Domestic Violence<\/p>\n
Introduction Domestic Violence Against Women is a global issue<\/p>\n
reaching across national boundaries as well as socio-economic, cultural,<\/p>\n
racial and class distinctions. It is a problem without frontiers. Not<\/p>\n
only is the problem widely dispersed geographically, but its incidence is<\/p>\n
also extensive, making it a typical and accepted behavior. Only recently,<\/p>\n
within the past twenty-five years, has the issue been “brought into the<\/p>\n
open as a field of concern and study” (Violence Against Women in the<\/p>\n
Family, page 38). Domestic violence is not an isolated, individual<\/p>\n
event but rather a pattern of repeated behaviors that the abuser uses to<\/p>\n
gain power and control over the victim. Unlike stranger-to-stranger<\/p>\n
violence, in domestic violence situations the same perpetrator repeatedly<\/p>\n
assaults the same victim. These assaults are often in the form of physical<\/p>\n
injury, but may also be in the form of sexual assault. However the abuse<\/p>\n
is not only physical and sexual, but also psychological. Psychological<\/p>\n
abuse means intense and repetitive humiliation, creating isolation, and<\/p>\n
controlling the actions of the victim through intimidation or<\/p>\n
manipulation. Domestic violence tends to become more frequent and severe<\/p>\n
over time. Oftentimes the abuser is physically violent sporadically, but<\/p>\n
uses other controlling tactics on a daily basis. All tactics have profound<\/p>\n
effects on the victim. Perpetrators of domestic violence can be found in<\/p>\n
all age, racial, ethnic, cultural, socio-economic, linguistic,<\/p>\n
educational, occupational and religious groups. Domestic violence is found<\/p>\n
in all types of intimate relationships whether the individuals are of the<\/p>\n
same or opposite sex, are married or dating, or are in a current or past<\/p>\n
intimate relationship. There are two essential elements in every domestic<\/p>\n
violence situation: the victim and abuser have been intimately involved at<\/p>\n
some point in time, and the abuser consciously chooses to use violence and<\/p>\n
other abusive tactics to gain control over the victim. In some instances,<\/p>\n
the abuser may be female while the victim is male; domestic violence also<\/p>\n
occurs in gay and lesbian relationships. However, 95% of reported<\/p>\n
assaults on spouses or ex-spouses are committed by men against women<\/p>\n
(MTCAWA e-mail interview) “It is a terrible and recognizable fact that<\/p>\n
for many people, home is the least safe place” (Battered Dreams, 9).<\/p>\n
Domestic violence is real violence, often resulting in permanent injuries<\/p>\n
or death. Battering is a widespread societal problem with consequences<\/p>\n
reaching far beyond individual families. It is conduct that has<\/p>\n
devastating effects for individual victims, their children and their<\/p>\n
communities. In addition to these immediate effects, there is growing <\/p>\n
evidence that violence within the “family becomes the breeding ground for<\/p>\n
other social problems such as substance abuse, juvenile delinquency, and<\/p>\n
violent crimes of all types” (MTCAWA e-mail interview). Domestic<\/p>\n
violence against women is not merely a domestic issue; but, rather a<\/p>\n
complex socio-economical crisis that threatens the interconnected<\/p>\n
equilibrium of the entire social structure. Causes & Effects <\/p>\n
“Within the family there is a historical tradition condoning<\/p>\n
violence” (Violence Against Women: The Missing Agenda, 29). Domestic<\/p>\n
violence against women accounts for approximately 40 to 70% of all violent<\/p>\n
crime in North America. However, the figures don’t tell the entire story;<\/p>\n
less than 10% of such instances are actually reported to police (The<\/p>\n
Living Family, 204). The causes of domestic violence against women are<\/p>\n
numerous. Many claim stress is the substantial cause of domestic conflict<\/p>\n
resulting in violence. Though stress in the workplace is a contributing<\/p>\n
factor, it is by no means the substantial one. Many people suffer from<\/p>\n
stress disorders, but most don’t resort to violence as a means of release.<\/p>\n
It is apparent that the substantial causes have more to do with the<\/p>\n
conditioning of males culturally, and within the family of orientation<\/p>\n
