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History of domestic violence in the US
Bias towards women in domestic abuse
History of domestic violence in the US
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Historically, legal and social traditions in the United States have permitted and supported the abuse of women and children by the male head of household. This historical phenomenon helps explain why women are the primary victims of domestic violence. In this country, civil rights and legal responsibilities were first granted to free, property-owning men. Wives, children, and slaves were considered "chattel" or personal property of male citizens who were held responsible for their public behavior. Common law and written statues in the late 1800's in the US regulated, but did not prohibit, the abuse of women and children. It was considered the duty of males to control their households and property. Within their own judgment and standards, men were allowed to use physical violence to discipline their family or household member. In the 1600's in the Massachusetts Bay Colony husbands were also restricted from hitting their wives on Sundays or after 8:00 p.m. These restrictions were designed to protect the peace of the community rather than the targets of the violence. Page 2 The "rule-of-thumb" originated from the legal restriction that husbands could not hit their wives with sticks or boards thicker than an average thumb. Violent behavior by men against their family members were traditionally considered private matters. We recognize public violence as being morally wrong or socially destructive. Domestic violence and child abuse are two forms of private violence that were more or less immune from public scrutiny and considered inappropriate for "outsiders" to intervene in unless the problem reached extreme proportions. Although many laws that supported domestic violence were repealed in the early 1900's, the violent and controlling behavior of men over their family continued to be tolerated and viewed as socially acceptable. For example the development of the Family Court in 1899 reinforced the notion of family affairs such as domestic violence being private. In today's legal system, Family court falls under the heading of civil law (private torts) rather than criminal law (public wrongs) and continues as the main arena for settling family disputes. There were a number of attempts in American history to recognize and assist victims of domestic violence. This included efforts during the following times in history: The Suffrage Movement in the late 1800's Prohibitionists at the turn of the century Civil Rights Movement in the 1960's Page 3 However, the issue of domestic violence was always a secondary issue and was not fully addressed.
middle of paper ... ... So even though domestic violence is frowned upon, men use it to instill fear in a woman. It is a strange concept but largely in part while domestic violence is being performed as I stated earlier. Violence is the way men gain control and they use this in many different areas.
There is not a specific time or date when family violence began. But social scientist began studying family violence in the United States in the 1960’s. (Shehan, 2003) In the United States, the way in which children were punished for breaking the rules was often semi-violent or violent behavior. Violence was there when there was no family system. Violence comes in many forms physical, mental, emotion and sexual. Family violence involves domestic violence. During the women’s movement public awareness of the domestic abuse problem became known. The first shelter for battered women was open in 1974 and the shelter led to many opening of other shelters and domestic violence programs. By the 1990’s law enforcement stated to view domestic violence as a serious issue. Police protocol changed and arrest were being made. According to the National Survey violence in one relationship leads to violence in another relationship. (Shehan, 2003) Families provide training grounds for violence. If children see violence in their home they are mostly to portray violence in their everyday lives. Child abuse and maltreatment includes physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, in addition to neglect. Displays of child abuse and neglect include injuries inflicted by a child giver, head injury, and injury to organs. Head trauma is the leading cause of death in children. According to the World Health Organization, there were an estimated 57, 000 deaths attributed to homicide among children under 15 years of age in 2000.
(Now, in 2011, those attitudes and beliefs have become imbedded into law and practice, particularly since the O.J. Simpson trial, and it is even more difficult to attempt a discussion on these issues. In an increasing number of occasions, the laws passed to control domestic violence have become a form of violence in themselves. However, the idea that at least occasionally these laws, and their enforcement, may be a source of social problems, rather than the solution, is ignored or shouted down.
The main themes of this argument are the political and social attitudes of the subject and how the trends of Domestic Violence and Abuse persuade communities and individuals to feel about the matter; also how different locations and situations have an impact on how and why Domestic Violence and Abuse occurs. Why men feel they cannot report their cases of Domestic Violence and abuse to the police, how this crime type is measured and the historical and cultural relativity to Domestic Violence and abuse. Other themes will include the economy and the views of the Criminal Justice System.
Throughout history, domestic violence has been prominent; Wife beating became an issue in 736 B.C, when men were beating their wives as a form of punishment. “Early settlers in America based their laws on an Old-English common-law that explicitly permits wife-beating for correctional purposes. The states tried to break away from that law by saying that the husband is only allowed to whip his wife with a switch no bigger than his thumb.” (icadvinc.com). In 1866 the first organizations made to help battered women was The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals and The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Children. Alabama was the first state to rescind the right to beat your wife in 1871, but Maryland was the first state to make a law that gave a punishment to any husband that beat their wife in 1882. In addition, in 1867 the state of Maine was one of the first states to open up a shelter for battered women. In the 1950’s women were able to rise up because of all the change that was going on with the civil rights movement, and anti-war campai...
