Domestic Violence Essay, Research Paper

Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence towards women is a problem in the United States

that is usually over looked and almost always not noticed by Society

today. Violence is defined by the Riverside Webster’s Dictionary (p.755)

as: 1. Physical force employed so as to damage or injure. 2. As an

instance of violent action. If this is the case than why is it that so

many women are beaten by loved ones each year and little or nothing is

done to correct this violent and hostile situation? In this paper I will

attempt to answer this question along will a slue of others which pl aque

women in these war zones each day.

“The battered women is pictured by most people as a small, fragile,

haggard person who might once have been pretty. She has several small

children, no job skills, and is economically dependent on her husband. It

is frequently assumed that she is poor and

from a minority group. She is accustomed to living in violence, and her

fearfulness and passivity are emphasized above all. Although some battered

women do fit this description, research proves it to be false

stereotype.”(Walker p.18) In fact most batte red women have highly

lucrative jobs such as doctors or lawyers, Corporation executives and

nurses. Most are heavy set women whose assets are controlled by there

husbands and cannot defend themselves physically. Battered women are found

in all racial, rel igious and ethical backgrounds as well as age groups

and educational levels. ”Who are battered women? If you are a women,

there is a 50 percent chance it could be you!”(Walker p.19)

Statistical data on battered women is difficult to find because

most records are buried in medical records, domestic disturbance calls to

the police or the records of social service agencies. During my research

I found that characteristics in numerous c ategories for both the batterer

and battered were the same. Here is a list of those categories that were

the same or in a similar fashion the same for both individuals. Commonly

shared characteristics between Battered and Batterer. 1. Has low

self-esteem. 2. Believes all myths about battering relationships. 3. Is a

traditionalist about the home, strongly believes in family unity and his

or her roles in the family unit. As with the women all racial, religious,

educational levels equally represent the men, cultures socioeconomic

groups. “Batterers typically deny that they have a problem, although they

are aware of it; and they become enraged if their women should reveal t he

true situation.” (Walker p.36)

“Researchers Eisenberg and Micklow found 90 percent of the

batterers in their study had been in the military. Twenty five percent

received dishonorable discharges.” (Walker p.37) These are some alarming

facts and characteristics about both the battered a nd the batterer. I was

unable to collect any data on the cause for this percentage of violence by

men of the military. Although it being a school of violence might have

some weight on the effects of this violence on women. Some of the

reasoning behind the se acts of physical and mental neglect may be

societies acceptance of such violence. We as a society are always calling

for more violence on television in the theater and on other individuals.

We pay for these sorts of entertainment, ask the government to

apply force on other nations and as the saying goes “sex and violence

sell.” It is glorified in all forms of the media.

Why do battered women stay with there significant others? The

answer has many different angles; some stay for financial reasons others

for the traditional reasons. The fact is that they stay, but when is

enough? “After you live so many years, and you wak e up one day, and your

body has just about had it, you say, ‘My God, I just can’t take another

punch.’ That’s what happened to me. I just reached a point where I said,

‘No more. Nothing is worth it.’ I decided I would rather struggle and see

if I couldn’t

make it, so I just up and left, and that’s been it.” (Langley and Levy

p.111) This was the victim of spouse abuse for seventeen years. In another

case a women from Maryland described her experience. “Being beaten up is

the most degrading, humiliating, cr ushing kind of thing that could happen

to a person.” (Langley and Levy p.116) in most cases the women feel that

they are the ones to blame for there battering and also apologize for

being beaten. “A women’s decision to stay or go to seek help or suffer in

silence is often determined by the frequency of her beatings.” (Langley

and Levy p.122)

When women do come to the end of the line and have finally worked

up enough courage to do it, to leave the one she loves so dear where does

she go? Well I would like to tell you that she calls for help via the

police or local athorities and receives the compassion and understanding

that she so deserves and needs in this time of uncertainty and doubt. But,

all too often she is meet with hostility and cynicism. “Usually, the

police, attorneys, prosecutors, public defenders, and even judges feel

they should

not get involved in so called family problems.” (Langley and Levy p.153)

One Detroit police officer is even quoted as saying, “there are no

rewards for refereeing a family fight.” (Langley and Levy p.153) One of

the problems is the offense can be both criminal and civil matters. There

are in fact only three states that have l aws that deal directly with

spouse abuse, California, Hawaii, and Texas which make it an automatic

felony for a husband to beat his wife. The system however does not work in

the favor of the battered but rather in the favor of the batterer.

“Assault is a crime in every state. Since wife beating is a form of

assault, then wife beating is a crime in every state. In practice,

however, wife beating is not treated as a crime but as a civil matter.

Prosecutors deliberately look the other way even when a man adm its to

wife beating.” (Langley and Levy p.154)

When the judicial system fails to help the abused, the abused must

turn elsewhere. Places such as crisis centers, church, or shelters. But in

many places there are no such places or organizations to help the abused,

then the abused must depend on communi ty help as well as family and

friends to help. Mostly with support groups and just by giving the abused

the compassion and support once sot by the abused in the judicial system.

One example of this disappointment in the system was found in the

Detroit Free Press, in an article headlined ” Emergency Number Still Has

Kinks,” reported: ” near-breathless women, beaten by her husband, dialed

911 to ask for police assistance. ‘Does he

have a weapon?’ the operator asked.

” She answered he did not.

“Then I am sorry. We won’t be able to help you,’ the operator said

to the dismayed women.” (Langley and Levy p.160) This lack of confidence

in the judicial system in return sends women a message of desperation,

fear and frustration. Many women in turn take the law into there own

hands, in a study done by the U.S Department of Justice between 1987 and

1991. “Approximate ly one in four attacks involved the use of a gun or

knife, according to the study. Young, black and Hispanic women were

especially vulnerable, as were poor single women with low education levels

who lived in inner cities. The findings were drawn from more

than 400,000 interviews.” The Acting Bureau Director Lawrence A.

Greenfeld stated that “the number of women attacked by spouses, former

spouses, boyfriends, parents or children is more than 10 times higher than

the number of males attacked by such people .” It is clear to me that all

of us living in this great nation need to join hands in the fight against

Domestic Violence in the home, not just against women but children and men

as well. But for the purpose of this paper I would like to focus mainly on

the women of the American household. We as a society should take action

and compose social as well as political laws to rectify this situation.

There are no set standards, in fact police officers are told to not arrest

in cases of domestic violence calls. The

reasoning is once again the civil matter of domestic violence being a

“family problem”.

In concluding this simply alarming and terrifyingly eye opening

subject matter I would like to suggest five areas in which we as a society

and human beings could help in altering the violence. Not just on women

but on women, children and minorities as w ell. 1. The expression of

violence is most commonly seen in the context of relationships 2. Current

policies to address personal violence are outdated and superficial. 3.

Violence does not effect everyone equally-it is ingrained in cultural

expressions of power and inequality. 4. Prevention of violence entails on

the positive in the context of the relationships, not just focusing on

individual weaknesses or deviance. 5. Youth are important resources and

are part of the solution. I strongly believe in these five seemingly

simply and yet necessary areas. Not as a way of solving the domestic

problems of society today but as a way of depleting the number of cases of

domestic violence each year until a suitable set of guidelines or st

andards can be developed.

Bibliography

domestic violence