ABSTRACT
Included in this chapter, which looks at the gendered victimization of women throughout the world, is a presentation of facts on such topics as human trafficking or modern-day slavery; the savage cutting of girls, known as genital mutilation; intimate-partner violence; rape in war; and environmental injustice or ecological violence against women. Although beliefs in the innate inferiority of women and acceptance by males of their exploitation are ingrained in culture and ancient religious teachings, the theoretical model that guides this chapter is based on the belief that human rights are primary and that gender violence is never acceptable. Additionally, this model does not focus on ethnic or nationalistic attributes alone as causes of violence against women but looks to international forces that result in regional impoverishment, military conflict, mass migrations, and natural disasters related to climate change. The lead author of this chapter, who herself survived the horrors of war as a child and who worked for 20 years with survivors of domestic violence, many of them immigrants, brings a rare expertise to the writing of this chapter, and in Box 10.2 she shares her personal story. In light of the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan, the focus of this chapter on women’s rights is timely.
