Crime and Violence: Forces for Good or Evil?

1. Crime and Violence: Forces for Good or Evil? Lecture Eight Gendering Violence: Sexual and Domestic Violence

2. what violence by who to whom? • who has the power to construct domestic discourses

3. Naturalising violence Domestic violence – partners, children, elderly relatives? • Every week two women are killed by their current or former partners (Homicide Statistics, 1998) • One woman in four experiences domestic violence at some stage in her life (British Crime Survey, 1998) • Women aged 16-29 are at greatest risk of experiencing domestic violence (British Medical Association Review, 1998) • Domestic violence often starts and/or escalates during pregnancy (British Medical Association Review, 1998)

4. Revising the quotes • Every week two men kill a current or former partner • Men cause one in four women to experience domestic violence at some stage in their life • Men are more violent towards women aged 16-29 • Men often beat pregnant women Jones, H. (1999/2000) ‘Kind Words and Compromises’ Trouble and Strife, No40.

5. MacKinnon (1987:105) argues that women understand their own position by measuring themselves “…against every rape case she ever heard about…”. Likewise, women experiencing domestic violence, are often socialised into dependency. • Stanko (1990) • Temkin (2000)

6. Civilising Process • Norbert Elias (1897-1990) • “civilising force” of marriage (Murray, 1990:23) • In theory, assault is a crime wherever it happens and whoever does it. There should be no difference whether it is committed in the home or outside, by a husband or by a stranger. In practice, it has made a great deal of difference. (Hague and Malos, 1993:65)

7. Legitimating Inequality and Violence Pat Mahoney has asked: • What then is the material base of patriarchy – how do men control women? They do so through their control of women’s access to production and by their control over biological reproduction, but this is not sufficient. A crucial third element which has been omitted from the Marxist account is male control of women’s sexuality through a particular form of heterosexuality.(Mahoney, 1985:70)

8. Laws Single Women with: No Children Children Called spinster or lesbian Single mothers are seen as irresponsible or reckless, a drain on society, a welfare scrounger Both meant as derogatory terms Depriving the child of a male role model Must be unnatural not to want a child

9. Married/Co-habiting Woman with: No Children Children • Called barren, frigid If poor – irresponsible, welfare scrounger • Not a ‘whole’ woman If working and children are in daycare – • May be patronised or pitied seen as depriving the child of the maternal bond.

10. Labour market activity • Employment type male female • Solicitors 71% 29% • Barristers 78% 22% • Judiciary (as a whole) 90% 10% • Senior management 83% 17% • Local government 36% 64% • (admin & clerical) • Factory 12% 88% • (production line)

11. Economic power • Symbolic power • Physical power All of these are inter-connected and operate on • Structural level • Institutional level • Relational level

12. Economic Structural feminisation of poverty Familial ideology and Gender identities Symbolic Domestic/inter-relational violence Physical Public - Private

13. At a structural level, economic position is the most significant indicator of gender inequality. • At an institutional level, the symbolic power of patriarchy continues to define women and limit their social roles. • But where social groups cannot be controlled by economic or symbolic force, physical force may be introduced

14. Amina Mama (1996) • Southall Black Sisters (1989) • Schechter (1982) - abusive behaviour is socially approved and normalised