Domestic Violence Essay, Research Paper
Domestic Violence
Introduction
Domestic Violence Against Women is a global issue reaching
across
national boundaries as well as socio-economic, cultural, racial and
class
distinctions. It is a problem without frontiers. Not only is the
problem
widely dispersed geographically, but its incidence is also
extensive, making it
a typical and accepted behavior. Only recently, within the past
twenty-five
years, has the issue been “brought into the open as a field of
concern and
study” (Violence Against Women in the Family, page 38).
Domestic violence is not an isolated, individual event but rather
a
pattern of repeated behaviors that the abuser uses to gain power
and control
over the victim. Unlike stranger-to-stranger violence, in domestic
violence
situations the same perpetrator repeatedly assaults the same
victim. These
assaults are often in the form of physical injury, but may also be
in the form
of sexual assault. However the abuse is not only physical and
sexual, but also
psychological. Psychological abuse means intense and repetitive
humiliation,
creating isolation, and controlling the actions of the victim
through
intimidation or manipulation. Domestic violence tends to become
more frequent
and severe over time. Oftentimes the abuser is physically violent
sporadically,
but uses other controlling tactics on a daily basis. All tactics
have profound
effects on the victim.
Perpetrators of domestic violence can be found in all age,
racial,
ethnic, cultural, socio-economic, linguistic, educational,
occupational and
religious groups. Domestic violence is found in all types of
intimate
relationships whether the individuals are of the same or opposite
sex, are
married or dating, or are in a current or past intimate
relationship. There are
two essential elements in every domestic violence situation: the
victim and
abuser have been intimately involved at some point in time, and the
abuser
consciously chooses to use violence and other abusive tactics to
gain control
over the victim. In some instances, the abuser may be female while
the victim is
male; domestic violence also occurs in gay and lesbian
relationships. However,
95% of reported assaults on spouses or ex-spouses are committed by
men against
women (MTCAWA e-mail interview)
“It is a terrible and recognizable fact that for many people, home
is
the least safe place” (Battered Dreams, 9). Domestic violence is
real violence,
often resulting in permanent injuries or death. Battering is a
widespread
societal problem with consequences reaching far beyond individual
families. It
is conduct that has devastating effects for individual victims,
their children
and their communities. In addition to these immediate effects,
there is growing
evidence that violence within the “family becomes the breeding
ground for other
social problems such as substance abuse, juvenile delinquency, and
violent
crimes of all types” (MTCAWA e-mail interview). Domestic violence
against
women is not merely a domestic issue; but, rather a complex
socio-economical
crisis that threatens the interconnected equilibrium of the entire
social
structure.
Causes & Effects
“Within the family there is a historical tradition condoning
violence”
(Violence Against Women: The Missing Agenda, 29).
Domestic violence against women accounts for approximately 40 to
70% of
all violent crime in North America. However, the figures don’t tell
the entire
story; less than 10% of such instances are actually reported to
police (The
Living Family, 204).
The causes of domestic violence against women are numerous. Many
claim
stress is the substantial cause of domestic conflict resulting in
violence.
Though stress in the workplace is a contributing factor, it is by
no means the
substantial one. Many people suffer from stress disorders, but most
don’t
resort to violence as a means of release. It is apparent that the
substantial
causes have more to do with the conditioning of males culturally,
and within
the family of orientation than anything else.
Historically, women have been treated more as belongings than
human
beings; Old English Common Law permitted a man to abuse his wife
and kids, as
long as he didn’t use a stick thicker than the width of his
thumb–”Rule of
Thumb” (The Living Family, 201). Culturally, men have been
conditioned to
repress their feelings of emotion–always acting like the tough guy,
the
linebacker, the cowboy. But, when confronted with an emotionally
difficult
conflict, one which is impossible to shove down deep, they irrupt
in volcanic
proportions, often taking out years of repressed rage on those
closest to them,
in particular their own family.
However, what seems to be the most significant cause of the male
tactic
of violent conflict resolution is violence within the family of
orientation.
