Violence Against Women

“Rules are like women, made to be violated” Can you believe that a Quebec Court Justice could be so biased. Unfortunately this opinion continues to be held by many people, not only in the judicial system, but in society at large. In Alice Sebold’s rape memoir entitled “Lucky” this anti-women sentiment radically effects the course of her life. As a college freshman she (Alice) is brutally raped. The ensuing story describes her struggle to reclaim her life and trust in other so she can live her life without fear. The two articles, “Some Reflections on violence against women” and “Rape Myths” deal with the treatment of women both globally and in Canada. Most importantly the memoir states the problem with the current judicial system which treats women as the offender, not the victim.

Only until recently, 1993, was violence against women recognized as by the United Nations as a problem regarding human rights. In this article rape is a global problem which effects more women then one could possibly imagine. This article touches on rape, but also discusses violence against women in all aspects of their life including the home and the workplace. Coomaraswamy states that “to be understood and confronted violence has to be categorized.” The category of “violence and sexuality” relates to the novel. This categorization discounts the widely held opinion that rape is not a violent crime, rather a crime of passion. It is clear that in the novel Alice’s rape has everything to power. It’s Coomaraswamy’s opinion that women are subjected to violence because they are female. This means that women are guilty until they can prove their innocence. Instead of being recognized as a victim Alice had to prove that she was “the ideal rape victim” in order to see justice.