The Social in the Personal: Family Violence, Essay Example

The Dilemma of the Social in the Personal: Family Violence

Introduction

The nature of family violence presents challenges other forms of crime or abuse often do not, and no matter the actual scope of the violence itself.  On one level, when family members physically abuse one another, there remains in place the powerful social belief that the family unit itself is somewhat immune to external agents, and that society is not fully entitled to address the violence.  This in turn reflects traditional ideas of violence as, in some cases, something of a prerogative, particularly in cases where parents physically punish their children.  On another level, however, there is the inescapable reality that the society is obligated to protect all its citizens, and any form of actual violence cannot be protected by concepts of the family as “sacred,” or inviolable.  Meanwhile, the problem persists, and family members in large numbers are victims of physical cruelty enacted by those closest to them, and in the environment traditionally in place to protect them.  As the following will explore, there are immense complications in properly addressing family violence, as some measure of autonomy should in fact be attached to families.  Nonetheless, the greater imperative remains that the society must be empowered to help victims of family violence when it is identified, regardless of its regard for families themselves, because family violence is first and foremost criminal violence.

Historical and Statistical Realities of the Issue

Historically, family or domestic violence has inevitably been marked by unique conflicts removed from the violence itself. Essentially, the dilemma is that it pits governmental and social policies against the perceived rights and interests of the family unit, just as this encompasses how it traditionally places men and women in opposition to one another (Cahn, 2008,  p. 113).  This is true of both Eastern and Western cultures, as most societies have typically permitted, if not encouraged, the male of the household to physically reprimand the women and the children.  In plain terms and for long centuries, it has been at least marginally accepted in most cultures that the man has the right to punish his wife and children when he views their conduct as unacceptable, and that this is inherently a private matter within the family.

This view, moreover, is by no means antiquated; modern studies reveal that a great many Americans believe it is acceptable for partners to strike one another at times.  Similarly, research affirms that many feel that a wife cannot be raped, that a husband cannot actually be physically abused, and that, modern concepts notwithstanding, children sometimes require harsh physical discipline (Malley-Morrison, Hines, 2004,  p. 30).  The conflicts here are then exponential; the culture clings to ideas insisting upon violence as permissible within families, even as the wider social context uniformly opposes any violence as demanding legal response and intervention.  Meanwhile, the family violence goes on, as evidenced by disturbing statistics.  For example, the National Crime Survey reports that, between 1978 and 1982, an average of 420,000 women annually claimed to have been beaten or raped by family members (Besharov, 1990,  p. 179).  This figure also does not account for multiple abuses of the same woman, just as it cannot account for the many cases likely unreported.

More recent documentation presents a picture equally disturbing.  For example: “Approximately 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are physically assaulted by an intimate partner annually in the United States” (ABA, 2011).  Such abuse easily becomes fatal, particularly as it is noted that a firearm in the home increases the risk of death in violent episodes by five times and, in 2000 alone, 1,247 women and 440 men were killed by an intimate partner.  Nearly half the incidents of extreme physical abuse reported in families occurs between spouses and, not unexpectedly, men are the far more frequent abusers, with 84 percent of the victims being wives (ABA).  It very much appears that male dominance as promoted by, or at least maintained within, the society is reflected by extremes of aggression in the home, as the higher incidence of male perpetrators of family violence also reflects traditional ideas of the man having virtually unlimited authority in the family setting.

Beyond those cases of violence between husbands, wives, and adult intimate partners, there are as well the important issues of elder abuse.  It is particularly difficult to ascertain just how widespread physical abuse is regarding the elderly, simply because most seniors are so dependent on the family for survival, they will not report it.  It is, however, estimated that five cases of such violence occur for every one that is actually reported.  The numbers of reported cases, then, gain impact, as a 2000 study found: “190,005 domestic elder abuse reports from 17 states; 242,430 domestic elder abuse investigations from 47 states; and 102,879 substantiations from 35 states” (ABA).  It must as well be noted that extreme neglect is seen in the case of the elderly as actual violence, in that they are deprived of basic needs.

Family or domestic violence is usually viewed as extending beyond actual relations, but the facts centered on these alone more than validate its existence as a critical issue.  Children are vulnerable to it in more than one way, as well.  It is estimated that up to 60 percent of those who inflict violence on intimate partners in the home also physically abuse the children, and over 40 percent of child victims of abuse report witnessing other forms of violence in the family setting (Hotline, 2014).  Far less easy to tabulate are the repercussions on children experiencing the violence.  Extensive research indicates that child victims are far more likely to be abusers themselves upon reaching maturity, just as the majority tend to suffer from severe emotional and psychological trauma throughout their lives.  If, it may be argued, women and the elderly are more victimized by family violence due to physical limitations, it seems that children suffer further victimization by virtue of their innate vulnerability.

