- Published: September 24, 2022
- Updated: September 24, 2022
- Level: Masters
- Language: English
- Downloads: 10
Running Head: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OUTLINE QUESTIONS School: Topic: Domestic Violence Outline Questions Lecturer: presented:
Question 1: Why are Women the Most Victims of Domestic Violence?
A lot of literature goes on regarding women and domestic violence. Feminist groups act as voices for women who have suffered domestic violence and encourage them to come forward and fight for their rights. As a result, more cases of violence against women are reported as compared to men who suffer in silence for fear of humiliation by their fellow men (Davis, 1998). The bureau of justice statistics (2003) indicate that women accounted for 85% of victims of intimate partner violence. The advocacy groups of victims of domestic violence also show that more than half of married women are beaten and more than third are battered repeatedly by their husbands (Davis, 1998 p 3). There is also a notion that men are aggressive and combative in nature hence likely to batter their wives. Generally, domestic violence is viewed as women problem hence the picture created is that of a battered woman physically assaulted thus ignoring emotional abuse. It is therefore imperative to ask why women are the most victims as shown by the figures and women advocates’ grievances.
Question 2: Does Culture Contribute to Domestic Violence?
Culture is considered a great contributor to domestic violence. Most traditional societies advocated for wife beating as a sign of love and to gain respect (Jaffe, 2006). Culture also determines gender roles in society where a man is supposed to be a provider to the family and the place of a woman is in the kitchen. Women are supposed to be submissive to their husbands and not to question his decisions. Women in some societies do not own property and neither engage in paid jobs hence rely on the husband for survival. Even if engaged in employment they are lowly paid as they take up simple tasks due to their feminism. They are thus prone to abuse by their spouses for example by refusal of financial needs and emotional and physical abuse. Some men who depend on wives for survival are also prone to violence.
Boys and girls are socialized into different roles as they grow up and this affects their future. Those who grow up in an abusive family are likely to end up being violent adults (Davis, 1998). On the other hand, not all children exhibit or take up the behavior as adults. Some learn its consequences and would not like to end up as their parents. Some develop fear which makes them prone to abuse. Nowadays people are educated and no longer practice those traditions of wife beating but gender equity has not been achieved and will take long to achieve (Davis, 1998). Feminists should therefore establish new ways of curbing domestic violence. All this debate about cultural influences should therefore be verified to determine whether it still plays a part in enhancing domestic violence hence the question begs for an answer.
Question 3: What are the Effects of Domestic Violence?
The consequences range from emotional, mental and physical to death. Statistics are evidence of the consequences of violence. The bureau of justice statistics (2003) indicates that more than three women and one man are murdered by intimate partners every day. In the year 2000, homicides accounted for 30% women and 5% men. 37% women suffered injuries in 1994. However, most consequences cannot be observed as they are embedded in the mind. Some individuals suffer silently without disclosing their woes to anyone and consequently suffer emotionally or mentally. Once the signs are manifested, it is not easy to determine what caused them as they may be as a result of other diseases. Some people perform abortions of pregnancies resulting from sexual abuse hence not easy to detect unless suffers give the information. These statistics only represent the reported cases and hence the need to find out more by collecting information on the ground regarding the actual consequences of domestic violence.
References
Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief. (2003). Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001.
Davis, R. (1998). Domestic Violence: Facts and Fallacies. Westport: Praeger Publishers.
Jaffe, J. (2006). Domestic Violence and Abuse: Types, Signs, Symptoms, Causes and Effects. The American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress.