Sociology of Crime and Domestic Violence - Assignment Example

Running Head: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Domestic violence Name Institution Date Domestic violence Introduction Domestic violence also referred to as spousal abuse, intimate partner violence or domestic abuse is defined as a model of abusive behaviours by one partner in an intimate relationship like marriage, dating or cohabitation( Murray, 2005) Domestic abuse occurs when one partner tries to control or dominate the other partner. People use domestic violence in order to gain and retain full control over their partners. Domestic violence does not discriminate. It occurs among same sex partnerships and heterosexual couples. It happens within all ethnic backgrounds, age ranges and economic levels and while women are the common victim of domestic violence, men are also regularly abused particularly emotionally or verbally. Domestic abuse is never acceptable, whether it’s contributed by a teenager or an older adult, a woman or a man because every individual must feel respected, safe and valued. Domestic abuse usually escalates verbal abuse and threats to violence. While physical damage is the obvious danger, psychological and emotional consequences of abuse are also brutal. Emotional abuse can destroy self worth, lead to depression and anxiety, and make the make the victim feel alone and helpless (Robinson, 2004). Types of domestic abuse There are several types of domestic violence and they include physical violence, emotional violence, financial violence, and sexual domestic violence. Physical violence involves assaults of several kinds, ranging from hitting to pushing, kicking, pinching, throwing objects, stabbing, threatening with a weapon or physical intimidation. Physical injuries such as wounds are inflicted on the victim. Physical domestic abuse can also involve false confinement or imprisonment like locking the victim in a room for a prolonged period of time. Denying necessary medications and access to medical treatment is a form of physical domestic abuse (Taylor & Gentle, 2004). Emotional domestic violence Emotional domestic abuse is the most pervasive type of domestic violence it is the hardest to recognize. Persons who are emotionally abused do not show external signs of violence like those abused physically. Emotional violence is comprised of use of words to criticize the victim, name calling, controlling behaviour and social isolation. Emotional abuse may involve stalking which is threatening and harassing behaviour which may include showing up at the workplace or home or the victim without their authority, making harassing phone calls or vandalizing personal property of the victim (Berry, 2004). These acts lessen self confidence and esteem of the victim. In most cases, abusive relationships originate fro physical abuse or emotional abuse. Emotional abuse may lead to long term trauma. Financial domestic violence Financial domestic abuse is closely connected to the other types of domestic abuse. It is used by the abuser to control and isolate the victim. It may include stealing money from the victim, using the credit card without the consent of the victim, forbidding the victim from working, forcing the partner to work in a dangerous or threatening job like sex work or illegal selling of drugs or preventing the victim from accessing his or her money. Victims of financial abuse find it hard to quit the abusive relationship since they cannot live without financial resources (Hamel, 2007). Sexual domestic abuse Sexual domestic violence is an abuse of sexual nature that happens within a family relationship or an intimate relationship. It involves a behaviour that uses sex to demean or control the victim, such as forcing the victim to participate in sexual practices against his or her will, refusal to have safe sex, infecting the victim with sexually transmitted diseases knowingly or exposing the victim to materials of sexual nature without his or her consent. Causes of domestic violence Abusers behave violently because they want to gain and maintain full control over their victims. Their behaviour usually emerges from a sense of power which is generally support by racist, sexist, homophobic and several discriminatory attitudes. Domestic abuse against females by males is contributed by misuse of control and power within the context of male privilege. Male privilege functions on the societal and individual level to retain a state of male dominance where men dominate and have full power and control over children and women. Domestic abuse by males against females is as a result of inequalities between women and men ingrained in patriarchal customs that encourage males to believe that they are entitled to control and power over women. Most domestic abuse is caused by reinforcement and learning rather than by genetics or biology (Alexander, 2002). The behaviours of domestic violence are learned by observation. Studies have revealed that almost half of abusive males were brought up in families where their father. The family is often the set up in which an individual first encounters violence, either as a witness or as a victim. As children mature, they learn that people who are close to them are the ones who beat them. They learn that Use of violence is a suitable way to achieve a preferred behaviour from different person. Surveys have revealed that kids who are regular victims of physical violence are greatly likely to beat a spouse as adults (Humphreys, 2006). Male abuse against females within an intimate partnership is a social trouble supported and condoned by traditions and customs of a particular community. Computer games and music videos are a training source for teens and children. Most of the sex role messages