Gender-based violence is an important issue to address. Here’s what you need to know about gender-based violence in California.
To understand gender-based violence in California, it is crucial to understand the different types of gender-based violence, its prevalence in the state, and laws that are in place to prevent these incidents from occurring.
What are the Different Types of Gender-Based Violence?
Gender-based violence is a term that refers to any act of violence or harm that is perpetrated against another person based on societal gender norms. The violence does not necessarily have to be physical, but can also take the form of emotional, psychological, or sexual violence against another.
Gender-based violence can take a number of different forms, including intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and human trafficking.
Intimate partner violence, or IPV, occurs between people in a close relationship, such as current and former spouses or boy/girlfriends. IPV may occur once, or may occur frequently, and can manifest itself in the following ways:
- Physical force, including by hitting, shoving, grabbing, or restraining
- Sexual, including sexual harassment, rape, or coercion (can be physical, verbal, or non-verbal)
- Psychological, including threatening and isolating
- Emotional, including embarrassing, mocking, and humiliating
- Related: Emotional Abuse Laws in California
- Economic, including preventing or forbidding their partner from working or gaining an education
IPV can also occur within teenage relationships. Known as teen dating violence, or TDV, this type of IPV may involve name-calling, repeated text messaging, or posting sexual photos of a partner without their consent. While teenagers may think these are “normal” behaviors in a relationship, these behaviors could become abusive and more serious later on.
Sexual violence refers to non-consensual sexual activity, including rape and any other unwanted sexual contact. Perpetrators of sexual violence are usually someone that the victim knows personally, such as a friend, intimate partner, neighbor, or coworker.
Human trafficking involves selling humans’ freedom for profit, and can include acts like forcing victims to provide commercial sex or work in inhumane and illegal conditions.
Related: How to Prevent Human Trafficking
How Prevalent is Gender-Based Violence in California?
Nationally, 1 in 3 women (approximately 33.3% of women) have experienced some sort of physical violence by an intimate partner. In the state of California, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence reports that 34.9% of women experience intimate partner violence – physical and/or sexual – and/or intimate partner stalking within their lifetimes. In 2018, there were 166,890 domestic violence-related calls to law enforcement, with even more going unreported.
A study by the Center on Gender Equity and Health at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) also found that rates of intimate partner violence may have increased during the coronavirus pandemic. According to the study, 15% of California residents surveyed reported more intimate partner violence against women in their community since the beginning of the pandemic.
What Laws are in Place to Prevent Gender-Based Violence in California?
In 1994, the United States Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act, which (along with its additions in 1996) recognizes domestic violence as a national crime, assisting state governments in dealing with domestic violence cases.
Section 13701 of the California Penal Code states that every law enforcement agency in the state develops and implements written policies for officers to adhere to when responding to domestic violence calls. The policies should reflect domestic violence as “alleged criminal conduct,” and should encourage the arrest of domestic violence offenders with probable cause.
Additionally, sections 14140-14143 of the California Penal Code encourages each county in California to create a county-specific task force on violent crimes against women. These counties can do things like promoting a countywide policy on violent crimes against women, making recommendations on crime reduction, and initiating local domestic violence prevention efforts. Additionally, each county may evaluate and make recommendations regarding things including the adequacy of law enforcement in reducing violence against women crime rates and the need for counseling, legal services, and advocacy services for victims.
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