RESEARCH TOPIC: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
RESEARCH STATEMENT: A SURVEY OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND THE DETRIMENTAL IMPACT ON WOMEN.
KEY TERMS:
Survey: To view with a scrutinizing eye; to examine.
Domestic Violence: Domestic violence in this study can be defined as violence or physical abuse directed toward your spouse or domestic partner; usually violence by men against women.
Women: The women referred to in this review are women that are married, cohabitant and non-married intimate partners.
LITERATURE REVIEW -
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND THE DETRIMENTAL IMPACT ON WOMEN
Domestic violence against women refers to any physical act of aggression ...view middle of the document...
(Arabia 2000).
Domestic violence has been something that is known as a social problem for many years and only lately has been a matter of discussion that is under major consideration and investigation and has become a major health issue. In most cases, it is seen as more prevalent against women commonly due to their physical attributes categorizing them as the weaker sex among other socio cultural factors in society.
There were sociological assumptions developed to explain domestic violence in the 1970’s, where domestic violence against women was a rare event that was committed only by men with diagnostic psychiatric disturbances. (Dutton 1988) Rather sociologists views domestic violence against women as a more common event generated by social rules that supported male dominance of women and implied approval by society.
Straus suggested that domestic violence in the family aspect of wife assault where it revealed what psychiatrists had ignored that wife assault was mainly normal violence committed not by madmen but by men who believed that patriarchy was their right yet lacked the resources to fulfill that role. Straus quoted in Dobash and Dobash (1984) “ our society actually has rules and values which make the marriage licence also a hitting licence.†The sociological claim, therefore, was twofold, that society was patriarchy and that they use of violence to maintain male patriarchy was accepted as Dobash & Dobash put it “ Men who assault their wives are actually living up to the cultural prescription that are cherished in western society aggressiveness male dominance and female subordination and they are usually physical force as a means to enforce that dominance.†(Dobash & Dobash, 1984)
“There is compelling evidence that violence against women is severe and pervasive throughout the world, “said UN Chief Kofi Annan. (Arabia 2000) Victims of domestic violence are mostly women who don’t even recognize what is termed as ‘Domestic Violence’. They either see it as cultural, religious or social norms that they are subjected to and believe that is the way it is suppose to be.
Family is the oldest institution, the cradle from which all social and hereditary values and non values derive. As stated in the Functionalist Perspective; the family is a consecrated institution vested with the responsibility of grooming infants into wholesome individuals. Whenever an infection or infliction befalls the family, the whole family is affected, sometimes the whole village or society. (Adrienne, 2006)
Therefore causing a social problem depending on the extent to which it exist and impacts on society. Domestic Violence can be one of the silent, but serious afflictions that often go unrecognized and unattended to. Victims of domestic violence do not always report or tell anyone about it for some of the reasons listed above saying they are oblivious of the fact that they may be categorized as victim. Some women also refrain from...
