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Sociological theories about domestic violence
Sociological theories of domestic violence
Psychological and sociological theories of domestic violence
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Through their qualitative exploration of haunting personal accounts, Sally A. Lloyd and Beth C. Emery strive to provide a voice for women who have suffered abuse and aggression in romantic relationships. Their continuous research is fueled by the regularity of new victims experiencing new abuse, and the lack of understanding and repercussions to perpetrators in a patriarchal society. Lloyd and Emory offer perspective on the prevalence, correlation, and impact of courtship aggression. They then offer a framework for understanding physical and sexual aggression through feminist and relationship perspectives, social constructivist and discourse contributions, and how they chose their method and strategy of analysis. This is followed by in depth …show more content…
exploration of the dynamics of both physical aggression and sexual aggression in dating relationships. These dynamics are namely focused on power, verbal escalation, control issues, and the interaction patterns of the romantic relationship. As noted in the book, their analysis does not attempt to test hypotheses, rather reaffirm and build upon existing literature and offer real life accounts of those who know courtship aggression best.
Lloyd and Emory’s analysis has been noted to uniquely focus on the interpersonal dyad, instead of strictly the victim or perpetrator. My personal preference for this body of work would have been to expand into the degree of dependence these women had on their partners. In an interest to facilitate a consistent sample, the women interviewed were all white, young, and predominantly middle-class with college educations. It is a sad presumption, but I would guess much higher levels of abuse are experienced in minority, lower class, struggling households. In this case, the dependence on a male may greatly increase the amount of physical and sexual aggression a victim is willing to tolerate. Lloyd and Emory do an exemplary job in exposing the sad truths of real life abuse, however I don’t think the imbalance of external factors plays enough of a role in explanation. The focus is greatly on the internal dynamic of the …show more content…
relationship. The first chapter, “I Never Thought it Would Happen to Me”: The Dark Side of Romance, is appropriately titled to briefly introduce the major findings of existing literature on courtship aggression.
They discuss the initial “public outcry against the battering of wives by the very men who had promised to protect, honor, and love them” as a result of efforts by feminists, shelter workers, and victims of domestic abuse in the 1970’s (p. 2). First, the statistical prevalence of courtship aggression is touched upon to illustrate how frequent, wide ranging, and prominent abuse is in relationships ranging from high school to many years of marriage. Physical aggression is defined for us as “the use or threat of physical force or restraint carried out with the intent of causing pain or injury to another” (Sugarman & Hotaling, 1989). Sexual aggression is defined as sexual interaction that is gained against one’s will through use of physical force, threat of force, pressure, use of alcohol/drugs, or use of position of authority (Koss, 1988). Next, the correlates of courtship aggression are classified into three categories: personality/individual, relational, and social/situational. Individual factors of the male physical abuser tend to have low self-esteem, traditional views of male-female roles, stressful lives, previous abuse in their family, and have combative views of sex. Relational factors conclude that the longer the relationship, and deeper the commitment, the higher chance of
aggressions from the male perpetrator. Also, in conflict with partners, male aggressors are known to have poor communication skills, be restrictive of power, a quick temper, and a belief that violence can win an argument. Social/situational factors are likely to include alcohol, issues of jealousy, and privacy from friends and family. Finally, the impact of courtship aggression is touched on from short-term to long-term effects. These include anger, withdraw, high ranging emotions, depression, heightened mistrust of men, low self-esteem, and bodily harm includes anything from broken bones, to bruising, and genital disfiguration. The list is overwhelming and disheartening.
...ogan, T., & Cole, J. (2011). Exploring the intersection of partner stalking sexual abuse. Violence against women, 17(7), 904-919. doi: 10.1177/1077801211412715
This is an alarming statistic that shows just how common and prevalent domestic violence is in the United States, particularly in women. In a previous class discussion, we studied the Power and Control Wheel, a tool for individuals to be able to pinpoint traits in their romantic partner that may be potential warning signs that they should be aware of that may cause physical or mental harm. The traits from the Power Control Wheel displayed in the film were emotional abuse, isolation, male privilege and economic abuse. Despite the presence of these traits, the film was a combination of realistic traits of domestic violence relationships and a Hollywood dramatization. Within the Power and Control Wheel, it describes potential warning signs of the use of emotional abuse would include putting her down, making her feel bad about herself, calling her names, making her think she’s crazy, playing mind games, humiliating her and making her feel guilty. In Queen’s “Being Emotionally Abuse: A Phenomenological Study of Adult Women’s Experience
Although domestic violence is a significant societal problem, which continues to receive public and private sector attention, intervention and treatment programs have proven inconsistent in their success. Statistics by various organization show that many offenders continue to abuse their victims. Approximately 32% of battered women are victimized again, 47% of men who abuse their wives do so at least three times per year (MCFBW). There are many varying fact...
