Domestic violence

Domestic violence, by barest definition, is violence within a home. Beyond this, the term has a range of definitions, some more and some less formal, which are frequently used with little awareness that a range of definitions exists.

Response to domestic violence

The response to domestic violence is typically a combined effort between law enforcement agencies, the courts, social service agencies and corrections/probation agencies. The role of each has evolved as domestic violence has been brought more into public view. Historically, law enforcement agencies, the courts and corrections agencies treated domestic violence as a personal matter. For example, police officers were often reluctant to intervene by making an arrest, and often chose instead to simply counsel the couple and/or ask one of the parties to leave the residence for a period of time. The courts were reluctant to impose any significant sanctions on those convicted of domestic violence, largely because it was viewed as a misdemeanor offense. This mindset of treating family violence as a personal problem of minor consequence permeated the system's response, and potentially allowed the perpetrator to continue acting violently.

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Activism, initiated by victim advocacy groups and feminist groups, has led to a better understanding of the scope and effect of domestic violence on victims and families, and has brought about changes in the criminal justice system's response.

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Background

In 1981, the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project became the first multi-disciplinary program designed to address the issue of domestic violence. This experiment, conducted in Duluth, MN, frequently referred to as the "Duluth Project," involved coordinating the actions of a variety of agencies that deal with domestic situations. The policies and activities of diverse elements of the system, from police officers on the street, to shelters for battered women and probation officers supervising offenders, were coordinated with each other. This program has become a model for other jurisdictions seeking to deal more effectively with domestic violence. More and more jurisdictions are mandating that suspects in domestic violence incidents be arrested if there is probable cause to believe that an assault occurred. Victim advocates are intervening directly with victims by providing them with counseling about the court process, how to obtain and use restraining orders and how to formulate and implement safety plans. Corrections/probation agencies in many areas are supervising domestic violence offenders more closely, and are also paying closer attention to the victim's needs and safety issues.

Related Topics:
1981 - Domestic Abuse Intervention Project - Duluth - MN

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It should be noted, however, that the Duluth framework depends on a strict 'patriarchal violence' model and presumes that all violence in the home and elsewhere has a male perpetrator and female victim. Through what appears to be nothing more than circular reasoning, it explicitly rejects any concept of mutuality or symmetry in abusive relationships, and appears to have little or no basis in relation to proven principles in psychology, education or remedial therapy. (For analysis of these and other fundamental flaws in the Duluth model, and approaches to resolve them, see this article in Nuance Journal of Family Studies.) Hence although the Duluth program is widely used, anecdotal evidence indicates that its record of success has been patchy at best. It may be inappropriate for all but a relatively small number of domestic violence contexts. There is an urgent need for formal review of the Duluth framework, and development of alternative frameworks for use in other contexts.

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Treatment and support

Publicly available resources for dealing with domestic violence have tended to be almost exclusively geared towards supporting women and children who are in relationships with or who are leaving violent men, rather than for survivors of domestic violence per se. This has been due to the purported numeric preponderance of female victims and the perception that domestic violence only affected women. Resources to help men who have been using violence take responsibility for and stop their use of violence, such as Men's Behaviour Change Programs or anger management training, are available, though attendees are ordered to pay for their own course in order that they should remain accountable for their actions.

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One of the challenges for lay observers, victims, perpetrators and treatment providers is demonstrated by the tendency to describe perpetrator treatment as men's "anger management." groups.

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Comprehensive and accountable behaviour change programs are seen as far more appropriate and effective interventions in male violence in the home than anger management groups.

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Inherent in anger management only approaches is the assumption that the violence is a result of a loss of control over one's anger. While there is little doubt that some domestic violence is about the loss of control, the choice of the target of that violence may be of greater significance. Anger management might be appropriate for the individual who lashes out indiscriminately when angry towards coworkers, supervisors or family. In most cases, however, the domestic violence perpetrator lashes out only at their intimate partner or relatively defenseless child, which suggests an element of choice or selection that, in turn, suggests a different or additional motivation beyond simple anger. Most experienced treatment providers have probably observed that for various reasons, many of which may be cultural, the perpetrator has a sense of entitlement, sometimes conscious, sometimes not, that leads directly to their choice of target.

