Domestic Violence Continues to be a Hidden Problem - Essay Example

Domestic Violence Introduction Domestic violence and domestic abuse have become household s. Why? Because regardless of the factthat the problem is known and is being fought all over the world, domestic violence continues to be a hidden problem. Hidden in the sense that many victims of the crime are not coming forward to report their oppressors. Domestic violence can be described as psychological, physical, emotional or even financial abuse towards a spouse, a child or any person involved in a domestic arrangement with the perpetrator. It may take the form of battery, marital rape or even denial of marital rights. From a psychological and forensic standpoint, the victims have reasons for refusing to not only leave, but to report the abuse thus keeping the problem hidden. The notion that domestic violence is a hidden problem comes from the fact that though many people admit to being abused off the record, reports to authorities on the same are much less than the cases. Therefore, though people know of its existence, victims refuse or are unable to give evidence of the crime. This is according to Harne et al. (2008). This paper therefore seeks to prove why this notion exists and is true. Evidence of domestic violence exists in statistics. According to McClennen (2010), three out of every case of domestic violence in the United States is not reported. Emergency casualties resulting form domestic violence are dubbed “accidents” when police enquire. For this reason, domestic violence remains a hidden problem in the eyes of the law. Lombard et al. (2013) explains that one of the theories that has been set forward to explain why victims of domestic violence do not come forward also explains how spousal abuse and neglect comes about. This is the social learning theory. According to the theory, since people who experienced violence while growing up are very likely to portray the same, those that grew up observing a victim of domestic violence keep quiet about it will do the same. This finding is evidence of the fact that silence about abuse in the home setting is actually learned. The family is an institution where children learn about the roles of the parent, the child, the husband and the wife. If a child learns that it is the place of a husband to “discipline” his wife and children as he pleases, the child will more often than not take this notion into adulthood. Female children who watched their mothers suffer under their spouse’s abuse will often keep quiet about their own domestic abuse. This will lead to a vicious cycle of hidden domestic abuse across many generations. The social learning theory was initially used to describe the causes of domestic violence but was also found to explain why victims of domestic violence keep the problem hidden. Not only do the victims learn that one should not speak out or report domestic violence, they also learn how to justify their spouse’s behavior. Social situation, otherwise known as stress theory can also be used to explain why domestic violence is a hidden problem. See, this theory explain that domestic violence will occur because of two main reasons. The first reason will relate to structural stress and the other is because of lack of a coping mechanism for the entire family. An example of this is the fact that there is an association between low income families which have domestic violence and the number of reports of domestic violence made. Basically, when stress in the family is the cause of violence, perhaps due to low income, it is unlikely that the victim will report the crime. This, according to the theory is due to the fact that victims blame the stressor rather than the oppressor for the crime. Victims of abuse have been seen to excuse their abusive spouses with comments like “it was not his fault. He was just stressed,” or “Mom just had a hard day at work.” This theory explains both the cause of domestic violence and why victims of said violence do not report it. They view it as a spouse’s or a parent’s way of coping with stressors and other events. This fact is explained in depth by Lombard et al. (2013). Another theory that explains why domestic violence remain hidden is the patriarchy theory. This theory has a central thesis that explains that both social and economic processes are responsible for a patriarchal family structure and social order. It simply states that patriarchy will cause women in some cultures to be oppressed and subordinated. This is the root of the cycle of violence that has been directed towards women throughout time. The fact that this theory finds that the root of domestic violence lies within society means that the victims of said violence, knowing that society condones such behavior will not report abuse. In such a society. Domestic violence will be known to exist but will not be an issue and will therefore remain hidden. Therefore in such a case, for domestic violence to stop, society must case to endorse it and make it something that is out of the ordinary and socially unacceptable. Otherwise, victims will have nowhere to run and nobody will speak against the crime. This is according to Harne et al. (2008). Society education si therefore the key to batlling the kind of ignorance that leads to violence based on this theory. The traumatic bonding theory is another theory that explains why domestic violence is dubbed a hidden problem. According to Burgess et al. (2010), traumatic boding refers basically to a sort of counterintuitive variation where one spouse will traumatize and victimize the other. The term was coined to describe the bond observed between a victim and her abuser in a domestic setting. The term has since been used to describe emotional ties forming between a victim and their oppressor in a wide range of relationships. Stockholm’s syndrome cam also be