РефератыИностранный языкDoDomestic Violence Essay Research Paper Domestic ViolenceDomestic

Domestic Violence Essay Research Paper Domestic ViolenceDomestic

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

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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

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