Emily Rauhala

Women, unfortunately, have been very discriminated against, even in this century. Women are so cruelly thought of that now, women see nothing wrong with mental and physical cruelty towards them. Since the status of women in Africa, is so low, it has caused many men to overpower women…physically. More

In the article entitled “The Longest War” from her 2014 book “Men Explain Things to Me”, Rebecca Solnit speaks about the issues surrounding the subject of male violence. She vehemently writes about how the plethora of male violence is being directed solely at women. She explains that a multitude of innocent women around the world are being abused by men. The amount of male violence taking place around the world is staggering; so much of it is happening everywhere. Solnit states the male gender is responsible for the deluge of violence, and that women in all parts of the world emotionally and physically suffer from it.

The issue of sexual assault in correctional facilities is very complex and the implications reach far beyond the walls of the institution. Congress found that “prison rape endangers the public’s safety by making brutalized inmates more likely to commit crimes when they are released.”

According to ICRtoP, the Democratic Republic of Congo is reported to be the “rape capital of the world” with an estimated 15,000 rape cases in the Congo’s eastern provinces alone. Rape is a tool of war used by the various armed forces in the Congo in order to “create instability in

It is dreadful enough to get raped, but having to see your perpetrator every day and possibly raping you again is a constant fear that many inmates have to encounter. According to the Bureau of Justice (BJS), in 2008 correctional administrators reported 7,444 allegations of sexual abuse in prisons. About 46 % of the sexual abuse involved staff with inmates. But these statistics do not include the many cases that go unreported due to victim’s fear of being punished by their perpetrators and/ or to embarrassment and humiliation that comes with rape. Although prison rape is prevalent, many individuals find it normal and even find it a laughing matter. Prison rape is abnormal and has huge consequences if not dealt with. Some of the

Contrary to popular belief sexually transmitted diseases are not the only physical harm victims of prison rape endure. Many rape victims endure broken bones, broken noses, bruises, cuts, concussions, and the obvious genital injuries. Sexual assaults also increases violent behavior in prisons because inmates who feel like they may be a future target of sexually assault, defend themselves, and lash out in these violent rages and fights to establish themselves with a “tough guy” reputation to prevent any sexual misconduct from other inmates.

Every day I go on TV, there is at least one story or more relating to rape, assault towards woman, and of course violence. It is getting repetitive; as a result, more and more people are starting to brush it off their shoulders like a dust. Within rape culture, there is controversy on which it is to blame. The writers Walter Moseley and Rae Gomes write an article about the remedies for rape culture “Ten Things to End Rape Culture” and how it can create an atmosphere that enable both sexes to change for the better. In “Masculinity Is More Than a Mask”, Christina Hoff Sommers discusses the relationship between violence and masculinity when she critiques and analyzes a documentary based on the biological side of masculinity.

Sexual assault in jail serves as a way to show one’s control and domination (Guerrero, 2008, p.30). Some prisoners are lacking the expression of their sexuality and become dominant over other inmates (Struckman-Johnson, 2013, p.444). Others do it because of their dislike of another prisoner. Such dislike can be based on racial background, which is a major issue in prisons, because people, whose race is dominant in the prison tend to be predators and sexualy violate other prisoners (Wolff, 2008, p. 466). Furthermore, other reasons for sexual assault can be sexuality of a person or age. Younger people or gays tend to report more cases of sexual assault than other groups of inmates (Wolff, 2008, p. 465). Since it has always been a big issue for the society, there were various methods used in order to try to prevent it. Clearly they are not properly working, because it remains to be today’s issue (Struckman-Johnson, 201, p. 430).