Statistics show that 73% of male abusers had grown up in a family
where they
saw their mother beaten, or experienced abuse themselves (MTCAWA
e-mail
interview). Using the (relatively accepted) Freudian model, which
claims that
all mental illness stems from traumatic childhood trauma, one can
see how there
is a direct correlation between violence in the family of
orientation and
violence within the family of procreation. And, indeed, abusers are
mentally
ill, though the illness tends to be more subtle than others: many
abusers
display a Jekyll&Hyde personality, where they are nothing like
their domestic
selves outside the home.
In most cases the cycle of violence starts slowly; it usually
consists
of a slap in the face or a hard shove. But the frequency and degree
of violence
escalates with time. The abuser will justify the abuse by pointing
out his
wife’s inadequacies and faults. But, no matter how wrong the wife
is, there is
little, if no, justification for spousel abuse within a civil
society.
The real issue at hand is the neurosis within the male psyche. Just
as
in rape, the key issue is control. Male abusers are laden with fear
about
losing power. They inflict physical abuse on their spouse to prove
that they
have, still have, and will have control over their spouses (and/or
children.)
They won’t stop there either. The pattern of abuse involves severe
mental
torture and humiliation–blaming, threatening, ignoring, isolating,
forcing sex,
monitoring phone calls, and restricting any form of social life. It
is a
vicious cycle of abuse, where the wife is almost literally chained
to the
husband. Her self-esteem has been obliterated. She is financially,
emotionally,
and functionally helpless. She is incapable of reaching out for
help for
herself or for her children. At this point the abuse gets more
routine; the
abuser sites his partner’s pathetic state as more reason to beat
her. And the
victim sinks deeper, and more beatings ensue. She has been infected
with
psychological-AIDS; she has no defense (”immune system”) to combat
the disease
of abuse.
For women, escaping an abusive relationship is VERY difficult. And
the
abuse usually doesn’t stop at the discretion of the male. An
in-depth study of
all one-on-one murder and non-negligent manslaughter cases in
Canada from 1980
to 1984 found that 62% of female victims were killed by a male
partner (Violence
Against Women Homepage). It is painfully clear that victims have
little but two
choices: leave or die. Sadly, the latter is the easier one.
Domestic Violence as a Health Issue
The World Health Organization defines health as “a state of
complete
physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence
of disease or
infirmity” (In the Health of Women: A Global Perspective, 78).
Based on this,
domestic violence against women is clearly a health problem. In
1984, the U.S.
Surgeon General declared domestic violence against women as the
number ONE
health problem (Violence Against Women Homepage).
Physical violence is the most basic form of domestic violence,
leading
to extensive injury, unsuccessful pregnancies and even murder. As
mentioned
above, in Canada 62% of women murdered were killed by an intimate
male partner.
These are deaths caused by a preventable social problem.
Actual or threatened physical violence, psychological violence and
the
denial of physical and economic resources all have an enormous
impact on women’s
mental health. “A history of victimization is seen as a strong risk
factor for
the development of mental health problems” (MTCAWA e-mail
interview). These
problems take many forms, all affecting women’s ability to attain a
basic
quality of life for herself and her family. Abuse is strongly
associated with
alcoholism and drug use in women (Facts About Domestic Violence).
It also can
lead to “fatigue and passivity coupled with an extreme sense of
worthlessness”
(Violence Against Women in the Family, 78 ). These symptoms
together remove any
initiative and decision making ability from the victim. This
lethargy, coupled
with economic barriers, makes escape from the situation very
difficult. The lack
of initiative also thwarts women’s abilities to participate in
activities
outside of the home. High levels of stress and depression are also
extremely
common mental health problems for victims of family violence, often
leading to
suicide (Facts About Domestic Violence). In the United States, one
quarter of
suicide attempts by white women and one half of attempts by African
American
women are preceded by abuse (In the Health of Women: A Global
Perspective, 128).
The World Bank’s analysis found domestic violence to be a major
cause of
disability and death among women; the burden of family violence is
comparable
to that of HIV, tuberculosis, cardiovascular disease or cancer
(Domestic
Violence Against Women: A Global Issue, 29). In industrialized
nations one in
five healthy days of life are lost to women age 15 to 44 due to
domestic
violence (Fact Sheet About Domestic Violence)
Domestic violence “diverts the scarce resources of national health
care
systems to the treatment of a preventable social ill” (Violence
Against Women
in the Family, 87). Medical costs for the treatment of abused women
total at
least 3 to 5 billion dollars annually in the United States.
