The importance of “sexual proprietariness” in theoretical framing and interpretation of pregnancy-associated intimate partner violence and femicide: Through the eyes of a junior scholar

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Using a theoretical framework based on the concept of sexual proprietariness, findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey are presented. Prevalence of physical and sexual violence, stalking, threats of violence, and power and control were examined for the overall NVAW sample, for those women abused by an intimate partner in particular and those who were physically abused during a pregnancy. Results indicate that women who are physically abused during pregnancy also experience higher levels of all other forms of abuse compared to women who are not pregnant when abused, including nearly twice the level of power and control.

External Authors

Rae Taylor
Wilson and Daly (1992, p. 90) refer to femicide as "aggressive proprietariness." If it is true that the sense of ownership at the core of sexual proprietariness often includes a perceived right to maintain power and control over the woman (i.e., the property), then fatal IPV can be seen as either a final deadly exercise in exerting control, or as an
act of defiance in the face of perceptions of lost control (Websdale, 1999; Wilson et al.,1995).

 

 


 

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