Victim-survivors who leave an abusive relationship are often the ones to garner praise and support. For those women who may choose to stay or may reenter the relationship after leaving are considered unknowledgeable, as having low self-esteem and having been in a learned state of helplessness. These assumptions are personal values and expectations that are then performed and acted out unto others.
If domestic violence is effectively viewed through the lens of an institutional framework in which we understand the pillars for which upholds it—regulative, normative, and cognitive structures—and the ways in which individual values and expectations influence policy and enforcement (and vice versa), then domestic violence policy and enforcement …show more content…
Through an institutional lens, regulative, normative, and cognitive structures are interwoven to create a complete system that provides stability to social behaviors dependent upon the institution in question (Walters, 2010). Individual actors help in constructing and maintaining it in a myriad of ways within a cyclical system—each structure works to legitimize and strengthen other structures within. By understanding this structure, a more effective policy can be created to combat …show more content…
The family that victim blames, the police that left without arresting the abuser, and the social understandings of abuse affects personal values and principles. Taking in the social understandings of other beings, whether that be a person or an organization, becomes internalized and projected outwards. Policies directed towards ending or reducing IPV must recognize and understand the institution that makes it thrive and resistant to change. Furthermore, policies must understand the cyclical nature of the pillars—our personal engrained values and beliefs affect our actions as well as others that then influence policies and enforcement. While many of the structures discussed exist in older abuse discourse, it would be illogical to suggest it no longer lingers within society as it is today.
Rational Choice