family domestic violence

• Domestic violence and abuse

   Any incident or pattern of controlling, threatening or violent behaviour done between family members or past/present partners. Includes finanical, physical, sexual, pyscological or emotional abuse.

  Most victims of domestic abuse are women.
• Offical statistics understate the true extent of DV

  1. Victims may be unwilling to report it to the police. For example, on average women experience 35 assaults before reporting it to the police. 
  2. Police and prosecutors may be unwilling to investigate cases that are reported to them. This reluctance to is due to the fact that police are not prepared to become involved in the family. Because they believe the family is private, family is a good thing, and individuals are free agents so its assumed that a woman who is experiencing abuse is free to leave (wrong, often financially dependent)
• Radical feminist explanation: They believe marriage in patriachal society is the key to womens oppression. Within the family, men are able to dominate women through violence or the threat of it. Futhermore, the male domination of state institutions helps to explain the reluctance of the police and courts to effectively deal with domestic violence cases. Men commit DV because they benefit from it- DV preserves the patriachal power they have over women. 
• Evalution of radical feminist:

  +This view helps to explain why most DV is committed by men against women.

  -Fails to explain other cases of DV. Including child abuse by women and violence agaisnt males and within lesbian relationships. 
• Materialist explanation: DV is the result of stress on family members caused by social inequality. Those on low incomes or living in overcrowded accommodation are likely to experience higher levels of stress- which reduces their chances of maintaining stable, caring relationships and increases the risk of conflict. This aligns with evidence which shows that people with less power, income or wealth are often at the greatest risk of experiencing DV.
• Evalutation of materialist explanation:

  +Useful in showing how social inequalities produce stress and triggers conflict and violence within families.

  • Doesnt explain why women are the main victims of DV.