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Gaudermann, Kimberly 2003 Women's Lives in Colonia Quito: Gender, Law, and Economy in Spanish America. Texas: University of Texas Press. "Women's Lives in Colonial Quito: Gender, Law and Economy in Spanish America" by Kimberly Gaudermann provides a very important historical perspective to my paper. This book discusses how domestic violence was handled in Quito, Ecuador in the seventeenth century. Women who reported instances of domestic abuse were able to charge their husband and bring him to court. The state empowered women through giving them the ability to punish their husbands if he hit them or mishandled their money or dowry property. The state's incentive in doing this was to control the money and property involved in marriages and to ensure that no one person had more power than the state and was able to 'play' them in anyway. This book is an extremely important aspect to my paper in answering the question of why domestic violence is not created as a problem in Latin America because it shows that domestic violence was not always ignored. Rather, during the seventeenth century the state was very involved in trying to prevent domestic violence and any man who committed this crime was punished. However this is not true today where domestic abuse is created as a cultural norm and the government does not do much to enforce prevention on this matter. I think this book is important because it creates another part to my paper that is not only historic but also develops questions for why the ideas toward domestic violence have changed in Latin America and how that affects women.

Enloe, Cynthia. 2004. "Maneuvers: The International Politics of Militarizing Women's Lives" The University of California Press. "Maneuvers: The International Politics of Militarizing Women's Lives" by Cynthia Enloe discusses the the extent to which states' militaries have relied on women in order to conduct unethical military operations like war rape and sustain a political legitimacy. In particular I will be using the chapters, "The Laundress, The Soldier, and the State" which discusses the beginning acts of political violence against women, in particular the concept of camp following and the chapter "When Soldiers Rape" which contains a literal discussion of soldiers use of rape as a weapon of war. These articles will help enhance my understanding of the political acts of violence against women, how they started, escalated, and how the military gets away with them.

This source is very valuable for my research because it is a report that attempts to recover the historic memories during the civil war in Guatemala. This volume explores the different impacts of political and sponsored state terrorism on the different social sectors of Guatemala. It discusses how the state respressed any form of sympathy or indentification with the guerilla movement. Moreover, it also focuses on violence against women during this period and especially the objectives and effects of raping women in public. This source also discusses how rape was used as a tool to communicate social and political messages and to dehumanize indigenous communities. The report also discusses the social roles through which women responded and resisted this type of violence.

This source explores the ways in which state sponsored terrorism during the civil war in Guatemala was sustained. It discusses the nature of the torture and masacres during this time. It describes the way in which soldiers were trained to masacre and rape victims and how they were mentally and physically trained to do so. This source also discusses the different goverment's sectors that participated and collaborated with the state's sponsored terrorsm.

This speech given by Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton goes into how activism on behalf of violence against women has changed in the past few years. She explains that progress has been made, but that it needs to continue. This helps to attract global attention to the problem of violence against women. This is related to our class because it shows how action can have an effect on violence against women, and how changes in the future are necessary and can be made possible.

Global attraction to this issue of violence against women is pertinent in working towards solving it. This issue is usually in places were impunity rules over the perpetrators. The steps taken by global actors such as the United States in taking a stand against violence against women,and being proactive in implementing legislation to end it works to promote taking action on this issue. However, it is also important to note the areas were there is still work to be done as Hilary Clinton expresses.

I bookmarked this particular page because it is a petition to help end violence against women in United States foreign assistance programs by asking Congress to pass The International Violence Against Women Act. We are supposed to be bookmarking resources that respond to violence against women or provide a vision for change. This petition which is aiming to pass an important act does those things exactly because it is trying to change existing conditions of violence against women. If the act is passed there will hopefully be much less violence against women in US foreign aid programs. I think we in this class have a responsibility to be active which is why I posted this petition which we should all read and sign. I already have!

This site is a good way in raising awareness and encouraging people to participate in stopping violence against women. I really like how the petition opens with a few descriptions of imagining a world free of domestic violence, emphasizing how life for women would be safer, comfortable and prosperous. After looking through the site and reading more about the objectives/ goals of various organizations trying to stop domestic violence, I felt compelled to sign the petition and make a change myself. I think a lot of times we view issues such as violence against women out of our control or reach. However, I think by having petitions and sites like this that support the cause, will allow change and inspire people to be more active.

This essay focuses on how the violence in Guatemala has become to be understood as a " cultural fact". The author explores how the naturalization of political violence intro cultural violence was produced and how it was patterned.The author explores this through the exploration of the period of " La Violencia" where descriptions and public displays of cadavers and public assasinations were portrayed in newspapers.Through media the goverment was sucessfull in the creation of generalized fear.

