Domestic violence is a very serious problem that affects many men, women, and children in United States and around the world. It is a topic that not a lot of people like to talk about. Although many families experience domestic violence, the people around them don’t know it because it is a very difficult subject to discuss. Although both man and woman can be victims of domestic violence, women are more likely to report their abuse than men are. This is why domestic violence is often thought of as violence against women. No other perspective is considered, and this one sidedness hides the male victims of domestic violence. Domestic violence is any cycle of behavior that is used by one or both partners in an intimate relationship to achieve and maintain power (Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence). Families all over the world deal with domestic violence. In most cases, the husband or boyfriend is the abuser and the wife, girlfriend, or child is the victim. In more cases than people think, the male partner is the victim. Domestic violence against men is rarely mentioned when addressing the subject. This might be because it is two men in a relationship or the man doesn’t want to be thought of as less “manly”. In either case, violence against men is just as serious as violence against women. Women who have been abused by their partner are afraid to tell family members or friends about what they are going through because of fear of retaliation by their abuser. Men who are abused by their partners feel embarrassed to tell people because they don’t want to seem weak or less masculine. Although both man and woman can be victims of domestic violence, women are more likely to report their abuse than men are. This is why domestic viol... ... middle of paper ... ...use because domestic violence is not about sexual orientation, it is about power. Male victims of domestic violence are overshadowed by the presumption that male can only be the abusers, and because of this stereotypes, male victims are forced into hiding for fear of embarrassment. Works Cited Dutton, Donnald G., and Katherine R. White. "Male Victims of Domestic Violence." New Male Studies: An International Journal 2.1. 5-17. 2013. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. Gadd, David, Stephen Farrall, Damian Dallimore, and Nancy Lombard. "Male Victims of Domestic Violence."1-3. 2001. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence. "What Is Domestic Violence." ICADV. 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. Young, Cathy. "Women Receive Disproportionately Lighter Sentences than Men in Domestic Violence Cases." Domestic Violence. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. 2009. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
“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.
Pennington, B, E., S. (2014, September 19). In Domestic Violence Cases, N.F.L. Has a History of Lenience . Retrieved from
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 of these abusive relationships. When males don’t have control, they feel their masculinity is threatened and they need to do something about it.
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
Due to men’s fear from authoritative figures and their female abusers they keep silent on their experience with domestic violence; because of this silence domestic violence in men is not completely recognized throughout the world. “Also DV against men often goes unrecognized since men are probably less likely than women to report such incidents for fear of embarrassment, fear of ridicule and the lack of available support services (Barber 2008).” (Drijber, Reijnders & Ceelen, 2013)
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.
Mackley, John. "Domestic Violence: Fast Facts on Domestic Violence." Domestic Violence: Fast Facts on Domestic Violence. N.p., 2013. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
Just under half a million Australian women reported that they had experienced physical or sexual violence or sexual assault. Women that are personally victimized by domestic violence become emotionally unstable and they are unable to cope with certain situations. Many think that it is their fault because they think they’ve done something wrong to cause their spouse attack them. However, women aren’t the only victims when it comes to domestic violence; men are victims too. The majority of violence against men is committed by other men. Of men who reported that they had experienced physical violence, 73.7% said that the perpetrator was a male, but that doesn’t mean women don’t abuse males just as much. Women are much more sympathised than men when it comes to domestic violence. People just assume that if a male is getting physically or emotionally abused, they’re a wimp and can’t fight for themselves. Whereas if a women was the victim, people automatically blame the abuser. At least one in three victims of some type of domestic violence is
But we don 't really know why men choose to be violent towards women. A study of the mothers of child abuse victims shows that battering is the most common context for child abuse, that the battering male is the typical child abuser. Feminist theory in domestic violence emphasizes gender and power inequality in opposite-sex relationships. Feminist theory also has to do with gender equalities and how men still believe that they are the superior sex.
Thesis: In my paper, I will be examining the different types, possible causes, and effects of Intimate Partner Violence, and what treatments or programs are available to combat this growing problem in America. Regardless of differing approaches to fight it, statistics show that women all across the world suffer from the effects of domestic violence at a similar rate independent of class, race, or religion.
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.
Typically, men are framed to be the strong partner, but that doesn’t mean that they easily escape domestic violence due to their masculinity. Did you know one in three men have experienced domestic violence? According to CDC's statistics estimate roughly 5,365,000 men had been victims of intimate abuse, and 40% of the victims of severe physical violence are men. If the numbers are outrageous, and even higher than those of women victims, why do hardly hear about them? Men often feel embarrassed, emasculated, or even trepidacious of reporting their abuse, mainly because they are coerced into believing that authority will not take them serious. Men are not just physically abused, but also sexual and emotional abuse. The abuse they experience can include: verbal and emotional abuse, belittlement, humiliation, act in a possessive/jealous manner, threaten you if you opted to walk away, engage in any sexual act without your desire, or threaten to hurt you with a knife, bat, or any other object.
The first reaction upon hearing about the topic of battered men, for many people, is that of incredulity. Battered husbands are a topic for jokes (such as the cartoon image of a woman chasing her husband with a rolling-pin). One researcher noted that wives were the perpetrators in 73% of the depictions of domestic violence in newspaper comics (Saenger 1963).