display men as in full control and aggressive with the female worth limited to her sexual allure. Effects of domestic violence Domestic violence affects men, women and their families psychologically, socially and physically. Initially, abuse is often an attempt by the abuser to take full control of the victim through fear, verbal abuse intimidation and threats. Victims may be socially isolated fro neighbours, friends and family and lose social connections and support. Victims usually lose jobs because of their absenteeism as a result of illness or injury caused by domestic violence. Victims always move several times to evade violence which is costly and interfere with continuity of work (Laing, & Bobic 2002). Many victims opt for a divorce in order to keep away from the abusive relationship. Divorce proceedings may be costly and can lead to financial crisis. As the abusive relationship persist, the barterer or abuser results to using more severe methods in order to maintain control over the victim. Finally, the violence results to serious injury, hospitalization even death Victims of domestic abuse suffer mental and physical problems. Battering is the main cause of injury to victims especially women. Majority of the physical injuries inflicted on women cause medical problems as the victims grow older. Medical disorders like hypertension might be worsened in victims since their abusers deny them access medications and sufficient medical care. Victims experience physical injuries such as bruises, broken bones, internal bleeding and head injuries. Women who are abuse during pregnancy are exposed to high risks of miscarriage, still births or death of the foetus. A study carried at John Hopkins Hospital found that children born by abused mothers are at high risk of malnourishment and less likely to have been immunized against infancy diseases. Domestic violence result to depression which may lead to suicide attempts (Jesia, 2009). Victims experience Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, which is accompanied by symptoms like intrusive imagery, anxiety, nightmares, flashbacks, insomnia, emotional numbing and hyper vigilance. Domestic abuse deprives the victims their right to have control over their personal lives. Victims live in isolation and fear in a home which is supposed to offer safety. With tremendous strength and safety, the victims struggle hard to keep their children and themselves safe. Domestic violence and child abuse usually occur within the same homes. Research has revealed that 70 percent of males who abused their partners also regularly assault their children. Children are more likely to be abused in families where partners abuse each other. Domestic abuse may lead to psychological harm, physical injury and neglect of children (Robinson, 2004). A definite relationship exists between juvenile delinquency and family violence. Children who are brought up in abusive families have a six times more chance to commit suicide, 24 percent more chance to commit sexual violence crimes, and 50 percent more likelihood to abuse alcohol and drugs (Osofsky, 2002). The most tragic result of domestic abuse is that more than half of young females between the age of 11 and 22 years serving a jail term for murder have killed their fathers who batter their mothers. Children from violent families must not be physically assaulted to acquire delinquent and violent behaviour because they regularly witness their mothers being abused. More than 3 million kids are exposed to verbal and physical spousal abuse annually through hearing or seeing the real abuse or coping with the abuse aftermath. The impacts of experiencing or witnessing abuse at home vary greatly from one kid to another. Interpersonal skills, intellectual development, self efficacy and self esteem are reduced. Many children from families of domestic violence are given parental duties such as cleaning, caring for siblings and cleaning while they are still young. Children from abusive homes do not enjoy real childhood because they are not given the necessary care and protection. More than half of school going children from domestic violence homes displays clinical levels of posttraumatic stress disorder or anxiety. Failure to end this disorder exposes the children at a considerable risk for delinquency, school dropout, substance abuse, and difficulties when relating with their peers. Children may show a broad range of response to exposure to domestic violence within their families. Young children especially kindergarten and preschool children usually do not understand the real meaning of domestic violence they observe and they tend to think that they are the cause. This results to self blame which leads to feelings of anxiety, worry and guilt (Campbell, 2002). Children particularly young children usually lack the ability to satisfactorily express their personal feelings verbally. Therefore expression of emotions is usually behavioural. Children may turn out to be non verbal, withdrawn, and display regressed behaviours like whining and clinging to people who might give help. Sleeping and eating difficulties, generalized anxiety, physical complains like frequent headaches and concentration problems are common in these children. Unlike younger kids, pre adolescent typically have larger capability to externalize depressing emotions, that is to express their feelings verbally. They show symptoms displayed in childhood anxiety such as eating disturbance, nightmares and sleep problems (Hegarty, 2003). In addition the pre adolescent victims of domestic violence show interest loss in social activities, avoidance or withdrawal of peer relationships, low self esteem, and oppositional or rebelliousness behaviour within the school environment. They also display irritability, temper tantrums, frequent fighting with siblings or with peers, treating pets abusively or cruelly, threatening of siblings or peers with violence, lashing out at things and efforts to achieve attention from peers or siblings through kicking, hitting, or chocking. Adolescents from domestic abuse families are at high risk of school dropout, academic failure, substance abuse and delinquency (Hegarty, 2003). Research has revealed that a history of family abuse or violence contributes to a significant disparity between non delinquent and delinquent youths. 