THE VIOLENT WAR AGAINST WOMEN
AND THE AGE OF ITS DEMISE

Though many are under the impression that American citizens are free, this is a dream that has never come true for a number of different groups. Women, in particular, have been victimized by a male-dominated country for decades. Consistently kept on a subservient, inferior level, women have been targeted simply because they are women. There have recently been more and more efforts - both from individuals and advocacy groups - to eradicate gender-based crimes, but the numbers are still outrageously high on every level. Realistically, the numbers of targeted and assaulted women are higher than we realize since millions of cases remain unreported. Violence has several definitions, and does not specifically revolve around one issue, like physical violence. Rather, violence against women is committed emotionally, sexually, physically, mentally, and by a wide variety of perpetrators. It is not just individuals who can be held accountable for these attacks, but whole groups, states, and governments. Life would literally be nothing without the presence of women, yet it is women who are made into the enemy.

EMOTIONAL AND VERBAL ABUSE

Words are weapons, just like fists, knives, and guns. They are used to control, manipulate and terrorize women and in some ways are more dangerous than weapons since verbal abuse can go on for extended periods of time and unnoticed before it is too late. There is no age requirement for targeted victims of verbal or emotional abuse. From grade school to old age, women are targeted by family members, peers and spouses/partners for and endless list of reasons centered around control. Individuals who control or violate women by isolating them from others, humiliating, threatening, teasing, shaming, or otherwise degrading them with words are at major fault and are indeed criminals in their own right. The damage done to women who are emotionally abused is a mentally deep-rooted pain, and is often undetected by the outside world looking in. Victims of emotional abuse are not always identifiable, and with the added fact that many cases remain unreported, statistics are very hard to organize.

PHYSICAL ABUSE AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

More often than not, emotional abuse can lead to physical and sexual abuse. This is especially true in marriages and domestic partnerships. Like verbal and emotional abuse, most cases of domestic violence are never reported to the police. Besides spouses and partners, abusers very often include a family member or somebody else reportedly close to the victim. More than 85% of domestic violence victims are women, and according to national statistics, an estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical abuse by an intimate partner each year (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence). If this is an estimate of reported cases, one can only imagine how many women suffer physical abuse in silence without seeking help. Between 2001 and 2005, 22% of cases of nonfatal, violent victimizations occurred against females aged 12 and older (Bureau of Justice Statistics). In the United States, over 22 million women have reported being raped at some point in their lifetime (National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey). The Department of Justice in 2010 declared that 15% of sexual assault and rape victims were under age 12 when the incident occurred. Twenty-nine percent of girls ages 12-17 experience sexual assault, with ages 12-34 being at the highest risk for assault.

MOVING ANTI-RAPE ADVERTISEMENT FROM SCOTLAND

Rape of women in the United States is a prevalent problem. The United States Department of Justice found that in 2005, 191,670 victims of rape or other sexual assault, with 1 out of 6 being a female. Between the years 2001 and 2005, RAINN (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network) found that 59% of rapes had gone unreported. There are a number of different reasons that women do not immediately seek out authorities in the event of a rape, one reason being the way that many victims are handled during investigations. Many women feel victimized by the interrogation itself, as they are often questioned as to what they were wearing at the time, what their behavior was like, or how much alcohol was consumed, all reasons pointing blame at the female for being raped. It is never a woman's fault that she is raped. Other women may keep the incident to themselves simply from feelings of shame. Another cause of unreported cases is fear out of intimidation. Many times, the abusive spouse will threaten to further harass, retaliate against, or even kill the female victim if they attempt to seek help or go to the police. It is also important to point out that not cases of rape are not exclusive to male-female heterosexual relationships. Rape is also prevalent in same-sex relationships, and the same can be said for all other forms of physical abuse.

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY IN "CUT": DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AD

Since battering and spousal abuse often worsen over time, cases do not end well for many women. Domestic violence is responsible for thousands of female deaths each year.  It is the leading cause of injury for women ages 15-44 in the United States, a death toll outweighing rapes, muggings and car accidents combined. More than three women each day are killed by their intimate partner, and in 2005, 1,181 of such murders occurred (National Organization for Women). Additionally, a large portion of the roughly 6,000 women who commit suicide each year do so because of abuse from a domestic partner (National Criminal Justice Reference Service). This is a result of abused women becoming growingly isolated, depressed, and powerless over the course of their abusive relationship. Women are mercilessly driven to the point where they would rather face the pain of taking their own lives than live one more day plagued by physical abuse.

RESOURCES FOR WOMEN'S SELF-DEFENSE

While it can never be promised that women will stop being targets for violence, there are always resources available to women that have been victimized, as well as methods of prevention. An important tool available to women is the self-defense class. Classes can range from traditional karate to jujitsu, boxing, and beyond, but each style has the ability to give women the upper hand when they are in an uncomfortable or dangerous situation. Learning self-defense does not make women completely invincible, but it is a necessary skill to learn in order to divert attackers and hopefully lessen the occurrences of female violence. Even if a woman does not take the steps to complete a self-defense course, she should at the very least be sure to carry protection, including items like pepper spray, mace, a flashlight, or a registered weapon.

CLASSES AND PRODUCTS

SELF-DEFENSE RESOURCES
HOME SELF-DEFENSE PRODUCTS
WOMEN'S DEFENSE CENTER
MARYLAND SELF-DEFENSE CLASSES
VIRGINIA SELF-DEFENSE CLASSES
GRACIEVA SHE'SAFE CLASSES (VIRGINIA)
DC IMPACT: SELF-DEFENSE

GUN RANGES AND STORES

MARYLAND
THE GUN CENTER, FREDERICK
ATLANTIC GUNS
ALBRIGHT'S GUN SHOP
GILBERT INDOOR RANGE
ON TARGET
 

VIRGINIA
NOVA FIREARMS
LOUDON GUNS
BATTLEFIELD GUN SHOP
NRA HEADQUARTERS RANGE
THE C2 SHOOTING CENTER

D.C.
DC GUN WORKS
NATIONAL SHOOTERS