Darker side of the family

Question 1

2/3 of murders

Answer 1

involve a partner or an ex-partner

Question 2

1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men

Answer 2

suffer some form of domestic violence in their lifetime

Question 3

89% of incidents of domestic violence

Answer 3

are committed by men

Question 4

every year 150 people are killed by a current or former partner, and

Answer 4

80% of them are women

Question 5

Female victims of domestic violence suffer on average 35-37 assaults over a period of 7 years

Answer 5

before informing any agencies (study by Yearshire)

Question 6

2/3 of domestic violence victims

Answer 6

do not seek help because they are afraid the violence will get worse, are ashamed or see it as a private matter (1 in 4 incidents are reported to the police)

Question 7

1 in 20 reported domestic assaults

Answer 7

lead to a conviction

Question 8

Women may not leave abusive partners because

Answer 8

of fear, shame and embarrassment, financial insecurity, lack of alternative housing and concerns about disruption to their children’s lives

Question 9

Rape in marriage

Answer 9

• more than 1 in 4 women have been raped
• most rapes are committed by men on their female partners
• up to 95% of rapes are unreported
• 3/4 of rapes happen at the home of the victim or offender
• nearly half of rapes within marriage are accompanied by actual or threatened violence, and 1/5 victims suffer physical injury
• marital rape only became a crime in 1991
• 6% of reported rapes lead to a conviction and the most difficult cases to prove their was no consent are those in marriage or cohabiting relationships

Question 10

Feminist explanations for domestic violence

Answer 10

• radical feminists view it as a way for men to exercise patriarchal power, to control and intimidate women and to dominate over them
• marxist feminist emphasise structural factors - inc social deprivation which may lead to stress and disputes about money and cultures of violence - as well as the patriarchy
• Dobash and Dobash (1992, radical feminists) suggest male violence is a way of enforcing female submission and that this is tolerated and reinforced by political and cultural institutions
• Ganley and Schechter (1995) suggest that violence against women is a result of gender inequality with violence being used by men to assert control and power over women
• feminists of all kinds agree that domestic violence is rooted in inequality and can only be tackled by improving women’s position and government changes (eg to CJS)

Question 11

Cheal suggested that

Answer 11

the police are reluctant to be involved in domestic violence incidents as they see the family as private

Question 12

Melanie Philips argues

Answer 12

that the view that DV is entirely due to the patriarchy is inaccurate because women can be violent and abusive towards men - British crime survey suggests 40% of DV victims are male