• Home
  • Health & Wellness
  • Disclaimer
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • DMCA Notice
  • Home
  • Health & Wellness
  • Disclaimer
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • DMCA Notice
24/7 Health News
No Result
View All Result
Home Article

‘Home is the most dangerous place for women,’ but private and public violence are connected

November 24, 2021
in Article
‘Home is the most dangerous place for women,’ but private and public violence are connected
People wear pictures of victims of gender violence at a protest in Argentina in 2017. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

In 2018, Time Magazine published an article titled “Home Is the ‘Most Dangerous Place’ for Women Around the World.” Since then, its headline has reverberated globally.

It’s repeated annually during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, which begins on Nov. 25. The finding that inspired the headline came from a 2018 study by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime.

It found that 58 per cent of female homicide victims in 2017 were killed by their partners or family members. The emphasis on this crucial finding has obscured an equally troubling fact, that 42 per cent of female homicide victims were killed by other perpetrators, someone they didn’t know well, and predominantly men.

Private and public violence complement and reinforce one another. Through their interdependence, these forms of violence maintain the patriarchal social structures that keep women and girls “in place” both in the home and in public.

The fact that the home is the “most dangerous place” for women and girls is vital information. It can inform safety planning as well as the prevention of sex and gender-related killings of women and girls, also known as femicide.

The relevance of this fact has been acutely felt since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and continues to be as women and girls are periodically locked down in the very location deemed to be most dangerous for them.

Table of Contents

  • The threat of public violence
  • Women and girls protecting themselves
  • Private and public violence rely on each other

The threat of public violence

Research shows that women and girls’ fear of crime is more often about the threat of public violence than violence by men they know well.

Women are taught from a young age that it is “stranger danger” that must be feared. Therefore, while learning early to ensure their own protection from unknown males, women and girls are increasingly at risk from men they know.

This is violence they cannot usually avoid by adjusting their daily routines or activities. Women and girls must go home sometime — if they have a home — otherwise their risk of public violence may increase. It is often “better the devil you know then the devil you don’t” — a cliché, yes, but reality for many women and girls.

Women hold signs that read 'less hashtags more justice' and 'same systemic neglect'
Women’s rights activists take part in a demonstration to condemn the violence against women, in Lahore, Pakistan, in July 2021.
(AP Photo/K.M. Chaudhry)

Private violence — in the home and by male intimate partners or family members — is facilitated and maintained by public violence in the form of the ongoing threats and everyday experiences of misogyny, abuse and violence perpetrated against women and girls by men. Experiences that limit their movements and activities, keep them closer to home.

This status quo is reinforced, despite claims of various systems (like governments, police, courts) and individual men that women and girls will be protected. One need only look at the abuse some of the most public female figures, like politicians and journalists experience online and in person to understand that public violence serves to remind women to stay in their place. Except that their place — the home — is also often rife with abuse and violence.

Women and girls protecting themselves

The almost invisible link between public and private violence was starkly highlighted in March of this year with the kidnap, rape and femicide of Sarah Everard in the United Kingdom. She was killed by a London Metropolitan Police officer, who was recently convicted.

In the flurry of coverage that took over media feeds globally, much was made of the fact that this was a rare event.

It is true that the proportion of women and girls killed by strangers remains low — a fact that is documented in most regions, including Canada. What is largely absent from these discussions is that this “statistical fact” is largely due to the ongoing and ingrained actions taken by women and girls to protect themselves.

Some women and girls can protect themselves from public violence more effectively than others given entrenched inequalities and an inequitable distribution of resources. For example, it is recognized that the use of public transportation can be a risk for women and girls. Some can avoid using it during higher-risk times (like late at night) or do not use it at all (if they own their own vehicle). Sometimes public transportation is not even an option, however, depending on where they live, leaving women and girls dependent on others, often men and even strangers.

Regardless of their social location, most women spend a good proportion of their day and mental resources (whether they realize it or not), adjusting their daily activities, routines and home security measures to avoid victimization. For many women and girls, these efforts fail.

Worse still are the experiences of Black, Indigenous and other racialized women and girls whose experiences with misogynist threats and male violence are compounded by racism.

A man and women wipe their eyes of tears
A man and woman show their emotions during ceremonies marking the release of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women report in Gatineau on June 3, 2019.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Private and public violence rely on each other

All of this is exacerbated by the rise in digital abuse and violence. Online abuse is more of the same for women and girls, packaged differently and often increasingly difficult to protect themselves from.

It is crucial to not emphasize violence in one sphere over the other because they are intricately connected. Private and public violence (or threats thereof) rely on each other as forces that work together to ensure women and girls stay in their place — the one that patriarchal social structures have prescribed.

Gender equity is still far from a reality. And challenges compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic are threatening what progress has been achieved. Violence in any sphere is felt acutely by women and girls as they seek to remain safe, like everyone else, from COVID-19, but also from male violence in both private and public spaces.

