Domestic Violence And Patriarchy

“Domestic violence is a type of abuse by one or both partners in marriage, friends, family, dating or cohabitation” (Aziz & Mahmoud, 2010). There are many forms of abuse from verbal and emotional to physical that often escalates over time in intensity for the victim. Data from the criminal justice system, hospital patient medical records and mental health records, police reports, surveys and social services reports of thousands of women revealed that many are injured and killed as a result of violence from someone close to them. “The US Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) defines domestic violence as a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner regardless of race, age, sexual orientation, religion, or gender” (Robertson & Murachver, 2009). Researchers and the criminal justice system have not been able to agree on a clear definition to domestic violence which can range from physical injury, stalking, verbal abuse and humiliation, denial of shelter and access to money, and intimidation through aggressive behaviors. The definition of domestic violence may vary but the results from physical injury, mental and emotional trauma, and sometimes even death can last a life time.

On July 29th, 2006, Rafael Dangond and Lissette Ochoa were invited to a wedding party in an exclusive Country Club in the city of Barranquilla, Columbia. Dangond soon became outraged and aggressive after seeing Ochoa was dancing with a young male, who is one of her friends traveled from Venezuela to attend the wedding party. He fiercely attacked Ochoa once she exited the event and the violence constantly continued for over two hours. This extreme brutal act is a product of Dangond’s desires to control and dominate his wife because of his low self-esteem and extreme jealousy. As a result of Dangond’s abusive act, Ochoa suffered multiple physical traumas mainly on her head. Although Dangond’s performance seem to be a case of direct violence stemming from jealousy and frustration, it is also important to recognize the cultural and structural aspects involved in the conflict. The culture of domestic violence in Columbia, which are usually considered as being part of normal married life in the society and the vertically hierarchical relationships between husband and wife in a family must also be examined in order to fully determine the complexity of the conflict. Because of the vertical social structures, Dangond’s action is likely to continue between he and his wife. However, in order to decrease the prospect of future violence, laws regarding violence against women must be enforced and the abolition of the vertical familial patriarchal social system in

“Only approximately one-quarter of all physical assaults, one-fifth of all rapes, and one-half of all stalkings perpetuated against females by intimate partners are reported to the police” (Tjaden). How does this happen? Anyone who sees this statistic is firstly appalled, and secondly unable to comprehend how such blatant abuse occurs without reprimand. And furthermore, someone who has studied sexuality would look at this statistic and wonder about how many men or transgender people are affected by physical assaults, rapes, and stalkings. But regardless of your response to this statistic, there is one thing that we all can agree on: domestic violence must stop now. And for us to move

Over 12 million men and women are abused by their partners yearly, and of that only about 3 in 10 women and 1 in 10 men report their abusers and seek help. The issue of domestic abuse is one that is tabooed throughout the nation, much like the topic of sex and mental illness. However, unlike those topics, the society in which we live in normalizes, and even pokes fun at the dilemma of domestic abuse. Although some will argue that the fact that there are shelters, anti-abuse campaigns, and improvements for victims in the justice system prove the society’s understanding and action for the victims, the society that we live in normalizes the issue because of the situations in television and music, the lack of media coverage, and the leeway that athletes have when charged with domestic assault.

Domestic violence is an issue in almost every corner in the world. It is a public health and human rights issue. The accepted levels of violence have changed with history and varies between societies. Here in the United States, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, on average nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused. 1 in 3 women have been victims of physical violence from an intimate partner. The presence of a gun increases the risk of homicide by 500%. On average 3 women are killed each day by an intimate partner, Intimate partner violence is 15% of all violent crime. An analysis done by Every Town for Gun Safety found that 54% of mass shootings were related to domestic or family violence. This paper will be looking at the problem of domestic violence in the United States through the sociological conflict feminist theory.

The gender and the gender role attitudes have been extensively studied, and the study findings indicate towards the existence of domestic violence disputes (Esqueda, & Harrison, 2005). According to the studies, the gender role attitudes contribute significantly towards the understanding as well as the predicting of people’s beliefs and perceptions of violence against women, as well as domestic violence culpability. Seelau, and Seelau, (2005) reveals that men and women have different perceptions about domestic violence, as more men than women are likely to view domestic violence as a norm, and they tend to view the situation as less serious compared to the women. Moreover, the men and women differ significantly in terms of their likelihood of calling the police, as well as the severity of the penalty assigned to the perpetrator.

The sociological problem that’s depicted in the video and that is discussed is the issue on domestic violence. Domestic violence is where one partner in an intimate relationship seeks power and control over their partner by being violently abusive and aggressive. These negative aspects can be either shown verbally or physically and can sometimes even lead to death. Also, the video surrounds itself on the idea of domestic violence with whom it can affect. Anyone can be associated with domestic violence at any point in their life; including the male/female, children or even the animal within the household.

