Is sexual violence and harassment one of the tools of male backlash?

Question

"For India's middle-class urban women, the past decade has brought unprecedented opportunities to advance in a social order long dominated by men. But a powerful male backlash has accompanied the women's revolution, an upwelling of resentment that has expressed itself in sexual violence and harassment".

Do you experience a similar backlash in the country where you live? And /or what do you think about this aggressive behavior?

Please read whole article at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/24/AR2008082401665.html?nav=rss_print/asection

Answer 1

In my country of residence, women are cheated on routinely, and left to raise children alone.  But you rarely, if EVER, find one physically or sexually abused.  They stand up for themselves, and don't allow themselves to be bullied.  I believe it comes from a long line of female pride, and to be admired.  

Answer 2

Is "verbal abuse" really to be equated with violence?

And I think Tornado misses the point altogether. There is no idea, in any feminist ideology, that states that men are "of one mind" and work in a conscious effort to subjugate women.That is not what "patriarchy" means. A little homework is in order on this point.  Nor does the article suggest that, if you would read closely. Many men in India, however, ARE angry over perceived loss of privileges, and they are lashing out with violence accordingly, in much the same way that Southern Americans did when blacks started demanding equal treatment, and segregation was ending. They did not react out of a "hive collective mentality" but they DID react out of fear, hatred, and indignation that their perceived "place" in society was being usurped. It is the same thing.

Answer 3

I think most western cultures have evolved to the point where men don't really feel threatened by women doing well so there has been no such backlash where I live (Ireland)

I think this behavior is pathetic. Violence against women angers me something fierce. I suppose any situation where the strong attack the weak gets me pretty mad. In the physical realm men will always have the advantage over women and think it is nothing short of pathetic that some angry bloke uses that to get some kind of misplaced revenge.

It is the duty of the decent men in any society to convey in very certain terms that this sort of behavior is absolutely unacceptable. If a man does not fear the woman he feels like hurting, let him fear the man next to him.

Answer 4

what about females around the globe that verbally abuse everyday ?

Answer 5

Sexual violence and harrassment have been tools men held in their arsenal to control and hurt women, and others as well.  There is no doubt about that.

Answer 6

The ones that believe that *all* violence against women is due to the patriarchy generally think that domestic violence should be framed as an exclusively male attitudinal and behavioral problem, that there ought to be recognized some officially denounced "War Against Women," that acts of violence against women are the sine qua non of sexual inequality, that this inequality is the brainchild of "the patriarchy," that patriarchy is maintained by masculine conspiracy, that this conspiracy is advanced in every incident of violence toward women.

The "tools of male backlash"? On a domestic scale possibly, but it's easy to misinterpret individual events as one large reactionary backlash - speaking from experience I've seen this before.

EDIT: "Violence against women is the fastest-growing crime in India, a recent study concluded. Every 26 minutes a woman is molested, every 34 minutes a rape takes place, and every 43 minutes a woman is kidnapped, according to the Home Ministry's National Crime Records Bureau. With about 19,000 reported rapes a year, India ranks fifth highest in that category out of 84 countries studied, according to a 2006 report by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime."

Now I've seen the statistics first hand, I can generally agree with you that this is larger social problem, routed in the social dominance of men over women throughout India's class/caste system.

Answer 7

I don't think so. I live in the USA. We are lucky to have many laws protecting our citizens and women. Sexual harrassment and rape are not even close to acceptable here.

Answer 8

Sexual violence is a crime of power, NOT s*x - this is cross-cultural, and not dependent on which country you live in. Is it a backlash against the women's movement? Maybe, maybe not. Certainly, some men will wish to try to 'get something back' on their perceived losses due to the rise of women's equality, but the unfortunate reality is that men have raped women throughout the ages and the world, and the feminist movement is still quite new and hasn't yet reached some of the places where violence against women is most prevelant. It's also a case of playing with statistics - when women were prevented from working outside the home, then zero women were harassed or assaulted at work, but the solution for this isn't to drive women out of the paid workforce.

To blame the gaining of equality by women for increases in rapes and other violence is shameful and incorrect.

Ironically, it seems that the best way to reduce sexually-based violence against women is to continue to fight for equality for women. Studies have found that in societies where women are treated as equals, rates of sexual assault are quite low, or even non-existent (see the book below for this source).

