Domestic Violence Amd Women

Domestic violence is a terrible problem that we all must face, not only the

people who are victims. We need to stop this before the problem

develops into anything bigger than it already is.

The battered woman, it has been said, lives in a world of terror and her

home is her prison (Berger, 1990, pg. 35). For many hundreds of years people

weren't worried about domestic violence. In fact, a popular family journal, the

Journal of Marriage and Family, did not include a single article on domestic

from 1932 to 1969 (Berger, 1990, pg. 27). Suddenly, more women

came out and told of the abuse they had once suffered.

Researchers report that 1.8-2.9 million women are battered yearly. Not

only do the victims suffer physical pain, but they also have to deal with

emotional and psychological pain. The victim may have to face reoccurring

nightmares, and may never want to trust another man. Much too frequently,

the victim blames themselves. The typical response of an abused/battered

woman is, "I provoked him . . . I was being a bad wife, mother, and

housekeeper," (Peled, 1995, pg. 141). The very sad part about the violence,

beside the physical and emotional stress, is that most likely they know the

offender or abuser.

So, why, why would a person who is loved, want to abuse their spouse or

girlfriend? One of the key responses . . . Jealousy. The husband may become

very suspicious, afraid of losing his wife. The abuser sees his wife or girlfriend as a

possession. The only way, they think, to relieve this built up anger is

aggression. To improve their self-esteem, they abuse the victim physically,

emotionally, and sometimes, sexually. Another key factor in wife abuse is

alcohol. When the man is stressed, he turns to alcohol to relieve it. Little does

he know, that the alcohol makes him more irritable. "He started really drinking

excessively and that is when the abuse started. He had been drinking . . . I sat

down to read the paper and he wanted his supper . . . he kicked the cat to the

ceiling . . . he started slapping my face with both hands," (Berger, 1990, pg. 42).

Research shows that men who abuse their wives, often saw their own mother

abused. Do to witnessing this, the children of battered families usually grow up

to have low self-esteem and believe that hitting is right.