The most notable discovery or key concept behind intimate partner violence with women as victims, would be that the overall rates have seen a general decrease. As found in the National Trends in Intimate Partner Homicide report, "Spousal homicide rates for both women and men have declined between 1974 and 2000" (Bunge, 2002). Many of the authors discussed present different perspecti...
Intimate partner violence is still a common issue that affects women from all walks of life. It is an issue that is too often ignored until the violence has become deadly. In the book “Women: Images and Realities a Multicultural Anthology,” chapter seven entitled “Violence Against Women” includes pieces that cover the issue of intimate partner violence. In Michele McKeon’s piece “Understanding Intimate Partner Violence” she states that “In 1994 the Violence Against Women Act was passed, revolutionizing programs, services, and funding for individuals affected by intimate partner violence and their families” (McKeon 497). Yet the revolutionized programs, which McKeon speaks of, haven’t changed the fact that the violence continues and in my opinion, it is not enough to just deal with the aftermath of the violence, the prevention of intimate partner violence is something that society needs to address. In addition, McKeon also states “The Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that 1,181 women were murdered by their intimate partners in 2005; two million women experience injurie...
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
The theories and explanations for battered women's behavior started in the late 1970's as a result of the oppression of women. Feminist movements in the late 1970's caused great social uproar among legal and political...
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).
During the 1980s and 1900s, domestic violence was one of the most unreported crimes that involve females and males getting hurt and dying. Kicking, choking, killing, and saying brutal or despise words that could hurt the victims physically or emotionally are considered domestic violence. In fact, many victims are afraid to seek for help. According to “The Domestic Violence Resource Center (DVRC), women account for approximately 85 percent of all intimate partner violence, with women aged 20-24 at greater risk” (Batten, par.16). Most pregnant women are at risk as well. “But underlying approach is still one that assumes the perpetrators are men and the victims are woman” (Haugen, par. 1). Moreover, both males and females believe that domestic violence is a solution to their issues.
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
This essay aims to discuss the various forms of domestic violence, what leads to domestic violence, and the impacts of domestic violence on the physical and mental health of the women who experience it, the effects on the children who witness it, and the barriers that hold women back from leaving the abusive relationships.
The researcher Michael T Johnson in 1995 investigated data from the National Family Violence Survey. Johnson reported that “…young married Hispanic women were more likely to experience domestic violence” (). The racial and ethnic groups revealed differences in rates and the forms of abuse. Researchers reported than African American and Hispanic women with low household income and educational status experienced greatest rates of family and domestic violence. According to Women of Color Network (2006) “African American women reported 29.1% intimated partner violence (sexually, physically, and mentally); on the other hand, Hispanic females reported 21.2%” (p. 1-4). The domestic violence rates among African American and Hispanic women have beben related to the sociocultural beliefs of the acceptance of marital abuse; especially, if women have low educational levels and are financially
It is not always easy to determine in the early stages of a relationship if one person will become abusive. Abusers may often seem wonderful and perfect initially, but gradually become more aggressive and controlling as the relationship continues. Violence and control always intensifies over time with an abuser, despite the apologies (ncadv.org). I Choose Life attempts to give a voice to the victims and survivors of domestic violence. Along with, offering an understanding to domestic violence, we construct educational seminars and programs that will help to drive that change. Domestic violence is the sole responsibility of the abuser.
As professional athletes remind us on a weekly basis, domestic violence is a social problem which continues to plague the nation. Through stricter law enforcement, improved hospital reporting techniques, and nationwide education and counseling, this problem can be reduced. Domestic violence has many different names such as, family violence, battering, wife beating, and domestic abuse. All these terms refer to the same thing, abuse by marital, common law, or a dating partner in an intimate relationship. Domestic violence is not limited to physical beating. It is any behavior that is intended to overpower and control another human being through the use of humiliation, fear, and physical or verbal assault. Domestic violence is a very important issue in today’s society because it has such a profound negative affect on the abused, mentally and physically. Verbal abuse can be just as damaging as physical abuse. Verbal abuse is words that attack or injure an individual’s self-image, which eventually shatters one’s self-esteem. In this paper, I will discuss the many kinds of abuses against women, the reasons why women stay in these relationships, and possible solutions to diminish or reduce the problems of domestic violence.
“One woman is beaten by her husband or partner every 15 seconds in the United States” (Stewart & Croudep, 1998-2012). Domestic violence can interfere with the husband-wife relationship because one spouse is always in constant fear of the other. This violence could vary from physical abuse to ps...