Family and Society

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

I. DEFINITION AND FORMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

violent acts between family members or between partners in intimate relationships

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hetero domestic violence is rooted in laws that reinforce men’s dominance –

ex: English law “rule of thumb” – a husband could legally beat his wife with a stick no thicker than the width of his thumb

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domestic violence includes physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, etc

II. HETEROSEXUAL PARTNER ABUSE

MEN VICTIMS

roughly 5 percent of known abuse victims are men – when men are abused (physically, emotionally, etc) by woman, why is underreporting a problem? (masculinity-image leads to shame of admitting it; lack of shelters for abused men; police officers – mainly men – have hard time understanding how men can be abused by woman, bc they say physically a man can defend himself)

response: even if a man can physically defend himself, why should he have to? analogy of adult man being hit by elderly father – should he have to hit back?

another response: abuse is not just physical – men can be abused emotionally / psychologically by woman – my first time teaching, man student divorced his wife for physical and emotional abuse

WOMEN VICTIMS

90-95 percent of domestic violence victims are women (bureau of justice statistics)

1 in 3 adult women in u.s. will be beaten or raped by man partner

women more likely to be abused in cohabit relationship vs marriage

28 percent of all annual violence against women is perpetuated by man partner

“why do women stay???” –

Question is victim-blaming:

my experience on hayden road in tally

they love the guy! cycle of violence includes “honeymoon phase,” where guy sends flowers, apologizes, etc

financially dependent on man – woman either stays home to care for kids, or her job pays less money than man’s – knows that if she leaves him she will have to financially support the children

afraid to uproot kids from home, from father, from school / friends

abused women are socially isolated – their man limits time with family and friends, so now she has nowhere to turn

abused women suffer from low self-esteem, resulting from emotional abuse (you are no good, stupid, ugly) – feel like abuse is their fault, they are ashamed, being a wife / partner should be easy

women’s shame is reinforced by legal system – women are made to feel like abuse / rape is their fault (you pissed off man, you were dressed a certain way) – legal system does not protect women –

women fear for their life; man threatens to kill her and kids if she leaves – and stats prove this happens – 65 percent of abused women who were killed by their man had left him – stats show that chance for death increase dramatically when women leave the man

RACIAL-ETHNIC MINORITY AND IMMIGRANT WOMEN VICTIMS

abused race-ethnic minority women and immigrants face unique problems that abused white women do not face:

· greater cultural acceptance of domestic violence

· language barrier (English not first language, so hard to communicate when reporting to police, testifying in court, etc)

· minority women know that their minority ethnic status is already stigmatized – that is, people have negative stereotypes about race-ethnic minorities, so many women don’t want to report domestic violence, bc it adds to an-already-negative picture of their group

· fear of racist police officers and judicial system – women want protection from men, but still want men to be treated fairly

· fear of deportation

· darker skin color makes physical abuse harder to detect (bruises)

III. SAME-SEX PARTNER ABUSE

rates of domestic violence for same-sex partners are same as rates for heterosexual – approx 1 in 4 or 1 in 3 will be victimized by an intimate partner –

however, abused gays and lesbians face unique problems that abused heterosexuals do not face:

· gays and lesbians are already stigmatized by society, so many don’t want to report domestic violence, bc it contributes to an-already-negative picture of their relationship (similar to race-ethnic minority women)

· homophobia / discrimination against lesbians and gays in justice system, from police officers (cop who said they deserve abuse bc they are sinning; lack of sensitivity-training) to courts (do not order lesbian and gay batterers to therapy the way they do sometimes for heterosexuals)

· gender ideas in society stack up against gays and lesbians, bc people see it not as abuse but rather a fight between equals:

· two gay men fighting: people say, real men fight! just duke it out!

· two lesbians fighting: cat fight – funny and / or erotic

· response: just because someone is able to defend him/herself, should s/he have to? just like men abused by women

· lack of safe shelters for gays and lesbians (a lesbian checked into shelter, and her partner got in bc she was also a woman – men in general have hard time finding shelters

IV. CHILD ABUSE

TYPES

it is difficult to define child abuse because different people have different ideas – for ex, is spanking abuse? if not, where do we draw the line?

DEFINITIONS

sexual abuse

any sexual activity that a child cannot understand or consent to. includes acts such as fondling, oral-genital contact, and genital and anal intercourse, as well as exhibitionism, voyeurism, and exposure to porn

physical abuse

injuring a child’s body. includes bruising, burns, bone injury, head injury, injury to internal organ.

neglect

physical neglect (withholding food, clothing, shelter, or other physical necessities), emotional neglect (withholding love, comfort, affection), or medical neglect (withholding needed medical care)

psychological abuse

results from all of the above, but also associated with verbal abuse

STATISTICS

most common form of abuse is neglect (over half)

then physical

sexual

psychological

medical neglect

VICTIMS

* girls are more likely to be victimized than boys

* younger children are more likely to be victimized than older children (kids aged birth to 3 years are at highest risk)

* race-ethnic groups with the highest rates of victimization are:

1) African Americans (19.5 per 1000 children victimized)

2) American Indian or Alaska Native (16.5 per 1000 children victimized)

3) Pacific Islander (16.1 per 1000 children victimized)

then

4) White (10.8)

5) Hispanic (10.7)

*the race-ethnic group with the lowest rate of victimization is Asians (2.5)

KNOWN PERPETRATORS (ABUSERS)

please note that these are the KNOWN abusers, i.e., it was proven they were abusers:

