1. Family Violence by Humphrey Mwangi & Timothy Pafford 1. Wife beating 2. Elder abuse 3. A global perspective on family violence 4. Social responses to family violence 5. Marital rape 6. Child abuse 7. A social profile of family abusers 8. Theories of Family Violence 1 HM
2. Wife Beating 1/3 married person assault their spouses 2/3 assault at least once during marriage Focus is put on more violent acts of beating rather than the triviality of slaps and pats. Some women hurt their spouses too but the majority is men directing their vengeance to their wives 2 HM
3. Nature of Wife Beating Husbands are overwhelmingly likely to assault wives compared to wives assaulting husbands. Wife beating becomes a big social problem when more than 2 million women are reporting being beaten (Thio, 118) Husbands behave as if they have the right to beat their wives after the act. 3 HM
4. How husbands rationalize violence Blame the victim Minimize the harm done Attributing the acts to something beyond their control After the battering has occurred, women suffer from Posttraumatic Stress Disorders Others develop Battered Woman Syndrome 4 HM
5. Do Battered Women Leave? Yes. It is wrongly thought most battered spouses stay in abusive marriages. The contrary is true. Most wives run for help. Some continue living with their abusers. Among the reasons for staying are: Lack of education Likely isolation Economical dependency on the husbands 5 HM
6. Wife Beating: Causes Feminist theorists blame society. The sexist, patriarchal nature of society (Thio, pg 120). Women are treated as if they were the property of their husbands. Husbands with patriarchal beliefs are more likely to assault their wives where wife beating is widely accepted 6 HM
7. Wife Beating: Causes contd Those husbands who have lost control over their life tend to abuse wives more than the latter. Poor men or unemployed men have been linked to wife beating at higher rate than ones with jobs and sense of security. These men feel their power is under threat resulting to violence 7 HM
8. Elder Abuse Most elderly people are independent but 25% of them require long-term care Majority live at home while a few are in nursing homes. In these facilities and homes, the elderly are taken care of by: Caretakers Parents Spouses etc 8 HM
9. Elder Abuse Defined New Zealand Age Concern Elder Abuse and Prevention Service defines elder abuse as: elder abuse and neglect are usually committed by a person known to the victim and with whom they have a relationship implying trust. A person who abuses an older person usually has some sort of control or influence over him or her. HM 9
10. Elder Abuse in New Zealand Most of the reported cases were directed towards women between the ages of 75-84 yrs. As in most other countries, the abuse committed consistency with other figures The study done by Hand & Parsons also found out that in New Zealand there is undervaluing of the elderly due to their productivity. HM 10
11. Elder Abuse: Nature Types of Elder abuse: Neglect Emotional Abuse Financial exploitation Physical Abuse. Most of the perpetrators are Adult children. Thus more likely to be abused if they live with adult children than when they live alone. 11 HM
12. Causes of Elder Abuse The nature of the job. Stress caused by the job triggers abuse. Severe personal problems Financial difficulty and dependence Unfulfilling rewards to the caregiver. HM 12
13. Global Perspective on Family Violence Family violence takes the same form all over the world. It is physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. Most family violence occur mostly in developing countries than in US and other developed countries. The lack thereof police and other help make it suitable in developing countries HM 13
14. Global Perspective: Violence Haj-Yahia & Uysal, 2008 noted in their study that between 4.5 to 38.7% of students in a Turkish university justified wife beating. Between 3.5 and 5.3% of them tended to believe that battered women benefit from beating. While between 4.7 and 28.5% of them tended to believe that battered women are responsible for their beating. HM 14
15. Global Perspective: Violence While women continue to be subject to violence, things have change over time. Family violence is not as common in affluent societies. Many poor communities and regimes have started recognizing women rights and protecting them from violence Male dominance is still a problem though. HM 15
16. Social responses to family violence In America violence against the aged, children and women is widely condemned The law severely punishes offender with jail time, fines, and other tools. Family violence by a family member in most societies is leniently treated. The belief in the sacredness and privacy of family makes it hard to punish family violence. HM 16
17. Social responses to family violence Today, all states in U.S. have laws protecting women. However, some still do not treat marital rape as rape. Defining consensual sex and forced sex is still unclear. Laws have been passed that seek to protect children and the elderly. Counseling is encouraged for offenders. HM 17
18. Marital Rape Most likely the most prevalent form of forced sex More common that acquaintance or stranger rape 10% - 14% of wives suffered marital rape
19. Nature of Marital Rape Most involve physical violence or threat of it Vaginal rapes account for less than half of marital rapes; forced anal rape occurs slightly more often Offenders assume they are entitled to have sex with their wives
