Domestic Violence Being a Gender Issue - Research Paper Example

Overview The research is about domestic violence being a gender issue. According to the Nicholson and Wilson (2004, p. 266), domestic violence occurs within a household or domestic sphere, where there is the presence of physical and non-physical abuse of at least one member of the family. Lockton and Ward (1997, p.7) outlined the different aspects of domestic violence and they consist of: 1. Physical assault 2. Sexual violence 3. Threats of violence 4. Psychological abuse 5. Emotional consequences Nicholson and Wilson mentioned referencing Bates & Brown (p. 266) that “Most domestic violence is perpetrated by men towards women.” The aim of the research is to find out how aware the people are of the incidence of domestic violence, how they define them, why heterosexual men exhibit violence with their partners, and how important they treat the subject matter. The authors are aware of the limitations of the terminology used in the research, but for the sake of clarity, they chose to stick with the term “domestic violence” to define the acts of violence performed between people who share a certain intimacy. This is especially considering that it has been used even in law and policy circles that it is quite popular. They also mentioned that it might serve to confuse people if they use other terms interchangeably (Nicholson & Wilson, 2004, p. 270). Despite this fact, the term still has its problems because what may be considered violence by one group might not be seen in the same way in another. Meanwhile, the procedure was done in three phases. The first one focused on qualitative information which collected data on how people define violence in contrast to other actions. It mostly included open-ended questions. In the second phase, drafts of the questionnaire were sent to volunteers who can help clarify the questions and eliminate any form of ambiguity in the questions. The third phase helped revise the data gathered so that it can be made into a coherent whole. More samples were sent out and the responses checked before making the final version of the questionnaire. The questions were not simply black-and-white questions. The respondents were given more than two choices, and on some questions, he or she can even choose more than one answer. They further considered what kinds of people are likely to read and answer the questionnaire, and they concluded that people who obviously can’t read or write, or both, should be excluded in the project. They also hypothesized that those who have personal experiences, or know of someone who has had an experience with domestic violence, are more likely to answer the questionnaire. This may be because they understand the concept better. Because of the nature of the survey, they stressed the importance of confidentiality of the people who are to answer the questionnaires. They also included information on a telephone hotline to a women’s support group which can help the person who might possibly be experiencing a form of domestic violence. The authors presented some interesting results from the survey. They partially expected more women than men would answer the survey and the results confirmed this. They were also contented with the fact that even if only half of the questionnaires were returned, it was still a valuable result considering the nature and sensitivity of the topic. This is supported by G. Nigel Gilbert (2005, p. 87) who advocated that the typical rate of response is only twenty percent. Furthermore, the questionnaires were never announced and the receivers were not told beforehand about it, yet they showed interest in sharing their responses. The results also showed that domestic violence is considered by many to be less of an issue as compared to the others, such as rape, mugging, vandalism, and car theft (Nicholson & Wilson, 2004, p. 276). Domestic violence landed on the seventh place and did not have much of a gender difference. Both men and women did not see it as much of a threat, or at least not as widespread or common as the others. According to their research, the main reason for domestic violence can be attributed to external influences (Nicholson & Wilson, 2004, p. 278-279). The authors suggested that it might be fearsome for people to conceive of a violence that is meditated upon rather than as a result of something that was imposed on the person (Nicholson & Wilson, 2004, p. 279). They concluded that indeed, the issue of domestic violence was considered by the respondents as a serious issue. However, the level of the awareness and the commonality of the issue varied according to the research findings. They recommended policy-makers to be made aware of the gender difference in domestic violence. Objectivity The way the research was presented was in the common objective and distant way, giving a lot of sources about the research. It defined that the lack of evidence of studies or surveys regarding gender and domestic violence is a sign that the problem is worse than it seems. However, the authors’ statistical sources including books and articles dated a few years old to more than a decade. It would not matter much if the research sources were impervious to change, but since people and households are the main source of the research, it does not usually stay static. This may affect the validity of the study in this case. The design of the study did distinguish though that it was simply a “snap-shot” (Nicholson & Wilson, 2004, p. 270) that will help find out how people in a certain culture understand domestic violence. The good point was that the authors were kind enough to point out that the research data should be taken with a grain of salt due to possible biases (Nicholson & Wilson, 2004, p. 270). This strategy was mentioned by G. Nigel Gilbert (p. 87) as a popular way to learn about the ideas of the population using questionnaires. The advantage of which is that it can be cheap, but that the response rate is low and the usual rate is twenty percent. So anything higher than twenty percent suggests a good response, and the response rate of this research, at more than forty percent, showed that people do take this