* #1 perpetrators are the child’s biological parents (90.5%) – the most common form of abuse is neglect – women are more likely to abuse than men

* besides biological parents, other abusers are:

^ other relatives (6.8%)

^ stepparents (4.3%)

^ adoptive parents (0.7%)

RECOGNIZING ABUSE: SOME SIGNS

CHILD

* shows sudden changes in behavior or school performance

* has not received help for physical or medical problems brought to parents’ attention

* has difficulty concentrating

* is overly passive or withdrawn

* comes to school or other activities early and does not want to go home

PARENT

* denies existence of child’s problems

* asks teachers, etc to use harsh physical discipline if the child misbehaves

* demands a level of physical or academic performance the child cannot achieve

PARENT AND CHILD

* rarely look at or touch each other

V. ELDER ABUSE

* definition = any intentional or negligent act that cause harm or serious risk of harm to a vulnerable adult

* types of elder abuse:

physical, emotional/psychological/verbal, sexual, neglect, abandonment, financial (also referred to as exploitation)

* statistics:

^ no official statistics because

􀂃 Definitions of elder abuse vary. It is

difficult to pinpoint exactly what actions

or inactions constitute abuse, and the

problem remains greatly hidden.

􀂃 State statistics vary widely as there is no

uniform reporting system.

􀂃 Comprehensive national data are not

collected.

^ study in 1996 found that over 500,000 americans aged 60 and older were victims of elder abuse – only 16 percent of the cases were reported, so 84% remained hidden – estimates there may be as many 5 million victims a year – every year more reports of elder abuse

^ It is estimated that for every one case of

elder abuse, neglect, exploitation, or selfneglect

reported to authorities, about five

more go unreported.

(National Elder Abuse Incidence Study. 1998.

Washington, DC: National Center on Elder Abuse at

American Public Human Services Association.)

^ In 2000, states were asked to indicate the

number of elder/adult reports received in

the most recent year for which data were

available. Based on figures from 54 states,

the total number of reports was 472,813.

(A Response to the Abuse of Vulnerable Adults: The

2000 Survey of State Adult Protective Services. 2003.

Washington, DC: National Center on Elder Abuse.)

WARNING SIGNS OF ELDER ABUSE

bruises, broken bones, abrasions, burns (physical);

withdrawal from normal activities, unusual depression (emotional);

bedsores, unattended medical needs, weight loss, poor hygiene (neglect);

sudden changes in financial situations (financial/exploitation)

high-risk elderly include those in social isolation and mental impairment (such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, etc)

WHO ARE THE ABUSERS?

NONINSTITUTIONALIZED CARE = FAMILIES

domestic violence (#1 abuser is husband/wife/partner);

then grown children (abusers often financially dependent on the victim for financial assistance, housing, and other forms of support, and the abusers get greedy – abusers also stressed from caregiving = sandwich generation, bc today families have fewer children, so fewer children to share responsibility of caregiving)

INSTITUIONALIZED CARE = NUSRING HOMES

nursing homes in u.s. are big business!

in 1997 about 1.5 million elderly residents, mostly white women widows, lived in the u.s.’s 16,995 nursing homes –

government programs like medicare and Medicaid pay for part of the cost, but then the rest is up to family – medicare pays part, then Medicaid intervenes only when family is poor enough to qualify (ie, when patient has no money left except enough for burial (diamond’s making gray gold)

in 1995 alone over $77.9 billion was spent for nursing home care in the u.s.

abuse common, although statistics difficult bc again, not collected systematically –

in 1989, 40% of nursing home staff admitted to committing at least one psychologically abusive act toward pt, and 10% admitted to physically abusing pt in the preceding year

however, studies in Atlanta 2000 found that 44 % of residents said they had been abused, 48% said they were treated roughly, and 38% said they saw another resident being abused – 95% they had suffered from neglect

also, a government study looking at 1999-2000 found:

^ one-third of certified facilities had been cited for abuse violation (5,283 nursing homes) – these nursing homes were cited for almost 9,000 abuse violations during that time period!

^ ranged from physical abuse to sexual abuse and verbal abuse

why abuse in nursing homes?

because nursing homes are understaffed and their workers (CNAs) are undertrained and underpaid:

^ understaffed:

workers must handle more and more patients, and by themselves (diamond’s making gray gold)—example: worker during night shift might have 30 pts and day shift 20 pts, so needs get ignored like range of motion exercise, bathroom, avoiding bedsores, etc

^ underpaid:

workers must often work two or more jobs to make ends meet bc paid minimum wage – tired and stressed out

^ undertrained:

not taught enough about conditions like dementia

VI. SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

SOCIAL LEARNING PERSPECTIVE

individuals learn behavior they will later exhibit by observing what others do --

example: kid who grows up in abusive home at higher risk for being in abusive relationship when older

FRUSTRATION-AGGRESSION PERSPECTIVE

aggressive behavior occurs when person is blocked from achieving a goal, and they take their anger out on an easier target –

example: man who works 60 hours low pay hits wife bc can’t attack boss –

gina language, you get pissed, you get violent –

my idea that maybe gay/lesbian couples are doubly stressed from stigma – relationships already hard, now gays/lesbians have to worry about homophobia

SOCIAL EXCHANGE PERSPECTIVE

person decides how to act by considering the rewards and costs of that behavior –

example: men who abuse women bc they say women won’t (can’t) divorce them –

this theory may help explain why (on average) abuse of women is lower in countries where women have more economic independence