Women in abusive relationships: patterns and support strategies

Women Abuse

Abuse of Women: A Legal and Social Problem

The problem of domestic violence in the United States is both pervasive and historically omnipresent. Though its definition has often been subject to extreme variation -- even with state and federal laws in the U.S. containing widely divergent qualifications of terminology -- domestic abuse has nonetheless shown itself to be a real and self-perpetuating condition in the American family and community. Domestic violence is usually a term used to describe physical assault or sexual assault levied by a family member, romantic partner, caretaker or acquaintance against such a relation. This typically is a crime which is committed against women or children, most often by husbands or fathers respectively. That is less exclusive than conditional upon commonality however, as domestic violence may also describe such violence against men. In spite of this broad definition, domestic abuse has always been a challenge to prevent or even detect. It is thus that the problem of abusive relationships, and particularly of those which target women, persist both on a social level and on a legal level. The latter of these dimensions denotes a failure on the part of law enforcement agencies and legislation to fully and consistently address the issue and the former of these dimensions indicates a continued patriarchy which allows for the social obscuration of many incidences of violence against women. This in turn creates a pressing public health issue to be discussed and examined in greater detail through the proposed study.

Indeed, regardless of evidence that it is a broad sociological problem, "sparse data exists on the number of domestic violence cases that arrive in the criminal justice system and what happens to them once they get there. The federal government and a majority of the states collect statistics on domestic violence, but there are wide variations in how each jurisdiction defines offenses, determines what is counted, and measures or reports incidents." (Hannah, 4) Thus, it is seen that we have yet to unify our efforts as a nation at eliminating this harmful iniquity.

Such is not a result only of legislative neglect and bureaucracy. In fact, there are far more pertinent reasons for the historical incapacity of law-enforcement to properly deal with the problem. The U.S. tradition for contending with domestic violence has been one of non-intervention. It had long been held that a man had the right to provide discipline for his household, affording him the luxury to beat his servants, children and spouse when necessity dictated. Such a standard, though outdated by most degrees of legal and ethical collective conscience, has nonetheless helped to reinforce impunity to the law for men guilty of the crime. The core problem at the heart of the research here proposed is to establish that abuse remains a crucial legal and social problem that contributes directly to emotional distress, psychological dysfunction and mental disorder in its victims. The independent variable of this study is the presence of domestic abuse against women, which will be a determinant presence in those selected for study participation. The dependent variable of the study is the presence of psychological distress, disorder or dysfunction as a result of said abuse.

The problem of domestic violence, our research demonstrates, is directly tied to a culture with inherently patriarchal tendency. This is why the "U.S. tradition for contending with domestic violence has been one of non-intervention. It had long been held that a man had the right to provide discipline for his household, affording him the luxury to beat his servants, children and spouse when necessity dictated. Such a standard, though outdated by most degrees of legal and ethical collective conscience, has nonetheless helped to reinforce impunity to the law for men guilty of the crime. As recently as 2004, an article by Goelman denotes that "when American courts began to repudiate the right of marital chastisement, they granted abusive husbands effective immunity to criminal prosecution on the grounds of marital privacy." (Goelman, 1)

Most of the studies which will be channeled into the final research endeavor show compelling and statistically lopsided evidence that women who are victims of abuse are likely to experience some degree of psychological distress or disorder in the long-term. A study by Butter (2006) uses a literature review compiled of statistical evidence which helps to reinforce the primary argument of this proposal. Namely, Butter finds that "women who live in violent households experience intense feelings of fear, panic, and anxiety (Jones 87). Many experience feelings of depression and shame, because they feel guilty about staying in their current situation (Jones 87)." (Butter, 1) This contributes an important point concerning the cyclical nature of abuse and psychological distress, with the victim often retreating into a depressed and insecure emotional state that will prevent her from extricating herself from the situation. This, in turn, becomes a cause for a further sense of isolation. A limitation of this study is its reliance upon a bulk of research which is driven by anecdotal and discursive rather than quantitative literature.

