Domestic Abuse

Domestic abuse which also goes by the name of domestic violence or family abuse is a term that broadly defines repeated abusive behavior by one partner over the other in a relationship like marriage, dating, or within members of a family. There are many forms of domestic violence the most common one being physical aggression involving acts of hitting, kicking, or using objects to physical injure another person. Domestic abuse can also occur in the form of threats and intimidation, sexual or emotional violence, and economic deprivation (Shipway 5). The Office on Violence Against Women in the United States 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 that can happen to anyone regardless of race, age, sexual orientation, religion, or gender” (Office on Violence Against Women). The level of awareness on domestic abuse, however, differs from one country or community to another as well as between different historical periods. Studies have shown that very few incidents of domestic abuse, in fact only 1 percent, are ever reported to authorities like the police (Roberts 270). The most important thing to consider therefore is the effects or consequences that arise from any act that can be construed to be domestic violence and finding ways to avert its occurrence in the society. It is a serious problem that affects over 25 million women in the United States but can be prevented.

Domestic abuse happens within a close social environment and one of its adverse effects is the promotion of juvenile delinquency. It is one of the major causal factors that should be addressed in every effort to eliminate delinquency among young people. However, domestic violence still remains significantly dominant in most societies and even appears to enjoy a semi-sanctioned status in some parts of the underdeveloped world. Besides being a cause for juvenile delinquency, domestic violence can potentially result in mental illnesses including suicide.

In the Journal of Family Marriage, Michael Johnson argues that in every form of domestic violence, the perpetrator usually has one purpose in mind which is “to gain and maintain control over the victim” (283). Based on evidence from his studies and other independent research projects, Johnson further states that there are three types of partner violence in an intimate relationship. Distinctions between these types of violence are not as a result of studying single incidents but rather on patterns of violence observed in multiple incidents as well as in the motives that drive the perpetrators to violence.

The first type of domestic abuse according to Johnson is the common couple violence which occurs as a result of an argument between a couple leading partner to physically harm the other partner. This usually happens in a spate of anger is fairly common. The second type of domestic violence is referred to as intimate terrorism which involves an unhealthy control of one partner by the other. It is also common and if left unchecked it can result in dire consequences especially if the subservient partner decides to lash out against the domineering partner with all the anger accumulated over a long period of time. The kind of violence that results when the abused partner violently protests against mistreatment as a form of self defense is referred to as violent resistance.

The third kind of abuse that happens in a domestic setting is the situational couple violence. This kind of abuse arises from simple domestic conflicts that later escalate to violence. It is usually a spontaneous act that is not connected to any common pattern of violence. Its frequency can not be determined nor its seriousness because it does not follow any pattern but in some cases it can be very frequent and even life threatening. It is one of the prevalent cases in marriage counseling sessions.

On an international level, domestic abuse occurs in virtually every nation and culture all over the world. It affects people of every economic and social class. In the United States, the Bureau of Justice Statistics showed that in 1995 alone, the number of women who reported abuse by their partners was six times higher than men. In most of these cases the women were abused by their former spouses or boyfriends (Bachman, Ronet, and Saltzman). Data on abuse cases reported by men is however unreliable because men hardly report victimization by their spouses or girlfriends whenever it occurs.

In India, the fight against rising levels of domestic abuse has even brought together activists from Hindu and Muslim communities especially in the Kashmir region. Domestic violence is however very prevalent in the Arab world so much that some acts in the Islamic Law are being perceived as justification for domestic or spousal violence. For example over 80 percent of rural women in Egypt have been victims of beatings and other forms of physical abuse because of refusing to have sex with their husbands. This kind of abuse seems to be justified in the communities it happens in (Constable).

The prevalence of domestic violence on women being perpetrated by men can be attributed to many factors. One of the factors is the general differences in perception of life and priorities between men and women. In agreement to a theoretical approach to moral development which was based on studies done mostly on men, Lawrence Kohlberg proposed that children develop their thinking through their understanding of moral concepts like justice, equality, and welfare of others. However, Carol Gilligan disputes Kohlberg’s assertion by stating that experiences of women show that moral development can better be achieved through a nonviolent morality of care rather than a morality of justice and rights which gives room to violence. Justice and care might be connected but the two forms of morality are quite distinct from each other. In her work, Gilligan associates these gender differences with orientation such that men are prone to seek for justice or advocate for ways of ensuring justice is equally accorded to every individual while women emphasize on care. Gilligan makes the assumption that girls are less likely to be concerned with equality or fairness as a major issue as boys would. It is against this background that in most domestic settings, conflict and conflict resolution issues are perceived from different angles leading to frequent disagreements and subsequently violence or abuse. The men in a relationship have developed morally with emphasis on justice and fairness while women emphasize morality through caring. These differences in moral reasoning have largely been the root cause for domestic disagreements and abuse.