Domestic violence is defined as a pattern of abusive behaviour in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or retain authority and control over another partner. Domestic violence can be physical, emotional, economic, psychological or sexual actions or threats of actions that impact another person. Domestic violence is commonly inflicted on women though men too suffer domestic violence. Most Sociologists would attribute domestic violence towards social causes rather than psychological. The police play a key part in dealing with domestic violence however, they’re frequently subjected to criticism due to the method used when countering to the issue. Several feel the police don't take domestic violence calls as serious because police involvement would be improper in which some may consider being a family issue. Nevertheless, others claim that since the police are vital members in society and are the initial point of communication when violence ensues, they should see it as urgency and reply in an appropriate way to instances of domestic violence. Official reports show that one in four women will experience domestic violence, and one in eight repeatedly experience the crime. Russell and Rebecca Dobash established these instances can be started by what the husband saw as a contest to their power such as a wife complaining at the husband for neglecting her. The Dobash’s feel that marriage justifies violence against women talk command and power on husbands and reliance on wives. They highlight three characteristics of culture that sculpt domestic abusers.
History – British husbands beating their wives was seen as normal. The idea of the troublesome wife continues to stand as an explanation for beating them.
Patriarchy – Dominance of men over women, previously wife beating was not seen as serious as many were unwilling to halt the maintenance a family. Russell claimed that the police take no action because many police officers are male and corroborate with the male abuser. However, this is not the circumstance anymore and current attitudes are now more concerned towards abused women.
Socialisation – From an initial age girls are more restrained and looked after whilst boys are persuaded to be more independent. This primary socialization demonstrates girls to be more obedient and submissive.
This implies that because woman are sculpted to behave a certain way from an early age and because common male dominance seen throughout society in present day women are seen to be more easily intimidated which can be a contributing factor towards domestic violence in society. This also presents why women are more often victims of domestic violence because as girls are taught to be less independent than boys meaning they are more reliant on their male counterparts which makes them more likely to be intimidated by their male partners.
Radical feminist’s dispute that domestic is evidence of patriarchy. They say that domestic violence is an expected result of a patriarchal society, and works to keep control that men have over women. They imply that male power in the workplace supports the issue, and shows why the police are hesitant to solve issues of domestic issues. Feminists tend to feel social messages contribute towards the use of violence from males. They believe the causes of domestic violence as the result of living in a society that ignores partner violence committed by men, while teaching women to be peaceful. Feminist however, do not reject that females can too be violent in their relations with men yet, they don’t see woman being violent to men as a true social so therefore, it shouldn’t permit as much attention.
The gender dispute in domestic violence is based on whether there are as many abused males than. A common view in society is that females are more frequently victims of domestic violence and that men commit most cases. This dispute is called the gender symmetry argument. Males tend not to report cases when they have committed the domestic violence and women similarly do not report cases when they have been the victim. Women don’t freely report their spouse's violence because of economic reliance on the abusive partner, it is common for the victim to almost brush off their partners by blaming themselves or thinking their partner truly loves them. In difference, men don’t report their violence because they want to avoid being prosecuted by the law, they choose to blame their partner. Even in some societies across the world men in households are seen to be leaders so domestic violence towards would not be seen as a major deal. This presents the role gender plays in domestic violence in society because there are different reasons for the violence not being reported. This conveys that men seem to know what they are doing is wrong and quickly try to convince themselves it is the women’s fault whereas women blame do not see what the males are doing as wrong but then again having realised what is happening is wrong they struggle to escape because of financial reasons.
An initial thought of some was that domestic violence was only common to some mentally ill individuals however this was shown to be untrue. Domestic violence was presented to highlight for a sixth of crime in the UK. 99% of this violence to women was committed by a male, however one in seven men will experience domestic violence and one in twenty experiences this type of violence repeatedly. Kathryn Coleman established that women are more likely to have experienced the four types of abuse: Partner, sexual, family abuse and stalking. This explains that domestic violence is not by chance but surveys actual social patterns and these patterns have social causes. Official figures for instances of domestic violence play down the problem because the victims are hesitant to outline in incidents to the police. Also a report from Stephanie Yearnshire shows women will suffer an average of 35 attacks before reporting the crime. This presents a pattern of fear installed by the abuser because they make the victim feel it is their fault therefore, they shouldn’t report the crime and the fear of the victim it could get worse if they report the crime.
In conclusion, when examining the patterns of, and reasons for domestic violence in society, it can be seen that the reasons for domestic violence follow a social pattern because of social causes. Dobash’s theory seems to show the challenge of authority towards the male whilst radical feminists believe lean towards social patterns by men in workplace and women having a lower standing in society. A view widely shared by many sociologists is that stress is the main cause of domestic violence due to social inequality