Male Violence, Male Fantasy and the Commodification of Women through the Internet
| Date | 01 January 2000 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026975800000700302 |
| Published date | 01 January 2000 |
| Author | Chris Cunneen |
Domestic
Violence:
Global
Responses,
pp.
5-28
©
2000
A B
Academic
Publishers
Printed
in
Great
Britain
MALE
VIOLENCE,
MALE
FANTASY
AND
THE
COMMODIFICATION
OF
WOMEN
THROUGH
THE
INTERNET
CHRIS
CUNNEEN
and
JULIE
STUBBS
Institute
of
Criminology,
Faculty
of
lAw,
University
of
Sydney,
173-175
Phillip
St,
Sydney
NSW
2000,
Australia
ABSTRACT
This
article
considers
the
construction
of particular
forms
of
masculinity
and
femininity
in
the
context
of a
new
global
market
for
sex
and
marital
trade
via
the
Internet.
The
work
arose
from
research
conducted
on
disproportionate
levels
of
violence
against
Filipino
women
in
Australia;
in
particular,
high
victimisation
rates
in
cases
of
spousal
homicides
compared
to
other
Australian
women.
The
research
led
to
a consideration of
the
intersection
between
gender,
ethnicity
and
first
world/third
world
relations.
Violence
against
Filipino
women
in
Australia
is
examined
with
reference
to
the
material
and
symbolic
dimensions
which
shaped
their
experiences
as
immigrants
and
their
postcolonial
identities.
The
gendered
and
racialised
nature
of
the
movement
of
women
across
national
boundaries,
and
their
subsequent
exposure
to
more
extreme
levels
of violenfe,
gives
the
research
a broader
focus
than
simply
the
experiences
of
Filipino
women
in
Australia.
We
pay
particular
attention
to
the
Internet
as
a
site
for
the
representation
of
Filipino
women
and
as
a
marketplace
for
buying
and
selling
women.
The
Internet
now
represents
a significant
international
site
through
which
Filipino
women
are
represented
as
partners
for
sex
or
marriage.
The
Internet
also
exemplifies
the
manner
in
which
economic
privilege
and
access
to
technological
knowledge
and
resources
reinforce
hierarchies
based
in
'race'
and
gender
and
reproduce
inequality
within
and
through
cyberspace.
INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY
We are concerned in this article to develop an understanding
of
why there
is
a
disproportionate level
of
violence, particularly spousal homicide, against Filipi-
no women in Australia compared to other Australian women. We have ap-
proached this issue through a consideration of the global market for sex and
marital trade and how this impacts on Filipino women who migrate to Australia.
With the assistance
of
the Filipino community, we documented all known
deaths or disappearances
of
Filipino women and their children throughout Aus-
tralia over the period 1980--1995. In addition to this material, we examined the
available official sources
of
data on homicide, consulted with and took submis-
sions from Filipino communities and relevant agencies from across the country.
Where available we also considered coroners' inquiries, court transcripts and
judgments in relevant homicide cases and media reports
of
deaths
of
Filipino
women. This material was supplemented by consultations with government and
non-government organisations during a visit to the Philippines in 1997. Sources
6
of official data concerning
the
country
of
birth,
race
or ethnicity of
the
victims
of
homicide
are
limited
and
incomplete.
The
27
cases
we
have
identified
are
likely
to
underestimate
the
total
number
of
deaths
of Filipino
women
(Cunneen
and
Stubbs,
1997;
pp.
29-31).
The
active promotion of international
marriages
with
Filipino
women
was
identified
in
consultations
as
a
key
concern.
Given
the
central
role
of
the
Internet
in
promoting
such
marriages
we
undertook a
search
of
the
Internet
using
conven-
tional search engines
to
locate
sites
which
focussed
on
Filipino
(or
Asian)
women
as
marriage partners. There
are
numerous
sites
which
have
such
a
focus
and
we
present material
from
selected
sites
to
illustrate our
arguments.
HOMICIDE AND VIOLENCE AGAINST FILIPINO WOMEN IN AUSTRALIA
Filipino
women
living
in
Australia
are
almost
six
times
over-represented
as
victims of
homicide.
While
for
1989-1992
the
annual
rate
of
homicide
for
all
women
in
Australia
aged
between
20
and
39
was
found
to
be
1.0
per
100,000,
the
rate
for
women
born
in
the
Philippines
was
5.6
per
100,000.
They
were
also
more
likely
to
be
victims
of
homicide
than
were
Filipino
men
in
Australia.
This
pattern
is
contrary
to
that
for
almost
all
other
immigrant
communities
in
Australia.
It
is
usual
for
homicide
rates
to
be
higher
for
men
than
for
women
(Kliewer,
1994).
In
all
but
one
of
the
homicide
cases
for
which
information
was
available
the
offence
had
been
committed
by
a
man
who
had
been
married
to
or
had
been
otherwise
involved
in
an
intimate
relationship
with
the
female
victim.
None
of
the
men
responsible
were
themselves
Filipino.
With
a
few
exceptions,
they
were
all
Australian citizens.
However,
consistent
with
the
ethnic diversity of Australia,
the
offenders
came
from
a
wide
range
of
ethnic
backgrounds.
2
This
latter
finding
deserves
comment
since
it
marks
a significant departure
from
the
pattern of
homicides
for
women
generally
within
Australia.
In
spouse
homicide
cases,
victims
and
offenders
typically
come
from
the
same
country of
origin.
The
fact
that Filipino
women
who
were
the
victims
of
homicide
in
this
study
were
killed
by
men
who
came
from
a different
country
of origin
to
themselves reflects immigration
and
marriage
patterns
for
Filipino
women
in
Australia.
Australian immigration
policy
is
very
restrictive
and
the
primary
mechanism
by
which
many
women
qualify
for
entry
is
through
their relation-
ships
with
men
(Fincher
et
al,
1994;
pp.
54,
80).
Since
migration
from
the
Philippines
to
Australia
is
heavily biased
in
favour
of
women,
the
Filipino
population
in
Australia
is
made
up
of a significant
number
of
women
married
to
Australian resident
men
who
are
not
from
the
Philippines.3
There
were
large
differences
in
the
ages
of
the
victims
and
the
men
with
whom
they
had
been
in
relationships.
The
average
age
difference
between
partners
was
almost
13
years.
However,
in
a
third
of cases
where
information
was
available,
the
age
difference
was
20
years
or
greater.
The
data
on
age
difference
from
the
survey
of
deaths
and
disappearances conform
with
a
number
of
studies
that
have
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