Sunday, December 29, 2019
Women Are Victims Of Sexual Violence - 3761 Words
I. Abstract Every five minutes, four women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are raped. This means that 1,100 women are victims of sexual violence on a daily basis (Counting Sexual Violence in the Congo). Such exorbitant cases of rape have earned the DRC its title as ââ¬Å"the rape capital of the worldâ⬠(Citation -http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8650112.stm). Nevertheless, Congolese conventions regarding gender roles have facilitated massive infliction of sexual violence, especially on behalf of soldiers. This incorporation of rape into the sociocultural fabric of the DRC has, in turn, given way to a normalization of rape culture in the Congo, which has perpetuated and even enabled the sexual violence crisis. Moreover, the rapeâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦Men are conditioned to be ââ¬Å"courageous, level-headed, tough killersâ⬠(Citation), while women are trained to be ââ¬Å"caregivers, childe-bearers, [and] nurturersâ⬠(Citation). Furthermore, social norms est ablish that men ought to attain numerous partners and possess the fiscal capital to ââ¬Å"bestow gifts in exchange for sexâ⬠(Citation). Because the notion of masculinity is particularly rigid in Congolese society, an extreme binary exists, under which an individual can only be masculine or feminine. This dichotomy engenders enormous pressure conferred upon men to fulfill masculine roles at any expense. Consequently, men in the DRC will often justify sexual violence perpetrated on women by privileging the need to realize their masculinity (Citation). This is particularly problematic because women are believed to exist for the sole benefit of men. And, men are compelled to express their masculinity outwardly, through rape, to evade skepticism of their capacity to be virile. Masculinity in this regard has been described by scholars as ââ¬Å"not a natural trait, but something that must be achieved before oneââ¬â¢s peersâ⬠(Citation ââ¬â 121). Thus, rape could be perc eived as an external, visible display of masculinity. Although the actions of male perpetrators are not popular in the eyes of the international community, these individuals too
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