Violence Against Women and its Impacts Across Cultures
Faculty Sponsor
Matthew Ringenberg
College
Arts and Sciences
Discipline(s)
Social Work Department
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Symposium Date
Spring 5-4-2017
Abstract
Violence against women has existed for decades. Misogyny and patriarchy have been plaguing various societies all over the world and have played significant roles in justifying such violence through culture. Although not every culture or religion has patriarchal teachings or means to be misogynistic at times, there are surely certain disciplines within each culture and society that guide women's roles in life and can be misused to justify violence. Violent tendencies may be human instinct, but violence perpetuated towards women is taught. The curiosity to examine this concept is what provoked this research. There is no blaming religion or culture for the violent crimes committed all over the world — especially the ones perpetrated against women. In fact, there are profound and beautiful practices within each category of society. However, there is a need to understand violence against women, and how the very factors that construct society — culture and religion — play huge factors in justifying such violence towards women. This project studied how violence was reinforced by specific cultures within the United States and the negative effects it had on the women within them, effects that shaped their mentality and how they connected with the world around them. We have found that when violence, and specifically the violence that is reinforced by cultures and religions, is unconsciously consumed by women (whether they have experienced first hand violence or not), their outlook on life is shaped by that violence.
Recommended Citation
Fares, Bayan; Johnson, Dejah; and Alejos, Alejandra, "Violence Against Women and its Impacts Across Cultures" (2017). Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 615.
https://scholar.valpo.edu/cus/615
Biographical Information about Author(s)
Bayan Fares is a social work and global services double major. Dejah Johnson and Alejandra Alejos are social work majors.
We became interested in this topic specifically when we realized that each of us were from different ethnic backgrounds, yet were banded under one national identity. We used our differences and similarities to our advantage and decided to explore a very potent issue within society: violence against women. We also thought to make it more interesting by exploring how that violence is perceived and reinforced through various cultures, and thus began our research.