Andrew Terc
Dr. J
SSC 200
7 May 2021
1. Problem of Gender Violence
a. When researchers use the sociology lens to analyze the problem of gender
violence, they look at how society affects the problem of gender violence,
including looking at social structures and human interaction. An example of this
can be seen when looking at the beginning of the #MeToo movement, when many
very wealthy and powerful celebrities were being exposed for contributing to
gender violence. Our society makes it so that those who have extreme wealth
and/or power are more likely to be able to commit a crime such as gender
violence and get away with it or have no repercussions for their actions. This lens
can also useful when looking at gender discrimination in the workforce, such as
women or people of the LGBTQIA+ community receiving unfair wages or facing
possible discrimination. I believe researchers should focus on how society can
progress to the point where discrimination is a thing of the past, and people are
judged based upon the content of their character rather than their gender identity
or sexual orientation. Also, I believe researches should focus on how women and
those that do not identify as male can gain power in society, or how powerful
women and men can help those who are put into bad situations because they are
being manipulated or being taken advantage of.
b. Researchers using the communication studies lens to analyze the problem of
gender violence look at communication and messages being sent and received in
society, and how communication affects the problem of gender violence. This can
be done through focusing on message construction, how it was received, the
context of the communication, and the effect the communication ended up having.
Communication is studied on multiple levels, including interpersonal, family,
small group, and organizational. Recently, a great example of ending gender
violence through communication includes the very viral #MeToo movement, as
many women and those abused were able to give their message to many people,
through social media and media outlets. It led to the arrest of several people and
led to an increased awareness of what was going on in the country, leading to
greater exposure for those that were abused or victimized, especially women and
those in the LGBTQIA+ community. Researchers in this discipline should
continue to investigate and find ways to continue using social media as a platform
to spread awareness, equality, and fight for the rights of those that are oppressed.
Messages get across to people faster than ever before now with the continuously
increasing amount social media platforms and accounts in use, so it would only be
logical to use social media as a form of communication.
c. Researchers exploring the topic of ending gender violence through the lens of
criminal justice study the relationship between crime and society. This means they
are researching crimes, criminals, victims of crime, criminal justice, the impact of
crime, and how to prevent crime, particularly in the case of gender violence. This
includes exploring policies, laws, social justice approaches, along with trends
occurring globally with regards to gender violence. An example of using this lens
while researching gender violence is the research, implementation, and
advancement of laws preventing gender violence, and the rights of those who fall
victim. Particularly, I am very familiar with the study of executive orders giving
more rights to those that are discriminated against. Researchers using this lens
would go into policies and laws, such as the executive orders I also researched. In
this discipline and using this lens, researchers should investigate how legislation
can be made, making it more difficult to commit gender violence, as well as
legislation increasing the rights of many people. While executive orders are
helpful, they are not permanent laws, therefore they are not on the level of judicial
and congressional legislation and policies.
2. As a global community, we can help to end gender violence through several steps, such
as continuing to increase awareness of how big of a problem this is, reviewing how our
relationships and standing in society affect gender violence, and creating legislation
restricting gender violence while also increasing civil rights. However, I think the most
important aspect of defeating gender violence is in creating new legislation that increases
civil rights, promotes equality, and has actual punishments and consequences against
gender violence. I believe this is most important because the end goal is to end gender
violence, which can only be done if it is outlawed. Also, when new legislation is written
and put into effect, it is closely followed by media and garners a lot of attention,
spreading awareness in that way. In addition, when new legislation is put into effect, it
may change the way society as a whole views and acts upon gender violence, such as
changing views on rigid gender roles, or understanding that all people have a right to be
successful in work, or attend and exceed at school. This is supported by the research I did
on executive orders, as there is a lot of public coverage of laws/executive orders when
they are put into effect, and when they are put into effect it means the federal government
and its citizens must follow by the new rules in place.