...Abstract This paper addresses females as perpetrators and instigators of domestic violence. As early as 1974, Richard Gelles was cautioning social workers, police, and women’s groups that they needed to consider the possibility that women are indeed perpetrators of domestic violence and that they may actually deliberately instigate many cases of domestic violence. Unfortunately, the same women’s groups who rallied unceasingly to protect women and children who suffer the effects of the violence have failed to recognize that women do, indeed, hold some responsibility in the perpetration. There is a difference between blaming the victim, and empowering the victim. By accepting responsibility for actions that contribute to the perpetration of violence, we can cease to be victims and begin to be equal partners. 1 The Social Environment Surrounding Domestic Abuse The woman’s movement has been slow to embrace the concept that women can be abusers. For many years, the women’s movement in general – and specifically women’s community groups that support shelters – have taught women that they have a right to live life free of abuse by their male domestic partners. Unfortunately, we as a nation have failed to communicate the other half of this etiology: men have a right to live life free of abuse by their female domestic partners. For various reasons that will be discussed in this paper, treatment providers and law enforcement agencies have been slow to recognize the extent of the level...
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...Running Head: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Crisis Reaction Paper SW 521 Lisa Moffett Rosie Thomas Domestic Violence Intimate partner violence (IPV) in the United States continues to be a growing public health concern. Research reveals that 1 in 4 women have experienced domestic violence in her lifetime; 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner yearly and 85% of domestic violence victims are women (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000). According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a problem that affects millions of Americans. The term "intimate partner violence" describes physical, sexual, or psychological harm by a current or former partner or spouse. The violence can occur among heterosexual or same-sex couples and does not require sexual intimacy (http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/intimatepartnerviolence/index.html). Intimate partner violence affects people all socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, age gender, religion and sexual orientation. The purpose of this paper is to provide a case scenario of a person who has experienced domestic violence. The paper will also discuss the role of the crisis worker, the crisis intervention method appropriate for addressing the needs of the client and the theoretical basis of the intervention. Case Scenario Tina is a 17 year-old African American female referred by the Victim Advocate at a local emergency room. Tina was thrown from her boyfriend’s car during...
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...Domestic Violence Nursing March,05, 2012 Abstract Domestic violence is steadily becoming one of the most major menaces to women's health. Domestic abuse during pregnancy is a serious issue which affects not just the mother, but the unborn child as well. Domestic violence occurs across all racial and ethnic groups, affecting females who are most frequently the victims. Women with unintended or unwanted pregnancies are at a higher risk for experiencing physical abuse than women with planned pregnancies. Domestic violence does not discriminate across the lines of nationality, culture, gender or race. An alarming fact is that in the United States domestic abuse has been found to be the single most common precursor to children's death (Lomas & Fowler, 2010). Keywords: domestic violence, pregnancy, abuse, battery, assault Domestic Violence Introduction Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive, coercive, and threatening behavior that may include emotional, physical, sexual violence, isolation, economic, and coercion as well as intimidation (Newacheck & Halfon, 2007). It occurs in both heterosexual and homosexual relationships. Domestic violence especially violence against pregnant women, is still a shamed subject despite the fact that it is a severe public health issue that threatens both the unborn child and the mother's outcome. Women who are assaulted while pregnant are at a greater risk for putting off health care needs. Domestic violence allows the...
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...partner violence (IPV) is a prevalent issue in the United States that researchers have studied closely, and advocates have attempted to help create a large span of awareness along with prevention techniques that can be utilized by the general public and the criminal justice system. The predictors and correlates of physical, psychological and sexual maltreatment of women are varying. There is not any specific set of factors or characteristics that determines who abuses and who is a victim of abuse, but research has shown that there are similarities between cases and have acknowledged certain dynamics that likely contribute to male aggression and the victimization of women in interpersonal relationships. Over time, as an increasing number...
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...comes to Domestic violence, there is an automatic thought of just physical abuse. In an online course given by Innovative Educational Services, the course instructor defines domestic violence as “A pattern of coercive behavior designed to exert power and control over a person in an intimate relationship through the use of intimidating, threatening, harmful, or harassing behavior.” When hearing the words “Domestic Violence” people minds imagine a man abusing a woman in the worst way. Although women are the most effected by domestic violence, they are not the only ones that can be affected. Do individuals stop and think about a man playing the role as a victim? What about children that grows up in the household where domestic violence...
