From the creation of the first man and woman in the proverbial garden down through the records of history, the battle of the sexes has been waged. Marriage, or romantic relationships, has a way of bringing out the negative attributes of an individual’s character. The Bible accounts the record of Jael who drove a tent peg through her military lovers head; Delilah plotted and executed the downfall of her brawny lover Samson; Abigail lived in fear of her angry husband Nabal. While the famous trials of O. J. Simpson, who murdered his former girlfriend, and Scott Peterson, who murdered his pregnant spouse, attest to the continuance of domestic violence today. Down through the years, society has held a concept that men are the powerful leaders and …show more content…
Sandra Stencel in her article “Violence in the Family” reveals a survey conducted on acceptable use of violence among partners. She found that “20 percent of those interviewed approved of a husband slapping his wife’s face in certain circumstances.” In a survey conducted by three researchers targeted at Vietnamese Americans, they found that fifteen percent said they “saw their mother regularly hit their father.” Many partners feel no remorse in demonstrating violence toward a spouse because they feel it is socially acceptable. Susan Dwyer Amussen, in her publication “Being Stirred to Much Unquietness: Violence and Domestic Violence in Early Modern England”, documents case after case of domestic violence in an era when it was socially acceptable for a husband to physically beat his spouse, even unto her demise. Today, verbal abuse is the most acceptable, but physical violence that includes striking and slapping is often seen as an acceptable way of demonstrating …show more content…
Drijber, Udo J.L. Reijnders, and Manon Ceelen, “Male Victims of Domestic Violence,” Journal of Family Violence 28, no. 2 (February 2013): 173, Academic Search Elite, EBSCOhost (accessed February 26, 2014). Babette C. Drijber, Udo J.L. Reijnders, and Manon Ceelen, “Male Victims of Domestic Violence,” Journal of Family Violence 28, no. 2 (February 2013): 176, Academic Search Elite, EBSCOhost (accessed February 26, 2014). Venus Tsui, Monit Cheung, and Patrick Leung, “Help-seeking among Male Victims of Partner Abuse: Men’s Hard Times,” Journal of Community Psychology 38, no. 6 (August 2010): 772, Academic Search Elite, EBSCOhost (accessed February 27, 2014). Venus Tsui, Monit Cheung, and Patrick Leung, “Help-seeking among Male Victims of Partner Abuse: Men’s Hard Times,” Journal of Community Psychology 38, no. 6 (August 2010): 773, Academic Search Elite, EBSCOhost (accessed February 27, 2014). Sandra Stencel, “Violence in the Family,” in The Women’s Movement: Agenda for the ‘80s, ed. Hoyt Gimlin (Washington: Congressional Quarterly Inc. 1981), 147. Babette C. Drijber, Udo J.L. Reijnders, and Manon Ceelen, “Male Victims of Domestic Violence,” Journal of Family Violence 28, no. 2 (February 2013): 175, Academic Search Elite, EBSCOhost (accessed February 26,
In this paper I will be telling you many different forms of domestic violence. I will include the physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal abuse, spiritual abuse, economic abuse, social abuse, and emotional abuse. I will also describe the "cycle of violence", teen dating violence, and why women stay with an abusive partner.
Domestic violence has been plaguing our society for years. There are many abusive relationships, and the only question to ask is: why? The main answer is control. The controlling characteristic that males attribute to their masculinity is the cause to these abusive relationships. When males don’t have control they feel their masculinity is threatened and they need to do something about it. This doesn’t occur in just their relationships, but rather every facet of life. Men are constantly in a struggle for power and control whether it is at work, home, during sports, or in a relationship, this remains true. So the only way for them to get this power is for them to be “men”; tough, strong, masculine, ones that demand and take power. Where is this thirst for control coming from? Is it the natural structure of a man or is it a social construct? The answer is that it’s the social construction of a patriarchy that results in this thirst for control due to fear. The fear is being emasculated, whether it is by gayness, or femininity. Men use the fear created from domestic violence to gain control, but yet women do have some control in a relationship it is this vague boundary of how much control that leads to domestic violence.
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 is a widely recognized issue here in the United States. Though many people are familiar with domestic violence, there are still many facts that people do not understand. Abuse is not just physical, it is mental, emotional, verbal, sexual and financial. Many victims of physical abuse are also fall victim to these abuse tactics as well. An abusive partner often uses verbal, mental, emotional, and financial abuse to break their partner so to speak. It is through this type of abuse the victim often feels as though they are not adequately meeting their partner’s needs.
Drijber, B., Reijnders, U., & Ceelen, M. (2013). Male victims of domestic violence. Journal Of Family Violence, 28(2), 173--178.
Kennedy, Bernice R. Domestic Violence: A.k.a. Intimate Partner Violence (ipv). New York: iUniverse, 2013. Print.
However, it is too often overlook that domestic violence may not only occur in terms of a man meting out violence against a woman but could also render a man as the victim too. Many times people turn their backs on male victims of domestic violence (Murray, S. & Powell, A. (2007). Due to the focus on violence against women, men lack a proper or even popular framework to fight domestic violence when it occurs that they are victims (Cruz, 1996). There is also a stereotype that only women can be victims of domestic violence. This makes it hard for men to open up and report when they experience violence from a partner (Cruz, 1996).
Nussbaum, Felicity. “Risky Business: Feminism Now and Then.” Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature 26.1 (Spring 2007): 81-86. JSTOR. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
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.
Payne, Darrel. Domestic Violence and the Female Victim: The Real Reason Women Stay! 1st ed. Vol. 3. N.p.: Scientificjournals, 2009. : Signs of Abuse and Abusive Relationships. Scientificjournals, 2009. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.
“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...
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
In “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the narrator and her husband John can be seen as strong representations of the effects society’s stereotypical gender roles as the dominant male and submissive female have within a marriage. Because John’s wife takes on the role as the submissive female, John essentially controlled all aspects of his wife’s life, resulting in the failure of the couple to properly communicate and understand each other. The story is intended to revolve around late 19th century America, however it still occurs today. Most marriages still follow the traditional gender stereotypes, potentially resulting in a majority of couples to uphold an unhealthy relationship or file for divorce. By comparing the “The yellow wallpaper” with the article “Eroticizing Inequality in the United States: The Consequences and Determinants of Traditional Gender Role Adherence in Intimate Relationships”, the similarities between the 19th century and 21st century marriage injustice can further be examined. If more couples were able to separate the power between the male and female, America would have less unhappy marriages and divorces.
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.
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