Unaware before taking this class of reality, I too, like the majority of society, was influenced by the misconception that rape was a stereotypical image. I have come to find through taking this class that the majority of rape and physical assaults are experienced by females from a male perpetrator who is an intimate partner, including spouses, boyfriends, or dates. When searching ways in which the violence against women has been an issue under which proactive means have been taken toward awareness or even a solution, I came across the website for the Bahamas Crisis Center. This page offers a direct introduction to the issue with the poster that states, "When we got married, I promised to love, honour and obey him and he promised the same to me. I gave him my love, respect and my heart, but last night he betrayed that love and broke my heart. He RAPED me." This page seeks to directly address marital rape as an eminent threat to the well-being of women and the society at large by taking a problem that ordinarily occurs within the home and places it in people's faces. The video "Silent Pain" is a collage of images, words, songs, and interviews. It begins with a description of the emotions felt by women whom are betrayed and raped by their husbands. When asked if they were aware of what marital rape was, those interviewed replied "no" and of those who were female, they remarked that it is indeed, unacceptable while the males depicted it as "a condoned act of marriage". Fortunately, the video also attempted to show how the issue has become increasingly apparent in the media to raise social acknowledgment. The video ends with a detailed personal account of a woman who was raped by her husband. I believe this is a positive step toward making a private issue a public one that needs to urgently be addressed.

This was an amazingly difficult video for me to watch. The explicit images from films, reenactments, etc. were incredibly jarring. However, I think that this was a good thing because it really sent the message through to me, even more so than the readings we have been doing in this course, especially those from last week. I think it is great that you found this. Is this also implemented in the US or only in the UK? This might be something really good to place within the symposium!

This website provides critical information for Spanish speaking women in the United States. It provides various statistics from the CDC and the HHS. It also creates a list of situations which may indicate if you are a victim of abuse or not. Although this site is in Spanish I believe that it is a useful in order to analyze what Latina women are being offered in terms of services.

I agree with Jennifer. I think the fact that this site is in Spanish is a great thing, since it is known that Latinas are high on the list as victims of violent acts. One important thing to note for the purpsoses of our class and our Diigo group is how all this information we have bookmarked reaches its audience. That is how this helps people understand the issue as well as the victims of the problem. It is important to have this information be accesible to all communities. By using spanish on this site they are reaching a whole other audience that might not have access to other resources on violence against women because of a language barrier.

I chose to bookmark this page to supplement my other bookmarked page from deviantART. It is my understanding that the anti-violence against women poster was created in support of this new law. I found it interesting and important to note because of the date in which this law was had passed and is hopefully now being implemented. This law establishes that women and children are to be given the same human rights as men. It also claims to ensure that women and children receive appropriate aid from the state when necessary. I do not know if this new law, which should have been created many more years ago, is currently being upheld to its fullest description.

The Global fund for women is part of a global women's movement that is rooted in a commitment to justice and an appreciation of the value of women's experience. As well as, the challenges women face vary widely across communities, cultures, religions, traditions and countries. They believe that women should have a full range of choices, and that women themselves know best how to determine their needs and propose solutions for lasting change. This organization is involved in grant making so that it can seed, strengthen and link women's rights groups based outside the United States working to address human rights issues, which focus on issues such as girls\education, violence against women and economic independence.

This organization is very important because they recognize the many forms of violence against women, not only personal but also social. They are working toward creating peaceful communities while raising awareness to violence persisted against women. I like how they reach out to women around the world because I feel this strengthens the ties between women on a global sense. What women need to create change is money and the Global Fund is doing exactly this.

The page preceding this states that one in three women in the military will be sexually assaulted during their tour of duty. This number is amazing to me and it makes me wonder what life is really like for women in the military. In such a male dominated institution, the women of the military have been silenced. NOW president Kim Gandy is calling for president Barack Obama to address this issue and see that it stops.

This is a great example of our society being male dominated. How are we supposed to make change when the majority of government, law, and policy makers are men? Those involved with public service are typically those in control of delegating positions and reforming laws. It is important for the few women who are involved to raise their voices and for us, the citizens, to elect more women into office.

Before joining this class, I had knowledge of such happenings within our military, but I never had any idea the numbers were so high. I am able to acknowledge that yes these things happen, but it is hard to accept how often they occur. Posttraumatic stress disorder is an issue that is raised all the time, of men coming back from war and being so traumatized that they cannot continue on with their daily lives. In a number of movies and TV shows I have watched, soldiers coming back from war have been depicted as abusing their wives, but what about their fellow female soldiers? This is an issue that surely needs to be address now not only by the media to the public but within the government. Morgan brings up a good, but scary point of how are we suppose to change anything when those in power are men and men supporting the actions in the military by not speaking out. I do not know what the answer to this problem is, but I know that acknowledging and addressing the issue is the first step.

