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Domestic Violence and Media

Name: Disheka Butler

Date: February 13, 2014

Class:BEHS 453

In the article “Man Fatally Shoots 2, Kills Himself in Indiana” it was reported that a 21 year old Andrew Parish, in an attempt to commit a murder suicide with his ex-girlfriend, Parish end up killing his ex-girlfriend’s roommate and a neighbor who tried to help (ABC News, 2014). Stories of this nature occur often and are reported in the media with little to no explanation. This article represents a vast majority of domestic violence reports in the media which are often report the details of the crime with no real attempt to define the domestic abuse problem. The article presents mainly the people who were killed and how they were killed. As a result of lack of substantive reporting, stories such as this often undermine or oversimplify the problem of domestic violence. The public is more apt to associate the details of the crime with causes, such as in this case, where the reporter went out of his way to report the style of gun that was used. While this detail seems to be innocuous it is really a subtle bias injected in the article. The uncritical reader is more apt to concentrate on the fact that the weapon was an assault rifle rather than the problem of domestic violence.

As a result of this in accurate reporting of domestic violence the issue is often muddled with other social issues such as gun control. In reality, domestic violence is a special form of violence in that it is indicative of violence that is personal in nature or pertains to violence that exists within personal relationships (Shipway, 2004). There are a vast number of factors that are at the root of domestic violence. While there is no specific cause for domestic violence, there are a considerable number of risk factors that impact the risk of violence. The risk factors that seem to promote domestic violence include drugs, unemployment, underemployment, lack of education, unmarried people involved in relationships, and religion (Dryden-Edwards & Stöppler, 2013). These risk factors substantially increase the risk of a person becoming the victim of domestic violence.

Because women are at the highest risk for being the victim of domestic violence, a great deal of research centers on domestic violence between men and women. One of the leading factors in the risk of women being abused has been shown to be a pattern of thinking or mind-set in men in these relationships. Typically, men who believe that they have authority over women, or should control women, places women in relationships with these men at the highest risk (Dryden-Edwards & Stöppler, 2013).

The one recurring theme in research into domestic violence is the impact of witnessing the violence as children (Dryden-Edwards & Stöppler, 2013). Children who are raised in environments that experience domestic violence learn or develop a belief that violence is an acceptable means for resolving conflict (Dryden-Edwards & Stöppler, 2013). There are gender differences such as males who witness or are victims of domestic violence often commit abuse against women in adulthood. Females who witness or are victims of domestic violence are significantly at risk of being battered or abused by their husbands (Dryden-Edwards & Stöppler, 2013).

A majority of cases of domestic violence that are reported involved men who have more conservative religious views than their partner. Although religion in this context seems to increase the risk of domestic violence; it is also reported that, “regular attendance at religious services is apparently associated with less reported intimate partner abuse (Dryden-Edwards & Stöppler, 2013).” It should be noted that religion may only be a risk factor when the person involved is interpreting or not following the religion properly, i.e., a devout Christian who is active in his or her faith would not be likely to commit domestic violence because the faith expressly forbids such actions.

Other risk factors and possible causes include: individuals who are raised in homes that experienced domestic violence; individuals suffering from mental illnesses; belonging to Hispanic and African American minorities; and even bad grades (Dryden-Edwards & Stöppler, 2013). This wide range of risk factors is not causal per se of domestic violence but merely increases the chances of it occurring. With the great deal of research in domestic violence, one would think that the media would look at these situations with a greater degree of detail and provide reporting that is based on research rather than simply trying to create shock and awe impact.

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