Stephanie Montesanti On Violence Against Women

There are numerous explanations experts have come up with about violence against women and why it occurs but what most agree on is that the motive behind the abuse is rooted in gender inequality and it is for that reason some refer it as gender-based violence. In her report about violence in the lives of women, Stephanie Montesanti writes that the feminist opinion about the cause of this violence comes from “male-dominated social structures and socialization practices that teach men and women gender-specific roles that can influence violence and abuse against women” (Montesanti, 2015). In other words, they believe that the established beliefs of male superiority over women and society’s unwavering opinion of what men and women are supposed
I strongly agree with the statement they made about gender-violence being a learned behaviour because for centuries men have held power over women in many ways and even if steps are being taken towards equality, history has left its mark on modern society and some men are still treating women as second-class citizens. Another organization called the Battered Women’s Support Services (BWSS) added a different element to the other explanations, stating that “violence against women is a global problem and not limited to a specific group of women in society. However, the forms of violence might be shaped differently based on factors such as sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, class, age, nationality” (BWSS, 2015). This quotation sheds a light on the fact that, on top of a male-dominated society, things like racism and homophobia play a huge role in the cause of violence against
In fact, Canada has spent billions towards the cause. According to the Canadian Women’s Foundation, “each year Canadians collectively spend $7.4 billion to deal with the aftermath of spousal violence” (CWF, 2015). Furthermore, the Government of Canada publicly released how this money is being spent, stating that the $7.4 billion goes to:
Victims (some $6.0 billion in costs associated with victims seeking medical attention, lost wages, damaged or destroyed property and the “intangibles” of pain and suffering and loss of life), third parties (over $890 million in third party costs, including social service operating costs, losses to employers, the negative impact on children exposed to spousal violence, and other government expenditures), and justice system costs (about $545 million in costs borne by the criminal justice system and civil justice system). (“Impact on Canadians”, 2013)
This information reveals that the Canadian government and its federal services are providing adequate support towards fighting violence against women within the country and are making certain they are helping the victim as much as possible by covering costs during and after the road to