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...Vazaskia V. Crockrell-Caldwell Prof. Margaret Griesse T SOC 455: Sociology of Gender 8 December 2014 Domestic Violence in the Lives of Black Women in the U.S. This essay will explore the cause and impact of domestic violence in the lives of black women in the U.S. It will provide general information, such as the definition of domestic violence, statistics, and resources to help survivors leave domestic violence relationships. Following the review of the literature I identify areas which need further research. Since I can remember black women have been characterized as mean and argumentative, but also strong and self-sacrificing for their families. Black families on TV were always portrayed as single mother households. In my community there was also a reoccurring reality of domestic violence against women. This was is in direct contrast to stereotypes I heard about white women, who were portrayed as weak, frail and needing to be protected. Examples include June Cleaver on Leave it to Beaver and the Brady Bunch. But what justified the brutality of domestic violence against black women then and now? In 2011, black females were murdered at a rate more than two and a half times higher than white females: 2.61 per 100,000 versus 0.99 per 100,000. [1] In the U.S. domestic violence against black women has escalated. In 2010, Marissa Alexander an African American woman shot a warning shot at the wall in order to scare Rico Gray, her estranged, abusive...
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...SWK 201Kirven DOMESTIC VIOLENCE According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 2003-2012 domestic violence accounted for 21% of all violent crimes in the U.S. and of those crimes 76% of the victims were female and 75% of the victimizers were current or former spouses, boyfriends or girlfriend. This is an interesting topic to me because it is an issue that crosses racial, socioeconomic, religious, and cultural lines. It is an often unreported crime that occurs in every community with sometimes long term and devastating effects. This topic is important to me because I myself was a 2 time victim of domestic violence. The first occurred with my children’s father whose physical, mental and emotional abuse towards me began early and increased over time, until I ended it by severing our relationship ties. The second was a former boyfriend who stalked and harassed me for almost 2 years, until he was finally arrested and served a year in jail. No one would have ever suspected that I would have experienced such things, especially because a lot, perhaps too many of the incidences went unreported and were covered up by me, the victim. Historically, women have been viewed as the property of a man, be it their father, husband or brother and because of that they have endured countless forms of chastisement. These disciplinary actions can run the gambit from beatings to mutilations to even death. But more important the effects of this behavior reaches beyond the victims and victimizers...
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...of Community Services & Revitalization * Describe the advocacy role this individual plays within the agency. * * Founded in 1991, Office for Women (OFW) uses policy and advocacy to improve the status * of women in the Louisville Metro area. Office for Women works to ensure women have access to the resources and information necessary for self-sufficiency and self-determination. Therefore, OFW focuses on issues related to violence against women, women’s physical and mental health, social and economic well-being, and community engagement. * Describe the populations served by this agency. * * Women in the Louisville Metro area/Jefferson County, KY with specific focus on women in poverty, immigrant/refugee/limited English speaking women and victims of dating & intimate partner violence. * Describe an advocacy model or template that is used with each population. Is the advocate speaking on behalf of the client or assisting the client in speaking for himself or herself? * * OFW follows a model of empowerment where persons are not blamed but provided information and tools for making decisions and changes. * * OFW does not advocate for specific clients receiving direct services. For example: OFW’s only direct service program is the Supervised Visitation & Exchange Center funded primarily through a Safe Havens federal grant from the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). These services are overseen by OFW and contracted...
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...real life victims. Second, this paper will discuss how victimology is different from criminology, sociology and psychology. This paper will also discuss hate crimes, the first safe house for battered women, children’s rights groups. Finally, this paper will also discuss organizations that provide advocacy for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and homicides. Introduction to Victimology Victimology is the study of victims of crime and the interactions between the victim and the perpetrator (victimology, 2006). Victimology is to investigate the victims role in the commission of crimes and sometimes the psychological effect those crimes have on the victims (victimology, 2007). Today’s criminal justice system is a fairly new appearance, in the middle ages victims themselves were responsible for dealing with criminals on their own as there were no authorities to enforce the law. Murder has always been unacceptable behavior, but it was always up to the victims or their survivors to determine the course of action to be taken against the person committing the crime. In 2200 B.C.E. was when Law of Moses, the Code of Hammurabi and Roman law all consisted of elements to individual responsibility for harms committed against others (Doerner & Lab, 2008). It was until the 1940’s that the criminal justice system decided to not only focus their time in trying to understand the criminal activity and criminal behavior but to focus on the victim and possibly...
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...Child Exposure to a Batterer’s Violence: A Proposal for Research Melanie Dowling & Sandra van den Bosse University of Minnesota - Duluth Advanced Research, SW 8102 Dennis Falk July 17, 2007 Introduction Although child exposure to domestic violence is quite prevalent, a review of academic literature reveals few studies focused on the experiences of children living with a batterer’s violence. The search did not reveal any studies that focus on how children experienced an intervention by the child welfare community. Further research is needed to provide a voice for the victims and fill the information gap that currently exists. This research study will focus on the lived experiences of children exposed to domestic violence and the interventions, if any, they received. The intervention might have come from a child protection worker, a teacher, or a shelter program advocate. Uncovering this information will provide useful considerations for current and future interventions. Ultimately, it can lead to determining best practices. An intervention should be “just right” for each specific child and reduce any further trauma. Additionally, the intervention should allow the child to have a better understanding of domestic violence, provide more safety, encourage resiliency, and strengthen the bond with the non-offending parent, who is a victim as well. By interviewing adults who were exposed to a batterer’s violence as a child, but later decided to enter the child welfare ...