20. 3 Main Causes of Marital Rape Sexist belief that the husband is entitled to sex however they want their wife Husband’s attempt to punish wife for her unfaithfulness or some other “sin” Control over the wife
21. Child Abuse “Of the different forms of family violence, child abuse seems to be the most serious or shocks people the most.” (Thio, 2010)
22. Nature of Child Abuse Sexual Abuse 10% - 20% of women were victimized during childhood 1% - 3% of men were victimized during childhood 2% of children are victimized each year
23. Nature of Child Abuse cont. Physical Abuse Majority of child abuse involve physical abuse 4% of children age 17 or younger are severely assaulted every year
24. Nature of Child Abuse Facts about child abuse include Very young children under the age of 5 are at higher risk of abuse Abuse comes more frequently in lower income homes
30. Theories of Family Violence Social Learning Theory - People are more likely to engage in family violence if they have been exposed to violence Stress Theory – Some people suffer greater stress than others, some people are more likely to commit violence Exchange Theory – Benefit or reward for committing the offense
31. References Peri, K., Fanslow, J., Hand, J., & Parsons, J. (2009). Keeping older people safe by preventing elder abuse and neglect. Social Policy Journal of New Zealand, (35), 159-172. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database. Haj-Yahia, M., & Uysal, A. (2008). Beliefs about Wife Beating among Medical Students from Turkey. Journal of Family Violence, 23(2), 119-133. doi:10.1007/s10896-007-9134-7. Thio, A. (2010). Family Violence.(10th ed) Deviant Behavior (pp118-130) Boston, MA: Ally & Bacon HM 28
32. References Cox, M. (Ed.). (1999). Conflict and cohesion in families: causes and consequences. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. McDonald, R., Jouriles, E., Ramisetty-Mikle, S., Caetano, R., and Green, C. (2006). Estimating the number of American children living in partner-violent families. Journal of Family Psychology. 20(1). 137-142.
Editor's Notes
References:Thio, A. (2010). Family Violence.(10th ed) Deviant Behavior (pp118-130) Boston, MA: Ally & BaconPeri, K., Fanslow, J., Hand, J., & Parsons, J. (2009). Keeping older people safe by preventing elder abuse and neglect. Social Policy Journal of New Zealand, (35), 159-172. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.Haj-Yahia, M., & Uysal, A. (2008). Beliefs about Wife Beating among Medical Students from Turkey. Journal of Family Violence, 23(2), 119-133. doi:10.1007/s10896-007-9134-7.
According to Thio, wife beating needs to focus on the violent acts where bodily injury is caused (Thio, pg 118) Women as perpetrators of this crime make up a small percentage of batterers. That is not to mean women do not harm their husbands, some do.While it is true that wife beating or beating in general paints a picture of injuring someone, it is possible to harm someone without causing bodily injury I would argue. The pressure of knowing someone can beat you when they please I think is emotional draining.
1,641 women reported to have been assaulted by their husbands compared to 102 women who reported the same (Thio, pg 118). Abusive husbands and those who beat their wives often act as if the offense they commit are justified thus they have “license batter their wives” (Thio, pg 119) They thus do not show any remorse after the beating has occurred. They make every effort to neutralize the issue.
Abusive husbands try to justify their acts by blaming the victim, they say “You kept yelling; I told you this would happen”. They minimize the injury caused by making statements like “I just slapped her slightly”. Such men try to attribute the violence to other external factors: “I have been overworked off late” (Thio, pg 119)Women who have been abused and subjected to physical violence develop Battered Woman Syndrome where they lose self esteem, confidence, feel trapped in a situation they cannot get themselves out of, the thought of violence directed towards them is real, in the end, such wives may end up killing their husbands in the hope that the problem is gone.Do you think such a wife is justified to do what she decides to? If someone is subjected to violence for this long, should that be used to defend them in court?
There is a widely taken believe that most battered wives do not leave while in fact most do. They run for help from the police, social workers, shelters, family members, or friends. Despite leaving, the victims are still vulnerable to their abusive husbands who still try to get to them by stalking, and in worse cases killing them after the fact. The fear of retaliation makes most of the victims of wife battery to stick around. They know what their husbands are capable of and thus do not want to see their fears come true. (Thio, pg 119-120)
Some societies makes the role of women to be that of serving their master who are men and in this case their husbands. Women are treated and taken as the property of their husbands. If you own something, you get to decide what happens to it. Wife beating is more prevalent in patriarchal societies (Thio, pg120)
Poverty, unemployment, drug use, and alcoholism lead men to losing control over their life. (Thio, pg 120) These men feel they have lost control of the power they are supposed to have.