This means that it is best supplemented by such studies as that provided by an Abuse, Rape and Domestic Violence Aid and Resource Collection (2008), which employs statistical findings from prior research to further its claims as to the direct connection between abuse and psychological trauma. As this source denotes, among those surveyed in prior studies, "depression remains the foremost response, with 60% of battered women reporting depression (Barnett, 2000)." (AARDVARC, 1) These statistical claims are supported by the indication that there is also a heightened risk of suicide in women who have suffered thusly, with 25% of suicide attempts by Caucasian women and 50% of suicide attempts by African-American women preceded by abuse (Fischbach & Herbert, 1997)." (AARDVARC, 1) These are compelling statistical claims which provide a firm empirical backbone to the claims of the proposed research.

The subject is also provided with a useful definitional framework for abuse and its relationship to emotional trauma. Here, Belmonte (2007) denotes that "domestic abuse, also known as spousal abuse, occurs when one person in an intimate relationship or marriage tries to dominate and control the other person. An abuser doesn't "play fair." He or she uses fear, guilt, shame, and intimidation to wear you down and gain complete power over you." (Belmonte, 1)

This is why the legislative efforts of the early 1990's were so important to the progress of women's rights in the U.S. Without receiving proper attention from institutional sources of social service or legal treatment, the problem of domestic violence had achieved by this point intractable bindings to the fabric of our culture and of our family unit. What had once been enabled and ignored had come to light in a bevy of "highly complex social problems that require multifaceted solutions characterized by a high degree of innovation and flexibility." (Kelly, 1)

In 1994, the federal government initiated an active attempt to pinpoint this very difficult to diagnose, prosecute and prevent civil crisis. The nature of the crime is often so personal and subject to the emotional entanglements of the victim and perpetrator that its legal ramifications are quite complicated. As a result, this 1994 Bill attempted to focus on prevention through outreach to the victims. The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) designated that federal dollars be earmarked for programs which could provide a sensitive but much needed intervention. By giving battered women a chance to find alternative shelter, counseling on legal rights and options for evasion of domestic conditions which could be hazardous and potentially even deadly, its aim bore an apparent slant toward social service rather than law enforcement or the improvement of judicial deterrence. Among its provisions, the legislation, "created a national domestic violence hotline and allocated substantial funds for . . .programs to increase outreach to rural women. (MAHR, 1) This was an important leap in contending with the cultural elements of domestic violence, which had been enabled for so long by an institutional neglect of the patriarchal central government to rectify a crisis predominantly facing women and children. Long relegated by their lack of governmental representation, such individuals had gained powerful advocacy by lobby groups and feminist rights organization by the 1990s, a time when such had emerged as prime players in the political process.

Such means have proved a template for addressing the social roots of the issue. Over the evolution of its existence, the VAWA has been used as a launch-pad for emphasizing emergent issues of violence in the home or amongst familiars. This is illustrated in the changes which have arisen in the decade since the legislation first was adopted. In 2005, Congress approved a legislative reauthorization of the original Bill. "The legislation was the result of a bipartisan effort of Senator Biden, and co-sponsors Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT)." (Park, 1)

In spite of these heartening indicators, though, there continues to be a telling imbalance in the makeup of the crime's victims. "Incidence estimates reveal that women experience nearly 1 million victimizations per year at the hands of their spouse or an intimate partner (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2000), and one in every three women in this country will experience intimate violence in their lifetime (Koss et al., 1994)." (Salazar, 253) This is not just troubling as a statistical illustrator of the problem's prevalence but it is indicative of a much larger cultural condition predisposing us to violence toward women. With ties to the patriarchal machinations of the country's monarchical origins and a dependency upon the fortification of such leanings in modern legal, social and even familial structure, the issue of domestic violence is very much a result of a long-standing and still present heritage of sexism. As we contend with the apparent root causes of domestic violence by helping women find ways out of negative relationships, we are yet contending with a more deep-seeded impulse toward misogyny and violence.

The rationale for further study on this subject will be to provide those in social services, outreach programs and other positions of counsel with the understanding of this problem to address and navigate the correlation and cycle between violence and psychological suffering. This rationale is underscored by a recognition that "domestic violence is a prominent public health issue in the United States. It is the most frequent cause of serious injury to women, more than car accidents, muggings, and stranger rapes combined." (Rice, 1) This suggests a problem that is both widespread and significantly damaging to those whom it effects, meaning that there is a real and pressing need for counseling professionals to help victims cope with negative psychological experiences.