Domestic Violence

1. Domestic Violence A historical look at why it happens today By Erica Arpin

2. What do Boston teens think about the abuse of Rihanna by Chris Brown? Click the above link to watch a news broadcast from thebostonchannel.com. What do you think about the survey that discovered that almost half of Boston teens believe Rihanna to be at fault? Why does domestic violence happen today? And why do people seem to think it is okay?

3. Did you know…? • According to the U.S. Surgeon General, domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women in the United States. • The American Medical Association estimates that their male partners assault 2 million American women each year. • The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that 95% of the victims of domestic violence are women. • According to the FBI, a woman is abused every 12 seconds in the United States. • 35% of all emergency room calls are a result of domestic violence. • Each day .....4 women die as a result of abuse. Source: National domestic violence statistics. Retrieved June 28, 2009, from Arkasas coalition against domestic violence Web site: http://www.domesticpeace.com/ed_nationalstats.html

4. Timeline of “progress” • Early 1500s - Rule of Thumb law states that a husband is allowed to beat his wife with a switch no wider than the width of his thumb • 1824 - Mississippi’s Supreme Court allows a husband to administer “moderate chastisement in case of emergencies” • 1886 - North Carolina courts declared that a criminal indictment cannot be brought against a husband unless the battery is so great as to result in permanent injury, endanger their life or is malicious beyond all reasonable bounds • 1911 – First Family Court is created – the thought becomes that it is better to solve family problems in a setting of discussion and reconciliation • 1962 – New York cases of domestic violence are transferred from criminal court to civil court • 1966 – In New York, beatings as cruel and inhumane treatment become grounds for divorce…but only if one can prove that a sufficient number of beatings have occurred • 1970s - In Chicago married women who leave their husbands due to battering are denied welfare because of their husband’s salaries • 1979 – only 14 states in the US have provided funds for women’s shelters • 1990 - For the first time judges are required to consider any history of spousal abuse before determining child custody or visitation rights • 1992 - The Surgeon General ranks abuse by husbands to be the leading cause of injuries to women ages 15-44 Source: Pennsylvania child welfare training program. Domestic violence issues: An introduction for child welfare professionals [Brochure]. Pennsylvania. Retrieved July 7, 2009, from http://www.pacwcbt.pitt.edu/Curriculum.pdf

5. Attitudes toward women • In Greek mythology Pandora opens the forbidden box and brings plagues and devastation to mankind • In the Bible, Eve eats the forbidden fruit and creates original sin • Early Roman Law describes women as children, forever inferior to men • Thomas Aquinas, the 13th-century Christian theologian, said that woman was “created to be man's helpmeet, but her unique role is in conception . . . since for other purposes men would be better assisted by other men.” • In colonial America, girls were educated at dame school, not master school with the boys • When women did work in early America, they often did so as seamstresses or as boardinghouse mistresses • In the 1950s, images on TV and in the media depicted women as taking care of the home, her children, and her husband Source: Women's international center, (1995). Women's history in America. Retrieved July 9, 2009, from Women's international center Web site: http://www.wic.org/misc/history.htm

6. Women as Property • During the reign of Romulus in Rome, males were the head of the family and women were their property • Even in the U.S. up until the late 1800s, women were allowed no property – everything a woman had was controlled by her husband • For so long, men had the right to do what they wished with their wives including chastise, reprimand, and control her in any way • Because the women “belonged” to their husbands, there was nothing they could do about physical, psychological, and emotional abuse • This led to internalizing it as “okay” so that even as laws changed and generations passed, society as a whole held on to the view of women as property Source: Sigler, R.T. (1989). Domestic violence in context: An assessment of community attitudes. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.

7. The Feminist View on Violence • There are many theories about why domestic violence happens • Family oriented theories • Individual oriented theories • The feminist perspective views domestic violence as a “structural violence” in Western society • Christianity, Judaism, and other religions use a male-dominated family structure • The patriarch of the family has traditionally had the right to enforce male standards of accepted “feminine” behavior Source: Buzawa, E.S., & Buzawa, C.G. (1990). Domestic violence: The criminal justice response. Newbury Park: Sage Publications, p.18-19

8. The Feminist View on Violence • Law, religion, and behavioral sciences have historically supported the authority of the husband and validated his use of violence as punishment for a disobedient wife • Women tend to take care of the home and family, but society does not accept this as a valuable use of time • American society is based upon domination of the non-dominant sects • Whites over people of color • Wealthy over lower-class • Men over women • Based on this theory, all men have the power to abuse women if they so choose • Often a more holistic view that takes feminist theory as well as other theories into consideration is used; however, it is difficult to assert that male dominance in society has nothing to do with domestic violence Source: Buzawa, E.S., & Buzawa, C.G. (1990). Domestic violence: The criminal justice response. Newbury Park: Sage Publications, p.18-19

9. Attitudes toward violence Do you… ever watch a hockey game for the fights? ever get excited when there is a dugout-clearing brawl at Fenway Park? watch movies with action and violence?

10. We have been conditioned to see, condone, and even enjoy violence in our everyday lives • Even throughout the history of the United States, the most extreme violent acts have been “justified in the name of the greater good” (Sigler, 66) • Revolutionary War, for example • “During a three-hundred-year process of settlement, the Indians were defeated. European presences were forced to withdraw, some Mexicans were forcibly annexed, and immigrant minorities were forced into fierce competition. The results have been a legacy of nativism, vigilantism, and ethnic aggression” (Sigler 66). • Our history is fraught with violence which makes violence more of a norm. • Because we are used to seeing violence and hearing about it in a positive light, domestic violence is more prevalent and we are more likely to condone it or look the other way.