Patriarchal Theory explains the history, and they why gender equality exists throughout the ages, and I chose to mention Mary Wollstonecraft, who was the first woman to advocate on the education of women, in a time when women could not even own property. I feel as if it necessary to refer to and educate individuals on feminist patriarchal theory. I read that women outnumber men in higher education in the US, since women feel they need more than a BA to get the same amount of money men earn. The most commonly used theory on domestic violence is the feminist patriarchal approach. Gender relationships are measured as a fundamental piece of society and social norms.

Domestic violence in recent years has become a national issue of epidemic proportions (Whiting, 2014). The current Australian Government campaign against domestic violence clearly states that domestic violence is a crime (Douglas, 2008). However, a debate continues over the value of applying criminal law in this field. This article investigates the current operation of family law in Queensland in the domestic violence sphere and explores the advantages and disadvantages of applying criminal law to this area. Areas of investigation include, the effectiveness of current law, current issues relating to domestic violence, relevant stakeholders and perspectives and alternatives and recommendations relating to the current situation. The analysis

Domestic violence has been a main issue throughout history and all over the world; it can evidentially affect children, the elderly, women, and even men. Although abuse can affect many individuals, a significant portion of domestic abuse cases are against women. Globally, women are constantly facing physical, social and mental abuse by men and/or their significant others. In past years, the issue of domestic violence has gained the attention of researchers. In fact, studies have shown that it is a global issue negatively impacting the social and health status of individuals, particularly women. A survey of domestic abuse in Canada signifies that 29% of married women have been abused by their partners at least once (Nwosu, 2006). Many argue

Feminism has not changed today, but its focus has changed. Many women today have good education and employment opportunities just like men, as the early feminist fought for them. Now, after getting all these, men are now discriminating them and at times abusing them in order to undermine their hard work and potentiality. Men are doing all they can to undermine the success women have been able to acquired, however, today’s feminism is struggling to protect women and girls from domestic violence, sexual harassment, and rape as well as discrimination.

Domestic Violence is abuse or violence, which takes place in the household. One side of Domestic Violence is physical, impulsive, and vicious. When that level of violence kicks in, the only response is to take whatever means necessary to stop it. Both men and women are equally at fault for abuse. It is not either man or women’s fault, “Both male and the female are bound in their incapacity for intimacy and appreciation of differences”(Sherven 27). This means that male and female need each other to perpetuate personal and collective dramas of victimization and lovelessness, regrettably so, neither can leave. Women and men are equally at fault for Domestic Abuse.

Another journal article focusing on differences in domestic violence in Canada and Quebec by Douglas A. Brownridge(2002) has an interesting result in relation to occurrence of domestic violence and socio-economic status and education. It compares results collected from Quebec and rest of Canada. It finds that women with higher education experienced lower violence in Quebec but women with higher education experienced higher violence in the rest of Canada. This might be because of the notion of liberal views held in Quebec by males, and therefore would feel less threatened by highly educated women. This could also be because of the man is financially dependent on the

Theorising Violence The ongoing feminist paradigm notion believes violence is a male supported enterprise which denotes power over a woman who cannot defend herself against violent behaviour (Dutton and Nicholls, 2005). This notion believes women to be violent but mostly do so while defending themselves against violent behaviour of their partners or family member (ibid). Feminist theorists including Crenshaw, Jeffreys, Pence and Paymar, emphasise that domestic and non-domestic violence denotes a high intersectionality of power and gender inequality. Crenshaw (1991) termed violence against women as a routinely shaped concept that destabilises their lives and was just recently recognised to be a social injustice by men.

Gender asymmetry and gender symmetry are two different topics that are in a heated debate, when it comes to domestic violence. It’s not only talked about in the sociology department but in the criminal justice system, government officials, and feminist talks. Over the years we see a growing effect on domestic violence towards women. According to goodhousekeeping.com 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have been victims of physical violence by an intimate partner; and every 9 seconds in the U.S., a woman is assaulted or beaten. (Domestic Violence Statistics: The Horrific Reality) Researcher want to know how it started, how to prevent it and where it is coming from. There are numerous studies that show that men are the main focus in domestic violence. You hear it from the media, statistics, and victims themselves about the violence that is perpetuated by men against women. Some researchers think that the rates of domestic violence are equivalent to both genders, which is called gender symmetry. Since the 1990s, people have supported the name violence against women until the shifted of gender neutral terms. Some researcher and activist even think that women are the main causes of domestic violence and researchers show very little to no study of that. But that’s not the point, activist and researcher who agree with gender symmetry say that men are victimized by domestic violence are in equal numbers. Most antifeminist believe that women are violent as men. Women and men are equally violent, but the use different ways to show it. Both genders are trying to dominate and terrorize their partners, and for women it’s far less injuries and physical damages to the male partner.