Patriarchy as a Cause of Domestic Violence - Research Paper Example

?Patriarchy: Root Of Domestic Violence Introduction Domestic violence is one of the major problems faced by the society today. Domestic violence not only harms the victim of the violence, but also harms other members of the family by causing them emotional and psychological distress. Hence, it destroys the life of a victim as well as the lives of children and adolescents in the family who witness the violence on daily basis. Domestic violence is suffered by women all over the world. However, it is enormous concern in the United States today as the prevalence of domestic violence is high and the U.S. government has to take decisions regarding the domestic violence victims by providing a solution to their problems (Malley-Morrison and Hines xi). However, it is not an easy job as families who have migrated from different countries and cultural backgrounds have different perspectives regarding the family structure and customs, and this makes it difficult for the government to provide solution and intervention. It has been found that cultural values are one of the major factors in the instigation of domestic violence (Malley-Morrison and Hines xi). This is because although emotions and behavior pattern of rage and violence are innate tendencies, they are influenced by the environmental factors (Malley-Morrison and Hines xi). Hence, if certain culture legitimizes the aggressive attitude by males, then males in those cultures abuse their wives and children openly (Malley-Morrison and Hines xi). This shows that cultural values and background plays a major role in prevalence of domestic violence in the society. It is not surprising to find that the ethnic group that is most vulnerable to domestic violence is the Asian American group. Due to the patriarchal family system and male dominated culture, Asian American females suffer from domestic violence silently. Their tradition and cultural values suppress their voice and force them to suffer silently. Hence, if the prevalence of domestic violence is to be reduced from the society, then Asian American females should be encouraged to come out in open regarding their suffering, as without their efforts, it will not be possible to fight domestic violence and punish those who are guilty of this heinous crime. Definition Domestic violence has many facets to it. Intimate partners can be abused in many ways. Hence, for creating a definition of domestic violence, it was necessary to consider all the aspects of abuse and violence. Rather than considering just physical acts of violence, it was important to consider range of behaviors while deciding what constitutes domestic violence (Harne 3). Moreover, it was also realized that not only males, but even females have a tendency to abuse their husbands or intimate partners physically (Harne 3). Hence, keeping in mind all aspects and possibilities of violence and family abuse, the Home Office (2009) has defined domestic violence as: ‘Any incident of threatening behavior, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between adults who are or have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality.’ This includes issues of concern to black and minority ethnic communities such as so called ‘honor based violence’, female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage. (Harne 3). From the above definition, it is clear that any sort of act or means, used to torture or abuse intimate partner, is considered a part of domestic violence. Hence, different methods of abuse like psychological and emotional abuse also come under the act of domestic violence. It is important to mention here that the government has done justice to Asian American females by including emotional, psychological and financial abuse under its definition of domestic violence, as research has revealed that emotional and psychological abuse is one of the most common forms of abuse suffered by females from Asian American ethnic background at the hands of their husbands and intimate partners (Malley-Morrison and Hines 212). Statistics There are various factors, like addiction, relationship conflicts and violent behavior pattern, which lead to domestic violence. However, cultural values and thinking pattern is found to be most influential factor in case of domestic violence suffered by females from Asian ethnic background (Malley-Morrison 332). The rates of abuse drawn from the samples available with state and local community reveal that the prevalence of females from Asian American ethnic background suffering from domestic violence is very high (Malley-Morrison 332). Different studies conducted to study domestic violence among different Asian ethnic groups based on the country of origin have revealed that 20% to 80% of females suffer from domestic violence (Malley-Morrison 332). For example, research by Yoshihama and Horrocks (2002) has revealed that 80% of Japanese American women suffer from some kind of domestic violence (Malley-Morrison 332). A study by Song (1992) revealed that the percentage of Korean American women suffering from domestic violence is 60% (Malley-Morrison 332). Raj and Silverman (2002) have found that 40% of women from South Asian American background suffer from domestic violence (Malley-Morrison 332). It was also found that one third of the 51 deaths in Santa Clara County, between years 1994 to 1997, which were related to domestic violence, were among Asian American women (Foo 85). Also, “in 1997, 18% of the residents killed in Massachusetts as result of domestic violence were Asian women” (Foo 86).These statistics show that the rate at which the Asian American women are suffering from domestic violence is very high. Sadly, even the high educational or the financial level of the females from Asian American ethnic background has not reduced their suffering. In fact, a study by Yick, Shibusawa and Agbayani-Siewert (2003) has found that immigrant women, despite of being the earning members of the family (as