Domestic Violence

"In the 1960s and 1970s, facilitated by the women’s movement (Walker 1990, Reppucci & Haugaard, 1993), the silence surrounding the prevalence and impact of physical and sexual violence perpetrated against women by their male intimate partners was broken. Initially, a variety of terms were created (and used interchangeably) to name the violence that occurs ‘behind closed doors’. These included: ‘battered women’, ‘wife abuse’, and ‘wife beating’ (Walker 1990). [...] In the 1980s and 1990s, it became apparent that despite the gendered (male) nature of violence in intimate relationships, males were also being assaulted in the home by their female partners, and violence also occurred in gay and lesbian relationships. The term ‘domestic violence’ was introduced as a gender-neutral term that could encompass all potential forms of spousal or relationship violence (Flitcraft 1997). [...] Like the term ‘child abuse’ or ‘child maltreatment’ however, (Parton 1979; Giovannoni 1989; Goddard & Carew 1993; National Research Council 1993; Tomison 1997a), there is no universally accepted definition of ‘domestic violence’, although a shared understanding is often assumed (Domestic Violence and Incest Resource Centre [DVIRC] 1998). Thus, the phenomenon of domestic violence is ‘constantly being socially created in language, and its meaning may not be one that is shared between researchers and participants . . . Indeed, some research reports pay scant attention to definitions at all, as if the words used need little explanation or reflective analysis’ (DVIRC 1998:7). By way of illustration, a recent Australian study found that the prevalence of domestic (spousal) violence varied from 2 to 28 per cent, mainly as a function of the definition of the behaviour that was measured (Hegarty & Roberts 1998). [...] More recently it has been contended that ‘domestic violence’ is used as a global term that encompasses all violence within the family setting (eg. spousal violence, sibling abuse, elder abuse, parent abuse [the abuse of parents by older children] (Queensland Domestic Violence Task Force 1988; Flitcraft 1997). As a result, the term ‘partner abuse’ has been re-adopted to some extent as the term to describe violence in adult intimate social relationships. Yet in Australia, the term ‘domestic violence’ is more commonly equated with the violence perpetrated by one partner upon the other..." (National Child Protection Clearing House, http://www.aifs.org.au/nch/issues13.html)
  1. Violence Against Women
  2. Violence Against Men
  3. Violence Against Children
  4. Domestic Violence & Health
  5. Domestic Violence Statistics: Australia, Britain, Canada, United States
  6. Message Board: Domestic Violence Survivors
"Much less is known about the incidence of children witnessing domestic violence compared with the relationship between domestic violence and other forms of child maltreatment — particularly child physical abuse (Osofsky 1995). Using national surveys of family violence, it is estimated that each year in the United States between 3.3 and 10 million children are at risk of witnessing incidents of verbal and physical domestic violence (ranging from insults to hitting to severe or fatal assaults) (Carlson 1984; Jaffe, Wolfe & Wilson 1990)." (Links Between Child Maltreatment and Family Violence, Adam Tomison, Aifs.org)
  1. Violence Against Children
  2. Child Protection Statistics:   Australia

Social Acceptance

"It's easy to critique the legal system, which is not perfect and can, in fact, improve. But that system can't change our biases. Only we can. Unfortunately, our cultural values reveal our resistance to change. And certain facts about our culture, like facts about the judiciary, are obscured by nebulous but popular notions. [...] Many things cause domestic violence. But the popular notion is that sexism plays a minor or non-existent role in this crime. Some say that women are full partners in society, that many millennia of subjugation of women has essentially vanished, that this historical bias no longer helps propel men to abuse. But if we'd really come such a long way, our culture would spurn "entertainment" that not only degrades women but also glibly celebrates their death. The popular notion is that our culture has shed its bias against women. To see contradictory facts, look no further than the immensely popular rap sensation called Eminem. [...] Eminem's debut album, which appeared last year [several years ago] and was called "The Slim Shady LP," dwelled on fantasies of drugging, raping and killing women. Eminem glorifies this violence angrily, repulsively and remorselessly. His second album includes "Kill You," a song about his mother. Therein, he keeps yelling, "Bitch, I'ma kill you!" After musing over his mother's murder, Eminem expresses his desire to rape and kill all other "bitches." [...] He also performs a murder reverie called "Kim," named after his estranged wife. Toward the end of this excruciating rant, he tells Kim to "shut up," to "get what's coming to you. You were supposed to love me." (Here there are sounds of Kim choking.) "Now bleed! Bitch bleed! Bleed! Bitch bleed! Bleed!" On stage, Eminem performs "Kim" as he attacks a blow-up doll that represents his wife..." (Clint Talbott, Daily Camera Columnist, BoulderNews.com)

