Domestic Violence

Question 1

Suggest two reasons why domestic violence is not simply the behaviour of a few psychologically disturbed individuals?

Answer 1

• domestic violence is far too widespread to be reduced to a small minority of people, domestic violence is not random but follows particular social patterns

Question 2

Are the official statistics on domestic violence valid? Explain answer

Answer 2

• not valid, don’t account for the amount of unreported case and don’t account for reported cases that weren’t dealt with correctly - both factors mean that the official statistic understate the extent of the problem

Question 3

Is there any evidence to support the role of the public/ private dichotomy when dealing with cases of domestic violence?

Answer 3

• yes, because the police and state may see the family as part of the private sphere and so may not feel that they should have any involvement as the violence is not in the public sphere

Question 4

Outline two features of the radical feminist explanation

Answer 4

• they see the family and marriage as patriarchal institutions and so domestic violence is a way that men dominate women within the family
• they see domestic violence as the inevitable part of the patriarchal society as it maintains the power that men have over women

Question 5

Outline two criticisms of the radical feminist explanation of domestic violence

Answer 5

• it doesn’t explain situations in which men are the victims of the abuse
• it wrongly assumes that all women are at equal risk of patriarchal violence - ie. young women, lower classes, regular alcohol and drug consumers are more at risk, not all men are abusive and many oppose domestic violence

Question 6

Outline two features of the materialist explanation

Answer 6

• they see domestic violence as the result of stress on family members due to inequalities in social and economic factors
• they comment that not all people are in equal danger of domestic violence eg. people on low income and in overcrowded houses are more likely to suffer, domestic violence is not gendered

Question 7

Outline one strength and one criticism of the materialist explanation

Answer 7

• useful to demonstrates how social inequality relates to domestic violence but it doesn’t explain why women are more likely to be the victims

Question 8

Offer some explanations as to why victims of domestic violence may choose to stay with their violent partners

Answer 8

• economically dependent on them and so cannot afford to leave the relationship
• scared to leave
• religion and culture
• staying for the sake of children
• fear of not gaining custody of children
• societal attitudes
• they may not acknowledge the severity of their relationship eg. they may believe their partner loves them or that they have done something wrong

Question 9

List all the possible methods of domestic violence

Answer 9

Psychological, physical, sexual, financial and emotional violence/ abuse

Question 10

What fraction of female homicide victims were killed by a partner or a former partner?

Answer 10

1/3

Question 11

Why might victims, especially women, be reluctant to report domestic violence to the police?

Answer 11

• they may believe it is not a matter for police or that it is too trivial or from fear of reprisals

Question 12

Why might police and prosecutors be reluctant to record, investigate or prosecute domestic violence cases? (Three key assumptions)

Answer 12

• that the family is a private sphere and so state intervention should be limited
• that the family is a good thing and so they neglect to recognise the darker side of family life
• they believe the women is a free agent and so has the freedom to leave the relationship

Question 13

What are the two explanations of domestic violence? What do they say?

Answer 13

• radical feminist is based on cultural factors such as patriarchal ideas, values and institutions and materialist emphasises economic factors such as lack of resources

Question 14

What explanation do radical feminist provide that explains why most domestic violence is committed against women?

Answer 14

• as domestic violence is an inevitable feature of the patriarchal society, men dominate women through domestic violence and use it to preserve their power

Question 15

Give two examples of stress on family members that may result in domestic violence

Answer 15

Low income, overcrowded accommodation

Question 16

How does stress on family members end up resulting in domestic violence?

Answer 16

• worries may spill over into conflict as tempers become short
• lack of time/ money restricts people’s social circle and so reduces social support for those under stress