New Book by Rutgers–Camden Scholar Explores the Vulnerabilities of Women to Violence

CAMDEN – No woman should have to anticipate a violent crime happening to her, anywhere. But most often, attackers aren’t strangers outside of the home; they’re men women already know from their everyday lives.

According to a Rutgers University—Camden criminologist, the past two decades have brought a dramatic change in the designation of violent crimes against women.

“It’s no longer the stranger in the bush, it’s the guy next door,” says Drew Humphries, professor of criminal justice at Rutgers–Camden, who edited the recently published book Women, Violence, and the Media: Readings in Feminist Criminology (Northeastern University Press 2009). 

Thanks to the women’s movement and the Violence Against Women Act, previously unreported crimes like intimate partner violence, family violence, and sexual assault have been officially designated by the FBI as offenses. Still there is work to be done in protecting women from becoming victims in their own households: while crime in the U.S. has decreased since the 1990s, women remain more likely to be killed by someone they know.

“Twenty years ago, who heard of stalking?  But that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Now there is a way to officially report and properly respond to incidents that have been happening, but were not being addressed. It will take time for mindsets to change about what acts are now punishable by law,” notes the Rutgers–Camden scholar.

Humphries’ latest book explores how violence and women are represented in many genres; including popular TV shows like Law and Order, TV networks for women, films, and local, national, and international media.

“These outlets affect how we think about real dangers to women,” points out Humphries, the author of the book Crack Mothers: Pregnancy, Drugs and the Media. 

A major theme of the book is how the “newsworthiness” of the crime often dictates the amount of attention the incident receives by the press.  For instance, the Laci Peterson tragedy played out over national television, while the death of Evelyn Hernandez, a pregnant woman also killed in the San Francisco Bay area at around the same time, didn’t stir up the same public outcry.

“Laci was middle class, talented, pretty; she represented the ideals of motherhood our society embraces, and her story fit in a 24-hour news cycle. Her husband also fit all of the characteristics of evil and betrayal,” adds the Rutgers–Camden criminologist.

Intended for college-age women studying criminal justice, the book offers guidance on how to begin addressing these comprehensive issues through academic discourse. The subject matter may also personally impact its readers: one in four women has had some unwanted sexual contact by the time they reach college.

“More people are coming forward than ever before to report crimes,” notes Humphries. “Oftentimes it takes women a while to recognize not only what’s been done to them, but what can be done about it.”

Humphries received her bachelor’s degree in sociology and her master’s and doctoral degrees in criminology from the University of California at Berkeley. She joined the sociology, anthropology, and criminal justice department at Rutgers–Camden in 1976.

The Camden Campus of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, offers 34 undergraduate and 17 master’s and PhD programs. Located in the heart of the vibrant Camden Waterfront, Rutgers–Camden is home to 250 faculty whose research, teaching, and service endeavors are represented worldwide.

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