ABUSE IN THE 1840'S and 50's
Sexual intercourse began
In nineteen sixty-three
(which was rather late for me) -
Between the end of the Chatterley ban
And the Beatles' first LP.
Up to then there'd only been
A sort of bargaining,
A wrangle for the ring,
A shame that started at sixteen
And spread to everything.
Then all at once the quarrel sank:
Everyone felt the same,
And every life became
A brilliant breaking of the bank,
A quite unlovable game.
So life was never better than
In nineteen sixty-three
(Though just too late for me) -
Between the end of the Chatterley ban
And the Beatles' first LP
there were no laws against rape in marriage
-domestic violence was rarely punished and police forces had no special domestic violence units nor policies
So your interpretation of the relationships between gender, sexuality and power are reasonable.
Moreover, these attitudes were upheld not only in practice, but were legitimated by the legal system - and by the economic system in which few women were able to earn a subsistence wage, most married women or marred women who became pregnant were asked to retire from paid work. Thus they were both legally and economically constructed as dependents upon their husbands.
Single women, who became pregnant, and divorced mothers did not have the same rights to government economic assistance as did widows with children -so they were even more under the social control of the men whom they partnered
In addition birth control techniques were technologically clumsy and heavily controlled by the medical authorities So women had little control over the size of their families, thus becoming even more under the power of their husbands as their families became bigger and their husbands wage became the major source of income of them and their children.
However it was the political action to change these laws and conditions about economic dependence and women's control over their own bodies rather the porn industry that freed up women's sexuality and then general attitudes
"One way of coping with the trauma of sexual abuse is to control or avoid the triggers of trauma responses," they wrote. "Intimate gynecological examinations can be particularly stressful for women who have been abused because of the parallels with the abuse situation, for example, perceived loss of control, the power disparity, and the physical sensation of the examination."
However, women who have been sexually abused are at increased risk of cervical lesions, possibly because of early exposure to cancer-related human papillomavirus as well as the risky health behaviors often seen in abused women, such as drug and alcohol abuse.
Many such women are aware of the importance of screening, but "we repeatedly hear that some survivors would rather deal with cervical cancer if it develops than face the experience of regular testing," Sarah Kelly, training and development manager at the abuse survivors' support association, explained in an accompanying editorial.
But the group has also received tips from women on what has helped them have positive experiences with getting a cervical smear test:
Time to talk about the fear and anxiety they are feeling about the test
A friend or supporter present with them during the test
An understanding smear taker
A private and comfortable environment to undress and be tested
A prearranged signal they can use to halt the test at any pointAnother point for clinicians to consider is that asking a woman to "try to relax" during the test can trigger anxiety or flashbacks, Kelly noted.
"The word 'relax' is often used by abusers and can be very frightening for survivors; an alternative is to agree a word in advance to use in discussions with the patient," she wrote.
Her organization's website featured a short anonymous survey asking about demographics, cervical screening history, and history of abuse, which 135 sexually-abused women completed.
Of the women eligible for cervical cancer screening, 78 percent had ever gotten the test done.
Fewer than half had done so within the recommended screening interval, which in England varies from 3 to 5 years depending on a woman's age:
49 percent at least once in the prior 5 years
42 percent of women ages 25 to 49 within 3 yearsThe survey also asked women to explain the main reasons for not ever having had a Pap smear, or sometimes putting it off when invited to do so, as well as for their suggestions to make abused women more likely to get screened.
Nearly all of the women (124 of 135) provided open-ended responses.
Almost one in four cited self-worth issues as part of the reason they didn't go for screening as regularly as they should, not just because of embarrassment but also because of scars or other signs of abuse that would be apparent to the screener in some cases.
Many of the women also pointed to loss of control or feeling vulnerable with the sample collection process (29 percent) and fear and anxiety about the test or the consequences of not getting tested or both (30 percent).
Almost 40 percent of the women made a comment about feeling sexually victimized by the screening, 15 percent saying the experience was just like the abuse they used to suffer.
Safety, trust, and difficulty of disclosing the abuse were issues brought up by one in five of the respondents. About the same proportion said they found the cervical smear tests uncomfortable and even painful.
Poor communication and lack of sensitivity by the smear taker were mentioned by 17 percent of the women.
Practical suggestions for making abused women more likely to undergo screening ranged from support to disclose the history of abuse to lying on the side instead of on the back during the smear collection.
Another possibility is allowing these women to collect their own cervical smear sample, the researchers noted.
"Self-sampling for HPV has been shown to be acceptable to a number of general populations of women and has comparable specificity and sensitivity to cervical cytology in trials," they pointed out.
The group cautioned about the small sample size in the exploratory study as well as the population included in it, survey respondents who were likely the women most affected by their abuse.
A survey of the professional literature shows that the three main types of abuse most commonly researched are physical abuse and, to a lesser extent, neglect and the trauma of children who have witnessed violence against their parents.
8 According to the professional literature, child abuse in the United States exhibits definite demographic patterns:
The safest family environment for a child is a home in which the biological parents are married. Contrary to current theory about the effects of marriage on children, recent research demonstrates that marriage provides a safe environment for all family members, one in which child abuse and fatality are lowered dramatically.
Cohabitation, an increasingly common phenomenon, is a major factor in child abuse. Cohabitation implies a lack of commitment. The evidence suggests that a lack of commitment between biological parents is dangerous for children, and that a lack of commitment between mother and boyfriend is exceedingly so. The risk of child abuse is 20 times higher than in traditional married families if parents are cohabiting (as in "common law" marriages) and 33 times higher if the single mother is cohabiting with a boyfriend.
9
The incidence of child abuse decreases significantly as family income increases. The impression that there is a high incidence of abuse among the very poor is reinforced by the results of research into child abuse. In 1993, the overall rate of maltreatment (abuse and neglect combined) in the United States was lowest in families with incomes above $30,000 per year; 10 times higher in families with incomes between $15,000 and $30,000 per year; and 22 times higher for families with incomes below $15,000 per year.
10
Child abuse frequently is intergenerational. Another generation of child abusers is being weaned by today's abusing parents, and many of these children will never know that children can be treated differently.
Child abuse is prevalent in "communities of abuse" characterized by family breakdown. These also are communities of crime, characterized by the absence of marriage, the prevalence of drug and alcohol abuse, and a primary dependence on welfare.
11 Children who grow up in these "communities" show signs of permanent damage; moreover, as statistics follow them over time, many prove to have been damaged for life. From these communities of abuse come society's "super predators" (the psychopathic criminals of tomorrow), violent gang members, and other hostile, depressed, and frequently even suicidal young people.
Child abuse is directly associated with serious violent crime. An increase in the incidence of child abuse precedes an increase in violent crime.
Although a home with biological parents who are married cannot guarantee that a child will be safe and happy, the evidence suggests that it represents the safest of all environments for children; at the same time--and in sharp contrast - the evidence also suggests that a home with adults who decide not to marry and to live together out of wedlock represents the most dangerous environment of all for children.
ITS NOT RACE,CREED OR RELIGION OR HOW STRONG YOU LOOK OR WEAK:
In the 1940's and 50's. Sexual abuse was not considered abuse. So as I look for statistics on this matter its pretty much none existence.. These women are the bravest and the ones before them. So
I declare May 6th THE DAY OF" THE FIST"....