described partially using this theory as it involves a bond forming between an abusive person and their victim. The necessary conditions for this type of bonding include; one person dominating over another and a level of abuse spiking and subsiding. The dominant person will alternate compassionate, permissive and affectionate behavior towards the submissive party with periods of intense abuse. The abuser will also limit their victim’s options so as to maintain their upper hand. In this theory, the victim is put in such a situation that they cannot report their abuser’s indiscretions against them. The abuse will therefore remain hidden as the victim will at any point in time be at the mercies of the abuser. The traumatic bonding theory, unlike those discussed before it explains a special kind of abusive relationship where the victim is kept in the relationship by manipulation and force rather than what they believe is the right thing to do. This is according to Burgess et al. (2010). If the dominant party loses grip of what gave them the upper hand in the first place, perhps being the bread winner, the victim will have within their grasp a means to leave the abusive relationship. Many victims of such a relationship have been seen to excape as a function of this. In a bid to explain the root of violence in an inner-city African-American suburb in Philadelphia, a theory was brought forward that suggested that violent behavior is a function of commitment to subcultural norms as well as values. This is according to Harne et al. (2008). Personal violent behavior result in violent behavior as sub-cultural become a mechanism of control in a social setting among members of a group. This is to say that since violence has been known to be a way of maintaining status and defending honor, if a spouse or parent perceive a threat, the might use violence to defend their own honor at the expense of their family member. Spouses therefore use violence to maintain power in the home. This will leave their spouse or the children powerless to speak up against abuse both in the home and to the authorities. Domestic abuse with therefore in such settings remain hidden. General systems theory is another theory relevant to this paper. Developed in 1983 by Murray Straus and Jean Giles-Sims, the theory also seeks to explain domestic violence. The theory looks at violence as the product of a system rather than the product of a person’s pathology. The theory purports that the operations of a family system can be responsible for escalation, maintenance and even reducing the level of violence a family. Burgess et al. (2010) explains that the theory talks about the kind of family interactions that may cause violence as well as how said violence can be managed. The family therefore and its members will have a part to play in all instances of violence. Therefore and abused spouse or child will often take some of the blame in the event. Victims that take blame for their spouses’ and parent’s acts of violence will seldom come forward about the abuse. In this case, the domestic violence will remain hidden. Based on the above theoretical explanation, a few general recommendations can be drawn. McClennen (2010) explains that as many of the victims in the abuse cases refuse to leave or to come forward either due to manipulation, fear or a misconception about the whole situation, victims of domestic violence are advised to seek help, preferable from a professional. Psychiatrists have been seen to reach victims of domestic violence such that the victims are able to get over manipulation, to get over their fear and also to get over misconceptions such as seeing themselves as partially responsible for the abuse. Such victims have been seen to eventually come forward about the crimes. This is according to Schneider et al (2008). Therefore instead of being content with abuse, victims should seek more information on the causes of domestic violence which will help them seek help for themselves and their spouses or parents. This will aid them in making informed decisions on how to handle the violence in their homes. McClennen (2010) explains that social workers can provide said information as well as any intervention required by a person in an abusive household. Conclusion From the above discussion of why domestic violence is described as a hidden problem, one can conclude that it is majorly due to misconceptions. Victims of abuse are manipulated in some relationships, yes. But majority of those that do not report violence do so under the illusion that the abusive spouse is either not to blame or it is their own or nature’s fault. The social learning, social situation and patriarchy theories are responsible for impacting many misconceptions into families. One such misconception is that brought about by the social earning theory where people believe that what they grew up seeing was how things should be. The recommendation of this paper seeks to have victims of abuse educated so that the crime is demystified and no longer remain hidden. Intervention can be done by social workers as suggested by McClennen (2010), but only at the victim’s volition. References Burgess, A. W., Regehr, C., & Robert, A. R. (2010). Victimology : Theories and applications. Sudbury: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Harne, L., & Radford. (2008). Tackling domestic violence : Theories, policies and practise. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill. Lombard, N., & McMillan, L. (2013). Violence against women : Current theory and practise in domestic abuse, sexual violence and exploitation. London: Jessica Kingsley. McClennen, J. C. (2010). Social work and family violence : Theories, assessment and intervention. New York: Springer. Schneider, E. M., & Dalton, C. (2008). Domestic violence and the law : Theory and practise. New York: Foundation Press. Read More