11. Secrecy of Domestic Violence • Because women in abusive relationships are often isolated and threatened by their abuser, they often find it difficult to talk to anyone about it • Also, the abuser may seem, to outsiders, to be a nice, upstanding citizen with nothing to hide • Because of this, people in the U.S. may not be as aware of the existence and prevalence of domestic violence • Therefore may not see it as a big problem at all Don’t ask…don’t tell…

12. Blaming the Victim • Even today it is a common belief that women’s shelters are “havens for irresponsible women” who cannot make their marriages successful • During the 1980 presidential campaign, one candidate even stated that women go to shelters because they want to avoid doing housework • A psychiatrist, after interviewing only four women, concluded that battered women are “sadomasochists” who enjoy abuse, nag and provoke men into anger, and compulsively compete with males • It is because of these deep-seeded beliefs that domestic violence can happen in today’s society and the victim can be found “at fault” • In the Rihanna/Chris Brown incident, many people say that Rihanna “started it” and therefore deserved to be hit Source: Stacey, W.A., & Shupe, A. (1983). The family secret: Domestic violence in America.Boston: Beacon Press, p. 9-10.

13. Male Dominance and Control • Often in domestic violence situations, the male is in complete control of the female • This stems from a deep history of male dominance in the United States • The woman in an abusive relationship may try and gain some of her control back, and that often pushes the male to be more violent in order to assert more control over her • Because we live in a male dominated society, women are often used to being under the control of males and one may not notice abuse until she is so far under the control of her partner that she cannot get away Source: Stets, J.E. (1988). Domestic violence and control. New York: Springer Verlag, p. 124

14. Teen Dating Violence • Nearly 25% of 14-17 year-olds surveyed know at least one student who was a victim of dating violence, while 11% know multiple victims of dating violence. 33% of teens have actually witnessed such an event. • Empower Program, sponsored by Liz Claiborne Inc. and conducted by Knowledge Networks, Social Control, Verbal Abuse, and Violence Among Teenagers, (2000). • 20% of surveyed male students report witnessing someone they go to high school with physically hit a person they were dating. • Tiffany J. Zwicker, Education Policy Brief, “The Imperative of Developing Teen Dating Violence Prevention and Intervention Programs in Secondary Schools.” 12 Southern California Review of Law and Women’s Studies, 131, (2002) • Females ages 16-24 are more vulnerable to intimate partner violence than any other age group – at a rate almost triple the national average. • U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Special Report: Intimate Partner Violence and Age of Victim, 1993-99 (Oct. 2001, rev. 11/28/01). • Approximately 1 in 5 female high school students report being physically and/or sexually abused by a dating partner. • Jay G. Silverman, PhD; Anita Raj, PhD; Lorelei A. Mucci, MPH; and Jeanne E. Hathaway, MD, MPH, “Dating Violence Against Adolescent Girls and Associated Substance Use, Unhealthy Weight Control, Sexual Risk Behavior, Pregnancy, and Suicidality,” Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 286, (No. 5, 2001). Clearly, the effects of domestic violence are felt even in teenage relationships. Because young adults mimic a lot of what they see in their homes, in the media, and in society, they are likely to carry on the abusive relationships they think are right. Source: National teen dating violence prevention initiative, (2006). Teen dating violence facts. Retrieved July 13, 2009, from American Bar Association Web site: http://www.abanet.org/unmet/teendating/facts.pdf

15. Prevention? • In-school violence prevention programs • S.T.O.P. Teen Dating Violence Initiative: • Trains administrators, teachers, school counselors, and staff on teen dating violence and the school’s duty to respond to this violence. The training helps schools to: • Define and identify teen dating violence • Understand how school safety is impacted by teen dating violence • Understand the legal duties schools have for responding to teen dating violence • Develop prevention and response strategies • Learn about resources available in their community Source: California women's law center, S.T.O.P. (school training, outreach, and policy) teen dating violence initiative. Retrieved July 15, 2009, from California Women's Law Center Web site: http://www.cwlc.org/files/docs/TDV_Pilot_Program_Flyer.pdf

16. Summary • Domestic Violence has had a long history in Western culture • Historically, it has been seen as necessary for men to hit and punish women • Because of the long history of male dominance and control and the love of violence in our society, domestic violence has been able to continue today • It is so engrained in our culture that the victim is often blamed

17. References California women's law center, S.T.O.P. (school training, outreach, and policy) teen dating violence initiative. Retrieved July 15, 2009, from California Women's Law Center Web site: http://www.cwlc.org/files/docs/TDV_Pilot_Program_Flyer.pdf Buzawa, E.S., & Buzawa, C.G. (1990). Domestic violence: The criminal justice response. Newbury Park: Sage Publications National domestic violence statistics. Retrieved June 28, 2009, from Arkansas coalition against domestic violence Web site: http://www.domesticpeace.com/ed_nationalstats.html Pennsylvania child welfare training program. Domestic violence issues: An introduction for child welfare professionals [Brochure]. Pennsylvania. Retrieved July 7, 2009, from http://www.pacwcbt.pitt.edu/Curriculum.pdf Schecter, S. (1982). Women and Male Violence. Boston, MA: South End Press.

18. References Sigler, R.T. (1989). Domestic violence in context: An assessment of community attitudes. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books. Stacey, W.A., & Shupe, A. (1983). The family secret: Domestic violence in America.Boston: Beacon Press. Stets, J.E. (1988). Domestic violence and control. New York: Springer Verlag. Teens blame Rihanna for abuse?. Retrieved July 1, 2009, from The Boston Channel Web site: http://www.thebostonchannel.com/video/18927776/ Women's international center, (1995). Women's history in America. Retrieved July 9, 2009, from Women's international center Web site: http://www.wic.org/misc/history.htm