The I-VAWA Bill Has 15 Findings…Any Guesses How Many of Them are Truthful?
ZERO. See analysis of the I-VAWA findings below…
Analysis of Findings in the International Violence Against Women Act
S. 2982 and H.R. 4594
The International Violence Against Women Act contains 15 claims. All of the 15 claims are misleading, one-sided, vague, unverifiable, or demonstrably false. Not a single one of the claims turns out to be unbiased, truthful, and verifiable.
The level of misrepresentation is so pervasive that it threatens to undermine the credibility of other legitimate efforts to improve the global status of women.
Claim #1:
The World Health Organization has reported that up to 70 percent of women in some countries report having been victims of domestic violence at some stage in their lives.
Analysis: Extremely misleading.
This claim is misleading for three reasons:
1. Peer-reviewed research conducted around the world consistently shows women are as likely, or more likely than men to engage in intimate partner aggression. [1-7] One study of university students in 16 countries around the world found that 25% of men and 28% of women had assaulted their dating partner in the past year. [8]
2. Most studies show lifetime incidence rates of partner aggression in the range of 10-25%. [9]
3. The “up to 70%†figure comes from two unverifiable sources:
a. An unpublished survey of a self-selected population in Papua New Guinea conducted in 1982. [10]
b. An unidentified “Personal communication†from the Fundacion Internacional para el Desafio Economic Global regarding a study done in Nicaragua in 1997.
Claim #2:
According to the United Nations, engaging men and women to end violence against women and girls internationally should be a priority. In recognition of this priority, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched a multi-year campaign in 2009 to end violence against women and pledge resources to engage male leaders and to mobilize men and boys.
Analysis: Orwellian.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), men are twice as likely as women to die of violence-related causes. [11] For the UN to launch a campaign to stop violence against women — and ignore the far more widespread problem of violence against men — defies compassion, reason, and logic.
Claim #3:
Violence against women dramatically impedes progress in meeting all of our global health goals,
Analysis: False.
According to the WHO, the leading causes of death in the world are cardiovascular disease, infectious diseases, and cancer. [12] Do the I-VAWA sponsors really believe that domestic violence “dramatically†impedes control of “all†these conditions?
Claim #4:
 …including efforts to stem maternal mortality
Analysis: False.
The WHO report on domestic violence does not mention any link between partner abuse during pregnancy and maternal mortality. [13] According to the Pan American Health Organization, “It is not yet known what proportion of maternal mortality is due to domestic violence.†[14]
Claim #5:
 … and the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Analysis: Vague and unverifiable.
Sexual assault can certainly contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS, but no information is provided to show that it “dramatically†worsens the problem, especially in countries where homosexual contact is the main source of HIV transmission.
Claim #6:
Approximately 1 in 4 women are abused during pregnancy, which, according to the World Health Organization, has been linked to miscarriage, pre-term labor, low birth weight, fetal distress, and death.
Analysis: False.
According to a 10-country WHO study, 4-12%, not 25% of women in most sites reported they had been physically abused during pregnancy.[15] The WHO report also suggests there may be protective effect of pregnancy.
Claim #7:
Women who have experienced violence are also at higher risk for contracting HIV, and women living with HIV may be up to 3 times more likely to experience violence than other women.
Analysis: Misleading and false.
The statement is misleading because HIV-positive men are also at greater risk of becoming victims of domestic violence. The statement is false because HIV-positive women (and men) are two, not three times more likely to become victims of partner aggression.[16]
Claim #8:
 Fear of violence also prevents women from accessing HIV/AIDS information and receiving treatment and counseling.
Analysis: Vague, misleading, and unverifiable.
The statement is vague because it does not provide any facts or figures to validate the frequency or severity of the problem. It is misleading because men may also avoid HIV/AID information and counseling due to fear of violence. As a result, the statement is unverifiable.
Claim #9:
Increasing women’s access to economic opportunities is crucial to preventing and responding to domestic and sexual violence. Microfinance-based interventions and increased asset control reduce levels of intimate partner violence and provide economic independence for survivors.
Analysis: Unproven.
Increasing economic opportunities is a desirable goal for all persons. But there is no scientific basis to support the claim that “micro-finance-based interventions and increased asset control†will reduce partner violence.
Claim #10:
Displaced, refugee, and stateless women and girls in humanitarian emergencies, conflict settings, and natural disasters face extreme violence and threats because of power inequities, including–
(A) being forced to exchange sex for food and humanitarian supplies; and
(B) being at increased risk of rape, sexual exploitation, and abuse.
