Family - The Dark Side Of The Family Flashcards
Give some statistics on family crime
Most recorded murders,assaults and child abuse, sexual or otherwise take place within the family unit
Two domestic killings of women each week in the uk, accounting for 40% of all female murders
3/4 of all violence is domestic
One child a week dies at the hands of its parents mostly father or step father
How did the home office define domestic abuse
2000
Any violence between current or former partners in an intimate relationship wherever and whenever it occurs violence may include physical,sexual,financial or emotional
What does a Sclater(2001) say about domestic violence
Behaviour such as kicking and punching is easily recognisable where as behaviour such as threats,verbal abuse,psychological manipulation or bullying and sexual intimidation are less easy to categorise and may not be recognised by some men and women as domestic violence and effecting repotting levels
What did the NSPCC Cawson study find and when
2000
7% of children experience physical abuse during childhood
6% emotional
11% sexual
6% neglect
So in conclusion around 16% of children will experience will experience abuse at the hands of their parents at some point
What did the NSPCC’s survey find (2011)
1,761 young adults aged 18-24
One in ten had been severely neglected by parents during childhood
How many children spoke to childline about sexual abuse in 2008/2009
16,094
10% of all calls answered
What happend to the annual number of children counselled by childline between 2004/05 to 2008/09
It rose by 24%
From 8,637 to 12,268
What do official statistics say about violence by ,en against their female partners
It accounts for a third of all reported violence and nearly one in four women has been assaulted by a partner at some time in her like and one in eight repeatedly so
What did Stankos survey find
That one incident of domestic violence is reported by women to the police every 30 seconds in the uk
Give two reasons why official statistics under-estimate the amount of domestic violence
Women are reluctant to report it
Police and prosecutors may be reluctant to record it
Why may the Police and prosecutors may be reluctant to ( domestic violence )
They believe the family to be a private institution in which there should be minimal interference
Why may Women be reluctant to report it
Ashamed
Love the person
Be financially dependent on them
Feel its their fault
Don’t want to split the family especially if there are children
Geographically mobile-have known were to go as educational success spreads people away from friends and family
May not be taken seriously afraid of repercussions
Think they can change their partner
What did Yearnshire find
1997
On average a woman suffers 35 assaults before reporting it
Mirlees-Black and Byron do and find
1999
Used data from the British crime survey and found women were more likely to suffer domestic violence than men -70% of violence reported is violence from men against their female partners
(Underestimated)
What did Nazroo’s research indicate
That wives often live in fear of men’s potential domestic violence or threats whilst husbands rarely feel frightened or intimidated by their wives potential violence
Also violence on women is usually more violent then violence by women to a man
What percentage is female violence against men
At best 5%
Explain the new right explanation of domestic violence
Conservative commentators :
- happens in dysfunctional families
- happens from the instability of family’s e.g. Cohabitation and divorce and define in moral standards
- lower class
- feminists exaggerate male violence and under estimate female violence
How is the new right perspective on domestic violence criticised by feminists
Believe that make violence against women women is both much more serious and much more common than female violence against men
What are the five feminist explanations of domestic violence
Gender role socialisation Nature of masculinity Crisis in masculinity Alienation and powerlessness at work A patriarchal society, state and police force
Explain Gender role socialisation
Boys are socialised into masculine values :
Risk-taking behaviour
Toughness
Aggression
So some boys and men may see violence as a legitimate problem solving device
Women are socialised to be passive and subordinate so which may be why some women operate domestic violence
Explain the nature of masculinity
brookman(2008) carried out in depth interviews with violent men and conclude that nature of masculinity is also to blame
Masculinity values control over others so men can resort to violence if there is a loss of control over the female
Explain a crisis is in masculinity as a feminist explanation of domestic violence
Brought up to be breadwinners but feminisation of the economy ( challenges the males status as the breadwinner) and male unemployment suggests a crisis in masculinity
Women are demanding more authority and asking men to do more domestic tasks but men see this as a threat to their masculinity so may resort to violence to reassert their status in the family as men’s traditional source of identity is no longer guaranteed
Explain Alienation and powerlessness at work
Marxist feminist say capitalism has stripped male workers of dignity, power and control at work
Surveys of factory workers suggest that many are bored by the tedious nature of their work and many are alienated
Fran Ansley and Diane feeley say men’s distraction sand alienation is absorbed by women (domestic abuse)
Powerlessness at work can be compensated by asserting power and authority via violence and so act as a safety valve as men do not then direct their violence at their bosses
What does feeley suggest in Alienation and powerlessness at work
Children experience such families as authoritarian units dominated by males - it is therefore no wonder that young males grow up into dominating and violent husbands
What is alienated
Workers cannot identify with or bring themselves to care about the product they are productions and so feel powerless and resent management practices
Explain a patriarchal society, state and police force through pizzey ( radical feminist)
Pizzey said that in a male dominated society domestic violence is widely tolerated and not seen as a serious crime.
