Domestic Violence

Question 1

How do Functionalists such as parsons see the nuclear family ?

Answer 1

A system for positive loving relationships which meet basic human need for love and intimacy. Marriage is seen as particularly important as a source of companionship, emotional gratification and psychological support

Question 2

How do Wilmott and Young describe the Nuclear Family?

Answer 2

Egalitarian in distribution of domestic tasks and decision-making. Overall the nuclear unit is seen as good for society and positive for the individuals who comprise it. This opinion is echoed by New Right thinkers

Question 3

How do Marxist and Feminists criticise the family

Answer 3

The ways in which modern families are organised suits men and the ruling class at the expense of women and working class respectively.

Question 4

What do other critiques focus on?

Answer 4

The dark side of family relationships notably the potential of family relationships to bring out mental illness in some individuals and crimes committed specifically within family contexts i.e. murder, violence and abuse

Question 5

How does Family Crime paint a very negative picture of family life ?

Answer 5

Most recorded murders and assaults and child abuse (sexual or otherwise) take place within the family unit

2 domestic killings of women each week on average in the UK accounting for 40% of all female murders

3/4 of all violence is domestic (these are only reported cases) Statistics from mid 1990s suggest 1 in 20 girls 1/4 under the age of 5 are victims of incest whilst on average one child a week dies at the hands of its parents, usually father or step-father in the UK

Question 6

How does Child abuse contribute to the dark side of the family?

Answer 6

NSPCC agree child abuse is a major social problem
- NSPCC found that 7% of children experience physical abuse during childhood, 6% emotional abuse, 11% sexual abuse involving contact and 6% neglect
Overall about 16% of children will experience abuse at the hands of parents during childhood

• 2011 NSPCC - 1 in 10 young adults (9%) had been severely neglected by parents or guardians during childhood based on survey of 1761 young adults aged 18-24. 1 in 10 children (9.8%) had experienced severe neglect based on survey of 2275 children ages 11-17
• 2008/9 16094 children spoke to ChildLine about Sexual Abuse as either their main problem or an additional problem representing 10% of all calls answered. Between 2004/5 and 2008/9 the annual number of children counselled by ChildLine regarding sexual abuse rose from 8637 to 12268 giving a 42% overall increase

Question 7

What problems can their be with studying Child Abuse?

Answer 7

Difficulty in defining and measuring Child Abuse. Early Sociological works on this subject (1950-1970) aimed at explaining the phenomena of Physical abuse (E.g. Battered Baby Syndrome) and neglect

Radical Feminists (R.D.Laing) attempted to explain emotional abuse but sociologists despite some feminist analyses ha not serious addressed widespread sexual abuse of children

Not all cases are reported and therefore this increases the difficulty of measuring the level of abuse

Question 8

What is Domestic Violence’s role within the family

Answer 8

Domestic violence is an important aspect of power within marriage, it is the power of men to control women by physical force. Estimated to be the most common type of violence in Britain.

Question 9

Why is Domestic Violence difficult to measure and document

Answer 9

It takes place behind closed doors often without witnesses
Sclater 2001 - behaviour such as kicking and punching is easily recognisable as violent but behaviour such as threats, verbal abuse, psychological intimidation, bullying or sexual intimidation are less easy to categorise and may not be recognised by some as Domestic Violence and therefore affecting reporting levels

Question 10

Give the Home Office (2000) definition of Domestic Violence

Answer 10

Any violence between current or former partners in an intimate relationship wherever and whenever it occurs. The violence may include physical, sexual, emotional or financial abuse

Question 11

What statistics are available for being assaulted by a partner at some time in life ?

Answer 11

1/3rd of all reported violence and 1 in 4 women have been assaulted. 1 in 8 repeatedly so
Stanko’s survey found that one incident of domestic violence is reported by women to the police every 30 seconds

Question 12

Why are official statistics under-estimated for Domestic Violence?

Answer 12

• Women are reluctant to report Domestic Violence. Yearnshire found that on average a woman suffers 35 assaults before making a report.
• Police and prosecutors may be reluctant to record it as they believe the family to be a private institution in which there should be minimal interference. Often presumed that a woman is free to leave a violent relationship. However this is not true as many women (especially with children) are often financially dependant on their partner.

Question 13

What did Mirlees-Black and Byron find using the British Crime Survey?

Answer 13

Women were more likely to suffer domestic violence than men

-70% of reported domestic violence is by men against female partners.

Question 14

How are Mirlees-Black and Byron’s statistics under-estimated

Answer 14

These figures are though to be under estimated because many women are reluctant to come forward because they love their partners and think they change them or they some how blame themselves in some way for the violence. Many women fail to report it because they feel they may not be taken seriously or because they are afraid of the repercussions

Question 15

Some sociologists reported increases in female violence on men, How has this been criticised?

Answer 15

Only constitutes at best 5% of all domestic violence but this is an increasing figure. Moreover Nazroo’s research indicates, wives often live in fear of men’s potential domestic violence or threats whilst husbands rarely feel frightened or intimidated by their wives potential of violence.

Question 16

How do the New Right explain Domestic Violence?

Answer 16

-Believe domestic violence takes place in dysfunctional families, that is, families who do not function well. Their view is that violence results from the instability of families caused by factors such as increasing cohabitation and divorce and the decline in moral standards in some families, particularly those in the underclass. This view also suggests that feminists exaggerate male violence and under-estimate female violence

Question 17

How do Feminists explain Domestic Violence ?

Answer 17

• Gender role socialisation
• Nature of Masculinity
• Crisis in Masculinity
• Alienation and powerlessness at work
• A Patriarchal society, state and police force

Question 18

How does Gender-role socialisation explain Domestic Violence?