women are preferred more than men for the unskilled jobs in the U.S.), suffer from domestic violence as men in the family cannot bear the change in role and hence, create conflict in the family (Malley-Morrison 332). Similar is the situation even with educated women. The percentage of women who graduate from college and get postgraduate education is higher among Asian Indian, Chinese and Japanese females than overall American population (Malley-Morrison 332). However, even educated Asian American women are abused by their partners. Unfortunately, the improvement and higher status in finance and education has not helped in reducing the prevalence of domestic violence among Asian American families. The reason behind this is the strong hold of cultural and religious system ingrained in the Asian American people. Role of cultural background In the United States, a woman is physically bettered every nine seconds (Foo 85). However, it has been found that not all the incidents are reported as only one woman out of three report the violence against them (Foo 85). The number of women suffering physical abuse at the hands of their intimate partners is estimated to be 1.5 to 3.9 million (Foo 85). Despite of such a high rate of the prevalence of domestic violence, it is still an underreported crime (Foo 85). It has also been estimated that the rate of domestic violence among Asian American population is higher than the general American population (Foo 85). One of the strong reasons for the crime of domestic violence remaining underreported by Asian American women is the cultural norms and the indirect pressure from the patriarchal system under which they live. Violence against women in certain domestic disputes were deemed justifiable by 20-25% of respondents from the Cambodian, Chinese, Korean, South Asian and Vietnamese communities in a survey conducted by the Boston Asian Task Force (Foo 89). 29% of the Korean respondents felt that battered woman should not tell anyone about her suffering (Foo 89). It was found that the belief that the battered woman should not leave or divorce her husband was strong among Cambodian and Vietnamese respondents (Foo 89). The belief that once married, woman becomes the property of her husband and hence, she does not have right to return to her parents or ask them to intervene in case of abuse at the hands of husband, was common among the South Asian respondents (Foo 89). The surprising thing was that these kinds of responses were also found among people from Asian American communities who were born in foreign countries or in the U.S. (Foo 89). This shows that cultural values and beliefs get ingrained in children no matter where they are born or what society they belong to. The negative and dominating attitude towards women permeates all the sectors of the community and hence, even those people who are supposed to protect the victims end up discouraging the victims from filing complain or going against their husbands (Foo 90). Hence, it is essential to change the attitude of people towards the domestic violence. However, what is more important is to change the inner paradigm of women and make them realize that domestic violence is crime and they have right to raise voice against it. Asian culture values family bonding a lot. Respect to elders and male domination in the family often becomes a barrier for Asian American women seeking help from outside (Malley-Morrison 334). Asian American women suffering from domestic violence mostly resort to religion or elders for advice, who most of the times tell them to remain silent about it saying that it goes in the family (Ayyub 24). Bui and Morash (1999) found that Asian American females refrain from reporting domestic violence as their community sees wife beating as a private matter and does not deem it as wrong (Malley-Morrison and Hines 209). This attitude is evident from real life case of a woman named Geeta, who was a victim of severe domestic violence. Geeta, an Asian American woman, was repeatedly abused by her husband (Malley-Morrison and Hines 212). She was physically, psychologically and emotionally abused on daily basis (Malley-Morrison and Hines 212). One day, when her neighbors called the police after hearing her screaming (as her husband said he was going to pour boiling oil over her body), her friend’s husband, instead of reporting the abuse to the police, told Geeta in her native language that it was her fault and she should ask the police to leave (Malley-Morrison and Hines 212). Geeta got the same response from her uncle who said that this is common between husband and wife and acted as if nothing had happened (Malley-Morrison and Hines 212). This shows that voice against domestic violence is suppressed and ignored by men in the Asian community. Conclusion The discussion above shows that domestic violence suffered by Asian American women is not just due to family conflict and behavior pattern but is also due to the cultural norms and customs that accept aggression and dominance of men towards women. Hence, if the prevalence of domestic violence among Asian American community is to be eradicated, then the cultural norms and the attitude of Asian American people is needed to be changed as they are the roots of prevalence of violence against women. Work Cited Ayyub, Ruksana. Body Evidence. Ed. Shamita Dasgupta. Piscataway: Rutgers UP, 2007. Print. Foo, Lora. Asian American Women: Issues, Concerns And Responsive Human And Civil Rights Advocacy. Lincoln: iUniverse, Inc., 2003. Print. Harne, Lynne. Violent Fathering And The Risks To Children: The Need For Change. Bristol: The Policy Press, 2011. Print. Malley-Morrison, Kathleen and Denise Hines. Family Violence In A Cultural Perspective: Defining, Understanding, And Combating Abuse. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc., 2004. Print. Malley-Morrison, Kathleen et al. Family Interventions In Domestic Violence . Ed. John Hamel and Tonia Nicholls. New York: Springer Publishing Company, L.L.C., 2007. Print. Read More