Feminism

Inequality in the Workplace, Still. HARRIET MARTINEAU Harriet Martineau, the founding mother of sociology, was a very accomplished female. She was, among other things, a feminist, Unitarian, critic, social scientist, and an atheist. She began many methodological, theoretical and substantive studies that would now be considered the study of sociology. She analyzed women’s rights, disability, education slavery, history, health and religion within her lifetime. Long before Marx, Weber, or Durkheim, Martineau also studied and wrote about social class, suicide, forms of religions, domestic relations, delinquency, and the status of women” (Gordon). Her neglect by sociologists in later years is a perfect example of how academic sociology has excluded women sociologists from its study. Martineau stated that, “an American woman’s life is equal to that of a slave’s, (in that) they were both given indulgence rather than justice. ” (Berleant) Harriet saw that women were denied education and had only one option and duty in the United States: marriage.

Her attitude towards the injustice of women would most suit the feminist theory which focuses on analyzing gender inequality and promotes women’s rights, interests and issues. A recent incident, showing the inequality women still face today, occurred when a female was denied equal treatment at the workplace causing a gender discrimination lawsuit. Monday March 15th, 2010, a federal judge announced a $2. 5 million discrimination verdict in favor of Michelle Maher, who was forced out of the Fresno Fire Department’s training academy.

Maher, a single mother, former professional mixed-martial arts fighter and certified EMT with 13 certificates in firefighting skills, was clearly qualified for the job at hand but apparently the fire training academy supervisors continuously focused on asking her personal questions and setting her up to fail certain tasks while unfairly grading her exam. Maher sued the Fire Department in 2008 due to the discrimination she faced. Maher says, “A supervisor repeatedly asked about my divorce and suggested that I was not giving my full effort in the academy because I was a single mother” (Ellis).

She was also told that because she scored below an 80% on a midterm, she would have to resign or be fired from the academy, therefore she resigned. “After the three-week trial last fall, jurors said they believed Maher was not given adequate time to prove herself at the academy. They felt the evaluations were inconsistent since the men in the academy were given extra chances to improve in weak areas and nobody from the Fire Department could pinpoint the department standards” (Ellis). It is likely that Maher will win her lawsuit and the city of Fresno will have to pay $2. 6 million plus another million for attorney fees. The judge concluded that the evidence was “very substantial” in Maher’s favor. Martineau suggested “improving women’s position in the workforce including education, nondiscriminatory employment and training programs. ” She also promoted “women’s admission into medical school and the importance of physical fitness and exercise for girls and women…” (Soc, 10) In this case, Martineau was right on queue with the goals Maher set in working with the Fire Department.

Maher was qualified physically and academically but unfortunately faced discrimination. The feminist theory concerning gender inequality and sexuality sees gender stratification as “benefiting men and the capitalist system. Sexuality is linked to gender inequality… and that male dominance is especially harmful because it results in men controlling women’s sexual behavior” (Soc, 172). If Maher had applied to another profession, appropriate for her sex, her personal business and lower test grade wouldn’t be an issue.

For her to apply for a “man’s job,” was bold and daring and unnecessary actions to prove she was inadequate was a poor risk the Fire Department chose to play. “All feminists agree that men and women should be valued equally, women should have more control over their lives and gender inequality can be remedied by changing political, economic, family and other institutions as well as everyday interactions, attitudes and behaviors” (Soc, 172) Change needs to occur and gender equality is possible through equal civil rights and opportunities.

Women have been internalized to achieve the womanly roles based on gendered socialization. Teaching young girls how to be passive and maternal while promoting boys to take on the dominant roles and taught to strive to achieve educational and career success is how the gender inequality begins. Martineau was raised in a Unitarian community which focusing on rationalism, individualism and democracy. Amazingly Martineau, along with her seven brothers and sisters, received equal education until college when it came time for a higher education for the boys only.

Being the feminist that she was, she wrote an anonymous article, “On Female Education” for a Unitarian journal expressing “Women’s intellectual inferiority to men is based on women’s lack of mental training, others’ expectations of women, and women’s circumstances rather than women’s ability” (Berleant). Later her brother found out she wrote the article and said, “Now, dear, leave it to the other women to make skirts and darn stockings, and you devote yourself to this” (Webster. du). And indeed, Martineau was destined to become is monumental figure in sociology and to feminist history. Maher’s skills exceeded the qualifications for the Fire Department but the one opportunity she wasn’t given was the pinnacle for her demise. In the end, I’d say she won, since she made her voice heard and was awarded some major bank from her lawsuit! Work Cited Benokraitis, Nijole V. Soc + Review Cards + Bind-in Printed Access Card. Wadsworth Pub Co, 2009. Print

Berleant, Riva. “Harriet Martineau: Biography and Bibliography. ” Brycchan Carey – Home Page. 2004 Web. 18 Mar. 2010. . Gordon, Marshall. “Martineau, Harriet. ” A Dictionary of Sociology. 1998. Encyclopedia. com. 18 Mar. 2010 . “Harriet Martineau. ” Webster University. Web. 18 Mar. 2010. . Ellis, John. “Ruling Backs Woman’s Suit against Fresno Fire Dept. ” Covering Fresno and the San Joaquin Valley in Central California – Fresno Bee. 15 Mar. 2010. Web. 18 Mar. 2010. .

Fifty years ago, human resource management was considerably simpler because our work force was strikingly homogeneous. In the 1950s, for example, the U. S work force consisted of primarily of while males employed in manufacturing, having wives who stayed at home, tending to the family’s two-plus children. Inasmuch as these workers were alike, personnel’s job was certainly easier. But times have changed. And with these changes have come a new workforce, one that by the year 2020 will be characterized as quite diverse (Crittenden, 1994, p. 18).

Such work diversity has been brought about by the equal employment opportunities for men and women. With the entry of women into the workforce, prejudice has also entered. Today, we find two kinds of sexism attacking the women at workplace – hostile sexism and benevolent sexism. While hostile sexism attacks women directly by way of degrading them during a conversation, using vulgarity at them or shouting at them. On the other hand, benevolent sexism attacks them indirectly by reminding them their traditional roles of an obedient wife or a submissive girl friend and tries to pull them down.

This paper focuses on the thesis statement that “Inequality against women at workplace has become global. ” In any organization, there are problems of inequality such as gender inequality, or wage inequality or racial inequality and so on. These inequalities finally lead to organizational conflicts of various kinds. This may be attributed to certain social problems and quality of life. We need to find out the proper tools and proper information to study the problems and solve those (Lauer & Lauer, 2006).

