The United States Department of Justice defines domestic violence as, “a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner. Domestic violence can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic, or psychological actions or threat of actions that influence another person. This includes any behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wound someone” (“Domestic Violence”). Violence against both men and women is a widespread problem; seen in every culture, nation, race, religion, and sexual orientation. Considering this violence is a massive problem, there has been a push for more legislation. …show more content…
Starting as early as 700 BC, “Among the Hebrews and the Romans, the father of the family had absolute rights over the members of the family. As patriarch, he owned not only the house, the lands, the animals, the slaves, but also the wife, the concubines and the children…. Although practically all societies would no longer recognize the ‘right of ownership’ of people, the sense of proprietorship of men over woman, especially those dependent on them, still exists in the hard disc of their psyche” (“Violence Against Women”). Religious history also plays a big role in the contribution to domestic violence, “The Western socio-cultural politics of subordination has its roots in Greek philosophy and Roman law and is mediated through Jewish, Islamic and Christian Scriptures,” all in which, “demand submission and obedience not only from freeborn women, wives and children, but also from servants, slaves and barbarians” (“Violence Against Women”). Christian scriptures and values, historically, preached this the hardest, “Christian values such as love and forgiveness help sustain relations of domination and to accept domestic and sexual violence. Hence scriptural texts and Christian ethics often maintain the cycle of violence …show more content…
Many people still follow and believe these scriptures to this day, even though they are outdated and probably should not be taken as literally as they are. Since religion is deeply rooted in history, people who are very religious most likely still see domestic violence as legal and acceptable. In 1767, “British Common Law allows for a man to chastise his wife with a stick no greater than the length from the last joint to the end of the thumb (the rule of thumb)” (“History of Battered Women’s Movement”). In the past century, there were still numerous people who thought that domestic abuse, especially against women, was okay, “Interviews with batterers found that men believed it was their right as men to beat wives who disobey them. Such violence was most likely to occur in households in which both wife and husband agreed that male dominance and control was legitimate” (Aulette and Wittner 292). Even in 1910 the United States government was not doing enough for the victims of domestic violence, “[The] U.S. Supreme Court denied a wife the right to prosecute her husband for assault because to do so ‘would open the doors of the courts to accusations of all sorts of one spouse against another’” (“History of Battered Women’s Movement”). There is a long history of domestic violence
“Domestic violence, or intimate partner violence, is defined as a pattern of assaultive and coercive behaviors, including physical, sexual, and psychological attacks as well as economic coercion that adults or adolescents use against their intimate partners” (Peeks-Asa). When it comes to domestic violence many people don’t want to get involved, but if just one person took a stand maybe others would follow and potentially save a life, like the neighbors did in The Day It Happened by Rosario Morales. Domestic violence can happen to anyone at any time, there is no typical victim or perpetrator. The fact that there is no one specific group that domestic violence occurs in more than another, only makes it more difficult to get an accurate representation of just who is being affected by this crime. “Domestic violence and abuse does not discriminate” (Smith and Segal). Domestic violence can have specific victims such as a spouse or domestic partner, a child, or an elder. Domestic violence can affect men as well as women. Some types of domestic violence are physical, verbal or nonverbal, sexual, stalking or cyberstalking, economic or financial, and spiritual.
This is the tenth time that Lisa has been admitted to the hospital within the past two years. At least this time there aren’t any broken bones or concussions to worry about. Lisa only has two black eyes, a patch of her beautiful long hair forcibly yanked from her head, a nasty black and blue bruise on her neck and a few nails ripped directly from the newly manicured nail beds. Lisa swore to God and her best friend Brandy that this was the final straw. Actually, she made that exact same pledge under oath just three months ago, yet she is coincidently in the same position she vowed never to return to. This time was different though. She was making plans to move her things out of the small apartment that she shared with her boyfriend the minute she was discharged from Sinai Grace Hospital, and what seem to be her home away from home. Lisa has made plans for her mom to babysit her 2 year old daughter while she searches for work, and Brandy has already told Lisa she can stay with her as long as she needed to. Yet, the very next day, Lisa calls to inform Brandy that she decided to stay with Jason despite of the awful things that he has done to her. Lisa believes that Jason has changed overnight and that he deserves a second chance, besides a child needs to be raised with both parents in the home. Unfortunately Brandy was not at all surprised by the phone call, in fact, she was expecting it. As the wave of guilt and the “should’ve, could’ve, would’ve” attempts to overcome Brandy again, she quickly snapped back into reality, wiped the tears off her face and placed the white roses on Lisa’s tombstone. A story like Lisa’s usually raises the million dollar question; why do women stay in abusive relationships? Across the nation...
...n 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 performed as I stated earlier.