The Conversation

Myrna Dawson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

ShareTweetSharePin
Next Post
Why it’s normal for COVID-19 vaccine immunity to wane, and how booster shots can help

Why it's normal for COVID-19 vaccine immunity to wane, and how booster shots can help

Most Read

What causes stuttering? A speech pathology researcher explains the science and the misconceptions around this speech disorder

What causes stuttering? A speech pathology researcher explains the science and the misconceptions around this speech disorder

December 15, 2022
morning back pain

Morning Again Ache Trigger Is Not the Mattress

October 11, 2021

Why Circadian Rhythms Matter for Your Health

July 30, 2024

4 steps to building a healthier relationship with your phone

January 28, 2025
lower back pain relief exercises

5 decrease again ache aid workouts

October 11, 2021
bleeding in gum

When The Bleeding in gum Is Severe ?

October 11, 2021
3 years after legalization, we have shockingly little information about how it changed cannabis use and health harms

3 years after legalization, we have shockingly little information about how it changed cannabis use and health harms

October 15, 2021
Nasal vaccines promise to stop the COVID-19 virus before it gets to the lungs – an immunologist explains how they work

Nasal vaccines promise to stop the COVID-19 virus before it gets to the lungs – an immunologist explains how they work

December 14, 2022
Good Night Sleep

6 Causes of Good Evening Sleep

October 11, 2021
Ten small changes you can make today to prevent weight gain

Ten small changes you can make today to prevent weight gain

October 12, 2021

COVID vaccines: how one can pace up rollout in poorer international locations

October 5, 2021
Kick up your heels – ballroom dancing offers benefits to the aging brain and could help stave off dementia

Kick up your heels – ballroom dancing offers benefits to the aging brain and could help stave off dementia

January 3, 2023
Support and collaboration with health-care providers can help people make health decisions

Support and collaboration with health-care providers can help people make health decisions

December 16, 2021
Greece to make COVID vaccines mandatory for over-60s, but do vaccine mandates work?

Greece to make COVID vaccines mandatory for over-60s, but do vaccine mandates work?

December 1, 2021
Five ways to avoid pain and injury when starting a new exercise regime

Five ways to avoid pain and injury when starting a new exercise regime

December 30, 2022
woman covered with white blanket

Exploring the Impact of Sleep Patterns on Mental Health

August 4, 2024

Maximize Your Performance – Sync with Your Circadian Rhythms

August 9, 2024

This Simple Hygiene Habit Could Cut Your Risk of Stroke, New Research Reveals

February 1, 2025

Multiple sclerosis: the link with earlier infection just got stronger – new study

October 12, 2021
Nurses’ attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination for their children are highly influenced by partisanship, a new study finds

Nurses’ attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination for their children are highly influenced by partisanship, a new study finds

December 2, 2022
Nutrition advice is rife with misinformation − a medical education specialist explains how to tell valid health information from pseudoscience

Nutrition advice is rife with misinformation − a medical education specialist explains how to tell valid health information from pseudoscience

January 28, 2025
As viral infections skyrocket, masks are still a tried-and-true way to help keep yourself and others safe

As viral infections skyrocket, masks are still a tried-and-true way to help keep yourself and others safe

December 14, 2022
GPs don’t give useful weight-loss advice – new study

GPs don’t give useful weight-loss advice – new study

December 16, 2022
Backlash to transgender health care isn’t new − but the faulty science used to justify it has changed to meet the times

Backlash to transgender health care isn’t new − but the faulty science used to justify it has changed to meet the times

January 30, 2024
Why are some people faster than others? 2 exercise scientists explain the secrets of running speed

Why are some people faster than others? 2 exercise scientists explain the secrets of running speed

April 29, 2024
News of war can impact your mental health — here’s how to cope

Binge-eating disorder is more common than many realise, yet it’s rarely discussed – here’s what you need to know

December 2, 2022
How hot is too hot for the human body? Our lab found heat + humidity gets dangerous faster than many people realize

How hot is too hot for the human body? Our lab found heat + humidity gets dangerous faster than many people realize

July 6, 2022
The promise of repairing bones and tendons with human-made materials

The promise of repairing bones and tendons with human-made materials

January 4, 2022
Heart disease risk from saturated fats may depend on what foods they come from – new research

Heart disease risk from saturated fats may depend on what foods they come from – new research

November 29, 2021
Four ways to avoid gaining weight over the festive period – but also why you shouldn’t fret about it too much

Four ways to avoid gaining weight over the festive period – but also why you shouldn’t fret about it too much

December 22, 2022
  • Home
  • Health & Wellness
  • Disclaimer

© 2020 DAILY HEALTH NEWS

  • Home
  • Health & Wellness
  • Disclaimer
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • DMCA Notice

© 2020 DAILY HEALTH NEWS