Insight on Hostile and Benevolent Sexism Psychologists distinguish between “hostile” and “benevolent” sexism (Glick & Fiske, 2001, pp. 109-118; Glick, Fiske, Mladinic, et al, 2000, pp. 763-775). The technical definition of hostile sexism is a set of beliefs about women – especially feminists: they see sexism where it does not exist, whine about discrimination when they lose fair and square, want to control men, and are sexual teases. The technical definition of benevolent sexism is the other side of the same coin.

It is a complementary set of beliefs: women are purer, more refined, and more moral than men, and should be cherished, protected, and financially provided for. Men and women who endorse hostile sexist attitudes also tend to endorse benevolent sexist attitudes. Further, cross-nationally, men’s and women’s attitudes are correlated: nations with more sexist men are also nations with more sexist women. And, finally, nations with less legal gender equality show higher sexism scores. Gender Perceptions and attitudes Experimental data demonstrate that we do not see other people simply as people; we see them as males or females.

Once gender perceptions are invoked they work to disadvantage women by directing and skewing our perception, even in the case of objective characteristics like height. In one example (Biernat, Manis & Nelson, 1991, pp. 495-502), the experimenters exploited the fact that our schemas include the correct information that men are on average taller than women. In this experiment, college students saw photographs of other students and estimated their height in feet and inches. The photos always contained a reference item, such as a desk or a doorway, so that height could be accurately estimated.

Unbeknownst to the students who were doing the estimating, the experimenters had matched the photographs so that for every photograph of a male student of a given height was a female student of the same height. But the students were affected by their knowledge that men are on average taller than women. They judged the women as shorter than they really were, and the men as taller. In this experiment, as is typically the case, there were no differences in how male and female observers perceived the others; we all have non-conscious hypotheses about males and females and we all use those hypotheses in perceiving and evaluating others.

The important point about this study is that a genuinely objective characteristic, height, is not immune from the effects of gender perceptions. Improvement of Equality in workplace The results of inequality in workplace can be improved only by changing the gender perceptions. Individuals should be seen as individuals and not as male or female. A number of studies have shown that men tend to emerge in leadership positions in U. S.

culture because they are more likely than women to exhibit traits that are believed to “go hand-in-hand” with positions of authority. These traits include (1) more aggressive be¬haviors and tendencies; (2) initiation of more verbal interactions; (3) focusing of remarks on “output” (as opposed to “process”) issues; (4) less willingness to reveal information and expose vulnerability; (5) a greater task (as opposed to social) orientation; and (6) less sen¬sitivity, which presumably enables them to make tough choices quickly (Baird & Bradley, 1979, pp. 101-110).

Thus, cultural expectations may create a self-fulfilling prophecy, with individuals exhibiting the “female traits” of focusing on process, social orientation, and so on more likely to be relegated to operational and subordinate roles. Women have to confront sexual harassment to a much greater extent than men do. Women have had to forfeit promising careers because they would not accept the sexual advances of men in positions of power and did not feel they had any recourse but to quit their jobs. Anita Hill’s testimony at the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court confirmation hearings in October 1991 was a national turning point on this issue.

Since the hearing, many more women have come forward with complaints about sexual harassment in the workplace (Carlson, 1999, pp. 94-95). Role of Human Resource Management As women, both natural born and foreign citizens become the dominant employees in the work force, Human Resource Management will have to change its practices. This means that organizations will have to make concerted efforts to attract and maintain a diversified work force (Joinson, 1995, pp. 82-85). This includes HRM offerings fall under the heading of the family-friendly organization (Moskowitz, 1997, pp. 18-96).

A family friendly organization is one that has flexible work schedules and provides such employee benefits as child care. Organizations that have made the greatest strides in successfully managing diversity tend to share a number of characteristics. These factors are a commitment from top manage¬ment to valuing diversity, diversity training programs, employee support groups, accom¬modation of family needs, senior mentoring and apprenticeship programs, communica¬tion standards, organized special activities, diversity audits, and a policy of holding management responsible for the effectiveness of diversity efforts.

As more women have entered the workforce, more men and women work together in teams and on projects. Consequently, more employers are becoming concerned about the close personal relationships that do develop at work. When work-based friendships lead to romance and off-the-job sexual relationships, HR managers and employers face a dilemma: Should they “monitor” these relationships in order to protect them from potential legal complaints but thereby ‘meddling’ in employees’ private, off-the-job lives?

Or do they simply ignore such relationships and the potential problems they present? One study found that the way a romance relationship is viewed affects the actions that may be taken. (Pierce et al, 2000). For instance, if a relationship is clearly consensual or if it involves a supervisor-subordinate relationship, then the actions taken may be different. The greatest concerns are romantic relationships between supervisors and subordinates, because the harassment of women subordinates by male supervisors is the frequent type of sexual harassment situation.

Some employers have addressed the issue of workplace romances by establishing policies permitting workplace romances, as shown by a study that over 70% of surveyed firms had such a policy (Bloom, 2001). Those policies often describe “appropriate” workplace behaviors or may require disclosure to the HR department. Employment attorneys generally recommend that the HR manager remind both parties in workplace romances of the company policy on sexual harassment and encourage either party to contact HR department should the relationship cool and become one involving unwanted and unwelcome attentions.

Also, the HR manager always should document that such conversations occurred. Much has been made of the advantages of the Internet and its positive effects on HR manage¬ment. However electronic informa¬tion technology is also creating new problems for HR managers as well because sexual harassment occurs in e-mails and Internet access systems. Cyber sexual harassment is a growing concern, as evidenced by, a survey of HR professionals, which found 31% of them had dealt with situations involving sex¬ually harassing e-mails at work. This cyber sexual harassment occurs in a variety of forms.

It may be an employee forwarding a joke with sexual content received from a friend outside the company. Or it may be an employee repeatedly asking another employee to meet for lunch or a date. Another more troublesome form is employees who access pornographic Web sites at work, and then share some contents with other employees. Even some¬thing such as an employee who has a screen saver of his wife in a revealing outfit or an actress dressed in a bikini has led to com¬plaints by other employees. Many employers have devel¬oped policies addressing inappro¬priate use of e-mail and company computer systems.

