A Tribute to 10 Years of Knowledge

Abstract

It is early June 2004. Today is Sunday the 40th anniversary of DDay. Two stories strike me this morning as I prepare to write my text in honor of the 10th anniversary of this publication Violence Against Women. The first story describes the increase of brutal rapes and murders of women across Guatemala. Women’s murders are on the increase in that country. Their killings are accounts of sexual assault and torture in the extreme. There is a quote from a minister a women’s rights advocate a victim. The brutality is shocking and the links to woman abuse and human rights are clearly made. The second story is about middle-class educated women in Britain who are giving up their jobs to raise their children. There is some reflection that women in the 90s used to “want it all”— family and career. There is no danger in this choice mentioned. Trust in partnerships—the subtext—frees women to abandon lucrative careers. However economics frees women—these are households where there are high earners and lots of flexibility. Nonviolent men also free women. Yet I can’t help thinking about what happens if the man beats the partner who has opted to stay at home and take care of children? There is an absence of any commentary about danger in this story on women’s choices. (As an interesting aside there are numerous stories about how the captain of the English cricket team chose to be at his wife’s side when she gave birth. (excerpt)