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...countries. Here, Frances Olsen presents one of her articles from within this burgeoning field. The topic of “private/public” has been actively debated in various scholarly discourses for many years. The factors such as the protection of individual decisional autonomy (private) from state regulation (public), and the preservation of communal interests (public) vis-à-vis personal pursuits (private) creates a conceptual tension. The present article particularly deals with the attempts of the female critiques/ advocates to challenge and even eliminate the distinction between private and public spheres. Frances Olsen presents the arguments of the feminists’ critiques of the public private divide that in many situations, this divide disadvantages women and the institutions with which women are traditionally associated such as the family. The author further says that by classifying family as ‘private’ the public private distinction often serve to shield abuse such as domestic violence. Domestic violence is illegal in every state. However, confusion about whether this is a public or private problem has not disappeared. I take this review to be the perfect pretext for me to talk about a philosophical issue that I am most fond of, namely the distinction between public and private sphere by feminist critiques. In the present days, there has been significant shift in approach to woman’s advancement and empowerment. So it would be interesting to note down the distinction which exists between...
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...* * * Global Perspective What Causes Domestic Violence? Domestic violence may start when one partner feels the need to control and dominate the other. Abusers may feel this need to control their partner because of low self-esteem, extreme jealousy, difficulties in regulating anger and other strong emotions, or when they feel inferior to the other partner in education and socioeconomic background. Some men with very traditional beliefs may think they have the right to control women, and that women aren’t equal to men. This domination then takes the form of emotional, physical or sexual abuse. Studies suggest that violent behavior often is caused by an interaction of situational and individual factors. That means that abusers learn violent behavior from their family, people in their community and other cultural influences as they grow up. They may have seen violence often or they may have been victims themselves. Children who witness or are the victims of violence may learn to believe that violence is a reasonable way to resolve conflict between people. Boys who learn that women are not to be valued or respected and who see violence directed against women are more likely to abuse women when they grow up. Girls who witness domestic violence in their families of origin are more likely to be victimized by their own husbands. Alcohol and other chemical substances may contribute to violent behavior. A drunk or high person will be less likely to control his or her...
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...countries is patriarchal. Men have the power and control the women. If you don't believe that consider the basics of how our society functions. Women constantly must fight for their rights and sometimes they struggle just to survive without the power and domination of men threatening them. Whether an individual woman wants to conquer patriarchy will come from her desire to be independent and defined outside the context of men. Look to most world leaders to see how powerful patriarchy is. Women are certainly as capable as men to be President of the United States, yet they are not and probably won't be any time soon. Men have been in that role for so long that our country probably does not believe it is possible. Consider who is typically at the head of a company or leaders in local governments. While certainly more women are fulfilling these roles, it is a constant struggle for the ones who are able to achieve that success with men having much more power just by their biological nature. Men have not had to fight for their place in society like women have. It has been an expectation that they will become leaders because that is what patriarchy is about. Much of patriarchy also has its roots in Christianity. Religions which believe the Bible or other religious text often follow it faithfully by its every word which puts the men in charge. The Bible which most Christians live by states boldly that women should be submissive to men. With that in mind and those beliefs instilled in...
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...Earlier this year a law which decriminalizes domestic abuse in Russia came into effect. The law ensures, unless the victim requires hospital treatment, a first-time offender will not face a prison sentence, having only to pay a fine between $80 and $700. This law not only minimizes the effects of violence within the family for victims, but also overlooks psychological and sexual abuse. Domestic abuse constitutes an act which results in physical, sexual, or psychological harm, and most women in Russia have experienced it. Annually between 12,000 and 14,000 Russian women die due to domestic violence; one woman every 40 minutes (Брынцева). The culture of domestic abuse in Russia continues to flourish because of folklore and the cult of the church...
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...Abstract This paper describes the definition of violence against women and how it affects society. It also discusses common forms of individual violence against women in the world such as sexual assault, intimate partner abuse (also known as domestic violence), murder, and other legal and cultural customs which physically harm women. This paper also describes societal violence against women, structural forms of discrimination or depravation that affect women as a class. Introduction This paper reviews individual and societal forms of violence against women that occur in the United States and throughout the world. Its purpose is to assist readers in recognizing and managing these phenomena and to encourage them to advocate locally and nationally for solutions to violence issues facing women worldwide. Violence against women is a technical term used to refer to violent acts which are primarily committed against women. Similar to a hate crime, this type of violence targets a specific group with the victim's gender as a primary motive. It includes physical, emotional, economic, financial, sexual, and spiritual abuse due to their gender. The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1993, defines violence against women as “any act of gender based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion...
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