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Men's behaviour change programs, although differing throughout the world, tend to focus on the prevention of further violence within the family and the safety of women and children. Often they obide by various standards of practise that includes 'partner contact' where the participants female partner is contacted by the program and informed about the course, checked about her level of safety and support and offered support services for herself if she requires them. Many of these programs have both a male and female facilitator and follow a program designed to highlight the impact of his behaviour, examine the attitudes, values and behaviours that lead to his choice to use violence and aim to support and challenge the man to take responsibility for his use of violence.

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Work with men who use violence and abuse toward family members can be seen in Victoria, Australia where a unique combination of voluntary and mandated (court or police referred) programs exist as well as a statewide telephone counselling, information and referral service for men exists. see: No To Violence (NTV) the Male Family Violence Prevention Association. http://www.ntv.net.au However, there are no equivalent services in Victoria for women who use violence or abuse, nor any support services at all for abused men. The absence of such services leads to circular claims that no such services are required, and to similarly circular claims that the available services represent proof that violence is exclusively 'male'.

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Police

From the perspective of the police, who are often the first to investigate domestic violence incidents, one of the problems is that the definitions of domestic violence include acts that are not themselves crimes. The London Metropolitan Police has nevertheless compiled a list of the crimes http://www.met.police.uk/enoughisenough/strategy.htm#footnotes which typically can occur when domestic violence occurs. They are:

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• Murder/attempted murder
• Manslaughter
• Rape
• Indecent assault
• Grievous bodily harm/wounding
• Actual bodily harm
• Common assault
• Threats to kill
• Affray
• Threatening behaviour
• Harassment
• Blackmail
• False imprisonment
• Kidnapping
• Criminal damage
• Malicious communications
• Witness intimidation
• Obstructing the course of justice
• Conspiracy to pervert the course of justice

The UK Crown Prosecution Service publishes guidange for prosecution in cases of alleged domestic violence. http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/docs/DomesticViolencePolicy.pdf

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Risk assessment

Policy in the UK since the start of the millennium has been to make a risk assessment when there is a reported incident of domestic violence in order to determine the likelihood of serious harm or further serious harm occurring, regardless of whether an actual crime has been committed. Further proceedings are then based on the outcome of the risk assessment. Some are concerned at the jurisprudence of this approach, because it allows punitive action to be taken against an alleged prepetrator without recourse to a fair trial. The charity Women's Aid proposes that such risk assessments should always be conducted on fathers who wish to see their children after parental separation even where there has been no history of domestic violence:

Related Topics:
Jurisprudence - Women's Aid

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:Women's Aid is concerned that there is no mention of the development of clear protocols to ensure that these measures are not used in cases where there is a known history or future risk of domestic violence. http://www.womensaid.org.uk/policy&consultations/consultationresponses/Parental_separation_full_response.htm

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Well-known individuals involved in documented reports of domestic violence

• O. J. Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson
• Ryan O'Neal and Farrah Fawcett
• Mike Tyson and Robin Givens
• Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson
• James Brown
• Ike Turner and Tina Turner
• Tawny Kitaen and Chuck Finley
• Liza Minnelli and David Gest
• Derren Nesbitt and Anne Aubrey

Noted accusations of domestic violence

• In the 2004 ROC Presidential Election, President Chen Shuibian caused a furor during the presidential debates on 2004, 14 February by stating that unlike other people he does not easily get angry and beat his wife, referring to widely circulated rumors that candidate Lien Chan abuses his wife Lien Fangyu. Lien Chan has refused to address that accusation, but his wife has called into question Chen's moral character for making this accusation in public for political gain.

Domestic violence and culture

Wife beating in Islam

Sheikh Muhammad Kamal Mustafa, the imam of the mosque of the city of Fuengirola, Costa del Sol, Spain, in his book 'The Woman in Islam.' writes, among other things, on wife-beating in accordance with Sharia law.

