Final Project

For many years girls and women have been victims of violence. Their education and worth are valued less than men. It does not matter what social class they're in, women have been enslaved to men throughout history. Treated like someone's property and cannot make decisions from themselves. They have made guidelines on how a girl or women should live, act, and present herself. Living through the ideal world of oppression, patriarchy, and inequality. The oppression of women roots from men's desire for power and control. We can agree to disagree that the transition of how females are treated has changed but the crime rate continues to increase. There are different types of violence that females experience. The common forms of violence that take place around the world are domestic and intimate partner violence, sexual violence, sexual harassment, and emotional/psychological violence. The violence takes place in schools, homes, at work, religious facilities, trafficking, harmful practices, and so much more. An ongoing issue which influenced me to discuss girls/women and violence is child marriage, which I find unacceptable. Child marriage is a tradition or practice that allows older men to wed a young bride. In exchange for her life and in return, her family receives money. Within the marriage between the adult and child, it can turn into life or death. Money matters more than a child's life? "Child marriage is fuelled by gender inequality, poverty, traditions, and insecurity" (girlsnotbrides.org).


Who's to blame for these ongoing issues that females face? Society? This is a violation of human rights but is hard to acknowledge. There are men and women that find it acceptable for females to be beaten by their husband. It is acceptable when she refuses, disagrees, and does the opposite of her expected role. This act silences women even more to a point where they do not report any of the different forms of violence. Why? Silencing means accepting it and further down the line it results to murder. Violence is seen as a form of power. It's important for females to know if they're in danger, know when they have accepted the comfort and safety of violence in their life and others. The aftermath of females encountering violence takes a toll on them, physically, mentally, and emotionally. It silences them, traumatizes, fear erupts, and begin to lose themselves. How are women coping with this? Staying silent will not stop the chances of not being a victim of violence or murder. This inspired me to seek a therapeutic solution for women to be able to express themselves. Communicate without talking but speaking through movement. For my project, I created a blog that provides information, reports, and statistics pertaining to domestic violence, images of child marriage, society expectations, and dance/movement therapy. Keeping people up to date with how the issues are ongoing, allowing people to add content as well about domestic violence, and sharing more coping mechanisms as well. This is a space for people to share and speak out.





Link to blog: http://learndanceexpress.squarespace.com/

password: safety


Bibliography:

-“Home.” The National Domestic Violence Hotline, www.thehotline.org/.

-Hecht, Ravit. “Israeli Women Took to the Street. But Where Were All the Men?” Haaretz.com, Haaretz Com, 5 Dec. 2018, www.haaretz.com/opinion/women-s-protest-where-were-all-the-men-1.6719951.

-Lapin, Tamar. “Radio Station Pulls 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' amid #MeToo Movement.” New York Post, New York Post, 4 Dec. 2018, nypost.com/2018/12/04/radio-station-pulls-baby-its-cold-outside-amid-metoo-movement/.

-“Restored.” Restored Relationships, www.restoredrelationships.org/about-vaw/.

-Rodriguez, Martha. “Estudio Martita.” New Mixed Media Self Portrait: "I Have a Voice.", 1 Jan. 1970, estudiomartita.blogspot.com/2014/02/new-mixed-media-self-portrait-i-have.html.

-Devereaux, Christina. “One Billion Dancing.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 10 Feb. 2013, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/meaning-in-motion/201302/one-billion-dancing.

-Girls Not Brides. “About Child Marriage.” Girls Not Brides, www.girlsnotbrides.org/about-child-marriage/.