Sexism/Violence and Children's Development

I have a friend who has lived in Romania her entire life. She only recently moved to the US, and she described it as quite a culture shock. She explained to me that the level of sexism in Romania is very high. There aren't harassment laws like they have here. When she was 15 she walked into a store and two guys grabbed her crotch and laughed. There was nothing she could do about it. "It's simply something that happens there," she stated. I remember her describing her former romantic relationship where her boyfriend slapped her. My response was pure shock, but she very calmly moved past the incident to explain that her real anger came from the realization that he didn't want her to be happy and "the slap wasn't that hard". She never sought out any help or protection because it's not a crime. If she ever approached an adult about it, there was simply a shoulder shrug with a comment about "men being men". She doesn't feel that men have a right to do that, so the culture she grew up in hasn't fully dictated her current way of thinking. However, I do notice in everyday conversation she does separate the sexes often.

Romania

As an attempt to understand the world my friend came from deeper, I researched some information on Romania and sexism and violence. I wanted to see if there actually were any organizations there aimed at helping women who are mistreated. What I found was actually a lot of information on the fight against the trafficking of young women by the Moldovan and Romanian mafia. One non-profit organization I found is called Reaching Out Romania. They help girls between the ages of 13 and 22 exit the sex trade industry. UNICEF considers Reaching Out Romania to be the ONLY shelter with optimum standards and is doing all it can to help sustain it.

There isn't a lot of protection for young women and girls in Romania. Where other countries have laws against harassment, Romania is more lax, and where other countries have a multitude of organizations to help prevent mistreatment and save women who are in the midst of it, Romania (according to UNICEF) only has ONE that is of any worth.

I can't fully imagine what it must be like as a small child growing up in a culture where violence and assault against women was either unquestioned or the norm. I wonder if my friend's family life reflected the same ideals as the society. It would be interesting to know whether her private/family life reenforced sexism and violence, or if she was affected differently from having different family standards outside of the society.


http://www.unicef.org/sowc05/english/povertyfeat_romania.html