According to one study, 85% of employers had policies on electronic technology usage (Robinson, 2001). Many policies have ‘zero – ¬tolerance’ whereby disciplinary action occurs regardless of the proclaimed innocence of the employee. More serious situations have led to employee terminations, as evidenced by some examples. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Michi¬gan fired seven employees for sending pornographic e-mails. Dow Chemical disciplined more than 200 employees and fired 50 of them for having e-mailed porno¬graphic images and other inappro¬priate materials using the com¬pany information system.

A well-publicized case occurred at the New York Times where 20 employees were fired for sending offensive and inappropriate e-mails – many of the individuals repeatedly doing so (Robinson, 2001). HR managers are handling cyber sexual harassment in a number of ways. First, having a policy is important, but it is even more crucial to train all employees on sexual harassment and electronic usage policies. Additionally, many employers have placed scanners on their e-mail and Web sites that screen for inappropriate words and images.

Offending employees receive the warnings and disciplinary actions associated with “flagged” items (Robinson, 2001). To conclude, the problems faced by Human Resource Professionals while dealing with work place inequality could be summarized as follows. Any kind of bullying at work could result in, decrease in employee morale, lack of motivation, decrease in productivity, and increased employee turnover. All these factors finally contribute to Organizational conflicts (Felsenthal, 1995). The problem could be resolved by Human Resource by way of a collective agreement on the work culture.

Based on the agreement, the management could put out policies that would apply to all staff and intimate the same to all the employees. Some elements and principles could be contained in such a policy. It would apply to all staff (managerial, executive, manual and non-manual workers); the working position and personal situation of offenders are irrelevant, and so are the victim’s. Every employee would be required to respect the personality and dignity of every other worker. Every employee would have the right to respect for his/her own personality and dignity. It would cover sexual harassment, bullying and gender discrimination.

The Policy would set out the forms of conduct deemed to be infringements of contractual obligations and hence disciplinary matters (as well as potentially constituting grounds for civil or criminal action). The victim may ask the management or trade union or the human resources department for assistance in approaching the Work Culture Commission; improving the quality of performance feedback, including informal develop mentor oriented feedback as well as corrective feedback. The Policy should ensure improving the availability of flexible working arrangements, and ensuring fair and reasonable treatment of staff.

The Policy should communicate openly at all levels, fostering a more engaging work environment through involvement of staff in decision making processes that impact on their work. It should also increase the management by way of setting targets/goals and ensuring effective reporting structures. A Policy or Code of Conduct should be written, in consultation with employees. Training should be provided to the employees on the organization’s policies and procedures, and ensure that supervisors and managers have the skills to recognize and deal with inappropriate behavior.

The aim of the training should be to create awareness about what bullying is; the warning signals and effects, why it is not tolerated and include this information during induction of new employees. Procedures of complaint handling and investigation should be developed and treat all complaints seriously. A contact person should be appointed for informal enquiries, concerns or complaints, so that actions can be taken early in the process to avoid unacceptable behavior escalating into workplace bullying.

The contact person can be a trained person within the organization or an employee assistance provider, whose role is to deal with various employee issues and who may be able to provide advice or mediate in bullying cases. The effectiveness of any action taken in response to discriminating or bullying behavior should be monitored.

References

Baird, J E & Bradley, P H. 1979. Styles of Management and Communication: A Comparative Study of men and women, Communication Monographs, 46, pp. 101-110. Biernat, Monica, Manis, M & Nelson, T E. 1991. Stereotypes and standards of judgment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60 (4):495–502.

Bloom, Allison. 2001. “Love is in the Air,” MSN Careers, (February 23). Carlson, M. 1999. Sexual Harassment, Business Week, Chapter 999, pp. 94-95. Felsenthal, Edward. 1995. “Potentially Violent Employees Present Bosses with a Catch-22,” The Wall Street Journal, (April 5), pp. B-1; B-5. Glick, P. & Fiske. S. T. 2001. An ambivalent alliance: Hostile and benevolent sexism as complementary justifications for gender inequality. American Psychologist, 56:109–118. Glick, P. , Fiske S. T. , Mladinic A, et al. 2000. Beyond prejudice as simple antipathy: Hostile and benevolent sexism across cultures.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79:763–75. Joinson, Carla. 1995. “Cultural Sensitivity adds up to Good Business Sense,” HR Magazine, November, pp. 82-85. Lauer, Robert H. & Lauer, Jeanette C. 2006. Social Problems and Quality of Life. 10th Edition. McGraw Hill. Moskowitz, Milton. 1997. “100 Best Companies for Working Mother,” October, pp. 18-96. Pierce et al, 2000. “Effects of a Dissolved Workplace Romance and Rater Characteristics on Responses to a Sexual Harassment Accusation” Academy of Management Journal, 869-880. Robinson, Karyn-Siobhan. 2001. “Cyber-sex permeates the workplace”, HR News, April.

When at the age Of eight Emma was considered bossy simple because she wanted to direct a production, later her girlfriends no longer wanted to participate in sports due to masculinity, and at age 18, her male friends could not express their feelings. Even after her experiences, she has realized that feminism has diminished in meaning. The introduction of the speech had a great attention getter because Emma pointed out a problem that is usually towards girls, and was asking for help of the audience. While she was introducing the topic, she did not really preview any main points, but only stated the thesis and purpose.

In this speech, she is informing the audience on how she was able to speak for this problem she stated, “l was appointed six months ago and the more I have spoken about feminism the more I have realized that fighting for women’s rights has too often become synonymous with man hating. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this has to stop. ” The audience in at this event had an equal amount of women and men. The transitions in this conclude introducing the campaign (Hovers) and owe it needs to be addressed and brought to attention to the population.

Once she inform the problem, she then went on to the era of feminism; and how feminism has become a word that is unpopular to the culture around us. The term is considered an “uncomfortable” word stated by Watson. More and more women have not been choosing to indemnify themselves as feminist due to the remarks made on feminists today. After going on about women’s liberation she then discussed why there needs to be gender equality, and what could happen in the future generations if it continued to go any further. The topic of this speech could legitimately make a big impact if it were to follow through.

Equal rights should be brought to attention, and Emma gives a good dialogue of the situation. “Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive. Both men and women should feel free to be strong… It is time that we all perceive gender on a spectrum not as two opposing sets of ideals. If we stop defining each other by what we are not and start defining ourselves by what we are-?we can all be freer and this is what Hovers is about. It’s about freedom. ” (Watson) Watson shapes great persuasive points throughout he whole speech. It is time for the men and women of the world to be treated the same.