20 Percent of teenagers who have experienced domestic abuse or violence and are involved in dating relationships are frequently abusive or being assaulted by their partners emotionally, sexually, physically, mentally or verbally. 30 percent to 50 percent of dating relationship exhibits the same trend of escalating domestic abuse as matrimonial relationships. Social ecology theory Social ecology or social disorganization theory identifies and predicts trends in deviant or criminal behaviour among different groups within a social network. The social disorganization theory attributes delinquency and crime to societies where communal institutions such as church, family, schools fail to address the issue of crime. According to disorganization theory, public relationships support positive behaviour, a sense of communal accountability and concern for the social set up within a community. When the social relationships are nonexistent or faulty, the communal set up loses social responsibility and a sense of organization, which can possibly lead to negative or criminal behaviour dispersing to through that community. A persons attitudes and thinking process are constructed by the relations between the person’s condition and her or his behaviour. Attitudes are not inborn but emerge from a process of acculturation process (Walter, 2006). Every action and behaviour possesses a social significance to an individual within the society because it is linked to the objective condition within the individual has to operate and it has been created by attitudes formed via a lifetime of social and cultural experiences. In domestic violence men are violent against their partners because they want to dominate and take full control of their lives. This is contributed by culture and customs of a society which defines men as always superior and can never be equal with their female counterparts. Perpetrators of domestic violence have desires for new experiences, recognition, and security domination. New attitudes arise from the development of new interactions and relationships between an individual and the community. For instance, children from violent families are likely to develop violent behaviours against their peers and feel that this type of behaviour which enable them acquire what they want. Current versions of social disorganization theory presume that in built networks of social relationships may help to prevent delinquency and crime. When community and family members are in good relationships with one another, they will pass the good behaviour to their children. Parents who abuse their partners pass the violent behaviour to their children as they see and experience their parent’s regular fights and quarrels. Community characters such as ethnic diversity and poverty lead to greater delinquency rate since they with the ability of community members to work together, For instance children from a family where domestic violence occurs may develop defiant behaviours such as alcohol consumption and drug abuse. This is because the abusive parents do not have time to counsel their children on the dangers of these drugs. Delinquency and crime cases are more frequent in rural communities and small towns. Domestic violence is more common in rural areas because of existence of cultures and customs which bring inequalities between men and women leading to abuse of power by the males. Social disorganization theory indicates that numerous variables such as ethnic diversity, residential instability, economic status, family disruptions, and population density or size influence the capacity of a community to gain and uphold strong structures of social relations. Domestic violence lead to social isolation as the victims keeps off from friends or neighbours for fear of embarrassment. The injuries or illnesses which occur as a result of domestic violence may make the victims unable to attend work or job loss. It also leads to broken down of family ties as victims run away from the abusive relationships. This may also lead to job loss and financial problems if the victims settle in a place that is too far from his place of work. According to social disorganization theory, rates of domestic violence are greater in rural communities where there is great ethnic diversity (Robinson, 2004). Certain cultures permit men to batter their wives when they wrong them as a way of disciplining and punishing them. Delinquency rate are greater in communities with higher degrees of family disruptions such as disruptions brought up by domestic violence. Children develop delinquent behaviour because they believe that it is the only way of solving problems or evading problems contributed by domestic violence. Domestic abuse parents do not have shared parenting resources such as money, energy and time which disrupts their capability to communicate with and supervise their children which may lead to development of criminal behaviour such as alcohol and drug abuse. The social ecological theory displays that several subcultures have developed norms that allow use of physical assault to a broader degree than the governing culture. Therefore family domestic violence or abuse will happen more regularly in violent