During the Rwandan genocide, some rapes occurred recurrently throughout a timespan. “Sexual enslavements occurred when a woman was detained, typically in the house of an Interhamwe, and subjected to repeated sexual assaults over a period of days,” (Mullins 727). These kinds of rapes belong in their own category because of the added element of confinement and intent to continually rape and therefore, harm. An Interhamwe soldier named Rafiki, personally sought out one Tutsi woman whom he had

The term ‘rape culture’ was coined by feminists in the United States in 1970. The term itself was designed to illustrate the ways in which society blamed victims of sexual assault, and how the normalization of male sexual violence was acceptable. Rape culture can stem from the acceptance of rape as a daily occurrence, manifested as a male prerogative. There is a hesitation by the authorities to go against the patriarchal cultural norms, hence linking nonconsensual sex to the cultural disposition of society. The patriarchal perspective of rape culture, embedded with gender inequality and misogyny are passed through generations which ultimately leads to the extensive institutional and social acceptance of rape. Actions which advocate sexist ideals are utilized to justify and validate normative misogynistic perceptions. Rape culture sexualizes violence inflicted upon women, as it serves as a continuum of a society which views a women’s body to be sexually available by default, deriving from the overall domination and objectification of a female. The underlying cause of rape culture is localized as it based upon the social aspects of culture. For example, countries with a prolific ‘war culture’ tend to emphasize violence and masculinity, and therefore rape is viewed as a normal facet of society. I intend to parallel the element of rape culture to the enforcement of social rules and the conditioning of gender roles. I plan on analyzing the notion that within the encompassment of

rape and sexual, gender-based violence as a weapon of war not only ruined the lives of

“A great achievement of women’s movements worldwide has been their success in ‘breaking the silence’ about male violence against women in intimate relationships” (Vickers, 2002). Having broken the silence of violence it has also broken the silence of oppression. The ongoing battle(s) of women’s rights suggests that the silence of oppression is of the past and the future holds equality for all alike. “…power is the capacity to terrorize, to use self and strength to inculcate fear, fear in a whole class of persons” (Dworkin, 1981). Male dominance exhibits and practices fear toward those of different classes, its use is to gain power to which control is given. “In the male system, sex is the penis, the penis is sexual power, its use in fucking is manhood” (Dworkin, 1981). The male mind indicates that without a penis an authority of power is dismissed and overlooked. Unfortunate for society today male hierarchy continues to be the dominant practice and the penis is a visual and vital form of power. “Male sexual power is the substance of culture” (Dworkin, 1981). Although women have come a long way their oppression and limited amount of power in society has yet to be broken and adjusted because of this visual of the male penis extracting power in society.

My initial interest in researching male rape victimisation in prison evolved from attending a Continous professional development seminar in which one of the speakers presented a paper titled, Life behind Bars, and of interest was the section on rape among male inmates in Kenya. From then my curiosity was sparked. The more I read the available literature which was mainly focused on incarcerated men in the united states, the more I realised how understudied the subject of male rape was in the Africa, and especially in Kenya and that research had not investigated how consent was negotiated and its metamorphosis among male inmates.

The definition of masculinity shows young males that in order to be respected, power must be applied upon others and intimidation is the only method of gaining this respect. Through the use of this power and intimidation, females are often oppressed and kept under the control of men. Woman has need of the male in order to gain human dignity, to eat, to enjoy life, to procreate; it is through the service of sex that she gets these benefits; because she is confined to that function, she is wholly an instrumentality of exploitation (De Beauvoir, 360). Males use power over women to reassure their manliness and to portray their masculinity. This violence is not only present in households. It is also present in masculinity versus nature in a capitalist society, where the environment must be altered and destroyed for economic gains. It appears that violence against nature-that is, the impossible and disastrous drive to dominate and conquer the natural world-is integrally connected with domination among humans (Kaufman, 7). Another example of showing this power is through rape and sexual abuse. Through rape, men display their dominance in the most violent and gruesome ways. As Kaufman notes, in the testimonies of rapists on hears over and over again expressions of inferiority, powerlessness, anger (15). By committing this crime, males display their physical strength upon the victim and this is what masculinity is defined as, a display of power and

South Africa is a country known, worldwide, for its high crime rates and violence. The eye-opening reality is, that this ‘violence’ is made up by a huge percent of violence against women – also known as; violence “directed at a woman and perpetrated by her male partner” (Boonzaier, 2006). Not only are there issues with violence against women, there are issues with masculinity and femicide in South Africa; what it means to be a man, the expectations of a man, and the killing of women. This essay is going to discuss the relationship between violence, masculinity and femicide in South Africa using numerous approaches and theories, such as the feminist post-structuralist approach and the theory of hegemonic masculinity.