Men should not feel the discomfort of being vulnerable, and women should not be judged or fear the want of being strong. Many people do not realize the different stereotypes that are given to men, and that are seen on a daily basis. When is it the turn for men to be able to feel comfortable in their own skin without being judged for what should be happening? As stated in the speech, “If men do not have to be aggressive in order to be accepted women won’t feel compelled to be submissive. If men o not have to control, women will not have to be controlled.

In this speech Emma W. Uses, the speech spoken Hilary Clinton to help support her statements. The speech was given in 1 995 and in Beijing about women’s rights, and how the changes that she wanted back then are still a reality today. Another one of the sources included the depth of how men cannot seem to want to ask for help when It is needed. For example, in the UK suicide is the largest killer amongst men varying from the ages of 20-49. Moreover, why is that? It is because men are afraid to ask for attention for the season that it will take away from their masculinity.

I now understand why Emma wants this to be something everyone should be aware of, and how it needs to end. In this speech, it very much caught my attention especially since every main point had a strong body to go with it to support it. In my opinion, Emma was a great choice to speak for this campaign. It seemed that this subject was a sensitive matter, and she was able to connect with the audience to express her views. In conclusion, I believe that Emma Watson had a great persuasive input on her outlook on gender equality.

The average man also tends to be faster ND stronger than the average woman according to Livingston. Com. Women, nonetheless, are very athletic and skilled in their own right and deserve the same recognition as athletes as men receive. The reason their games are not as widely viewed publicly is simply because they are not as fun to watch. For example the average attendance for a Los Angles Lasers game in 2011 was 18,997 people (ESP.. Com). While the average attendance for a Los Angles Sparks game, who plays in the same arena, was 1 0, 1 76 people which is higher than all other WAN teams for that season according to probabilistically. Mom. This can be changed with just a simple tweak of the playing equipment. Handicapping in female sports is quite common; it gives the women the chance to have the same kind of success as the men in their respective sports, which is why lowering the rims in women’s basketball would provide more support for the game by making it more entertaining to watch which would mean higher attended games and more television viewers. If the rims were lowered, women’s basketball would be much more entertaining to watch.

Women would be able to finish shots closer to the rim teeter which would result in higher scoring and much more exciting games. The reason men have such a large following worldwide is because people love watching some of the best athletes in the world do things on a court with a ball that nobody else can do. Women’s basketball players are no different. They, too, are the some of the best athletes in the world, but they just can’t do everything on a court that a man can do because they are naturally built differently.

Men tend to be much taller and stronger than women, and are able to jump higher and play much more aggressively. Lowering the rim, even just seven inches, would allow the female players to do more of the things that men can do, like dunk and hit high level of difficulty shots more often. One of the main promoters of this idea is the University of Connecticut head women’s basketball coach Gene Uremia, a seven time national champion with the Huskies who also led the women’s IIS Olympic team to a gold medal this past summer in London. What makes fans not want to watch women’s basketball is that some of the players can’t shoot and they miss lay-ups and that forces the game to slow down,” states Uremia (Gregory). He argues hat the lowering of the rim would increase the shooting percentages and increase the final scores, making it an overall much more exciting game to watch. This would in turn result in an increased audience and would be beneficial for the growth of the game and the women getting the attention and respect that they deserve. Adjusting the playing equipment in women’s sports is a very common practice.

The nets are lower than the men’s in women’s volleyball, the tees are moved up closer to the pin in golf, softball fields are smaller than baseball fields, and even in basketball their balls are already smaller to account for hysterical differences. That is why it is not unjust or sexist to propose lowering the rims to adjust to women’s differences in size and athleticism, for it would only be beneficial for female sports. It is unfair to expect women to play on a 10 foot rim and still get the type of attention that men get. The difference in athleticism and size just won’t allow for that. In 2007, NAB. Mom did a survey and found that the average NAB player is six feet and nine inches tall. A similar survey done in 2003 by WAN. Com found that the average height of a player is five feet eleven inches tall. This difference is the exact reason why men are dunking and women aren’t, but more importantly, why people are watching the men’s games but not the women’s games. Men are taller and have an easier time dunking and finishing off balance shots, while the smaller women have to work harder to put the ball through the basket. Basketball fans like to see the high scoring games and the powerful slam-dunks.

This is proven by the NAB All-Star weekend in which there is not only an All-Star game, but a Slam-Dunk contest and Three-Point contest as well which totaled in 2,729,000 viewers in 2012 (Savage). The WAN All-Star game had a total of 756,000 viewers in 201 1 (Costa). These numbers show how much more people would rather watch the men play then the women. Changes need to be made to even these numbers out. Other sports have followed this blueprint where the equipment used is adjusted to make them more successful, and it is time that basketball followed suit.

Lowering the rims in women’s basketball is a very controversial and not yet widespread topic. In fact, it is a very new subject that is only recently gaining attention. There are many opponents to the idea of the basket being lowered or women, as well as many hurdles to get through in order for it to take effect. In order for this to happen, there would have to be a long process of meetings and rule changes and an agreement between all leagues of women’s basketball both collegiate and professionally.

The NCAA released a statement saying, “The NCAA continues to work with its members and others to grow the game Of women’s basketball, but the issue Coach Uremia has raised is not before our membership for consideration” (AltaVista). Also, almost every gym that women play in is the home court to a men’s team as ell. So there are ID foot baskets in every facility already, and switching all of those to height adjustable rims would require a significant renovation. There are also critics of this idea who believe lowering the rims is an insult to female athletes everywhere: “… Roaring the rims would further ostracize young girls who are trying to learn the game on courts across the country, often right alongside boys,” states Kate Fagan, a writer for ASPEN. Com, a women’s sports site: (Lowering) “The problem is people insist on comparing it to the men’s game, suggesting women would attract more fans if they dunked and played above the rim, like men. This obsession with comparing women’s basketball to men’s doesn’t exist in other sports… F the argument is that people don ‘t watch women’s basketball because it’s slower and less explosive, then lowering the rim all the rims, for girls and women every/here does nothing to change that’ (Fagan). The entertainment factor does not appeal to many that are close to the game, and they are happy with how the sport is and feel it needs no change. What Pagan’s argument fails to mention though, is that professional women’s settable is hardly a profitable organization. The average NAB player makes about $3 million per year, while the average WAN player makes about $35,880 per year.