societies than in non violent and peaceful societies (Hame, 2007). Peer relations who strengthen patriarchal supremacy in a family and employment of violence to support it are embedded in this subculture. This theory is supported by violent images and pornography which displays men assaulting women and view women as sexual objects. Ecological theory tries to connect domestic violence in a family to the greater social environment which includes informal, formal and cultural networks of a family, the closer family circumstances and family history. Children who are brought up in families with history of domestic abuse tend to be violent to other people or on their partners as adults. Societies have shifted from the comparatively simple to relatively complex. Many families have become nuclear and smaller in structure and social relationships have greatly changed and become more ambiguous. The changes in social relations and family structures have resulted into different methods of parenting. For instance, in tighter family set ups children are granted less independence and parents relies on physical punishment in order to secure obedience from their children. This leads to these children becoming physically violent on their peers when they want to fulfil their desires. Social ecological theory argues that obedience is mostly valued in greatly structured hierarchical communities where several activities occur in recognized social encounters which are outside the community. Domestic violence occurs because of dominant nature of men, men possesses discrepancy access to symbolic and material resources and females are devalued and seen as inferior and secondary. This exposes women to abuse by their partners. Even if domestic violence happens, female’s experiences are usually identified as inferior since male supremacy influence family life (Laing & Bobic, 2002). Social ecological theory sees social factors like social stress, social support and income and psychological factors like need to achieve attention, hostile behaviour and desire for gratification as factors that contribute to domestic violence in many families. People abuse and hit one another because it enables them to achieve a particular goal and a benefit that outweighs the cost. Perpetrators of domestic control act violently because they want gain and maintain full control of their partners. Most of victims do not report abuse case to suitable authorities who may act on the abuser and help in eradicate future abuse. This ignorance leads to the abusive behaviour becoming a continuous process. If a man is prone to suffer social castigation and censure, he may be less disposed to employ domestic violence as a way of achieving control. The social ecological theory examines why victims display commitment in abusive relationships. They anticipate that their partners might change their abusive behaviour, they fear the negative outcomes of separation or divorce and are reluctant to quit because of the amount of social, emotional or financial investments. They therefore end up enduring the abusive relationship. Social learning theory According to social learning theory, juveniles learn to engage in criminal activities in the manner they learn to engage in confirming behaviour and this is through exposure to or association with others. Intimate and primary groups such as peer group and family have a great influence on what children learn. Children from families of domestic violence learn the violent behaviour from their parents and extend this behaviour by becoming violent on their peers who in turn learn the violent behaviour. The social learning theory argues that association with criminal friends or peers is the most excellent predicator of criminal behaviour rather than previous delinquency (Gelles, 2004). However, it is not mandatory for an individual to be directly in contact with other people to learn from them. For instance, a person may learn to take part in violence through observation of violent individuals in the media. People especially children may learn domestic violence or abuse behaviour through watching movies on television which display men as violent beings and in dominance and women as inferior and complying to men’s rules. Social learning theory describes three mechanisms through which individuals learn to engage in criminal activities and they include differential reinforcement, modelling and beliefs. Differential reinforcement of violence People can teach others to become violence through the punishments and reinforcements they offer for behaviour. Children who are physically punished through wiping and beating in order to correct a defiant behaviour end up being violent on their peer siblings or peers. The non violent children may become violent in order to defend themselves from the assaulting friends or siblings. According to social learning theory, some people are within environments where criminal behaviour is greatly likely to be reinforced. ( Johnson, 2007) Children growing in domestic violence homes are at high risk of exposure to the violent behaviour as they experience or witness this behaviour from their families. Sometimes, the reinforcement is deliberate. For instance, children from violent families usually reinforce and encourage hostile behaviour outside their homes on their peers and school mates. Adolescents who result to drug abuse as result of experiencing domestic violence can reinforce drug use on their friends. Individuals who are reinforced to violence are greatly likely to engage in consequent violence, particularly if they are within situations identical to those where violence was earlier reinforced. For example, individuals who are married to abusive partners are more likely to become abusive and violent