Domestic violence, also referred to as intimate partner violence, intimate partner abuse or domestic abuse, affects over one million people in the United States alone. It can be carried out in any number of ways including physically, emotionally, sexually, psychologically and/or financially. Its legal definition considers it to be “any assault, battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, or any criminal offense resulting in physically injury or death of one family member or household member by another who is residing in the same single dwelling unit” (Brown, 2008). In the United States it is considered a major health problem so much so that it was declared the number one health concern by the U.S. Surgeon General in 1992 (Peterman & Dixon, 2003). Not only is it a rapidly growing health problem but it is a growing societal concern as well. Extending beyond the effect felt by the victims and their families, it impacts our communities, government, law enforcement and public service agencies. However, domestic violence is not a new issue within our society. For centuries, women have been regarded as the property of men, offering them leeway in the enforcement of domestic abuse laws. Public opinion held that as heads of households, they had the right to discipline their wife and children as they saw fit. Eventually, women came to view this prevailing belief as truth. An inevitable outcome was their denial as victims at all. They simply saw it as the way it was and accepted it as such. Non-intervention has typically been the preferred method in regard to family matters. The long standing belief held that ‘what happened behind closed doors was no one’s business other than that family’s’ ruled the attitudes of society, the lega... ... middle of paper ... ...nal of Family Violence, 20(6), 363-363-371. doi:10.1007/s10896-005-7798-4 St Pierre, M., & Senn, C. Y. (2010). External barriers to help-seeking encountered by canadian gay and lesbian victims of intimate partner abuse: An application of the barriers model. Violence and Victims, 25(4), 536-536-52. Stapel, S. (2007). Falling to pieces: New york state civil legal remedies available to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender survivors of domestic violence. New York Law School Law Review, 52(2), 247-277. Tesch, B., Bekerian, D., English, P., & Harrington, E. (2010). Same-sex domestic violence: Why victims are more at risk. International Journal of Police Science & Management, 12(4), 526-535. doi:10.1350/ijps.2010.12.4.204 Tully, C. T. (2001). Domestic violence: The ultimate betrayal of human rights. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services, 13(1), 83-98.
Stark (2006) would suggest that thirty years of research has failed to produce a consensus as to what constitutes a case of domestic violence considering that 90% of women who report the abuse have no physical injuries. Methods of coercive control do not meet the criminological viewpoint rather, control extends to financial, emotional, and psychological aspects of subjugating the partner thus no physical violence occurs. If only violent means are reported, then the reported number of victims would perhaps change thus creating a more gender symmetrical pattern. Until operational definitions are defined throughout the disciplines with consistency then there will continue to be discrepancies and opposing views. However, integrative theories of feminist views are being explored which investigate the intersection of not only male dominance as a form of oppression but the use of race, class, national origin, age, sexual orientation, and disability and their impact on intimate partner violence as stated by McPhail and colleagues
Domestic violence can be described as any form of abuse towards a victim, whether physical, emotional, sexual, verbal, psychological, or economical. The stakeholders in such violence are the abuser(s), the victim(s) and the bystander(s), all of whom are affected in some form or another by the abuse. For further clarity, domestic violence in this discussion refers to situations where the principle stakeholders, i.e. abuser and victim are in a relationship, for example partners, co-workers or friends. Domestic violence affects all stakeholders, not only the victim but the abuser and bystanders, and it can be easily prevented.
Knudsen, Dean D. and Miller, JoAnne L. Abused and Battered: Social and Legal Responses to Family Violence. Aldine De Gruyter, Inc.; New York. 1991.
Domestic violence and abuse takes place within family-type intimate relationships and forms a pattern of intimidating and controlling behaviors, which overtime escalates (Dennis, T. 2014, p 1). It can also cause physical psychological or sexual harm to these relations as well (Gul & Faiz, 2013). Domestic Violence according to Fairtlough (2006) is “the misuse of power and the exercise of control by one individual over another, generally by men over women, with whom they have been in an intimate relationship. It assumes a wide range of abusive physical, sexual, and psychological behaviors.” Dennis argued that domestic violence has become a serious societal and public health issue and is a major risk factor for psychiatric disorders
Mantel, Barbara. "Domestic Violence." CQ Researcher. N.p., 15 Nov. 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. .
This paper is an attempt to examine domestic violence in lesbian relationships, and the modern response to it, in a social and historical context. I chose to examine domestic violence within lesbian relationships in an attempt to look at violence in relationships outside the context of male and female. I did this because the popular beliefs that men are abusers and women are abused made it difficult to discuss or consider what was actually occurring in these troubled relationships, and what each partner contributed to the dynamic.