Battered women in
the United States are four to five times more likely than
non-battered women to
require psychiatric treatment, and over one million women in the
U.S. use
emergency medical services for injuries related to battering each
year. Finally,
families in the United States in which domestic violence occurs use
doctors
eight times more often, visit the emergency room six times more
often and use
six times more prescription drugs than the general population
(Facts About
Domestic Violence.)
A Socio-Economic Crisis
Domestic violence against women is not an individual or family
problem.
It is an important social issue. Using the Systems Theory as a
theoretical
framework helps show the resonating effect of such violence. The
family unit
is one of many sub-systems. Together, all these different
sub-systems make up
the one big system (i.e., society). The human body serves as a good
example:
when one organ (sub-system) is malfunctioning, all other organs are
effected
(other sub-systems). This will have an effect on the whole body
itself
(society). Although the family unit is only one among the many
sub-systems, it
is considered to be the most important of them all–the heart, if
you will.
Since the family unit is responsible for the socialization of
children who will
later go on to participate in other sub-systems, than it is logical
to assume
that a deterioration in the crucial family unit can result in a
deterioration
within other sub-systems, and of course, the entire system
itself.
As mentioned above, the sub-system of health care is feeling
the
pressure. Something as preventable as domestic violence against
women is
diverting funds from an already under-funded health care system.
There are
people out there who need serious medical treatment, but will
never, or at the
very most, will get insufficient treatment. In the U.S., domestic
violence
against women ranks as one of the most expensive health problems
(Facts About
Domestic Violence). Monies allocated to the medical treatment of
abused women (3
to 5 billion dollars annually) diverts much needed funds from such
already
under-funded institutions as education, law enforcement, social
services etc.
Therefore the possibility exists that adults of the future will be
sparsely
educated delinquents; crime will be on the increase; and important
social
services won’t be able to look out for the welfare of the
people–such as
shelters for abused women. The result is long term decay within the
entire
system, which will add further to the decay within the family,
which will cause
the entire vicious cycle to continue.
As previously mentioned, 73% of male abusers were abused, or saw
abuse
as children. Thus an epidemic of violence within the family of
orientation is a
primary cause of psychological disfunction–in specific, violent
conflict
resolution–which is responsible for the breakdown of the entire
social order.
U.S. Justice Department statistics show that at least 80% of men in
prison grew
up in violent homes (Facts About Domestic Violence.) And in at
least half of
the wife abusing families, the children were battered as well. And
63% of boys
ages 11 to 20 who commit homicide, murder the man who was abusing
their mother.
As mentioned initially, violence within the family “family becomes
the
breeding ground for other social problems such as substance abuse,
juvenile
delinquency, and violent crimes of all types.” The all important
family unit is
the centre of social universe. All other institutions revolve
around it. If
the sun were to blow up the entire galaxy would go with it.
Conclusion
Domestic violence against women must be perceived as a
socio-economical
problem rather than a private issue imbedded within family — a
domestic issue
which can be easily ignored. It must receive appropriate attention
from the
various institutions within our society as an issue affecting the
overall
standard of living. It is not only a women’s issue, but also a
problem that
threatens the harmony within our communities.
Bibliography:
1. Carrillo, Roxanna, Battered Dreams, UNIFEM, 1992
2. Connors, Jane Francis, Violence Against Women in the Family,
Toronto, 1989
3. Facts About Domestic Violence,
“http://gladstone.uoregon.edu.violence.html”
4. Jarman, F.E., et al, The Living Family: a Canadian Perspective,
J.
Wiley&Sons, Toronto,
1991
5. Kantor, Paula, Domestic Violence Against Women: A Global Issue,
UNC Press,
1996
6. Ed. by: Koblinsky, Marge, et al, In the Health of Women: A
Global Perspective,
Westview Press, 1993
7. Ed. by: Koblinsky, Marge, et al, Violence Against Women: The
Missing Agenda,
Westview Press, 1993
8. Metro Toronto Committee Against Wife Assault (MTCAWA), E-mail
interview w/
Morag Perkens (Thurs, Nov, 15/96), mtcawa@web.apc.org
9. Violence Against Women Home Page, “http://www.usdoj.gov/vawo”