Why shouldn’t men and women be paid the same for playing the same game and working just as hard? The only way this will happen is if women’s basketball gains more fans and becomes just as popular and glorified as the men’s games. Like the adjustments for women in other sports, lowering the rim would give women a chance to be more successful which would in turn make the game more entertaining to watch. By more people watching the games and giving it more support, both the NCAA and WAN would gain more fans and more money.

With this money, WAN teams could get television deals like the NAB teams, which would mean more young girls could watch the games and be motivated to go and pick up a basketball themselves. The more young women there are that play basketball, the better the competition will be which would result in even better players then there are today. Basketball is a great sport and women deserve just as much recognition for their talents as the men receive. Lowering the rim would provide all that it would lead to more equality between men’s and women’s basketball.

The women”s struggle for equal rights has existed throughout American history. For thousands of years women had been denied of their rights and always been thought of as having a second-class role in society. Women were powerless and considered the property of men.

Women were only expected to fulfill certain roles in life. They have been given the role of being the weak, submissive, and a house-wife that was meant to stay home and care for the children. She was not expected to work outside the home. The women of the mid 1800″s realized that it was time for a change and so began the women”s right movement.

It was the mid 1800″s and the women started to take a step. Women began fighting for equal opportunities just as men. On July 1848, three hundred people came together at Seneca Falls, New York, to discuss and resolve the inequities that had place women as second-class. At this meeting, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, one of the women who organized the convention and was also known as “Mother of the Suffrage Movement,” presented a speech. She listed the areas in which women should have equality, and surprised everyone by including the right to vote. She had used a piece from the Declaration of Independence as her model “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal.” This meeting was the start of a fight that would drag on for years.

Women thought that the first step to gaining equality was being able to vote. The fight for the right to vote began in 1840. This was not an easy goal to accomplish. Along with other rights they wanted, they had to fight their way through state legislatures and congressional obstacles. Men argued that women were too sensitive and emotional and therefore would not be able to reach fair political decisions. Almost a century later, August 1920, the women”s right to vote was finally passed. It was the Nineteenth Amendment, “The right of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” In the 1980 presidential election, for the first time women outnumbered the male voters. The gaining of the women”s right to vote gave women hope that someday men and women would be created equal.

Although the women were allowed to vote, it little improved the way society portrayed women. Women still faced difficulties in experiencing equal rights. But the fact is, the women”s rights movement has made some steps into eliminating inequality.

Women were denied of higher education. The highest education a woman was allowed to complete was the primarily level. Due to this lack of higher education women were to only be illegible for jobs such as secretaries and teachers. Women had a hard time finding higher professional jobs because they lacked the proper education. Parents raised their daughters towards being a house-wife, so that a higher education would be pointless. This has been somewhat of an improvement. Before their education was limited to only domestic skills. This act was very effective in schools. It was not until 1974, when Congress passed the Equal Educational Opportunities Act, which stated that no one will be denied of education due to gender, race, color, or nationality. It was able to change the way some courses only to particular sexes, in other words, putting an end to stereotyping. For example, if a girl chooses to take an auto shop course and a boy wanted to take a home economics course, they would have every right to do so.

The opportunity for higher education for women gave them the chance to enter the work force. A woman could be anything whom she wants to be. All women are capable of being a housewife and caring for the children at the same time having a job. During the 1950″s, the largest increase in work force participation was among married women compared to 1920, the typical working woman was single. Studies have found that women that are employed play a higher role in her marriage as she normally would have being unemployed.

Women that were employed full-time had higher roles in marriage than a woman being part-time employed. From 1955 to 1990 the percentage of employed women has increased twelve percent. Though women were able to find jobs they still face difficulties concerning that area. Women”s work advancement was still limited compared to men. If a man and woman happen to have the same job the man was always paid more. World War I helped create new job opportunities for women, and many began to replace jobs that were once held by men.

Although the women in the work force have increased, they face another problem in the work force. Discrimination. February 6, 1977, discrimination complaints in the work force have risen to 130,000. Men often humored the working women. They did not think that women were “cut out” to handle the job as well as men do. Over the years discrimination has lessen, but it still does exist.

The women”s rights movement was a very historical event that dramatically changed the government. During the 18th and 19th centuries, women were outnumbered not by population, but instead by the power of men. The growing number of participants of the movement and the continuation through time eventually advanced women”s rights on both the state level and federal level. Women also proposed many Amendments into the Constitution. Eventually with changes of women in society, women began to become involved in the government. Women were being elected to serve in government offices.

It seems that the early Americans preferred their women as non-professional and non-intellectual, but as homemakers. Women were expected to follow an expected role, but eventually decided to change that. The women”s right movement was created in order to gain their equality. When this movement arose, the women were being accused of being selfish for wanting the same opportunities of men.

Over the years the rights movement has slowly been a success. Slowly, women”s roles in society have advanced. Society now accepts the rights of women and give them more opportunities to play a better role in society. Women of today hold positons that were once only for men. For example, in the past only men were to serve in high offices, but now so are women. Although women have achieve alot of the goals in the movement, some feel that “Women can not be equal outside of the home until men are equal inside the home.”

Domestic Violence:

Beyond Patriarchy In the Beginning The Battered Women’s movement of the 1970’s enlightened society about a much secreted, and what at the time, was considered a family matter, that of violence against women by their male intimate partners. Many lives have been saved as a direct result of society’s public awareness of this much-hidden scourge on our families. Federal and state laws prohibiting Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) have been enacted, and funding has been put in place for battered women’s shelter programs.

These changes have made a significant difference in the lives of battered women and children over the last few decades. The feminist theoretical perspective of IPVIPV has been depicted throughout our society as well as how victim services, and batterers intervention programs (BIP) are modeled. “Our culture has historically exhibited certain patriarchal values observable in religion and social custom. Working against the backdrop of this history, feminism quite naturally saw an antidote in ending social oppression of women.

Wife assault, kept largely out of the public view and tolerated by prevailing attitudes, was regarded by feminists as an evil symptom of patriarchy. ” (Dutton, page 17, 2006) Feminist theory defines IPV as a social problem with a single type of victim i. e. heterosexual women and one root cause, that of male privilege and patriarchy, which supports male domination, power, and control and the oppression of women. The need for services for IPVBIP’s for female perpetrators is obscured and trivialized by this “one size fits all” view.

