violence against women
Gender-based violence or violence against women are violent acts whose primary victims are women or girls. It takes various forms and varies over time and currently, it varies between societies. The violence is as a result of misogyny, entitlement, superiority and many other similar attitudes that the perpetrator has. In recent years there has been a lot of criticism of criminal law and the criminal justice system from feminists. The feminists believe that the criminal justice system is male-oriented and that majority of the cases of violence against women are overlooked. To them, criminal law lacks empathy for women.
However, the criminal justice system is in a dilemma on how to go about the violence against women issue since it is very sensitive. For instance, there are no clear rules that protect all the women in the world against gender-based violence and each society has its rules and norms. For example, in white communities, a husband can rape his wife, and the court will make sure that the wife gets justice. However, in black communities, there exists no such thing as a husband raping a wife since they believe that it is the right of the husband to get his conjugal rights even if the wife agrees. Therefore, it will be difficult for the wife to get justice because she fears being sidelined by the community. The legislators who come from these communities need to collaborate with the criminal justice system and come up with laws that will make sure the women in all societies are adequately protected. For instance, the criminal justice system and legislators can organize community meetings in which they will determine the best way to handle violence against women. After meetings with the different communities, the criminal justice system and the legislators then need to create laws that will cater to all the communities.