Abuse to the elderly happens at the hands and care of the people they have trusted with their care. These people either knowingly or unknowingly abuse elders in the facilities they reside in. Can you think of situation in which abuse is likely to occur?
New Zealand like many other societies have struggled with defining elder abuse but in its choice of definition, they mention neglect, victim, relationship, and control.
According to Fanslow, J., Hand, J., & Parsons, 2009, the study they did found out that there was a perceived lack of productivity among the elderly. I know this is the reality of things and life but I find that a little off the tracks in that the elderly had their time too. They too were young at one point. They worked and had an impact on the larger society. Ageism is such a vice, while the old might be frail and weak, they too have a life and purpose. (pg 9)
Maybe the biggest explanation there is on the existence and likelihood of Adult children abuse is because most of the care given to the elderly is given at home (live-in). In these settings, there is a lot of stress to the care-giver in the long-term (Thio, pg 124).
The job of care giving is stressful and time consuming. Most of the people who work in these settings have families too, they take care of the elder at work and go home for the same thing. The frustrations rise and stress sets in. The conditions are disabling and long lasting (Thio, pg 125) Daughters of the elderly have been to be more likely to abuse their parents more than the noncaregiving peers. Some caregivers feel the rewards they are getting do not meet what they are expected to do. The pay is not as good nor is enough to meet their needs. In that case, they are more likely to financially exploit the elderly.
Violence all over the world is generally similar in nature. There is no formula on wife beating or financial exploitation of the elderly. People push, pull, slap, and engage in other physical acts that are considered violent.
Haj-Yahia & Uysal , 2008 confirms what we discussed earlier in the mindset of men when they have committed the offense and are trying to deal with the reality that they caused a woman harm. But what is sad here is that these Turkish students by a wide number believe wife beating is okay. As noted earlier, some cultures and society justifiably seem to allow wife beating. The statistics quoted above are astonishing, it is inconcievable that young students would harbor such beliefs while they will be the husbands and leaders of tomorrow.
While there has been a continuous effort to protect women, there are still societies that still welcome violence against women. In Romania for instance, victims of violence do not report to the police on incidents due to their held believe that “they as women deserve to be beaten every now and then” (Thio, pg 128). In most African countries, men pay dowry for their wives putting a stamp on the belief that the wife is the property of the man paying dowry.
Violence against anyone should be treated as a crime. I do not believe there is any one reason why anyone would hurt others then use family as a shield. What do you think? Should family violence committed by a family member be treated differently than violence committed by strangers?
The society has entrusted the police to protecting its citizens. Police can deter abusive husbands but they can also cause a situation to escalate (Thio, pg 130) The justice system tries to reduce violence by making the offenders go through counseling
Lorena Bobbitt gained media attention in 1994 after cutting off her husband’s penis after he raped her. (Thio, 2010)
The offender threatens harm to the victim or threatens them by saying that if the victim doesn’t give them sex the offender will find it elsewhere. (Thio, 2010)Marital rapes occur in forms of forcing the wife to have sex in front of the children, inserting objects into wives private parts, or forcing her to have sex right after being discharged from hospital – usually after giving birth. (Thio, 2010)
These causes are an integral part of the patriarchal society that encourages men to dominate women. (Thio, 2010)Justification leads the wife to blame herself. (Thio, 2010)
Child abuse has been called a national emergency. (Thio, 2010)
Most cases of incest involve fathers as the offender and daughters as the victim. There is no significant difference between the social classes of who commits incest. (Thio, 2010)
Prior to the enactment of the 1974 federal law, Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment act, it was very seldom that anyone came to the aid of these children. (Thio, 2010)Since the mid-1980s, there has been a 48% increase in the number of children have been killed by their parents. (Thio, 2010)Susan Smith, a mother in South Carolina, made national news after pushing her car occupied by her two small boys into a body of water. Neither boy lived. (Thio, 2010)
Abusers are more likely than non-abusers to have emotional, behavioral, familial or interpersonal difficulties. (Thio, 2010)
Problematic interaction between parent and child has been found to increase the risk for child abuse. Problematic interaction becomes apparent when the parent or child has problems that make child care demanding, difficult or stressful. (Thio, 2010)
Those individuals in the lower social classes often don’t have the resources that those in the upper social classes do. (Thio, 2010)Financial issues, being a single parent, sexual difficulties, teen parenthood, etc increase the chances of abuse. (Thio, 2010)
In the exchange theory violence can occur because the offender finds some kind of reward from committing the abuse. (Thio, 2010)