Dutton describes feminist theory on IPV as being a “‘paradigm:”‘ [A paradigm is] a set of guiding assumptions or worldview, commonly shared within a group and serving to ward off recognition of data that are dissonant with the paradigm’s central tenets. This theory views all social relations through the prism of gender relations and holds that men hold power over women in patriarchal societies and that all domestic violence is either male physical abuse to maintain that power or female defensive violence used as a self protection. (p. 2, 2005) developed through the anti-rape and battered women’s movements.

This perspective has been the guiding light for how the social problem of against men by women and The violence against women by men paradigm is so entrenched that if anyone pursues any other theories or presents any data that is contrary to that perspective it is automatically considered anti-domestic violence movement. (Dutton, p. 44, 2005) Lucal (1995) found that attempts to discuss the idea of battered husbands started an emotionally charged and fiercely contested debate among researchers which has been the classic debate filled with claims and counterclaims.

Much of the debate has been centered around whether or not there are very many battered husbands. Most of the debate has been about whether or not battered husbands are a social problem worthy of support. (pp. 95-96) Revealing Statistics Dr. Murray Straus, co-founder and co-director of the University of New Hampshire’s Family Violence Research Laboratory, has studied IPV and child abuse for over thirty years. In study after study he has found that both men and women are capable of being victims and committing IPV.

For instance: (I? E(Busing data from the National Family Violence Survey of 1975, Straus (l980) found that 11. 6 (2. 6 million nationwide) of husbands reported having been the victim of severe violence by their wives. Severe vio1ence was defined as behaviors, such as kicking, punching, beating, or using a knife or gun, that have a high probability of causing physical injury. (as cited in Hines Malley-Morrison, p. 77, 2001) Presenting data that defies feminist logic has caused Dr. Straus and his colleague’s substantial risk.

As a result of the depth of the objections to our finding on assaults by wives, some of us became the object of bitter scholarly and person attacks. These attack included obstruction of my public presentations by booing, shouting, and picketing. In elections for office in scientific societies I was labeled as antifeminist despite being a pioneer feminist researcher on wife beating (Straus, 1973, 1996 as cited in Straus, pp. 225-226, 1992). Suzanne K. Steinmetz, a co investigator in the first National Family Violence Survey, was the victim of more severe attacks.

There was a letter-writing campaign opposing her promotion. There were phone calls threatening her and her family, and a bomb threat at a conference where she spoke. (pp. 225-226) Studies such as the National Violence Against Women Survey tend to filter out male reports of victimization because of the “‘set”‘ of the survey (criminal victimization of women) (Dutton, p. 4, in press). However, the National Violence Against Women Survey in 2000(a) reports that more than 834,000 men are raped or physically assaulted by an intimate partner each year in the United States.

This translates into about(I? E(B32 assaults per 1,000 men. (Tjaden & Thoennes, p. 11) Since the respondents in this study were told they were being interviewed about “personal safety” issues it’s quite possible that this number is an underestimate as many of the men may not have perceived the violence that their wives or girlfriends were perpetrating against them as a threat to their safety. (Hines & Malley-Morrison, p. 77, 2001) The Establishment of Services for Male Victims

Spreading the word as news of the availability of DAHMW’s helpline became more known, calls from men and those concerned about a male relative or friend whom they thought were in an abusive situation started coming in from around the country. A website was created with information on male victimization and other resources and tri-fold brochures specifically addressing IPV against men were designed, printed and distributed through mailings and placements on community bulletin boards. Consequently, two years after its inception, DAHMWDAHMWIPV. as highlighted in the National Crime Prevention Council’s book, “50 Strategies to Prevent Violence Domestic Crimes. ” (2002) as, “[one of] 50 promising programs [that offer] new and alternative methods to aid under-served victims of violent domestic crime including teens in dating relationships, elderly victims of late-life abuse, child witnesses to violence, battered immigrants, male victims, and survivors in the gay and lesbian community. ” In 2003 Verizon began to publish the crisis line in a number of their phone books.

Incoming calls to helpline have grown exponentially from fourteen a month in 2001, to over three hundred calls a month in 2006. The vast majority of the calls continue to be from or about a male victim (and children) of female Information gathered from male callers to the helpline suggests that some violent women use highly physically disabling tactics on their victims. “According to qualitative accounts, several physical attacks reported to have occurred to the groin area, as in the following examples: “‘G reports that his estranged wife frequently targeted his testicles in her attacks, which included head butting and choking.

Police were called to his home six times, one call resulted in the wife’s arrest. “‘ “‘I was writhing, crying in the corner, I couldn’t get up for two hours she kicked me in the groin at least 12 times. “‘ “‘She held a knife to my balls and threatened to cut them off. “‘ (Hines etal, p. 66, 2007) The stigma attached to being a man abused by a woman is profound. Many men report that they were taught never to hit a girl, be strong, do not cry and do not tell your personal business to anyone from their parents and caregivers. There is also a cultural belief that men should be able to defend themselves.

However, if a man does defend himself against his abusive female partner and the police are called, the man is the one that will be arrested. When Dwayne Bobbit had his penis cut off by his wife in 1993, it was a big joke for late night comedy. Lorena Bobbitt was found not guilty by reason of temporary insanity. The reaction would have been entirely different had the genders been reversed. (Dutton, p. 148, 2006) Law Enforcement and the Court’s Response The concerned family members and the victims themselves to the DAHMW helpline have recounted reports of the lack of concern for male victims: Misconceptions and Realities

Feminists’ theorists assert that women’s violence against men is less likely than men’s violence against women to result in serious physical or psychological harm. (Dutton & Nichols, p. 697, 2005) They use this claim to dismiss women’s violence against men and male victims. Women, in general, may not be as big or strong as men are, however, what women lack in size and strength they make up for with the use of weapons. Research conducted at an emergency clinic study in Ohio (Vasquez & Falcone, 1997, as cited in Dutton & Nichols, 2005 ) revealed that 72).

