Women have always had to fight for their safety, the only difference now is that they get to be more open about it. The fight for feminism can be a bit difficult to understand when one has not personally experienced trauma or helped a loved one through it. The world in which feminism and law enforcement come together can be a very touchy subject as so many people have so many different opinions. Typically, people that have been through instances like this are able to see all of the holes and injustices that occur in situations where people should be protected. Many instances of injustice have occurred that have brought on the uproar of feminists to fight for the freedom to protect themselves and not be seen as over the top. Women are raped and sexualized, among other awful treatments that deserved to be talked about.
Although many of these instances are barely starting to get the necessary attention today, feminism has been working on crime control for years. Specifically, there has been an increase in the incarceration of men. Very frequently, on the news we see new allegations of rape and sexual misconduct among other forms of unfair treatment towards women. Unfortunately, social media leaves a ton of room for people to openly share their opinions of current event events, and they are not always constructive or helpful. Of course, for every situation, there is a different consequence, but this entanglement of women’s stances and the law needs to be figured out. This included the process in which crimes are handled as well as prosecution so that people are indeed able to receive justice. Too many instances of sexual misconduct have been overlooked or let go with a slap on the wrist. These are serious crimes that completely turn people's lives upside down. People must be held accountable for their actions. All in all, there is still a ton of work that needs to be done to truly have all of this hard work reflected in the criminal justice system.
Over the past thirty years, the cultural and legal meaning of rape has changed dramatically over the past as the feminist movement has put up a fight against traditional constructions. This includes constructions of sexual violence. Feminists have offered an alternative construction of the meaning of rape and therefore started the transformation of rape into a social problem. This shift has brought much-needed attention to the subject in both popular as well as academic realms. Although little inquiry on the growing body of research and theory on sexual violence exists, a woman’s everyday constructions of rape and the degree to which such constructions have been influenced by the feminist movement (Chasteen, 2010). With this, there has been a usage of a constructionist framework to get a better look at the everyday understandings of rape that are held by a diverse selection of women. In this article, it explains how data has been gathered through an open-ended survey instrument and were analyzed to also reveal shocking similarities in addition to quite a few differences in the various ways in which women of different backgrounds define and interpret the phenomenon of rape. These differences include but are not limited to ages, races, and personal histories. By examining these data, the extent to which the feminist reconstruction of rape has influenced women every single day. In this case, assumptions have been examined and indicated that the role of differences among women in perceptions of rape is explored (Chasteen, 2010). All of this information is important to note as each of the implications mentioned will be used for various theories. They include theories for social problems, feminist discourse, as well as for the application of research on rape.
Feminist critiques of psychology have been many and varied. Although progress was slow at first, the critiques have had a powerful impact on the field. As a result of the work of feminist psychologists and their allies in related fields (e.g., philosophy, biology, sociology, psychiatry), many people today recognize that theory, science, and practice may be gender biased and are always political. Feminist psychologists have contributed to the development of new epistemological perspectives, which have resulted in improvements in experimental design and analysis and the development and embrace of a range of new research methods (Chrisler and McHugh, 2018) that allow greater complexity in the data and greater sophistication in the analyses. The feminist transformation of psychology has brought into the field a more diverse group of scientists and practitioners who have posed new questions and devised new theories about women and gender, theories that are better able to reflect people’s intersectional identities. It was concluded that psychology had been transformed by the expanded coverage of women and gender. Yet there remains much work to do. Much of the published research is experimental and quantitative; research with innovative and qualitative methods is infrequently published in mainstream psychology journals. As we have suggested, the study of marginalized participants with intersecting identities and different topics from multiple perspectives requires new methods and careful consideration of epistemological positions. The study of the everyday experiences and emotions of diverse women is just one example of the direction that feminist researchers may take as they shift from a dependence on experimental methods and empiricism to adopting multiple epistemological perspectives and research methods. In short, we have come a long way on the path to the feminist transformation of psychology that McIntosh described (Chrisler and McHugh, 2018). Although we are not there yet, we now have the tools to envision an integrated psychology that is inclusive of all people and the will to make the transformation complete.
Unfortunately, many women go through situations where their identity and self-esteem are completely crumbled. An experience that can do this to them is rape. As more time goes by and the more publicized everything becomes, we are a lot more aware of the dangers of the world. We have become aware of the caution that we should be taking and, unfortunately, how terrible it is for women to have too nervous to go out at any time of the day. Although I still live with precaution, I thankfully have never experienced an awful situation like this. However, my best friend has. She was coming home from work on Thursday evening around 6:00 p.m. Like any other day, she parked on the street right by her apartment building and headed towards the main entrance. It was the middle of July so the sun was still out and people were still very active outside. As she unlocked the door, a man snuck up behind her and pushed her into the building. Due to the fact that he was so close to her and she had so little time to react, no one suspected anything. He led her to her apartment with a knife against her neck and raped her. After he was done, he threatened her and left in a hurry. She called me immediately, and I did not want anything more than to be able to help her right at that moment, but we were in college and living 450 miles away from each other. From what I knew, I advised her the best I could. Go to a hospital to have a rape kit done and file a police report. However, she refused. She felt humiliated and blamed herself for not being more aware of her surroundings, coming home exhausted after working a double shift. That is not fair. People should not have to go around constantly on edge because someone could possibly hurt them tremendously. I always saw this be the case on crime shows but I never thought that I love so much would be going through it. Changes in the legal system and in people's opinions of what rape is are incredibly crucial to the future of our world.
Changes are constantly happening. They sometimes are negative and sometimes positive. Thankfully, with the help of social media, it is exposing many terrible acts that were once very overlooked or thought of as instances that could never possibly occur. Whether one has personally lived through situations like this, this is a mindset that should be adopted unconditionally. This world deserves to be safe grounds for everyone, and hopefully in time that will be the case. Women have always had to fight for their safety, the only difference now is that they have become more open about it. Through the news, social media, and even protests, women are speaking out. They are not holding back from speaking their mind and shining the necessary light on issues that they deal with on a daily basis. It is considered 'too much' or 'unnecessary' by people who luckily have never had to experience such injustice. As a woman, I stand by this movement and do what I can to not only bring awareness and prevention but bring change to a world that has the ability to create a safe environment for all. People that need help have access to it, and it is crucial that they know where to find it. No matter if a person is the offeror or the victim, we all need help, and this awareness will in time help close the large gaps between the safety of women and the criminal justice system.
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Women and Their Fight for Safety: Informative Essay.
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