Patriarchal values lead to female partners being seen as essentially property of their male partners and so using violence is seen socially acceptable
He has been criticised as social attitudes have dramatically changed since the 1970’s and so consequently it is less socially acceptable
Explain a patriarchal society, state and police force through the BBC survey Hitting Home
Showed that 80% of the sample would report a neighbour to the authorities for abusing an animal but only 55% would report a neighbour to the police for abusing a female partner
Explain a patriarchal society, state and police force through dobash and dobash
The police traditionally regarded it as domestic or private affair between husband and wife and were extremely reluctant to prosecute husbands however now there are positive signs that the government and police forces are now willing to condem and punish such violence
Argued that the authorities don’t take this seriously
Explain a patriarchal society, state and police force through Elliot
Points out that all men are aggressive and most are opposed to violence
Why has the radical feminist stance on domestic violence been criticised
They imply that all men benefit from domestic violence and fail to explain female violence on children and men
Who look at postmodern explanations of domestic violence
Anthony Giddens (2006) Wilkinson (1996)
Explain what Anthony Giddens (2006) argues
The nature of family life makes violence common
Family life is characterised by emotional intensity and personal intimacy so even minor arguments can escalate into acts of violence
The increasing isolation of nuclear family from extended kinship networks may be increasing this intensity
Explain what Giddens meant by emotional intensity and personal intimacy
That the family life is charged with strong emotions which are often mixing love and hate
Why may Giddens explanation of domestic violence be criticised
It does not explain why violence is common in some families but not others
Explain Wilkinsons postmodern explain action of domestic violence (1996)
Result of the stress on family members cause by social inequalities such as low incomes, living in overcrowded institutions , debt etc
Worries about money,jobs and housing may spill over into domestic conflict
Explain Wilkinsons conclusion of what he argued
Those with less power,status,wealth or income are often at the greatest risk of being the perpetrators and victims of domestic violence
What is a weakness of Wilkinsons explanation
Fails to explain why women are the main victims of this type of violence
Who talks about radial psychiatry
Edmund Leach
David Cooper
RD Laing
What did Edmund Leach argue
‘It’s privacy and tawdry secrets is the source of all our discontents’
As the family is isolated family members tend to take more great emotional demands on each other such as expect an great deal from their children which is not always lived up to and parents may be disappointed, even disillusioned with their children.
Spouses to make unrealistic demands and resulting in ‘parents fight and children rebel’
What does the radical psychiatrist David Cooper argue
The family is responsible for turning imaginative children into conformist robots through:
- teaching them to be conformist and not free and spontaneous e.g. teaching them to always obey orders from authority
- teaching taboos and causing feelings of guilt e.g. Sex
- teaching to discriminate against people outside the home e.g. Racism in society
What is the conclusion from all the studies on the dark side of the family
They all challenge the functionalist assumption that the nuclear family is functional both for society and individuals
What would feminist sociologists conclude about domestic violence
As long as men have the capacity to commit such violence there will never be equality within marriage
What are three main points which RD Laing argues
Schizophrenia is caused by experiences within the family
Family relationships are potentially destructive
We react to this anxiety by forming alliances within the family in order to maximise our chances of receiving love
Explain RD Laing’s point of Family relationships are potentially destructive
Because the intensity of the nuclear family means that we worry about how much we are loved by other family members particularly our parents such as someone might suspect that their brother is their parents favourite
Explain RD Laing point of that we react to this anxiety by forming alliances within the family in order to maximise our chances of receiving love
Such as we might side with one parent against another in an argument
In this way family members become more like gangsters offering each other mutual protection and love to be used against another member and this becomes the basic of mental breakdown and family arguments and feuds which can last for years