The authors reported that burns obtained in intimate violence were as frequent for male victims as female victims. As this study demonstrates, community samples, unless they require subjects to self-report as crime victims, show a different and more equivalent pattern of violence by gender than that alleged by the(I? E(Bfeminist perspective(I? E(B. Regardless of the variations in the studies, two conclusions seem reasonable:

women are injured more than men, and men are injured too, and are not immune to being seriously injured. Simply because the injury rates are lower, men should not be denied protection. (Dutton & Nichols pp. 97-678, 2005) The feminist perspective of IPV being predominantly patriarchal in nature also excludes much of the victims in LGBT community. The LGBT community has had to set up their own domestic violence shelter programs that primarily or exclusively protect, educate and serve LGBT individuals who are victims of IPV. (e. g. see the www. gmdvp. org, www. lagaycenter. org/FamilyViolence etc ) According to Helfrich & Simpson (2006) lesbians have a difficult time accessing services through the traditional battered women’s shelter programs due to the lack of policies to screen lesbian survivors and identify batterers.

Lesbian batterers may use deception to access services through the same agency as the survivor and there are little to no stopgap measures taken to deal with those situations.  Beyond Patriarchy, Alternative Theories on IPV Dutton (2006) asserts that the best predictor of intimate partner violence is not gender but personality disorder (p. 153). Since the beginning of the battered women’s movement, researchers who have studied maritally violent men have often treated batterers as a homogeneous group. They have measured violent husbands by comparing them to nonviolent ones.

However, more recently they have found that violent husbands vary along a number of important dimensions, including severity of violence, anger, depression and alcohol abuse. (Holtzworth-Munroe & Stuart, p. 476, 1994) More recently, researchers have begun to investigate what attachment styles and personality disorders have to do with IPV. The focus for this paper regarding typologies of batterers is on the dysphoric/borderline subtype and so a full description of each subtype of batterer is beyond this review. For more information of the various subtypes please review, Holtzworth-Munroe & Stuart, 1994; Holtzworth-Munroe et al. 1997; Holtzworth-Munroe et al. , 2000; Waltz et al. , 2000; Babcock et al. , 2003; Carney & Buttell, 2004) Researchers have found that batterers are more likely a heterogeneous than a homogeneous group and within that heterogeneous grouping various subtypes of batterers exist. Seminal research done by Holtzworth-Munroe and Stuart (1994) studied violent men and ascertained various typologies of male batterers. Holtzworth-Munroe and Stuart categorized three major subtypes and they labeled them, family only, dysphoric/borderline, and generally violent/antisocial. (Holtworth-Munroe & Stuart, p. 76-482, 1994) Holtzworth-Munroe and Stuart described dysphoric/borderline batterers as those who engage in moderate to severe wife abuse as well as psychological and sexual abuse. Their violence is primarily towards the family; however, they suggested that some extra familial violence and criminal behavior may be evident. Additionally, they found that these men are the most dysphoric, psychologically distressed, and emotionally volatile and that they have evidence of borderline and schizoidal personally characteristics. The may also have problems with alcohol and drug abuse. (ibid. According to Dutton (2006), “Across several studies, implemented by independent researchers, the prevalence of personality disorder in wife assaulters has been found to be extremely high. These men are not mere products of male sex role conditioning or “‘male privilege”‘ [as the feminist theory of IPV suggests]; they possess characteristics that differentiate them from the majority of men who are not repeat abusers. ” (p. 185) In addition to research on subtypes of batterers, there is also evidence to suggest that early attachment has bearing on what type of person may have the propensity towards perpetrating IPV.

Buttell et al (2005) states that the presence of batterer subtypes is widely accepted in the field and that findings from [their] study seem to suggest that issues of attachment and dependency may be related to the development of an abusive personality for one type of batterer. They state that if true, efforts to improve intervention may need to focus on distinguishing batterer subtypes and developing intervention strategies relevant to the need for each subtype. (p. 216) Attachment styles may be the key to unlock many doors for both female and male perpetrators of IPV.

Dutton in his book, The Abusive Personality, reiterates Bowlby’s findings on attachment styles: In his landmark series of books entitled Attachment and Loss, Bowlby developed the notion that human attachment was of ultimate importance for human emotional development. In his view, it had sociobiological significance. His views encompassed the possibility of individual differences that came to be called “‘attachment styles'” referr[ing] to entire constellations of thoughts and feelings about intimacy.

Reactions to the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of early attempts at attachment set up life-long attachment styles described as secure, fearful, or dismissing. The dismissing people tend to be wary of and stay out of relationships. The secure ones are comfortable with closeness. The fearful ones are stuck in the middle, exhibiting ambivalence toward intimacy and to those with whom they are emotionally connected. (as cited in Dutton, p. 116, 1998) Dutton (1998) further postulates that this push-pull reaction of the fearful attachment styled person resembles the ebb and flow of what he has coined the “cyclical personality. Dutton reports that in his notes on phrases used by female victims to describe their male batterers (who were clients of Dutton’s) there was a recurring theme. They would express that their partners would act like “Jekyll and Hyde” and appear to be two different people at times. They also said things like, “He’s like living with an emotional roller-coaster,” and describe their mates as moody, irritable, jealous and changeable. (p. 53) This cycling was first recognized by Lenore Walker in her book, The Battered Women, as the “‘battering cycle. “‘ (as cited in Dutton, ibid. As Dutton set out to gain some understanding of a cyclical or phasic personality he came across a book by John G. Gunderdson entitled, Borderline Personality Disorder: Dutton’s research regarding attachment, borderline and the batterer’s cyclical personality has been focused on male on female IPV, however, in his recent book, Rethinking DV, he discusses female perpetrators: Recent research has begun to explore the role of [fearful attachment, borderline traits, and chronic trauma symptoms, which generates what Dutton calls the abusive personality] among female perpetrators of partner abuse.

Follingstad, Bradley, Helff, and Laughlin (2002) generated a model for predicting dating violence in a sample of 412 college students. (as cited in Dutton, p. 201, 2006) They found that anxious attachment resulting from early life experiences led to the development of an “‘angry temperament,”‘ which in turn related to attempts to control and use abuse against an intimate partner. The model predicted abusiveness for both genders (ibid. ) Other researchers have also hypothesized about subtypes of abusive males and females.

For instance, Buttell et al (2005), states that researchers are beginning to explore the role of attachment theory and develop hypotheses on abusive behaviors relevant to different subtypes of abuser in order to improve intervention efforts for batterers. (p. 211) Gormley (2005) concluded that, “Insecure adult attachment orientations affect half the adult population, helping to explain the prevalence of men’s and women’s IPV. Women with insecure adult attachment orientations may be as much at risk as similar men of psychologically and physically abusing romantic partners, oing damage to relationships they may be socialize to value highly(I? E(B. ” (p. 793) Female Batterers Scant research has been done on female batterers; however, due to the changes in mandatory arrest policies more women are being arrested than ever before. The debate about whether or not women perpetrate IPV has changed noticeably of late due in part to the fact that women are increasingly being arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced to intervention programs for domestic violence offenses.

