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Domestic violence history in us
Domestic violence history in us
American history of domestic abuse
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Domestic Violence and Child Custody Litigations The historical treatment of domestic violence has essentially undermined its importance in child custody decisions. Historically, the courts viewed domestic violence as a family matter, an issue for the parties involved to work out things on their own. The courts also upheld a husband's right to administer any type of punishment to his family, short of death or permanent injury. In a way, women were viewed as the property and responsibility of the husband (Gosselin, 2015, p. 38). Not until the 1970’s, was the domestic violence viewed as a social problem that finally brought awareness to the nation. However, states where skeptical as to how to enact laws regarding domestic violence because …show more content…
Gosselin (2015) stated that all states consider domestic violence when determining child custody and that the court always makes its decision based on the safety and well-being of the child (p. 103), However, one should ask oneself one critical question, for whose best interest? Each state and court deals with child custody and supervision in a different way. The only thing that we know for sure is that people who experience domestic violence are often forced to participate in custody arrangements that require mediation, unsupervised custody, and visitation, and other types of exchanges that leave victims and their children vulnerable to continued abuse and control at the hands of their perpetrators/abusers. Women who try to protect themselves and their children by seeking sole custody or modifications in their custody arrangements such as ending visitation rights and supervised visits, or who flee with their children are punished by taking their custody rights away and assigning them to their abusers. Despite our societies’ perceptions that mothers always win custody battles, fathers who contest child custody, by accusing the actual victim of misconduct such as child neglect and failing to provide the needs of the child, often than not, win joint or sole custody. Thus, these false accusations, custody battles, and courts appearances further damage the reputation and morale of victims of domestic
Like child abuse, it affects every American by impacting those we love the most. Awareness for domestic violence victims has evolved since the beginning of our country. In earlier times, it was a private matter, and took place “behind closed doors”. They helped them past their sufferings and place them back into mainstream culture. (Karmen, 2015) Claims one movement that assisted with the process is the Feminist Movement. This widespread movement took place during the 1970’s, and represented the “beaten women”. It helped them stand up for themselves during their distraught times. Domestic tranquility ensures women their safety at home under their husbands’ protection. The Feminist’s Movement questioned domestic tranquility and urged women to stand up for themselves (Karmen, 2015). They discovered the “silent crisis” that lived inside so many women at the time. The crisis was that the men they married gave into the times of “behind closed doors” and “look the other way”. Those times would stand no more, due to the feminist’s movement and widespread awareness. Laws and legislation have changed since the rediscovery of the victims of domestic violence. One example is restraining orders. Restraining orders set up a level of protection for the women from the male offenders. Another example of legislation is The Violence Against Women Act. Promulgated in 1994 the act mandates that all states enforce protective orders issued in a
...lence against women or police policies that instructed officers to investigate these crimes (Makers: Part 3). Over time, the adoptions of unilateral divorce laws have been found to reduce domestic violence due to the fact that a woman’s relative bargaining power increased. With this increase in bargaining power for women, if a woman today was subjected to abuse, they would take advantage of their rights and do what’s best for her and her children by using her bargaining power and get a divorce. In general, the way family hold up has changed with improvements in women’s labor market opportunities alongside the decline in marriage, the increase in divorce, and decline of domestic violence.
Domestic Violence has been an integrated part of many family units throughout history. Until the mid 1980’s, domestic violence was thought to be the families problem, a dirty little secret that needed to be dealt with inside the family circle. This mind set changed when a notable study was done in the Minneapolis Minnesota area in the 1980’s. This study not only impacted the actual area it was conducted in, but the way domestic violence offenders were dealt with by police officers across the country.
... policies have to be able to effectively deal with the crime. The results of this study can be used to formulate policy in the state and in other states. The study plays an important role in understanding the nature of domestic violence, and how enforcement of stricter laws against it will affect its prevalence in the community.
It wasn’t until recently that attitudes regarding domestic violence have been taken seriously. Historically, the predominant thought was to blame the victim and give into myths and stereotypes. However, there has been a push to reevaluate these attitudes and begin to retrain law enforcement to understand domestic violence (Grover, Paul, and Dodge 626). In a study regarding attitudes of police officers towards domestic violence, it was found that “most of the officers (84%) felt that domestic violence calls take too much of their time and effort” (Grover et al 626). Officers “showed a high level of frustration with repeat calls to the same address (93%), and believed that too many domestic violence calls are for verbal arguments (93%)” (Grover et al 626). However, the same study also found that 87% of officers disagreed with the statement that domestic violence cases should be handled as private matters and 64% agreed with the statement, “Domestic violence offenders must be arrested even when the victims don’t feel it is necessary” (Grover et al 626). Evidence suggests that officer respect policies and procedures that have been created to assist the victim as well as protect the community.
(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.
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.
However, domestic violence is not a new issue within our society. For centuries, women have been regarded as the property of men, offering them leeway in the enforcement of domestic abuse laws. Public opinion held that as heads of households, they had the right to discipline their wife and children as they saw fit. Eventually, women came to view this prevailing belief as truth. An inevitable outcome was their denial as victims at all. They simply saw it as the way it was and accepted it as such. Non-intervention has typically been the preferred method in regard to family matters. The long standing belief held that ‘what happened behind closed doors was no one’s business other than that family’s’ ruled the attitudes of society, the lega...
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.
Stanley, Miller, and Foster, Helen. 2012 “Engaging with children’s and parents’ perspectives on domestic violence” Journal of child and family social work 10(1111):1365-2206. Retrieved from Ebsco on Oct 1, 2013
...s immense problem that affects everyone. We have used the excuse that it is none of our business and that we don’t want to get involved for far too long. Although we have since made progress in our society through education and awareness of domestic violence, it still remains an issue. Because society has, for a very long time, placed such a high value on family privacy and male authority, the criminal justice system has struggled criminalize acts of domestic violence. These views and attitudes have since undergone revision and over the last two decades society has witnessed an increased understanding of the cause of domestic violence, the behavior patterns of abusers and the reaction of their victims. However, there are still many questions left unanswered about the ways to conceptualize domestic violence and the establishment of acceptable intervention strategies.
No one deserves to be hurt physically, emotionally, or sexually. Therefore neither man, child, or woman should have to be a victim of domestic violence. Women are not the only people who are subjected to domestic violence. Even though, on further evaluation on the website of womensaid.org, statistics state that, “32% of women who had ever experienced domestic violence did so four or five (or more) times, compared with 11% of the (smaller number) of men who had ever experienced domestic violence”. Statistics also state, on the National Center of Children Exposed To Violence website, that most cases of domestic abuse befall in family settings, where the father figure portrays the callous and violent actions against the mother figure. However, it should not be ignored that men are victims just the same. Thus, neither man, woman, nor child should be subjected to this vile act of forbidden passion. The actions of domestic cruelty towards women, children, and men need to end, even if the victims believes that they deserve such punishments. (women’said.org), (NCCEV)
In 1994 congress passed an act called violence against women to protect them against any abuse. However more than three million children witness domestic violence every year. The couple aren’t the only ones who suffer in this situations
Domestic violence has affected people from all walks of life. It crosses education, profession, economic status, and social status. This is not an issue that is reserved only for the poor or the uneducated. Instead, domestic violence has been documented among some
Domestic violence not only affects the abused, it can have substantial impact on family members, friends, co-workers, and the community. The family is affected in many ways. According to the website Safehaven, there are more than three million children who are witnesses to domestic violence within ...