particularly issue seriously. The authors also realized the advantages and the disadvantages of using certain terminologies. The main one is that the word violence might be used where some might not consider it appropriate (Nicholson & Wilson, 2004, p. 271). The process of choosing the most appropriate questions seems very much logical. The resulting questions, which are based more on personal feelings rather than actual facts, also provide good samples on how people understand the concept of domestic violence. For example, the question of the number of women the person thinks experience domestic violence from their male partners as well as the question asking what causes a male partner’s violence (Nicholson & Wilson, 2004, p. 272), while unlikely to provide solid facts and might instead be exaggerated based on the personal preference and outlook of the person, can bring up the general idea of the population about domestic violence, whether it is accurate or not. Lyn Shipway (2004, p. 2) stated that “one in four women will experience violence in the home at least once in their lives.” This is hardly a comforting thought, but while this information is available, Nicholson and Wilson seem to have not included this in the research information. On the other hand, the questions succeed in addressing three of the aims of the research: an exploration of how the population understands domestic violence; beliefs that people hold about the frequency of such abuse, and; the importance that people attach to such, in contrast to other forms of violence. It would seem, however, that it will fail to appropriately address the aim about finding an explanation to a male’s act of violence against his female partner. The question only requested what the responders think the reason is, but it does not necessarily suggest that they have either experienced it themselves or saw it in others. The only people who can provide a justifiable or more valid answer to this question are those who exhibit domestic violence themselves. But if they had such a level of self-knowledge as to understand what made them act violently, then they should also be able to figure out that what they are doing is wrong and should be able to change. It is unlikely that such a person is completely aware of his actions, although this is not to say that he is less responsible for it. It is possible though, that the problem is anger management or self-control that even if he doesn’t really want to do it, he has no power to keep it at bay. Ethics The issue of ethics was mentioned as well and the authors did take into consideration the fact that someone who should not might read or get hold of the survey. However, the first safeguard of emphasizing the randomness of the questionnaire does not necessarily ensure safety. It might even make the perpetrator react violently. According to G. Nigel Gilbert (p. 131), it is better to practice on yourself first or to answer your own questions to see if it will make sense. It can help identify if it will not seem out of context of the aim of the research and if it will cause any possible source of concern. The second safeguard might not likewise work if the questionnaire reached the wrong hands first. The third one seems to assure that it was made to be as safe as possible, but while the questions might be general ones, they might still possibly cause some personal distress if they saw themselves in the questionnaire. Overall, while the survey is indeed both necessary and important, there might be a need for more care and further scrutiny as to the ways in which ethics and safety can be improved while at the same time eliciting the most accurate response from the target respondents. Meanwhile, the researcher herself had not mentioned whether they have indicated their name in the survey. It might be possible that a violent person might seek her out in fear that they would find out if there is violence happening in the household and start to interfere. It might not be logical to think this way of a person, but then again, the act of domestic violence is not logical either and there is no reason to assume that the violator will not go to extremes. The authors also did not mention their own point-of-view on the matter although from the title of the research as well as the initial background study given, it can be derived that they already held the hypothesis that men cause more violence to their partners than the women. Their suggestions were not illogical, but it does show in the way they formulated their questions. The authors at least were able to attempt a balance between the subjects of the research and their environment through their consideration of how it can possibly affect them. Clive Seale (2004, p. 118) said that research needs to be based on trust and integrity. Otherwise, it might cause more harm than good. Validity The survey is a time-friendly tool. Domestic violence can be critical problem if not addressed because they happen within the building block of society: the family and the household. If it cannot be resolved and managed, it can cause the whole of society to crumble down. Perhaps, it is the reason why there is so much confusion and chaos in the society as of the moment because, as the authors mentioned a number of times, the fact that a significant number of responses were received means that people recognize its existence and reality. The next step might be to let the people realize just how widespread this is. According to her research and conclusion (p. 280), many people do not think that this is already a common problem. The statistics previously given about the amount of responses show that. The research is timely and valid. However, there are some points to ponder upon. The authors mentioned that the survey was done in one British city. Why choose this particular city? Does it prove to be an average city? How? Is it merely a convenience? Would it not be better to include other British cities to get a better range and average on the research topic? The research was focused more on a particular niche which is domestic violence of men to their women partners. The authors did acknowledge that it is the focus of their research. While this