This article talks about ways to help end trafficking within the US by focusing on targeting the source countries and creating stronger penalties for people who are trafficking humans. Author also talks about reasons for why human trafficking within the US will probably increase in the coming years.

This book looks at the policy and legal challenges that make dealing with human trafficking hard, as well looking at the strategies that are used to get people into the US world of sex trafficking. The author focuses on revealing the routes that are being used to get these women and children illegally into the United States.

I use this entry from encyclopedia.com only to reference historical content on the Tailhook Scandal of 1991. This incident is an example of the United States military's mal-treatment and rape of female soldiers. This coincides with my topic on female soldiers involvement in armed forced.

This article by Sheila Jeffreys discusses female soldiers involvement with the military. She argues that they are in a double jeopardy of being symbolically objectified and physically abused. This article helps my discussion on the political acts of violence against women through an analysis of the United States military and their treatment of women. This is one of the topics I address in my paper and have used many quotes to support my argument

Active for Ending Rape is an organization that works with students to get organized and make a change within their own college community. Focusing on ending sexual violence, SAFER encourages kids to know their school's policy when it comes to such violence on their campus. Through policy changes, the organization hopes that university campuses will be a safer place for all. The website offers on-campus training as well as other free resources students can use to get going. With a list of other schools who have started using the program as well as specific student video stories, SAFER gives students the tools they need to get started.

This is a great webpage. One of my articles was on how one rape case in Holly Cross was poorly addressed. The importance of clear and fair procedures in college campuses mark a difference in prevention and in especially addressing the cases. I think that an organization such as SAFER ism important because it gives tools to empower students to end the inustice. It is a very positive article ! Thank you Kat.

Being a student on a College campus, I could not think of a better website to correlate everyday reality to this course. Also, this site seems appropriate to coincide with the Symposium, "Breaking the Silence", as it asks college students nation-wide to take a proactive role in sculpting the future of their College's sexual assault policies. It is important to note that on the Wheaton campus, we maintain and encourage a "don't ask, don't tell" type of policy where the discussion or realization of sexual assault on the campus is seemingly unheard of. This site encourages its viewers to be open-minded and encourage others to discuss the current campus policies and acknowledge that assault and rape do in fact, occur on college campuses nation-wide despite their lack of publicity.

Although this is not an "official" site per se, it still offers an interesting take on Art Therapy for Sexually abused adults. This is a program offered at a California YWCA for adults who have been sexually abused to express their experiences and trauma through the medium of art. In this particular piece the various pro's regarding art therapy are listed. The page also includes a list of references for those interested.

I think that this is a really great idea. I remember reading (maybe I misunderstood) in the Myer reading that catharsis does not actually help many, or have the effect many believe it to have. I find this to be completely false and somehow offending. Personally, a way I deal with the difficult topics that come up in our class is through making a connection between this class and my 3D Design course. I found/find it to be very cathartic in dealing with issues that arise in this course, as it seems many survivors do in creating their own art. I find it especially valuable in that it often seems to allow others to relate and connect their own emotions with their fellow survivor peers. Hopefully more shelters, etc. begin to institute this idea.

I love this idea and think that people need to engage in creative activities more frequently not just as a way to heal, but as a way to stay happy, which in turn makes one healthy as well. Emilie- I think that Myer focused on catharsis in a different way. He made the case that watching/reading/looking/playing instead of doing cannot satisfy one's desire for violence among sexual activities. But I could be wrong; I do not know what he would say in response to art therapy. I feel that all art production is a catharsis of some kind and must be helpful for many otherwise the practice might not have perpetuated itself. I am also not an artist in the conventional sense of a person who produces pieces of art on a regular schedule, so my opinion might be far from reality.

This is a great resource for understanding the intersectionality of gender, culture and ethnicity. It is the official website of La Alianza, a Latino Activism against Domestic Violence organization. This is a great resource to use for the understanding of the different experiences and expectations Latinas face when in abusive relationships.

I think this website and organization are really important because it brings to light an issue we have discussed in class, the idea of cultural differences and how to address problems such as domestic violence in cultures that have different views on it and may not agree with how others choose to handle domestic violence. This website mentions that Latina women have a strong sense of moral code to their families and to what they are supposed to do in their role as women because of their cultural norms and values. Thus, many Latinas, when faced with domestic violence, may not find it as easy to just leave their families or take other action to stop the violence due to these cultural morals. I think cultural differences is something very important that must be taken into account in this class and all over when thinking of ways to end violence against women. To many women in particular cultures, such as the Latino community, leaving one's husband or reporting a case of domestic abuse is not acceptable to them and goes against the very culture and values that they come from and that has formed the person they are. When we think of ways to help women dealing with situations of domestic abuse we must think of the cultural barriers they have to cross in order to get out of a violent home, which is why this organization is very important, because it is aware of those barriers and works to find ways around them and still end violence against women in the Latino community.