Domestic violence

• domestic violence

  • due to power, money or psychological reasons
  • abusers are usually men
• domestic violence

  • caused by many different factors
  • many different types including psychological, physical, sexual, financial and emotional violence or abuse
• domestic violence is far too widespread explanation

  • too far widespread for it to be simply a few disturbed individuals
  • according to women aid federation (2014) domestic violence accounts for between 1/6 and 1/4 of recorded violent crime
• domestic violence does not occur randomly explanation

  • follows social patterns and these patterns have social causes
  • Coleman et al (2007), four type of abuse, partner abuse, family abuse, sexual assault and stalking
• Dobash and Dobash

  • found that violent incidents could be set off by what a husband saw as a challenge to his authority such as his wife asking why he was late home for a meal
  • they argue that marriage legitimises violence against women by conferring power and authority on husbands and dependency on wives
  • supported through the crime survey for England and Wales that show 7.3% of women compared to 5% of men have experienced DV in the previous year
• Walby and Allen (2004) found that women were much more likely to be victims of multiple incidents of abuse and sexual violence.
• official statistics

  • understate the true extent of the problem for two main reasons
  • victims may be unwilling to report it to the police -> may blame themselves
  • police and prosecutors may be reluctant to record, investigate and prosecute those cases that are reported to them
• the radical feminist explanation for domestic violence

  • emphasises the role of patriarchal idea, cultural values and institutions
  • see domestic violence as an inevitable feature of patriarchal society and a main source of womens oppression
• evaluation of radical feminist explanation

  • Faith Robertson Elliot (1996) rejects the radical feminist view as not all men are aggressive and most are opposed to domestic violence
  • fails to explains female violence including abuse by women and violence against male partners and within lesbian relationships
  • they wrongly assume that all women are equally at risk of patriarchal violence -> fail to explain which women are most likely to be victims e.g. young women, those in lower social classes
• the materialist explanation

  • focuses on economic and material factors such as income and housing to explain why some are more at risk than others
  • for example Wilkinson and Picket (2010) see DV as the result of stress on family members caused by social inequality
• evaluation of the materialist explanation

  • useful in showing how social inequality produces stress and triggers conflict and anger
  • helps to explain the class differences in stats on DV
  • does not explain why women rather than men are the victims of DV
  • Marxist feminists see inequality causing domestic violence
  • Ansley describes wives as 'takers of shit'
  • argues that domestic violence is a product of capitalism as male workers are exploited at work and take out their frustration at home by being violent to their wives
  • this helps to explain why domestic violence is predominately male violence against females
  • fails to explain why not all male works commit acts of violence against their partners and doesnt account for female domestic abuse
• what women are at greater risk according to the Office for National Statistics of being victims of domestic violence

  • 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 accommodation
  • those with high levels of alcohol consumption or using illegal drugs
  • those with long term illnessess or disabilities