It is hard to believe that women only 60 years ago were still viewed and inferior to males and had little to no rights to protect themselves. When men returned from World War II some men resulted to domestically violate as a way of punishing his wife for something she did and to affirm dominance that he previously lost. Assaults that were inflicted on to women during the 1950s were seen being a part of male aggression and something that is normal. Women who did report the crime were viewed as being the actually perpetrators and the assault was actually their fault because they were unable to defend themselves. Domestic abuse during the 1950s was not considered as a crime but as a family matter, and law enforcement would not get involved. Since women were unable to defend themselves from abuse and assaults during the 1950s, the excuse that it was the woman’s fault was an excuse that was popularly used.
Domestic violence is a complex issue that plagues society regularly. Judicial systems all over the United States have attempted to create regulations to protect victims of domestic abuse. Furthermore, scattered scarcely throughout the United States are non-profit and small organizations which attempt to supplement the judicial protection with additional resources. Nevertheless, domestic abuse seems to be much bigger than any services these systems can maintain. Victims of domestic violence suffer with harmful issues even judicial and non-profit systems have yet to overcome and as society advances, even more issue seem to arise.
One of the most large-scale and complex problems America deals with each year is that of domestic violence. This crime is one which leaves the victim filled with fear, anxiety, and shame; feelings that one should not have to feel. Yet as America progresses through time, no one solution has been proven to significantly reduce the ongoing domestic violence occurrence. However, the potential for lowering the number of domestic violence occurrences is present, but first solutions for reducing this problem have to be found such as the creation of community based programs, increased censorship in television, administering treatment to potential perpetrators, and enforcing more harsh penalties.
However, many years ago, it was considered a shame or embarrassment among family members when a woman came forward about an assault or abuse. Wives were not allowed to go against their husbands with the accusations of abuse of any kind. The wife could face even more serious repercussions. The notion was that the wife was the husband’s property. He could do as he pleases with his wife and there was nothing that could be done.
Domestic violence is a horrendous experience that many women and children experience in their own home. The perpetrator, usually the male spouse or partner, controls their victims by threats, intimidation, or physical violence. The victims are under constant pressure and fear of their abuser which can create an unstable environment for the children. Domestic violence is influenced by sociology and is a sociological implication. Abuse is a learned behavior that is usually influenced by family members, which may cause interminable cycles of violence. If a society knows of a local abuser, the community will do its best to avoid or put a stop to the abusers actions by legal means. The importance of being knowledgeable about domestic violence can
Domestic violence has no specific time of beginning. The crimes of domestic violence go way back into our history. My research has led me to believe that the start of the crimes originated from Europe and had gotten brought to the Americas when settlers had came. The Europeans were permitted to beat their women as a form of correctional behavior, this was in the 1500’s to the 1800’s. The weapons they used were their hands or a switch no bigger than the husbands thumb. Later, in the 1800’s there were court laws that permitted husbands to administer “moderate chastisement in case of emergencies”. This led to foundations coming together to prevent cruelty to women.
Other titles we commonly hear describing domestic violence are physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and extortion, but physical abuse or force is the most well-known form. This consists of punching, kicking, pushing, attacking, and more. According to government research, physical abuse is more likely to occur at home than anywhere else. “About three-fourths of all family violence occurred in or near the victim's residence.” (bjs.gov) Perhaps this is the reason that most cases of physical abuse are never reported; the toll on a child to keep this kind of secrecy can range from social impairment to violent behavior.
These rules condemn the mistreatment of any living being, human or not. In cases of domestic violence, this particular precept shows just how against violence people of the Buddhist religion are, so domestic violence is similarly associated.
Domestic violence can affect families in more ways than one: the husband-wife relationship, the children, and also the financial stability. “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 psychological abuse, meaning that the abuser persuades the victim that they deserve the beating.... ...
The origin of domestic abuse is unclear. Prior to the mid 1800’s, it had been viewed as the husbands right to batter his wife, but there is no singular pinpoint as to where it started. Domestic abuse takes many forms; physical, sexual, stalking, emotional, psychological, and economical. Domestic abuse stems from the desire to gain, and maintain, power and control over a partner. And just like a fingerprint, each case is different. Rarely ever are two cases similar. However, the abuser may do many things, even some similar things to another abuser, to try and have gain power. They all tend to follow a pattern though. The calm, the storm, the flood, and the relief. It’s a violent circle. The abusers believe they have the right to control and