Parrot, A: Forsaken Females

Women around the world routinely suffer from beatings, rape, torture and murder. These are not the practices of a few demented individuals, but are often institutionalized, culturally-sanctioned behaviors. Millions of women live in a constant state of isolation, terror and fear; for most, escape is nearly impossible due to economic, social, or cultural restrictions. Forsaken Females describes the many types of global brutalization that occur against women: including feticide, infanticide, female genital mutilation, sexual slavery, honor killing, acid attacks, trafficking, dowry death, rape, and intimate partner violence. The violence is varied in both method and practice and is often supported by patriarchal ideologies or policies that maintain the social conditions and cultural framework that accept womenOs brutalization. Forsaken Females also addresses the physical, emotional and economic impact of the violence. The discussion is structured around the experiences of women who describe their personal victimization. Each chapter concludes with examples of promising policies and practices developed to address and reduce violence perpetrated against women.

Forsaken Females describes the varied types of brutalization women experience through the life course, as well as historical and theoretical perspectives of global violence against women. The book illuminates the diverse ideologies and cultural conditions that condone and perpetuate the brutality that victimizes women. The discussion is structured around the experiences of women who describe their personal victimization. Each chapter concludes with examples of promising policies and practices developed to address and reduce violence perpetrated against women.

Chapter 1 Perspectives on violence against women: Historical, methodological and theoretical Chapter 2 The sociopolitical conditions that predispose women to violence Chapter 3 Femicide Chapter 4 Female Genital Cutting: Clitoridectomy, female circumcision, female genital mutilation, or rite of passage Chapter 5 Sexual Violence Chapter 6 Sexual slavery Chapter 7 Trafficking Chapter 8 Intimate partner violence Chapter 9 Honor Killing Chapter 10 The impact of violence on women Chapter 11 Working toward a world without violence against women