Domestic violence and abuse

• • Domestic violence is too widespread to be just the behaviour of a few disturbed individuals
  • The Crime Survey for England and Wales (2000) found that 2.35 million people reported having been victims of domestic abuse during the previous year
  • Nearly one in four women is assaulted by her partner at some time
• • Police statistics underestimate the extent of domestic violence because of under-reporting and under-recording
  • Yearnshire (1997) found that on average a woman suffers 15 assaults before reporting abuse
  • Police are often unwilling to record, investigate or prosecute domestic violence because they are reluctant to become involved in the private sphere of the family
• Radical feminist explanation


  • Domestic violence is the result of patriarchy - male domination in their private societies
  • Men oppress women, mainly through the family where they benefit from women's unpaid domestic labour and sexual services
  • Domestic violence (or the threat of it) enables men to control women, so it is inevitable in patriarchal society
• • Dobash and Dobash found violence was triggered when husbands felt their authority was being challenged
  • They conclude that marriage legitimates violence by giving power to men
• Materialist explanation


  • Focuses on economic factors such as inequalities in income and housing to explain why some groups are more at risk
  • Lack of resources increases stress on the family and this increases the risk of violence
• • Marxist feminists see inequality producing domestic violence
  • Ansley (1972) argues that male workers exploited at work take out their frustration on their wives
• Domestic violence


  Any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 15+ who are/have been intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality
• CSEW found a small gap in people's reporting of domestic violence: 1.2M (7.3%) women and 800k (5%) men
• Women are more likely to be victims of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 15+ who are/have been intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality
• Women suffer more severe violence/control, leaving them with worse psychological effects, and they're more likely than men to fear their partner
• It can be difficult to count separate abuse incidents, because abuse is continuous or happens so often that the victim can't reliably keep count
• Official statistics understate the extent of domestic violence: women suffer an average of 35 assaults before making a report, and domestic violence is the least reported violent crime so stats are inaccurate
• Police/agencies assume family is a private sphere, that it's a 'good' thing (means they ignore the darker side to families), and that individuals can just leave if they're being abused (ignores male control and the links it has to economic power/control)
• Domestic violence is too widespread - the Women's Aid Federation reports it to be between 1/6-1/4 of all recorded violent crime
• Domestic violence doesn't happen randomly - it follows certain social patterns, ones that have social causes
• Women are more likely to have experienced intimate violence across 4 types: partner abuse, family abuse, sexual assault, stalking
• 2 women a week are killed by their partner/ex-partner
• Violent incidents are often set off by a challenge to the husband's authority, like the wife asking why he's late back. Marriage legitimises violence against women - power and authority on husbands, dependency on wives
• Dobash & Dobash's findings are evidence of patriarchy. They see the family as patriarchal and oppressive to women, and that within it men also dominate women through domestic violence/threatening it
• Widespread domestic violence is an inevitable feature of patriarchal society that preserves men's power over women - explaining why men mostly commit domestic violence
• Domestic violence comes from family member's stress they get from social inequality. Those of high income, status, wealth, etc are less at risk
• Radical feminists link patterns of domestic violence to dominant social norms about marriage, and as state institutions are dominated by men and men are the offenders of domestic violence, police/courts are reluctant to deal with cases effectively
• Those on low income/overcrowded housing are more likely have high stress levels, lowering the chance of stable/caring relationships and raising the risk of conflict/violence. Worries about money/jobs/housing/bills can raise tempers and cause domestic conflict
• Elliot rejects radical's claim that all men benefit from violence against women, as not all of them are aggressive and many are opposed to domestic violence
• CSEW shows 2.9M (18%) of men have experienced domestic violence since the age of 16 - means radicals ignore female violence against men, children, and in lesbian relationships
• Radicals use patriarchy to explain why women are victims, but don't explain why not all women are at equal risk of it. Office for National Statistics shows young, low income, ill/disabled women, low social class, living in shared/rented accommodation and women using high amounts of drugs/alcohol are all at higher risk of domestic violence than other women
• Marxist Feminists say inequalities cause domestic violence. Ansley argues women are 'takers of shit', and capitalism causes the domestic violence that men use on women to release their frustrations