  

Answer 9

I think the article points to segregation at a young age that may be part of the problem. If young boys and girls went to school together and were taught how to interact and respect each other, some of this adult agression might be ameliorated. It will also probably take another generation of men to get away from the "King of the Household" sense of entitlement that the men seem to resent losing. Good luck to them all.

Answer 10

My country is the People's Republic of America, formerly known as the USA.  Here the mass media expresses its undying p***s envy by disparaging and ridiculing men on a minute-by-minute basis.  Also for the advancement of womynkynd we've a government-sponsored entity known as NOW (the National Order of Wolverines). which in the progressive spirit of the SCUM Manifesto, tirelessly subverts, undermines and demonizes men with a truly Stalinist fervor.  And so politically correct resentment marches on in the Motherland, this shining star of feminista nations.

Answer 11

No, I hvan't seen a violent backlash against women in the country i live in. It is seen as cowardly for men to attack women where i live (USA)

I could understand why it is happening in India, there is still a class system and im sure Upperclass women are now taking jobs usualy reserved for upper middle class men and upper middle class women are taking the jobs reserved for middle class men etc down the line

Edit- 4 million women are killed by men a year? Lets look at that statistic, the USA Population is 375 million, half of them are women so thats about 180, 4 million would be 2.22% of the US population is murdered by men. The birth rate is 1.416%, that means men are killing off .8% of the total population of women a year, not to mention all of the ones dieing in other ways but we can ignore them for this experiment. So in 50 years, the female population will be 1/3 the size of the current size, In 100 years it will be 44.7% the size it is now, in 200 years 80% of the current US female population will be gone... This of coarse assumes women only die from being killed by men and no other ways, im sure if we factored in all cuases of death the numbers would be much grimer...

Where do people get thier numbers from?

Answer 12

I can't speak for Indian culture, as my knowledge of it is limited.

However, in my culture (USA) even though sexual violence and harassment occur, sexual violence is considered psychological dysfunction, and sexual harassment  is considered to stem from ignorance.

Both still occur, but they are not acceptable behavior.

Answer 13

The existence and chance of rape works on the female psyche in the same way that the existence of terrorists works on the national mind.  The lack of prosecution and conviction for rapists only underscores the assumption that there is an implied agreement that some women should be raped in order to keep all women in fear and so, continuing to need and seek protection by males.

It is a horrible thought, but if it wasn't true the outcry against rape would be stronger. Men would be more angered by rapists than they are now, because the rapists ruins the lives of countless women during his lifetime.  Men suffer from rape just as women do, but male on male rape is punished more severely than male on female rape.  

Answer 14

In America over 4 million women are killed every year due to male violence, only difference is that in america, the men control the media and hype up their own image soooooo much no one knows of their crimes.

a law was recently passed by congress forcing american men to reveal their criminal records to foreign women. so now, the millions of american men seeking foreign women through marriage agencies must submit their records, in reality no one enforces it.

over 500,000 children are kidnapped into america every year to be used sexual slaves. UN records. most of the clients are rich, educated men.

check out http://www.familywatchdog.us/

it shows american sexual offenders in a given town.

try 10025 new york city.

this web site however is grossly misrepresentative, showing only the poor men (some white and mostly blacks).

keep in mind that race, money and position protects many men.

rich, white men rarely show up here though they also contribute a great deal to sexual assualt. top politicians in washington d.c., rich business men in new york, most doctors and lawyers escape being arrested because of their wealth and power. rich white men are the BIGGEST clients of child prostitution.

just recently a child prostitution scandal consisting of all rich white men where all protected from any prosecution.

so noooooo country out there can out due the injustuce to females as in america. because here, its covered up!

Answer 15

The backlash has to do with the men's views towards women that were already in place. Current social progress is clashing with long-standing cultural traditions. Women's risk for rape and sexual harassment increase by simply leaving the house. Since women are seeking formal education and employment this puts them in harm's way. Essentially, this behavior towards women is not new. It is simply the result of opportunity these men have to carry out this behavior.

This is something both women and men have to contend with. Women will have to learn to protect themselves physically because it is going to take awhile to undo cultural values. In the US, rape and sexual harassment is not socially acceptable but yet it happens all of the time.