"Prime-Time TV Sweeps Women to All-Time Lows [...] For a long time TV has cast women in one of three basic roles: bimbo, bitch or ball buster. [...] We have hit a new low, with what Jennifer Pozner, director of Women in Media and News, describes as "the cultural arm of the backlash against women." Of course reality TV doesn't actually have much to do with reality. Writers and producers typically have a "show arc" already written and wait for a "moment" to film what they already expect or want to happen. Much of the time they are looking for embarrassing behavior, mean-spirited talk and tirades with words they can bleep. What reality TV producers like is pitting women against each other. Forget the cooperation and consensus-seeking behaviors for which women are better known and which a growing body of social-science research supports. (Sandra Kobrin, WeNews commentator, http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm?aid=3145)

Young Men As Allies

"Gender research suggest that for almost all issues, boys are more concerned with what other boys think and do than with what girls think and do. They look to their peers and men as models for shaping their own behavior as boys. At the same time research also show that boys are often witness to the abusive behaviors of other boys and are often uncomfortable with these behaviors. School prevention programs can validate this discomfort and help boys express their opposition to abusive behavior when they do witness it." (EndAbuse.org)
Excerpt from CONFERENCES, Violence Against Women
Week 3: Reducing Prevalence; Male Involvement in reducing VAW
http://esaconf.un.org/~review-women-violence/guests

"In addition to addressing what men "should" be doing, it is equally important for us to track what some men are already doing to redress gender injustice and violence against women. It does seem to me that just as women were empowered through an increase and expansion of knowledge about their worlds and their own forms of creative power, it is necessary to enhance the knowledge of male support, of men's resistance toward patriarchal structures, and men's own reflections on VAW. From this perspective, knowledge is a form of politics that can enable resistance to violence and violent practice and counteract the view that violence is "normal". The circulation of knowledge that uncovers the source of support and posits alternate formations of masculinity is a powerful way of resisting violence."

Radhika Chopra, Reader, Department of Sociology, University of Delhi

End Abuse.org
Men Stopping Violence.org : Men Stopping Violence works locally, nationally, and internationally to dismantle belief systems, social structures, and institutional practices that oppress women and children and dehumanize men themselves.

Men Can Stop Rape.org : Men Can Stop Rape mobilizes male youth to prevent men's violence against women. We build young men's capacity to challenge harmful aspects of traditional masculinity, to value alternative visions of male strength, and to embrace their vital role as allies with women and girls in fostering healthy relationships and gender equity.

Men's Resource Center : The quarterly magazine of the Men's Resource Center for Change (MRC), Voice Male, is a unique voice chronicling the social transformation of masculinity. Its male positive, pro-feminist, gay-affirmative, anti-racist approach, invites a range of voices promoting healthy manhood and challenging violence. Columns on fathering, youth, men of color, men who have survived abuse or neglect, gay/bisexual and questioning men, and men's health, are augmented by feature stories on a range of topics from male violence in sports to pornography's manipulation of men; from how men cope with losing their fathers to how women and men can work together for social justice and gender reconciliation.

National Organization for Men Against Sexism : The simple truth is that oppression of gays, homophobia, women's oppression, and men's numerous sex role burdens and wounds are all part of the institution of patriarchy. Each injustice associated with sex contributes to all of the others. All oppressions are linked, and a consciousness of any oppression leads to an awareness of them all.