is indeed valid, there is the question why other relationships were not considered. Is the issue more critical between male and female partners? Is the author considering future research on these issues? These were not addressed properly anywhere in the research, which is not a big issue, although it might show further bias on the authors’ part. Feminist Methods According to Margi Laird McCue (2008, p. 15), the feminist theory proposes that violence between partners grow because of inequality in the form of male control that is simply perpetuated in society. Nicholson and Wilson seem to have adapted this view as well and tackled the issue from this point of view. For feminists, gender violence is a “systemic issue” (McCue, 2008, p. 16) and will require “the restructuring of the family unit and its associated gender roles.” Nicholson and Wilson did not seem to have that kind of belief but what they did was mostly to quantify how much people believe in the seriousness of domestic violence. On the quality of the research data, while still valuable, can be quite questionable because of the possibility of inaccurate information given, or at least inaccurate information from sources where the would-be receiver’s spouse or someone else in the same household answered the survey. Going back to the feminist approach, Dr. Joan Humberto Marcelino (2009, p. 12) said that the issue about helping women live without violence has become polarized: the main focus is now to blame men as the sole cause of the problem. Marcelino (p. 16) further said that often, abuse against men is not recognized because of the shame. Women has been considered damsels in distress for so long and men as saviours that, like the bias against women being weak and passive, men has been biased as aggressive and powerful. This concept is obvious all throughout the research of Nicholson and Wilson and they never seemed to have deviated from that concept. There may be bias here in terms of approaching the topic, but it is one way to tackle the topic nevertheless, and the authors did mention about furthering their efforts to seek deeper into the issue. It is not clear what Nicholson and Wilson plan to do with the research results, which are interesting intellectual, but does not seem to have much practical application. Yes, it interesting to note that people are concerned enough to defy the twenty percent average response rate. Yes, it is also very informative that people do not believe the commonality of domestic violence. But the solution they suggest is similar to what almost everyone else suggests about everything: let the government find a way to solve it (p. 280). Richard L. Davis (1998, p. 4) said that the problem will not be solved by involving the criminal justice system, unless “women control the majority of seats in the legislative bodies that create change.” Davis added that without aiming to cure the main root of the problem, no restraining order can solve the issue (p. 11). Conclusion Nicholson and Wilson have shown integrity and ethics in their research because they made sure that the identity of the responders is kept confidential. The main aim of the research is to simply learn about the people’s knowledge and understanding of the concept of domestic violence. They realize the limitations of using the term and express it to be so but no other term can fit the issue and the scale of it better. The procedure was made in three phases: first is by gathering qualitative information; second is to clarify those drafts, and; last is reviewing and finalizing the questionnaire. It is not a simple yes or no question but instead the reader is given the option of multiple answers in some questions so that the issue of gender in domestic violence can be further clarified. The authors hypothesized that those who have experienced or at least know someone who has experienced domestic violence will respond to the questionnaire, and the amount of response seems to suggest just how vast the issue is. Perhaps what was not considered is the idea that people who are experiencing domestic violence may not want to answer either. Since that cannot be quantified or studied, the focus remained on those who were able to respond. It was also shown that more women than men are interested to answer the survey, which is not really surprising since it seems to court the idea of feminists, although the reading material seems to show that the authors wanted to express neutrality and objectivity in the subject matter. However, the research showed that the issue of domestic violence is not as serious as other threats to society which the authors concluded to mean that the general population is still quite ignorant of the scope of the issue. Some sources used in the study, however, seem outdated, and since the topic, understanding and culture is sensitive to change, it might cause some problems in the development of the initial hypothesis about the issue. Unfortunately, this cannot be completely proven unless there are more recent evidences to the contrary. The authors were able to suggest a course of action, which is not really novel, nor is it commendable in any sense because they only suggest letting the government do something about the problem. Hopefully, in their future researches, they will be able to better address the multitude of issues surrounding domestic violence. Bibliography Nicolson, P. Wilson, K., 2004. Is Domestic Violence a Gender Issue? Views from a British City. [pdf] School for Health and Related Research (ScHARR). Available at: http://www.interscience.wiley.com [Accessed 15 November 2010]. Gilbert, G. N. 2005. Researching Social Life. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Seale, C. 2004. Researching Society and Culture. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Lockton, D. Ward, R. 1997. Domestic Violence. London: Cavendish Publishing Limited. McCue, M. L. 2008. Domestic Violence. CA: ABC-CLIO, Inc. Marcelino, J. H. 2009. Domestic Violence: A Gender Issue? CT: Eloquent Books Davis, R. L. 1998. Domestic Violence: Facts and Fallacies. CT: Praeger Publishers Shipway, Lyn. 2004. Domestic Violence: A Handbook for Health Professionals. London: Routledge Read More