Friday, June 06, 2014

What is a crime?

One would think that most violence would be considered criminal, but it depends on where you live and whether you are male or female. The U.N. estimates that more than 600 million women live in countries where domestic violence is not considered a crime, countries such as Russia, Algeria, Pakistan and most Muslim countries.

Part of the issue is reporting violence to the authorities. In this country the Justice Department asserts that "Approximately one-fifth of all rapes, one-quarter of all physical assaults, and one-half of all stalkings perpetrated against female respondents by intimates were reported to the police. The majority of victims who did not report their victimization to the police thought the police would not or could not do anything on their behalf."

There were 869 of 'honor killings' recorded in Pakistan in 2013 alone. Many of these honor killings take place in broad daylight in a public place with police present.

This is the 21st century, isn't it?

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