Women’s arrest for IPV is a direct result of legislation that has mandated the arrest of perpetrators in cases where police become involved when a domestic dispute has occurred. Warrantless arrest legislation gives police the power to arrest the abuser and press charges themselves when called to a domestic dispute. The victim no longer needs to press charges against the perpetrator. The arrest of women was certainly an unintended consequence of this legislation and has had a dramatic impact on the national debate regarding female initiated IPV. Carney & Buttell, p. 249, 2004) Feminist theory of IPV has created a dilemma regarding intervention services for female batterers. At present, the most prevalent legislated BIP’s the system has set up are for dealing with batterers comes from the feminist model of IPV. Female batterers who are convicted of domestic assault and court ordered to attend a BIP have little choice but than to attend the feminist model of BIP’s when court ordered to do so. (Carney and Buttell, p. 50, 2004) In addition, research on these [Duluth Model] BIP’s indicate that few men who complete treatment benefit from it to the extent that they demonstrate positive changes in their behaviors. Of course, if men are not benefiting from a program that is specifically designed for patriarchal batterers then certainly abusive women will benefit even less. (ibid. ) According to Babcock & Siard (2003) some of the women arrested could have been acting in self-defense and were therefore falsely arrested but others with extensive violent histories may in fact be primary aggressors. p. 153) Men who are arrested are not given the same latitude. Babcock et al. (2003) mentions that in a study of women arrested for IPV, Hamberger and Potente (1994) found women who could clearly be identified as primary aggressors of IPV, yet in the treatment setting they were generally treated the same as those women who used self defense. (as cited in Babcock & Siard, p. 154). Babcock et al. (2003) proposed two categories of female batterers, those that were partner-only and those that were generally violent.

The partner-only category covered women who may be more likely to use violence in self-defense and the generally violent women (of more interest for this paper) were women who used violence in any manner of situations including against their romantic partners. (pp. 153-154) Many studies on male batterer’s include reports from their female victims; however, the researchers in this study did not ask the male victims for reports of their partner’s violence. Iit is interesting to note that violent women were asked to report on their male partner’s violence against them. (p. 57) They further note that power and control seems to be an issue for some abusive women and they suggest that women’s power and control issues, traumatic histories, and psychological distress should be explored and indicate that clinicians may want to assess for psychopathology (i. e. post-traumatic stress disorder, borderline personality disorder, etc. ) (ibid. ) Recent studies have found that women’s and men’s violence share similar correlates (Giordano, Millhollin, Cernkovich, Pugh, & Rudolph, 1999; Magdol, Moffittt, Caspi, & Silva, 1998; Moffitt, Robins, & Caspi, 2001 as cited in Babcock et al, p. 53, 2003) therefore, they may also share similar motivations and circumstances. Female Batterers from Victims Reports Hines et al’s (2007) research provides some insight into female batterers from their male victims. “Female abusers likely have a history of childhood trauma, may be suffering from a mental illness, and are likely to use alcohol and/or drugs. Further, these women have a high rate of threatening either suicide and/or homicide. ” (p. 9) As previously stated, women have been asked to report on their male batterers and although this is not the ideal way to obtain information on batterers, feminist researchers have been gathering information in this way from battered women in shelters for years. (e. g. Walker, 2000 as cited in Hines et al, p. 69, 2007) Conclusion Men are victims of female perpetrated IPV and need services such as shelter, legal aid, support and counseling much the same as their female counterparts. Additionally, men’s reports of victimization should not be called into question but treated with the same respect as women’s reports.

Protocols should be put in place within the domestic violence shelters programs, for law enforcement and the courts that will screen out potential female and male batterers so that victims are not judged by their gender. There is a dearth of research of female batterers and what has been presented from the feminist theory suggests that violent females use violence in self-defense. As we move away from the feminist theory of IPV researchers are discovering that childhood trauma, insecure attachment styles, mental illness, and/or alcohol and substance abuse play a role in IPV for both genders.

Not all male batterers fit into the feminist theory of IPV, there are subtypes of batterers and attachment style plays a role in who perpetrates IPV. The subtype that is the focus of this paper is that of the borderline, cyclical batterer. Female batterers also show symptoms of having subtypes evidenced by reports from male callers to the DAHMW. Studies are beginning to assess psychological factors that predict female intimate partner violence. What is emerging is evidence of personality disorder, attachment style, and constricted affect that has also been seen in male abusers.

Female abusers share much of the same traits as male abusers especially antisocial and borderline personalities. (Dutton, p. 203, 2006) As Babcock et al. (2003) explain, “[the] feminist perspective should be holistic, examining both the positive and negative sides of women’s behavior. Bringing attention to some women being in the role of perpetrators, not solely as the victims of intimate partner abuse, involves viewing women as they are, not as we would wish them to be. ” (p. 160)

References About The Author

Abortion in India is more common than those would think, quite often a daily occurrence. In India, abortions are completely common because women are quite often having abortions after finding out the sex of the child. Not only is aborting a certain sex frowned upon, but the abortions given in India are often extremely poorly done because of the lack of trained professionals. Abortion in India should be more safe and sterile, while also done by properly trained professionals whom specialize in this area.

Unfortunately in India the situation involving trained doctors and nurses for safe abortions is highly lacking making it much harder to provide for those in need of an abortion. Due to that other physicians and nurses get trained to provide medical abortions. “Abortion has been legalized in India for the past three decades” which made it possible to have medical and or surgical abortions available (Sarala Gopalan). Along with that came the complications of aborting certain sexes causing the passing of a law “India passed a law in 1994 making it illegal to abort a fetus based on its sex” (Kirkey).

That law was passed because many Indian people were having children, trying to have a boy and when not successful would get an abortion. Quite often most of these abortions happened to be an unhealthy or unsafe abortion “Unsafe abortions constitute a major threat to the health and lives of women” (Sarala Gopalan). The result of an unsafe abortion can end up with terrible outcomes such as incomplete abortion, sepsis, haemorrhage, and damage to internal organs. The most major result of an unsafe abortion can result in the person receiving the abortion to die.