DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSIVE MEN 1

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSIVE MEN 2

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSIVE MEN

Literature review

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSIVE MEN

LITERATURE REVIEW

Domestic violence and abuse occurs when an individual in marriage or an intimate relationship dominates and controls the other partner. The essence of being a union whether it is marriage or a relationship that would eventually lead to marriage is to support each other regardless of the situation. However, due to different social factors and the way of life, partners often dominate over others in relationships and marriages. Domestic violence and abuse among comes as a result of the male partner dominating over their female counterparts. The male partner doesn’t play fair to the agreement and requirements of the union. In addition, the abuser may act by threatening, hurting their partner, or hurting the people who are around or support the female partner.

Domestic violence is an issue that affects all societies across the world. Whether it is physical or emotional, there are systematic effects that are felt by the victim family. The essence of family is for people to stay together in peace and support each other regardless of the situation at hand. However, cases of domestic violence are bound to happen when there are consistent disagreements between the individual family members. The main challenge of the issue of domestic violence and abusive men who are the major perpetrators is that it is often overlooked, denied, or excused, yet it can happen to anyone. More specifically, if the issue is psychological rather than physical, most people might not be keen on the damaging effects it may have to the individual families. The ability to notice and acknowledge the simple signs and effects of an abusive relationship is considered as the first step to ending it.

General worldwide facts and figures:

Based on the National Domestic Violence Hotline website, it is indicated that an average of 24 people in each nation across the world are victims of domestic violence. The various cases of domestic violence reported include physical violence, stalking by the male intimate partner; rape which is considered as unwilling sexual advances by the male partner, and any other forms of discrimination. In the United States of America, an approximate of 12 million women are vulnerable to cases of domestic violence on an annual basis(Bishop, 2016). From the domestic perspective, one can tell that there are many underlying issues of violence against the female partner in intimate relationships or marriages that may not be visible to the outside world. The domestic setting of such kind of relationships does not offer enough room for public intervention at an early stage in order to come up with a viable solution to the situation at hand. Most women may not be free to expose their private love life with the external world to come up with solutions that might help address the issues at hand. Late intervention for this case may come when the long term effects of domestic violence to the victims have already been established, making it difficult to restore the respect and functionality of the previous relationship(“Physicians and Domestic Violence: Challenges for Prevention,” 2018).

From the same National Domestic Violence website, an approximate of 3 in 10 women, which is 29% of the population in the US, as a case study, experience cases of physical violence, rape, and stalking by their male counterparts in intimate relationships or marriages. The same statistics show that 15% of women in the United States of America are reported with injuries that come as a result of domestic violence from their male counterparts(Bishop, 2016). In addition, half of the population of women in the United States have experienced issues of physiological aggression from their male counterparts in intimate relationships or already established marriages.

From the above statistics, it is clear that domestic violence among men ranks the highest in different parts of the world. The nature of the issue indicates that most people might be undergoing domestic violence but may not be willing to open up do to fear of the public opinion. The perpetrators of domestic violence may not also be sensitive of the adverse effects and the extent to which their actions destroy healthy relationships(Madden Dempsey, 2009). Due to the fact that the victims of domestic may not be willing to speak out even to their own partners about their discomfort on the issue of violence, it becomes extremely difficult to control the habit.

Signs of domestic violence and abusive relationship:

There are different signs that must be noted to detect instances of domestic violence in an intimate relationship or marriage. However, the most visible sign that displays the presence of domestic violence by men is the fear of their female partners. The female partner may constantly watch what they have to say especially when they are in a group setting, for the fear of being attacked after the group has dispersed(Madden Dempsey, 2009). The male partner may go to the extent of belittling the other partner even in public. There are specific questions that must be asked especially by the female partner to determine if they are in a violent relationship or not. These include;

· Does one feel afraid of their partner much of the time they are around?

· Does one avoid certain topics with the fear of angering their partner?

· Does one feel that they can’t do anything right for their partners?

· Does one feel that they deserve to be hurt or mistreated?

· Does one wonder if they are the ones who are making the mistake?

· Does one feel emotionally helpless in addressing their issues?

The above questions are indicators that one is not settled or free with their male partner. However, it should not be mistaken with normal challenges and issues that exist between partners in intimate relationships. There should be a mutual ground that intimate partners can agree and disagree on issues in a reasonable manner. Disagreements exist due to ideological differences. However, they should not create grounds or basis through which one partner should intimidate the other(Madden Dempsey, 2009). Everything must be handled on the basis of agreement between the partners to ensure a certain level of satisfaction for both.

A historic view of domestic violence:

The existence of domestic violence has been seen for many years and finds strong historical roots due to the gender inequality that has existed between men and women in the society. Abuse to women in the historic context has always been viewed as a normal part and common system of marriages. It was seen as something that most women were to expect making them vulnerable anytime to instances of violence by their male counterparts in marriages. Erez 2002 describes the mid-1800s with a legal system of operation that allowed wife beating as a valid exercise that was to be performed by the husband for them to display some form of authority and control as the head of the house. Specifically, “the rule of thumb” which was established by Sir Francis Buller, referred to as the “Judge Thumb” translated to a husband having the ability to beat his wife with a stick that was not thicker that his thumb(McQuigg, 2016). From the literature presented, it is clear that the issue of violence by men in intimate relationships has been set up by a historical context that shapes and controls different thoughts up to now.

The law is designed to offer guidance to the society through specific rules and regulations. By having laws, people are able to distinguish what is wrong from what is right and expected of them. Therefore, the use of such laws that could allow the beating up of women in the society has had a great impact on the way most men handle their intimate partners(Wallpe, 2000). There is a general feeling that due to the fact they are heads of the family, they can dictate everything at their disposal and control everyone based on their desires. It can then be seen that historical events play a big role on how most women are handled in the society today(McQuigg, 2016). They play a part in shaping the current mind-sets of the society of who a man and a woman is, and the specific roles they play in intimate relationships.

The current society is making an effort to recognize the female figure and help them discover their roles and importance in the society. For this reason, the society is gradually moving away from gender discrimination on the basis of women being low in the society compared to men(McQuigg, 2016). The current world is focused on educating the girl child just as the boy in order to have an all-round society that recognizes the presence and relevance of women. There is much sensitization among men on the value of respecting women and the big role they play in shaping the society and the destiny of the world.

Conclusions:

Can they truly recover?

The question of whether men can recover from instances of domestic violence against their female counterparts in intimate relationships is determined by a number of factors. First, the current mind-set of the individual is very critical. Individuals who are impermeable to change and development may find it difficult to adapt to the new system that is encouraging the support and respect of women for them to have a better place in our society(Meyer, 2017). There is a group of men who still hold onto the past mind-set that views women as individuals who come second in the society. Therefore, recovery from domestic violence for such individuals may not be seen as a practical affair.

The second factor is what influences domestic violence between the intimate partners. For instance, alcoholism and drug abuse are some of the factors that may agitate issues of violence from men. In this case, addressing the issue of domestic violence must first address the dependence on alcohol and drugs as the main issues that agitates what transpires between the intimate partners.

In a nut shell, men have a chance of recovering from domestic violence by joining the various movements across the world that supports women to have a better place in the society.