against their partners and children (Laing & Bobic, 2002). Beliefs Some people teach beliefs that are favourable to violence. Several people are taught that violence is wrong or bad and they internalize or accept this belief and are less likely to become violent. However, other people learn beliefs that favour violence and as a result end up engaging in violent acts (Ollus, 2007). For example, men who act violently on their wives may teach their fellow men that the violent behaviour is the best and only way of achieving what one wants and taking and maintaining control on their partners. Some people usually approve of particular types of violence, like sexual abuse on the belief that it’s their conjugal right. Some perpetrators of domestic violence may believe that violence is bad, but the act may be justifiable in particular conditions especially if a partner do not grant what the abuser wants. Social learning theory argues that particular groups of domestic violence especially young and lower class men result to violence in response to insults and provocations by their partners (Alexander, 2002). Modelling or imitation of violent behaviour According to social learning theory, violence behaviour is not caused by beliefs and punishments and reinforcements a person receive, but as well as behaviour of the people around. Generally, individuals model or imitate other peoples behaviour especially when they have a believe that imitation and employment the behaviour will give good results. For instance, individuals of domestic violence may imitate the violent behaviour of their violent friends if they see them having succeeded in controlling their partners. Differences and similarities between social ecology theory and social learning theory Social ecology theory argues that delinquency and violence are more prevalent in communities where social institutions such as family fail to address criminal issues while social learning theory argue that people engage in violence as after learning from the people around them or from media. Social ecology theory sees a change in family structure contributing to change in parenting trends with parents lacking time and energy to supervise their children which result to development of violent behaviours. Social learning theory sees people becoming violence through reinforcement of the behaviour from their peers and families. According to social disorganization theory variables like ethnic diversity and family, disruptions lead to domestic violence as families are unable to have strong family relations while social learning theory displays violent behaviour emerging from the belief that it enables one achieve what he or she wants. Social ecology theory indicates cultures which support male dominance as a factor that contribute to domestic violence while social learning theory indicate that violent people imitate the belief that violence is justifiable if it helps an individual to attain his needs. Both social ecological and social learning theories display violent behaviour in domestic abuse resulting from learning the behaviour fro peers and parents. They display punishments as a factor that contributes to development of a violent behaviour. Both theories indicate that children from violent homes result to alcohol and drug abuse and pass this defiant behaviour to their peers (Osofsky, 2002). Conclusion In conclusion, it is important to note that domestic violence as a vice is prevalent within the society. Efforts should be geared towards ensuring that it is eradicated. This requires a collective responsibility. There is need a joint initiative and an increased level of awareness among the people. The enlightened, those who are able to point out the effects of domestic violence need to heighten their efforts to ensure that the habit is reduced. Social theories can be used in the understanding what it all entails and possible outcome. The mechanisms on how to deal with it can then be formulated. References Murray, S., (2005). Domestic violence. Melbourne: University of Melbourne press. Taylor, J., & Gentle, I., (2004). Supporting community solutions to family violence. Vol. 57(1): 71-83.  Jesia, G., (2009). Hospital admissions of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians due to interpersonal violence. Vol 3 (3): 215-222. Humphreys, C., (2006). Domestic violence and child protection: directions for good practice. Melbourne: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.  Osofsky, J., (2002). Children in a Violent Society. Sydney: Spinifex Press. Berry, D., (2004). The Domestic Violence Sourcebook. Adelaide: Adelaide Press. Hegarty, K., (2003). Domestic Violence in Australia: Definition, Prevalence and Nature of Presentation in Clinical Practice. Medical Journal of Australia, vol. 173, (7): 5-10. Laing, L., & Bobic N., (2002). Violence. Victoria: Clearinghouse Press Campbell, J., (2002). Mental and physical health effects of intimate partner violence on women and children. 20(1): 353-374. Ollus, N., (2007). Violence against women: an international perspective. Australia: Australia Publishing Press. Walter, S., (2006) Advancing critical criminology: theory and application. Melbourne: IAD Press Johnson, H., (2007). Violence against women: an international perspective. Australia: The Miegunyah Press. Hamel J., (2007). Family interventions in domestic violence: a handbook of gender-inclusive theory and treatment. Melbourne: Blackwell publishing press. Gelles, R., (2004). International perspectives on family violence. Perth: Lexington Books Press Robinson, M., (2004). Whitening race: essays in social and cultural criticism. Sydney: Aboriginal Studies Press. Alexander, R., (2002). Domestic violence in Australia: the legal response. Sydney: Federation Press. Read More