Answer 18

Boys are socialised into ‘masculine values’ which revolves around risk taking behaviour, toughness, aggression, proving oneself etc. Consequently, as a result of this socialisation, some boys and men may see violence as a legitimate problem solving device. Whereas socialisation into femininity, on the other hand, involves learning to be passive and subordinate which may be a reason why some women tolerate domestic violence

Question 19

How does the nature of masculinity explain Domestic Violence?

Answer 19

Brookman carried out extensive interviews with violent men and concluded that the nature of masculinity is partly to blame. In our culture masculinity values control over others, so men can resort to violence if they are feel that they are looking control over their female partner

Question 20

How does a crisis in masculinity explain Domestic Violence?

Answer 20

Feminists note that many boys and men are still brought up in traditional ways to believe that they should have economic and social power as breadwinners and heads of households.However due to feminisation of the economy and male unemployment has led to men undergoing a crisis of masculinity

Question 21

How have working women and male unemployment challenged mens status (crisis in masculinity) ?

Answer 21

Challenged mens status as head of household and breadwinner. Mens traditional source of identity i.e work is no longer guaranteed. Some women may demand more authority in the home and insisting unemployed men play a greater domestic role - some men may see this domestic responsibility as threatening their masculinity. Therefore men may use violence to reassert their masculinity and status within the family unit

Question 22

How does Alienation and powerlessness at work explain Domestic Violence according to Marxist Feminists?

Answer 22

Suggest Capitalism has stripped male workers of dignity, power and control at work, this is because the nature of work has altered significantly over the last 30 years. Today Technology and Management control work, there is little satisfaction left in the job. Surveys of factory worker suggest that many are bored by the tedious nature of their work. Many are alienated, they feel powerless and resent management practices

Question 23

How do Fran Ansley and Diane Feeley contribute to Alienation and Powerlessness at work?

Answer 23

Mens frustration and alienation with capitalism is absorbed by the wife in the form of domestic violence. The powerlessness that men experience can be partly compensated for by asserting power and authority in the home via violence. Wives therefore act as safety valves for capitalism because men do not direct their violence and anger at their bosses
Feeley suggests that children experience such families as authoritarian units dominated by males - it is therefore no wonder young males grow up into domineering and violent husbands

Question 24

How does a Patriarchal society,state and police force explain Domestic Violence

Answer 24

Radical Feminists point out that until fairly recently condoned male violence in the home. Pizzey argues that in a male dominated society, domestic violence is widely tolerated and often not seen as a serious crime.
Pizzey also notes that patriarchal values lead to female partners being sen as essentially the property of male partners and therefore using violence to control them is seen as socially acceptable

Question 25

How did the BBC Survey Hitting Home support Pizzey’s views (patriarchal society, state and police force )

Answer 25

80% of the sample would report a neighbour to the authorities for abusing and animal but only 55% would report a neighbour to the police for abusing his female partner

Question 26

How has Pizzey been criticised ?

Answer 26

Social attitudes have changed dramatically since 1970 when she was writing about the problem and consequently Domestic Violence is less socially acceptable in 2013

Question 27

How do Dobash and Dobash contribute to a Patriarchal society, state and police force explaining Domestic Violence?

Answer 27

argue the state and the criminal justice system has failed to take the problem seriously in the past E.g. police traditionally viewed regarded it as a ‘domestic’ or private affair between husband and wife and were extremely reluctant to prosecute husbands/

However there are now positive signs that the Government and Police forces are now willing to condemn and punish such violence

Question 28

How has Radical Feminists stance on Domestic Violence been Criticised ?

Answer 28

Implies all men benefit from domestic violence.
Elliot points out that not all men are aggressive and most are oppressed to violence.
Radical Feminists fail to explain domestic violence on both children and men

Question 29

How does Anthony Giddens (post modernist) explain Domestic Violence?

Answer 29

It is the nature of family life that makes domestic violence quite common. Family life is characterised by ‘emotional intensity and personal intimacy’ this means it is normally charged with strong emotions, often mixing ‘love’ and ‘hate’ In these circumstances even minor arguments can escalate into acts of violence. Increasing isolation of the Nuclear family from extended kinship networks may be increasing this intensity.

However this does not explain why violence is common in some families but not others.

Question 30

How does Wilkinson (post modernist) explain Domestic Violence?

Answer 30

result of stress on the family members caused by social inequalities such as low incomes, living in overcrowded conditions etc. He notes that worries about money, jobs may spill over into domestic conflict as tempers become frayed. Consequently Wilkinson argues those with less power, wealth, status or income are often at the greatest risk of being the perpetrators and victims of domestic violence

Question 31

How is Wilkinson Criticised?

Answer 31

Fails to explain why women are the main victims of this type of violence

Question 32

What do some sociologists and psychiatrists argue that the family relationships tensions produce?

Answer 32

Mental Illness

Question 33

What did Edmund Leach contribute to Family and Madness?

Answer 33

the source of all discontents is the privacy and tawdry secrets of the nuclear family. That because the nuclear family is isolated and private family members tend to make great emotional demands of each other. Leach argues this results in Parents fighting and children rebelling.

Question 34

How is David Cooper sceptical of the idea that the family provides emotional support for children?

Answer 34

He argues it terrorises children by destroying their free will, imagination and creativity. He belives the family is responsible for turning imaginative children into conformist robots- it does this by
Teaching chidlren to be conformist (always obey orders from authority)
Teaching children Taboos (causing feelings of guilt)
Tecahing children to discriminate people outside of the family (root cause of racism)

Question 35

What does RD Laing believe ?

Answer 35

Schizophrenia is caused by experiences in the family

family relationships are potentially destructive because of the intensity of nuclear family life means that we worry about how much we are loved by other family members