than anything else. Historically, women have been treated more as <\/p>\n
belongings than human beings; Old English Common Law permitted a man to<\/p>\n
abuse his wife and kids, as long as he didn’t use a stick thicker than the<\/p>\n
width of his thumb–“Rule of Thumb” (The Living Family, 201). Culturally,<\/p>\n
men have been conditioned to repress their feelings of emotion–always<\/p>\n
acting like the tough guy, the linebacker, the cowboy. But, when<\/p>\n
confronted with an emotionally difficult conflict, one which is impossible<\/p>\n
to shove down deep, they irrupt in volcanic proportions, often taking out<\/p>\n
years of repressed rage on those closest to them, in particular their own<\/p>\n
family. However, what seems to be the most significant cause of the male<\/p>\n
tactic of violent conflict resolution is violence within the family of<\/p>\n
orientation. Statistics show that 73% of male abusers had grown up in a<\/p>\n
family where they saw their mother beaten, or experienced abuse themselves<\/p>\n
(MTCAWA e-mail interview). Using the (relatively accepted) Freudian<\/p>\n
model, which claims that all mental illness stems from traumatic childhood<\/p>\n
trauma, one can see how there is a direct correlation between violence in<\/p>\n
the family of orientation and violence within the family of procreation. <\/p>\n
And, indeed, abusers are mentally ill, though the illness tends to be more<\/p>\n
subtle than others: many abusers display a Jekyll&Hyde personality, where<\/p>\n
they are nothing like their domestic selves outside the home. In most<\/p>\n
cases the cycle of violence starts slowly; it usually consists of a slap<\/p>\n
in the face or a hard shove. But the frequency and degree of violence<\/p>\n
escalates with time. The abuser will justify the abuse by pointing out<\/p>\n
his wife’s inadequacies and faults. But, no matter how wrong the wife is,<\/p>\n
there is little, if no, justification for spousal abuse within a civil<\/p>\n
society. The real issue at hand is the neurosis within the male psyche. <\/p>\n
Just as in rape, the key issue is control. Male abusers are laden with<\/p>\n
fear about losing power. They inflict physical abuse on their spouse to<\/p>\n
prove that they have, still have, and will have control over their spouses<\/p>\n
(and\/or children.) They won’t stop there either. The pattern of abuse<\/p>\n
involves severe mental torture and humiliation–blaming, threatening,<\/p>\n
ignoring, isolating, forcing sex, monitoring phone calls, and restricting<\/p>\n
any form of social life. It is a vicious cycle of abuse, where the wife<\/p>\n
is almost literally chained to the husband. Her self-esteem has been<\/p>\n
obliterated. She is financially, emotionally, and functionally helpless. <\/p>\n
She is incapable of reaching out for help for herself or for her children.<\/p>\n
At this point the abuse gets more routine; the abuser sites his partner’s<\/p>\n
pathetic state as more reason to beat her. And the victim sinks deeper,<\/p>\n
and more beatings ensue. She has been infected with psychological-AIDS;<\/p>\n
she has no defense (“immune system”) to combat the disease of abuse. For<\/p>\n
women, escaping an abusive relationship is VERY difficult. And the abuse<\/p>\n
usually doesn’t stop at the discretion of the male. An in-depth study of<\/p>\n
all one-on-one murder and non-negligent manslaughter cases in Canada from<\/p>\n
1980 to 1984 found that 62% of female victims were killed by a male<\/p>\n
partner (Violence Against Women Homepage). It is painfully clear that<\/p>\n
victims have little but two choices: leave or die. Sadly, the latter is<\/p>\n
the easier one. Domestic Violence as a Health Issue The World<\/p>\n
Health Organization defines health as “a state of complete physical,<\/p>\n
mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or<\/p>\n
infirmity” (In the Health of Women: A Global Perspective, 78). Based on<\/p>\n
this, domestic violence against women is clearly a health problem. In<\/p>\n
1984, the U.S. Surgeon General declared domestic violence against women as<\/p>\n
the number ONE health problem (Violence Against Women Homepage<\/p>\n
Bibliography:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Domestic Violence Introduction Domestic Violence Against Women is a global issue reaching across national boundaries as well as socio-economic, cultural,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n