Domestic Violence
- Created by: hannahlou17x
- Created on: 06-04-20 11:02
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- Domestic Violence
- Overview: A common view is that d.v is the behaviour of a few disturbed individuals, and that its causes are psychological rather than social. However, sociologists have challenged this view...
- Domestic violence is far too widespread to be the work of a few 'sick' individuals.
- Women's Aid Federation (2014): d.v accounts for between 1/6 and 1/4 of all recorded violent crime.
- The Crime Survey for England and Wales (2013): 2 million people reported having been victims of d.v during the previous year.
- Domestic violence does not occur randomly, but follows particular social patterns with particular social causes.
- The most striking of these patterns is that it is mainly violence by men against women.
- Kathryn Coleman et al (2007): women were more likely than men to have experienced 'intimate violence' across partner abuse, family abuse, sexual assault and stalking.
- Coleman and Osborne (2010): two women a week - or 1/3 of all female homicide victims - are killed by a partner or former partner.
- Russel and Rebecca Dobash's (1979;2007) research in Scotland confirms this pattern.
- They argue that marriage legitimates violence against women by conferring power on husbands and dependency on wives.
- Using court records and interviews with women in women's refuges, they found that violent incidents could be ignited by what a husband saw as a challenge to his authority, such as his wife questioning why he was late home for a meal.
- Russel and Rebecca Dobash's (1979;2007) research in Scotland confirms this pattern.
- Domestic violence is far too widespread to be the work of a few 'sick' individuals.
- The Home Office (2013)
- D.v is 'Any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members regardless of their
- D.v can include psychological, physical, sexual, financial and emotional violence or abuse.
- Gender
- While most victims are women, the Crime Survey for England and Wales (2013) found a relatively narrow gender gap: 7.3% of women (1.2 mil) compared with 5% of men (800,000) reported having experienced d.v in 2012.
- Just knowing how many victims there are tells us nothing about the frequency, severity or effects of the abuse they suffer.
- Sylvia Walby and Jonathan Allen (2004): women were much more likely to be victims of multiple incidents of abuse and of sexual violence.
- Ansara and Hindin (2011): women suffered more severe violence and control, with more serious psychological effects. Women were much more likely than men to be fearful of their partners.
- Aliyah Dar (2013): It can be difficult to count separate d.v incidents because abuse may be continuous or may occur so often that the victim cannot reliably count the instances.
- Official statistics: the two reasons why they understate the truth of the extent of d.v
- 1. Victims may be unwilling to report it to the police.
- Stephanie Yearnshire (1997): on average, a woman suffers 35 assaults before making a report. D.v is the violence crime least likely to be reported.
- Dar (2013): Victims of d.v are less likely than victims of other forms of violence to report the offence because they believe that it is not a matter for the police, it is too trivial or from fear of reprisals.
- 2. Police and prosecutors may be reluctant to record, investigate or prosecute those cases that are reported to them.
- 1. Victims may be unwilling to report it to the police.
- The radical feminist explanation
- Radical feminists interpret findings such as those of Dobash and Dobash as evidence of patriarchy. R.f see the family and marriage as the key institutions in patriarchal society and the main source of women's oppression. For r.f, widespread d.v is an inevitable feature of patriarchal society and serves to preserve the power of men over women.
- In their view, male domination of state institutions helps to explain the reluctance of the police and courts to deal effectively with cases of d.v.
- Kate Millett (1970) and Shulamith Firestone (1970( argue that all societies have been founded on patriarchy.
- Evaluation
- Faith Robertson Elliot (1996) rejects their claim that all men benefit from violence against women, as r.f ignore that not ALL men are aggressive and most are opposed to d.v.
- R.f also fail to explain female violence, including child abuse by women and violence against male partners and within lesbian relationships.
- The Crime Survey for England and Wales (2013): 18% of men (2.9 million) have experienced d.v since the age of 16.
- R.f use the concept of patriarchy to explain why most victims are women, but they wrongly assume that all women are equally at risk. They fail to explain which women are more likely to be victims.
- Evidence from the ONS (2014) suggests that women from the following social groups face a greater risk... (men who suffer d.v are likely to belong to these groups)
- Young women
- Those in the lowest social classes and those living in the most deprived areas.
- Those on low incomes or in financial difficulties.
- Those living in shared and rented housing.
- Those with high levels of drug or alcohol consumption.
- Those with a long-term illness or disability.
- Evidence from the ONS (2014) suggests that women from the following social groups face a greater risk... (men who suffer d.v are likely to belong to these groups)
- Radical feminists interpret findings such as those of Dobash and Dobash as evidence of patriarchy. R.f see the family and marriage as the key institutions in patriarchal society and the main source of women's oppression. For r.f, widespread d.v is an inevitable feature of patriarchal society and serves to preserve the power of men over women.
- Marxist feminists
- They see inequality causing d.v.
- Fran Ansley (1972) describes wives as 'takers of ****', arguing that d.v is the product of capitalism: male workers are exploited at work and they take their frustration out on their wives.
- This helps to explain why d.v is male violence against females.
- However, it doesn't account for cases of female d.v or explain why not all male workers commit such acts against their partners.
- This helps to explain why d.v is male violence against females.
- Fran Ansley (1972) describes wives as 'takers of ****', arguing that d.v is the product of capitalism: male workers are exploited at work and they take their frustration out on their wives.
- They see inequality causing d.v.
- The materialist explanation
- Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett (2010) see d.v as the result of stress on family members caused by social inequality.
- Inequality means that some families have fewer resources than others. Those on low incomes or living in overcrowded housing are likely to experience higher levels of stress.
- This reduces their chances of maintaining stable, caring relationships and increases the risk of conflict and violence.
- Worries about money, jobs and housing may spill over into domestic conflict as tempers become frayed.
- Lack of money and time restricts people's social circle and reduces social support for those under stress.
- Evaluation
- Their approach is useful in showing how social inequality produces stress and triggers conflict and violence in families.
- As those in lower social classes face great hardship and thus stress, this helps to explain the class differences in the statistics of d.v.
- However, unlike the r.f approach, Wilkinson and Pickett do not explain why women rather than men are the main victims.
- Their approach is useful in showing how social inequality produces stress and triggers conflict and violence in families.
- This reduces their chances of maintaining stable, caring relationships and increases the risk of conflict and violence.
- Their findings show that not all people are equality in danger of suffering d.v - those with less power, status or income are often at greater risk.
- Inequality means that some families have fewer resources than others. Those on low incomes or living in overcrowded housing are likely to experience higher levels of stress.
- Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett (2010) see d.v as the result of stress on family members caused by social inequality.
- Overview: A common view is that d.v is the behaviour of a few disturbed individuals, and that its causes are psychological rather than social. However, sociologists have challenged this view...
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