The normalization of violence against women

We, as a society, have not fully progressed as a society in addressing the normalization of violence against women in recent years. Women are still not taken seriously in domestic violence cases, rape culture is at an all-time high, and women are constantly being assaulted in public. It has also become normal to mock victims of abuse online. 

When studying this topic, I came across a news story from NBC News titled “How The ‘Memeification’ Of Amber Heard Affects Domestic Violence Survivors.” The video showcases countless videos and social media posts about Amber Heard’s testimonies against Johnny Depp. You can see men and women mocking Heard’s recounting of abuse from Depp. The women and men even go as far as acting out the scenes from Heard’s abuse. This is a perfect example of how violence against women is normalized. 

Some of the myths of domestic violence we discussed in class are that women and men are equally responsible for abuse, “women asked to be abused”, and violence can induce arousal. I want to focus on the myth that women and men are equally responsible for abuse. During the Heard and Depp case, there was a lot of talk that both parties were at fault for abuse, and that Heard and Depp were equally to abuse that happened within their relationship. This is just a dismissal of abusers. It’s easier for people to not “choose a side” than believe women who are victims. As we learned in class, 1 in 4 women and 1 and 9 men will experience violence by their domestic partners. While these statistics are true, women are historically the victims of these domestic violence cases. 

The public’s display of hatred towards Amber Heard during the trial was sickening to see in real time. The public has normalized violence against women so much that people make jokes about women recounting their abuse stories. There must be someway to end this culture of normalization.