'any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, corecive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 and over who are or have been intimate patterns or family members regardless of gender or sexuality' home office2013
types of abuse
financial
emotional
physical
sexual
psychological
Coleman et al on domestic abuse
found that women were more likely than men to have experienced 'intimate violence' across all types of abuse- partner, family, sexual assault and stalking
Russel and Dobah's research
based on police and court reports and interviews with women in women's refuges
they found examples of wives being slapped, pushed,beaten ,raped or killed by their husbands
Russel and Dobash's findings for causes of abuse
found that violent incidents could be set off by what a husband saw as a challenge to his authority e.g. his wife asking why he was home late
argue marriage legitimises violence against women by conferring power and control on husbands
official statists of domestic violence
Yearnshire found that on average suffer 35 assaults before making a report
Dar argues victims of domestic violence are less likely to report any other form of violence as they view it as too trivial
explanations of domestic violence
radical feminist explanation
materialist explanation
radical feminist perspective
see the family and marriage as the key institutions in patriarchal society and the main source of oppression
in the family men dominate women through domestic violence or the fear of it
widespread domestic violence is an inevitable feature of patriarchy and perseveres the power over women
male domination over state institutions explains police reluctancy to effectively deal with it
materialistic explanation
focuses on the economic and material factors such as inequalities in income and housing to explain why some groups are more at risk than others
Pickett sees DV as the result of stress on family members caused by social inequalities
e.g. stress of money, jobs and housing
marxist feminists view
Ansley (1972) describes wives as 'takers of shit'
domestic violence is the product of capitalism
male workers are exploited at work and take their frustration out on their wives