Against Violence Against Women: The Case for Gender as a Protected Class

Against Violence Against Women is a journey through time and across the globe to bring to light the roots of sanctioned violence against women. Rona M. Fields utilizes an interdisciplinary approach combining psychology, sociology, anthropology, and women's studies to examine cases and causes of gender-based atrocities in Afghanistan, Sudan, China, India, Siberia, and Europe. Fields reveals how these disparate cultures and societies have evolved formal institutions in which extremist ideologies (both left and right) politicize religion and other belief systems to rationalize irrational, oppressive behavior. Against this long history of institutionalized femicide, this volume investigates the potential of non-governmental agencies and international courts to provide a forum for the protection of human rights, and for the prevention of gender-based violence.