growing quickly (Connell, 1987). The gender-based violence has become the central and most accepted concept of the feminist theory. It resulted in the attacks on the feminist theory, which has lasted for thirty years (Connell, 1987). In the discourse of feminist movement, the family has become the potentially aggressive and risky social institution which is characterized by power imbalances and relations where males dominate. Except for historical roots of the problem, it can be investigated through the prism of sociological concepts.

One of the key concepts which can be applied to the discussion of the gender-based violence is social construction. Speaking in the sociological language, social construction refers to the understanding of the roles of male and female in the society and distribution of their roles in all spheres of social life. Sociologist C.J. Pascoe explains that in the process of social construction and distribution of roles, males are socialized to recognize and demonstrate their masculinity and their ability to “get” females (Johnson, 2009). In other words, according to the concept of social construction, males are higher in their positions compared to women. Pascoe states that males are pushed by society to demonstrate their superiority over females. Unfortunately, the understanding of superiority is overestimated by modern men, and they tend to demonstrate it by applying physical power towards females using their natural fragility.

Another important concept to be applied to explain the roots of the gender-based violence is stratification. Social stratification is defined as categorization of people into types and based on such characterizes as age, sex, and power (Johnson, 2009). This concept gave the rise to the gender stratification of society, according to which, males are stronger than females and are able to take higher positions in society. Moreover, for many centuries, females were suppressed by men, and it was accepted by society as a norm. Although the time has changed and feministic movements managed to prove that gender stratification is no longer valid, males refuse to accept women’s leading positions. Unfortunately, in most cases, the attempts of women to demonstrate their equality face with aggressive behavior of males. The latter do not agree to accept women as equal and always use their physical power to demonstrate their superiority.

The third sociological concept which can be applied to explain the notion of gender-based violence is conflict theory (Johnson, 2009). This is a sociological theoretical orientation which emphasizes the opposition among people, groups of individuals, and different social structures. Based on this concept, phenomenon of the gender-based violence is explained by the conflicts arising between males and females because of the attempts to demonstrate their superiority or equality. It is part of male’s nature to solve problems applying physical force; therefore, they use violence against women to resolve conflicts.

Finally, the fourth sociological concept to explain the nature of gender-based violence is deviant behavior. This is type of behavior which falls outside the suitable modes of behavior established by societal norms and values (Johnson, 2009). According to this concept, gender-based violence can be explained by the deviant behavior of males attributed to each particular case. Violence contradicts the socially accepted norms of attitude towards females.

Conclusion

Gender-based violence is a widely-spread sociological issue, which is witnessed in all countries of the world. Undoubtedly, this type of behavior is considered abnormal and has no moral or scientific justifications despite numerous attempts to explain it. Masculinity in modern society is basically premised on the capability of a male to dominate and show their physical superiority over females. If males fail to show this relationship to females, they fail to attain what is considered a normative or right in society. The most important thing is that sociologists recognize that the ultimate motivation of males to achieve masculinity is not romantic desire, but desire to gain a position of power over females.

The event discussed in the paper is a bright example of the gender-based violence committed by the male. Although the major suspect of the case explained his violent behavior by the insanity and obsession by the demons, the roots of the problem are deeper. In general, the main victims of gender-based violence are women and teenage girls, but they not only are at high risk violent behavior but also suffer the consequences more severely than males. As a result of gender discrimination and lower socio-economic status, women have fewer opportunities and fewer resources at their disposal allowing them to avoid violent situations and seek justice.

Works Cited

Connell, R.W. (1987). Gender and Power. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Correspondent. Police arrest man accused of raping jobless women in Nairobi. Web 2016 Retrieved 26 January 2017 from

Johnson, M. P. (2009). Domestic violence: The intersection of gender and control. In L. L. O’Toole, J. R. Schiffman & M. K. Edwards (Eds.), Gender violence: Interdisciplinary perspectives (2nd edition). New York: New York University Press.