Domestic violence is a universal phenomenon, with millions of people as victims and perpetrators (World Health Organization (WHO), 2012). It destroys homes and families. Victimization occurs regardless of race, gender, religion, class, and sexual orientation. The term is often used to refer to violence that occurs between two people in an intimate relationship, but extends to violence against children and the elderly (Valiulis, 2014, p.124). I use the term domestic violence in this research refers to intimate partner violence. Globally, 30% of women have endured either physical or sexual abuse at the hands of their partner (WHO, 2012, p.2). Unfortunately I was not able to find a reliable global statistic on the victimization of men.
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is historically referred to as domestic violence. It describes a pattern of coercive and assaultive behavior that may include psychological abuse, progressive isolation, sexual assault, physical injury, stalking, intimidation, deprivation, and reproductive coercion among partners (The Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF), 1999). IPV leads to lifelong consequences such as lasting physical impairment, emotional trauma, chronic health problems, and even death. It is an issue effecting individuals in every community, regardless of age, economic status, race, religion, nationality or educational background. Eighty-five percent of domestic violence victims are women (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2003). More than one in three women in the United States have experienced rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime (The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2012). Thirty to sixty percent of perpetrators tend to also abuse children in the household (Edelson, 1999). Witnessing violence between parents or caretakers is considered the strongest risk factor of transmitting violent behavior from one generation to the next (Break the Cycle, 2006).
Gadd, David, Stephen Farrall, Damian Dallimore, and Nancy Lombard. "Male Victims of Domestic Violence."1-3. 2001. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
Historically, domestic violence was viewed as only involving physical abuse. However, the more contemporary view of domestic violence has come to include not only physical types of abuse; but as well as emotional, sexual, physiological, and economic violence that may be committed
Sadly, we live in in a world where domestic abuse is almost a normalized cause due to the frequency of reports. From Johnny Depp and his wife Amber Heard, to Chris Brown and Rihanna, it seems like most of these domestic violence cases are only against men and that women are not capable of abusing their significant other. In the scholarly article that I chose, the editor, Sherry Hamby, reports that instead of only believing in men abusing women cases, there are just as many women abusing men domestic cases.
Congress’s initial main exertion to address domestic violence was the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, legislated in 1984.This legislation was thought up to help states in efforts to spread public awareness about family violence and to give shelters and other succor for victims of family violence and their children. It gives for technological assistance, training, and resource centers, and allowances to states and not-for-profit agencies to expand family violence services and model programs for childhood education about domestic violence. Years later, The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) was carried, reflecting a rising national acknowledgement that domestic violence continues to be a serious problem. The federal policies voiced in VAWA ought to be seen in the framework of continuing state efforts to endow legal antidotes for domestic violence. The Federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) consist of necessities to enhance police force, criminal justice, and state court system litany to domestic violence; enhance the integer of prevention, intercession, and counseling programs and defend abused immigrant women from deportation. Nevertheless, even though VAWA is a significant step toward an inclusive, national reaction to the enigma of domestic violence, its efficiency has been restricted. The legal remedies it generates have been critique as excessively narrow and have been involved in constitutional dispute...
Domestic violence is not just fighting, hitting or an occasional argument. It’s a chronic abuse of power. The abuser of domestic violence, controls and tortures the victim of threats, intimidation, and physical violence. Domestic violence is one of the leading causes of violence in America. The abusers are not only men, women can be abusers as well. Women make up the vast majority of domestic violence. According to the American Bar Association (ABA), 90-95% of domestic violence victims are females and 70% of intimidating homicides are females. Domestic violence is a serious crime and everyone needs to be aware of its effects. This essay presents and explains the evidence supporting the major risk factors for intimate partner homicides.
For the purpose of this paper, domestic violence is “the emotional, physical, psychological, or sexual abuse perpetrated against a person by a person's spouse, former spouse, partner, former partner or by the other parent of a minor child” (McCue, 1995, p. 2). While it is these things, the violence is also a pattern of demeanor used to create power and control over another individual with whom an intimate relationship is shared through fear and coercion (Bonem, Stanley-Kime & Corbin, 2008). The previously mentioned definition can include both same and opposite sex couples, however for the purpose of this review I will focus primary on opposite-sex couples.
McHugh, M. C., & Frieze, I. H. (2006). Intimate partner violence. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1087, 121–141. doi: 10.1196/annals.1385.011