Gender Violence

Gender refers to behavior that “is recognized as masculine or feminine by a social world” (Mackie, 1987, p. 3). Although there has been an increase in violent behavior by women in recent years, violence continues to be associated with and committed by men. Pearson (1997) claims that “our refusal to concede female contributions to violence radically impedes our ability to recognize dimensions of power that have nothing to do with formal structures of patriarchy” (p. 243). The issue is illustrated in the following example. In July 1993, the New York Times Magazine[Page 199]headlined “A Woman in Prison is Not a Dangerous Man.” In 1994, At the Prison for Women in Kingston, Ontario, six female inmates attacked four guards in a preplanned attempt to escape. The ...