Analysis: One-sided.
During humanitarian emergencies and natural disasters, persons of both sexes face far greater risk of exploitation and abuse.
Claim #11:
Rape and sexual assault against women and girls are used to torture, intimidate, and terrorize women and their communities.
Analysis: One-sided and misleading.
During times of civil upheaval, civilian men are at greater risk of kidnapping, torture, and death.[17]
According to UNICEF, child marriage–
Comment: Concerns about “child marriage†generally center around the union of persons under the age of 15. But UNICEF defines the cut-off age at 18 years,[18] which raises the question whether marriage at age 16 or 17 is harmful, especially in countries where the legal age of majority is 14 or 15 years.
Claim #12:
(A) is a harmful practice that deprives girls of their dignity and human rights;
Analysis: Vague and one-sided.
The claim is likely true, but does not provide any facts or figures to validate the frequency or severity of the problem. The statement makes no reference to problem of boys forced into child labor or coerced to become child soldiers. And it is unclear what programs or policies promoted by I-VAWA are intended to reduce child marriage.
Claim #13:
(B) can result in bonded labor or enslavement, commercial sexual exploitation, and violence against the victims;
Analysis: Vague and one-sided.
Same reasons as above.
Claim #14:
(C) significantly increases the risk of maternal death and morbidity, infant mortality and morbidity, obstetric fistula, and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS;
Analysis: Vague and one-sided.
Same reasons as above.
Claim #15:
(D) is perpetuated by poverty, a lack of educational or employment opportunities for girls, parental concerns to ensure sexual relations within marriage, the dowry system, and the perceived lack of value of girls.
Analysis: Vague and one-sided.
Same reasons as above.
References:
[1] Moffitt TE, Caspi A. Findings about Partner Violence from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study. Washington, DC. National Institute of Justice, 1999.
[2] Straus MA. Dominance and symmetry in partner violence by male and female university students in 32 nations. Children and Youth Services Review Vol. 30, 2008. pp. 252-275.
[3] Whitaker DJ, Haileyesus T, Swahn M, Saltzman L. Differences in frequency of violence and reported injury between relationships with reciprocal and nonreciprocal intimate partner violence. American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 97, No. 5, 2007.
[4] Kim K., Cho Y. Epidemiological survey of spousal abuse in Korea. In E. C. Viano (Ed.) Intimate Violence: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. (pp. 277-282). Bristol, PA: Taylor and Francis. 1992.
[5] Kim J-Y, Emery C. Marital power, conflict, norm consensus, and marital violence in a nationally representative sample of Korean couples. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 18, 197-219. 2003.
[6] Steinmetz SK. A cross cultural comparison of marital abuse. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 8, 404-414. 1981.
[7] Tang CS. Prevalence of spouse aggression in Hong Kong. Journal of Family Violence, 9, 347-356. 1994.
[8] Straus MA. Prevalence of violence against dating partners by male and female university students worldwide. Violence Against Women Vol. 10, 2001. pp. 90-811.ÂÂ
[9] World Health Organization. World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva, Switzerland, 2002. http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/world_report/en/ Table 4.1.
[10] Toft S, Bonnell S. Marriage and domestic violence in rural Papua New Guinea (PNG). Boroko, PNG, Law Reform Commission of PNG, 1985. (Occasional Papers No. 18).
[11] World Health Organization. World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva, Switzerland, 2002.
[12] World Health Organization. World Health Report, 2004. Annex Table 2. Geneva, Switzerland.
[13] Garcia-Moreno C et al. Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence Against Women. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization. 2005. pp. 65-66. www.who.int/gender/violence/who_multicountry_study/en/index.html
[14] Pan American Health Organization. Maternal death due to domestic violence. Washington, DC: Gender, Ethnicity, and Health Unit. 2005. http://www.paho.org/English/ad/ge/FSmaternaldeath-domviol.pdf
[15] Garcia-Moreno C et al. Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence Against Women. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization. 2005. p. 65. www.who.int/gender/violence/who_multicountry_study/en/index.html
[16] Zierler S, Cunningham WE, Andersen R et al. Violence victimization after HIV infection in a US probability sample of adult patients in primary care. American Journal of Public Health Vol. 90, No. 2, February 2000.
[17] Jones A. Gendercide and genocide. Journal of Genocide Research Vol 2, No. 2, June 2000. Pp. 185-211.
[18] UNICEF. Child marriage. Accessed March 8, 2010. http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_earlymarriage.html?q=printme
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