It was the research of Dobash and Dobash, a husband and wife team from Wales, that first posited that “intimate partner violence is the result of male oppression of women within a patriarchal system in which men are the primary perpetrators and women the primary victims” (McPhail, B. A., Busch, N. B., Kulkarni, S., & Rice, G., 2007). According to Lawson (2012), feminist theories treat the problem of intimate partner violence as fundamentally related to the patriarchal domination of men over women. Historically, patriarchy was the dominant social structure from early Greek and Roman civilizations where women were considered to be the property of their father, if unmarried, and their husband if married. As such, women were often beaten, burned, and killed for not being obedient to a man’s
Every year about 4000 women die in the U.S. because of the domestic violence. Every year this number gets higher and higher. Even though we live in the 21st century people can’t find the way to improve the situation. But before searching for the solution, people should understand what domestic violence is. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, domestic violence is: “any abuse—including physical, emotional, sexual, or financial—between intimate partners, often living in the same household” (Encyclopedia Britannica). Most of the people believe that domestic
“Domestic violence is an 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 2). While it is these things, the violence is also considered a pattern of demeanor used to establish power and control over another person with whom an intimate relationship is or has been shared through fear and intimidation (“Domestic Violence Sourcebook” 9). It has many names, including spouse abuse, domestic abuse, domestic assault, battering, partner abuse, marital strife, marital dispute, wife-beating, marital discord, woman abuse, dysfunctional relationship, intimate fighting, mate beating, and so on (2). Donna Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Accommodations, believes that domestic violence is “terrorism in the home” (2). This type of abuse involves threats, harm, injury, harassment, control, terrorism, or damage to living beings/property (2). It isn't only in relationships with spouses, it also occurs within family, elderly, and children (9).
Pamela Cooper-White presents various types of violence women experience today followed by an examination of pastoral responses in her book, The Cry of Tamar. The introduction with the Biblical passage, The Rape of Tamar, sets a precedence of not only the history of violence against women but also the gender bias women have been and are subjected to. As the book points out, the Church’s responses are often a reflection of the patriarchal society which re-victimizes the woman rather than seeking justice for the violent crimes against them. While there is some noted progress, Cooper-White presents suggestions for pastoral responses to better assist those who experience this violence and striving to educate society to stop gender bias violence
According to the Bible, it states that men are the head of the household; women and children are to be submissive to the man. The wives are to obey her husband and the children are to obey their parents. It was okay for the man to discipline their wives and children, which meant, possibly, physical punishment (p. 118). Gudorf adds, the Bible states that this was a form of mercy and forgiving love and it was accepted because God treated Israel in this manner. There were other forms of brutality that were discussed and took place as far back as the first millennium when Christian priests were married. In addition, since women and children were considered a lower status then the men, corporal punishment was not seen problematic because it was considered keeping them in line (p. 119). Gudorf expresses that such violence, towards women and children, may be the increased recognition of women’s rights and how the man may have been trying to keep them in their place.
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.
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 affecting 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).
Dowd states in his article, “The Battered Woman Defense” It’s History and Future, that essential to the existence of domestic violence is the denial of the equality of women in cultures that perceived this denial as both acceptable and lawful.”(1) In Roman times a husband was permitted to use reasonable physical force, including blackening her eyes or breaking her nose, in disciplining his wife. (Dowd) Today, many men still continue to use this type of physical force to control their woman even though equality should exist between the two. Many women are in abusive situations and at times feel they are trapped in their own body. A man raping his wife has only been considered illegal for roughly the last fifteen years and that’s only in a few states. Other states require evidence or other types of pro...
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
Domestic violence is defined as “the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another” (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence 2015). Domestic violence has existed within family units since the dawn of humanity. This can be attributed many times to the idea of male dominance and authority over women, as well as the patterns of socialization and law throughout history. Anglo-American common law originally provided that the husband, as master of the household, could subject his spouse to “corporal punishment or chastisement” as long as it did not cause permanent injury
Domestic violence occurs all too often because girls are married or engaged too early. An article written by Trust in Education explains how nearly 60% of girls are married off at age sixteen, where most are then used as nothing more than sex slaves for their husbands. From a young age, these girls are taught that they are half as much, if not less, than the man. Regrettably, most child marriages result in rape and further domestic violence because of the authority the man posses over the woman (Life as an Afghan woman). In Afghanistan, men beating women for the slightest step out of line is common place. Because of the extremely patriarchal countries laws and religion, the ability to beat a woman is praised, and sometimes even encouraged. Sura 4:34 declares, “But those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance - [first] advise them; [then if they persist], forsake them in bed; and [finally], strike them. But if they obey you [once
Domestic violence is skyrocketing in our society. In the U.S., as many as 1.5 million women and 850,000 men were physically assaulted by their intimate partner last year, and numerous children abused by their parents. These sad criminal acts will continue to grow in our society, unless our community takes action to stop these crimes.