UNIVERSIDAD POPULAR AUTONOMA DE VERACRUZ

Gender and violence

Advisor: Viridiana Ramírez

Student; jubedanise Lopez Ramos
Grade: 7th semester
Career: petroleum engineering
 Introduction
In Annex 1 of the Report of the Fourth World Conference on Women held in
Beijing from September 4 to 15, 1995, it is inscribed in point 29: prevent and
eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls. Five years later, in
2000, during the General Assembly of the United Nations, in the Report of the
Special Committee of the Whole of the XXIII special session of said assembly,
again, in the political declaration of the participating governments, the need to
ratify the twelve spheres of special concern, where violence against women
appears in the fourth number.
It would seem that these statements would lead to a reduction in discrimination
against women, in which violence occupies an important place. However,
current data reflects the seriousness of the matter and the need to continue a
fierce fight against this evil rooted in all societies, including Latin America, and
particularly Mexico.
The issue is complex, since as a social problem it affects different areas of life
for women and men, boys and girls. The roots are found in social structures and
affect education at home, school, the media and the social environment in
general
His elimination of violence requires, therefore, an intersectoral policy, which
includes not only measures in the field of justice, but in all social spaces.
 Gender and Violence

Why gender and violence?

This question leads us to briefly discuss what

we mean when we talk about gender, and
why the word women is not included in the
title, when they are the main victims of
violence. First of all, the issue transcends all
sectors of society, regardless of class, ethnic
group, income level, culture, educational
level, age or religion, and negatively affects its
foundations. Gender, as a conceptual category, is the result of the socialization
of sex based on sexual differences and reproductive capacities, which underlie
all relationships between men and women. This is a dimension of society that
arises from the existence of sexed bodies, a category or subset of which has,
will or has the probability of producing other bodies. From Barbieri, 1992.

Gender is also a form of control and power in distinctive relationships based on

the sexes. This concept allows us to understand that both women and men
socially receive a culture that imposes differences. In the assignment, women
had to occupy an inferior role that, at the same time, determines the existence
of an unequal power relationship. The power of men over women is given by
imposing values, which are understood by society as natural. These impositions
take the form of what Lagarde (1997) calls captivities: of mothers, wives, nuns,
prostitutes, prisoners and crazy women. Sometimes captivity (Lagarde,
1997:64) is assumed by some women passively, and others feel happy in it.
These women are not aware that violence against them is a violation of their
human rights, their fundamental freedoms and that they are totally or partially
deprived of the recognition, satisfaction and exercise of the same. Violence
against women is an offense against human dignity and a manifestation of the
historically unequal power relations between women and men.

The elimination of violence against women is an indispensable condition for

their individual and social development and their full and equal participation in
all spheres of life..

International conventions, such as the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All

Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the Inter-American
Convention to Prevent, Punish, and Eradicate Violence Against Women OEA
(Organization of American States), of 1994, known as the convention of Belém
do Pará, proposes a framework to define violence, and the need for an action
plan to eliminate it.
 Violence, whose historical and cultural roots are closely linked to
those of humanity, currently takes on a clearly misogynistic
overtone, confirmed in various studies and research.

To eradicate the violence that is experienced daily in homes in the

world, in Mexico and Tlaxcala, a strong awareness of how
relationships between genders occur is required, and of the need for
a profound mental and cultural change that understands how irrational it is
sustaining unequal relations between men and women.

These conditions of inequality have generated what the World Health

Organization defines as violence: the intentional use of force or physical power
(in fact or as a threat) against oneself, another person, a group or community,
which causes or is highly likely to cause injury, death, psychological harm,
developmental impairment, or deprivation.

Although there are various definitions, we will assume this concept and divide it
into two categories, according to the relationship between the victim and the
aggressor: 1) domestic violence, that which occurs between people who share
ties of kinship or consanguinity; 2) the social, that which occurs between
individuals who do not share those ties.

Domestic violence also includes spousal violence, which refers to any behavior
by a person within an intimate relationship that causes physical, mental,
emotional or sexual harm to their partner

This behavior includes physical aggression: slapping, punching, kicking, etc.;

psychological abuse: intimidation, denigration and humiliation; forced sexual
intercourse and other forms of coercion; various pervasive behaviors such as
isolating a person from their family, monitoring their movements, and restricting
their access to information or assistance.

Common Forms of Aggression That Coexist in a Relationship Domestic

violence is a phenomenon that harms society for various reasons, including the
impact on health, the social cost, and its link to social violence. Family violence
is inherited from one generation to another, because it is a way of reacting to
conflicts learned from their origin. According to a study carried out by the
National Institute for Women (2006:186), women who reported having suffered
moderate or severe domestic violence in their childhood have a risk between
2.5 and 3.4 times higher of suffering some form of violence from their partner. ,
compared to those who did not suffer violence in childhood or suffered it
slightly. Intimate partner violence is also one of the main obstacles to the
development of women's autonomy because it affects them physically and
psychologically, disturbing them: it lowers their self-confidence
and self-esteem; It limits their participation in public life, their
development opportunities and imposes a domination
structure that makes them dependent and restricts their rights.
 Conclusions
The panorama exposed on violence indicates that it is a growing phenomenon.
However, to the extent that structures are transformed, and that men and
women learn, from an early age and by example in the family, that there are
non-violent ways of resolving conflicts, a society can be built where men and
women are able to reject violence and, therefore, build more democratic,
equitable and just human relationships.

A characteristic of gender violence that makes it difficult to eradicate is the low

degree of visualization and social tolerance of this phenomenon. A major
obstacle is the lack of information and knowledge about this problem. However,
there are encouraging measures. One of them is the recent approval by the
President of the Republic of the new law that addresses domestic violence
against women. The presidency reported that the legislation reclassifies
violence against women as a crime and obliges federal and local authorities to
take the necessary actions to prevent and punish it. What is now required is a
broad outreach program to make it known to women in a simple way, and
strong political work so that the states can harmonize their local laws. It is
necessary to train public officials who will have in their hands the application of
this law.

A recent study (Huerta and Magar, 2006) about women legislators in Mexico,
shows that although women parliamentarians direct and participate in
commissions dedicated to social and women's issues, not considered a priority
in this context, being the so-called powerful commissions, of Congress that
decide on new legislation, there is a greater presentation of initiatives to resolve
issues of inequity, including violence against women that have reached them,
which could indicate, as the study affirms, that women achieve advance
important initiatives to move towards equity.

Undoubtedly, the path towards recognition of the importance of legal measures,

both at the legislative level and in other areas, is a vital issue on the agenda of
the women's movement in Mexico.
 Bibliografía

https://www.gob.mx/inmujeres/acciones-y-programas/alerta-de-violencia-de-genero-contra-
las-mujeres-80739

http://www.injuve.es/observatorio/familia-pareja-e-igualdad-de-genero/la-violencia-de-genero-en-los-
jovenes
Mercedes B. Arce-Rodríguez: El Colegio de Tlaxcala. Melchor Ocampo No. 28. San Pablo de Apetatitlán, Tlaxcala,
Tlax. 90600. (marcer@coltlax.edu.m