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Chapter IV, Reading 6 Domestic Violence as Torture Having read the Scarry and Sussman pieces (Readings 4 and 5), it may now be easier to understand why the word "torture" need not be limited to acts committed by or in the name of public authorities or in contexts that are traditionally understood to be "political." In this last essay in the chapter, taken from "Intimate Terror: Understanding Domestic Violence as Terror," professor of law Rhonda Copelon argues that domestic violence falls under the rubric of torture too. It is a position that has gained greater and greater acceptance as the distinction in both law and culture between "public" and "private" realms has gradually eroded. And reading the account Copelon provides of Molly and jim's story makes it hard to find any other word than torture sufficient to describe Molly's experience. The abuse ofwomen by their male partners is among the most common and dangerous forms of gender-based violence. Its victims exceed those of the most brutal dictatorships. As a result of the global mobilization of women, and international attention to certain ongoing atrocities, both official and private violence against women have begun to be recognized as a human rights concern. Nonetheless, intimate violence remains on the margin: it is still considered different, less severe, and less deserving of international condemnation and sanction than officially inflicted violence.... One [obstacle] is [...] the fact that intimate violence-with the exception of some of its more sensationalized and culture-specific examplestends not to be viewed as violence. Seen as "personal," "private," a "domestic " or a "family matter," its goals and consequences are obscured, and its use justified as chastisement or discipline. But when stripped of privatization , sexism, and sentimentalism, gender-based violence is no less grave than other forms of inhumane and subordinating official violence, which have been prohibited by treaty and customary law and recognized by the international community as jus cogens, or peremptory norms that bind universally and can never be violated. To elucidate the egregiousness of gender-based violence, I compare official torture with commonplace domestic violence against women partners . [...] Copelon, "Intimate Terror" 181 I. Domestic Violence Through the Lens of Torture ONE WoMAN's STORY During that first year together, Molly andJim moved three times and Molly's life became more isolated. He wouldn't let Molly go outside unless he was there and he forbade her to open the blinds or talk to the neighbors. One night in a bar,Jim told Molly to put money in the jukebox. When the bartender said something to Molly,Jim picked him up offthe floor and accused him of having an affair with his wife, threatening to kill him. In the van,Jim knotted one hand in Molly's hair and pounded her head against the dashboard. A police cruiser finally pulled them over and Jim was jailed for drunkenness. Molly considered leaving Jim. But he already talked as though something terrible would happen ifshe left. On top ofthat, she thought she was pregnant. Where could she go with no money and no car? Besides, she lovedJim and hoped he would change; she saw alcohol as his main problem. By the next year, the physical abuse was occurring once a month. Jim would hit Molly with his fist for no reason, then tell her to get up and sometimes knock her down again and go on until she couldn't get up again. At first, Jim said he was sorry and occasionally brought Molly gifts, although he still blamed the violence on something she had done or forgotten to do. InJune, he hit Molly in the head and she fell and later miscarried. Her dreams of improvement were shattered . Molly stayed becauseJim said he would kill her family if she left, and she believed him. She never left the house if she thought he might come home. She began having constant headaches and dizziness, and was living on [the painkiller ] Empirin III. She knew she ought to do something, but it was enough just to get through the day. By 1982, Jim was drinking more heavily. He would accuse Molly of having affairs and then begin hitting her. He insisted on having sex nearly every night, and this frequently involved violence as well. Molly always had bruises, teeth marks, and abrasions.Jim also required sex after beatings, which was especially painful when Mollywas irtiured. She began to welcome unconsciousness as a refuge. Molly simply lived in fear ofJim's...

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