Related Topics:
Imam - Spain - Sharia

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"The beating must never be in exaggerated, blind anger, in order to avoid serious harm ." He adds, "It is forbidden to beat her on the sensitive parts of her body, such as the face, breast, abdomen, and head. Instead, she should be beaten on the arms and legs," using a "rod that must not be stiff, but slim and lightweight so that no wounds, scars, or bruises are caused." Similarly, " must not be hard." http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=37690

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Mustafa noted in his book that the aim of the beating was to cause the woman to feel some emotional pain, without humiliating her or harming her physically. According to him, wife-beating must be the last resort to which the husband turns in punishing his wife, and is, according to the Qur'an, Chapter 4, Verse 34, the husband's third step when the wife is rebellious: First, he must reprimand her, without anger. Next, he must distance her from the conjugal bed. Only if these two methods fail should the husband turn to beating.

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Sheikh Yousef Qaradhawi, head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, has advocated non-painful wife-beating: "it is permissible for him to beat her lightly with his hands, avoiding her face and other sensitive parts. In no case should he resort to using a stick or any other instrument that might cause pain and injury."

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Dr. Muhammad Al-Hajj, lecturer on Islamic faith at the University of Jordan (Amman) states: "Hard beatings are those that leave marks on the body or on the face. Thus, beating on the face is prohibited, because the face is a combination of the features of beauty, as it is said. It is forbidden to beat the face, it is forbidden to administer blows that leave fractures or wounds this is what our sages have said in their books."

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While some Muslims interpret the Koran to allow the beating of wives, many other Muslims interpret the scripture to say "leave" the wife, not beat her.

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http://www.answering-christianity.com/beating_no.htm

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Hindu/Indian culture

See also:

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• Sati
• dowry

Further reading

• Linda G. Mills, Linda Mills, Insult to Injury: Rethinking Our Responses to Intimate Abuse, Princeton University Press, September 2003, hardcover, 304 pages, ISBN 0691096392

See also

• Allegations of domestic violence
• Cycle of abuse
• Spousal abuse
• Women's Aid
• Castle Rock v. Gonzales
• Kin selection

Institutions

Maitri is a free, confidential, nonprofit organization based in the San Francisco Bay Area, that helps South Asian women facing domestic violence, emotional abuse or family conflict or crisis. They also address to victims from LGBT Violence, Teen Violence, Dating Violence, Elder Abuse and Violence on Children. They have recently started a Support Group and provide Individual Counseling for their victims.

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External links

• Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting (RADAR)
• VAWnet, The National Online Resource Center on Violence Against Women- U.S.A.
• Mother Jones article in 1999 looking at underlying causes
• Women's Aid Report "Twenty-nine child homicides: Lessons still to be learnt on domestic violence and child protection" (13 Dec 2004)
• BBC DV Fact File
• WomensLaw.org
• Hot Peach Pages: Domestic Violence Agencies World-Wide
• EarthWords: Domestic Violence Information in over 70 Languages
• Stop Abuse For Everyone's resource list (resources for abused men, women, gay and lesbian, elderly, teens, etc..)
• The Duluth Wheel domestic-violence re-education programme: a revised methodology for generic use (A formal analysis of fundamental flaws in the Duluth model, and suggested revisions to make it usable for resolution of all domestic-violence and related contexts.)
• Blain Nelson's Abuse Pages (abuse website created by the author of the bulk of this article)
• Honor Killings in Palestine
• Articles about domestic abuse and violence
• Spousal and Domesic Violence
• DesertLight Journal Tracks articles in traditional and new media related to the issue
• Domestic Violence and Abuse: Types, Signs, Symptoms, Causes, and Effects
• Domestic Violence and Abuse: Help, Treatment, Intervention, and Prevention
• Lundy Bancroft on Domestic Abuse and Children - A collection of articles related to the batterer as parent and impact of domestic violence on children.
• Blind to the Molesting Hands - an online autobiography.