Social and Legal Response

The family in which violence occurs is very much a family inherently troubled by other issues (Benokraitis, 2011,  p. 240).  If patriarchal cultures have consistently empowered men to physically punish their wives and children, it is certainly arguable that the strains of modern family life add further opportunities for different dysfunctions to arise.  Then, changing gender roles, social policy alterations, and severe economic conditions place various kinds and degrees of stress on the modern family.  These factors, combined with traditional ideas holding the family as intrinsically deserving of absolute privacy, then create a more volatile field in which family violence may erupt.  The factor of the perception of the family as private, moreover, cannot be overstated, for this invariably goes to governmental and legal reluctance to intervene.  Some of this is reasonable; that is, it may be assumed that those within the family, certainly in terms of spouses, remain so by choice.  It is also rational to assume that each member of the family is primarily focused on its well-being, since that well-being so directly affects them.

Unfortunately, these are situations often demanding intervention from outside agencies, and primarily because the reality exists that the society is obligated to protect all of its citizens, and personal relationships may not be ethically permitted to excuse violent family behavior.  In essence, when a family member commits an act of violence on another, they are waiving any right to privacy as provided by the domestic circumstances.  They so violate the social norms that they waive any such protection, and this is the core element the courts and the police must grasp.  Put another way, the police who respond to a report of family violence are not interfering in a private arena; instead, they are dealing with a civic matter, and one created as a civic concern by the perpetrator.  If it is understandable that traditional respect discourages legal intervention in these cases, it is essential that the law comprehend the actual parameters of violence, which in the society is shielded by no such protections.

It is equally regrettable, nonetheless, that other social forces play into how and why family violence remains so properly unaddressed.  Clearly, the initial point of social intervention occurs when the police are either called to a scene of family violence, or alerted to it by other means.  Vast evidence supports that the police, traditionally a male agency, responds in ways often enabling further abuse.  For example, there is documentation of written police policy stating that officers are to avoid making arrests whenever possible.  Laws dating back to the 19^th century insist that, if the perpetrator does not evince absolute malice, the matter should be left to the family.  Since the 1980s, social pressures have somewhat reversed these ideologies, and today’s police are far more prone to actively investigate violence charges.  Nonetheless, there remains the widespread conviction that the police tend to side with the typical male offender, and frequently fail to follow up (Payne, Gainey, 2010, p. 234).  Even today, and even with modern awareness of the frequency of family violence, legal response still remains questionable, just as the courts typically adjudicate only when necessary.

Society cannot of course cure the dysfunctional individual or family, but it can and must take the responsibility of addressing the violence as what it is: cases of victimization permissible in no other aspect of the society. It is understandable that government agencies would be hesitant to intrude on private homes, but these are no ordinary situations, and when there is reason to believe that domestic violence is in play, such concerns must give way to necessary response. To that end, the laws in place must be revised to center upon the point previously made, and ethically and legally correct; namely, that any evidence of violence as committed within a family is first and foremost a crime, and the suspect or perpetrator of it has absolutely no recourse to family relationships or rights to privacy as a protection.  Along these lines, the law should as well recognize that extenuating circumstances, such as pleas for leniency from an abused wife, are no more relevant to these instances of the law being broken than they are to public acts of violence.

Conclusion

A number of important considerations go to the traditional dilemma associated with the law’s address of family violence. Historically, most cultures both support the man’s right to physically punish his wife and children as he sees fit, just as society is invariably reluctant to intrude into the private, domestic sphere.  Nonetheless, the violence is real, and the facts show how women, men, children, and the elderly suffer greatly from such violence, as the victimization is enhanced by reluctant legal processes and police who may well view it as not criminal.  Reason are then not excuses, and the

imperative remains that the society must be empowered to help victims of family violence when it is identified, regardless of that society’s regard for families themselves, because family violence is first and foremost criminal violence.

References

American Bar Association (ABA). (2011).  Domestic Violence Statistics. Retrieved 6 April 2014 from             http://www.americanbar.org/groups/domestic_violence/resources/statistics.html

Benokraitis, Nijole V. (2011). Marriage and Families: Changes, Choices, and Constraints, 7th Edition. Upper Saddle River: Pearson.

Besharov, Douglas J.  (1990).  Family Violence: Research and Public Policy Issues. Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute.

Cahn, Dudley D. (2008).  Family Violence: Communication Processes. Albany: SUNY Press.

Malley-Morrison, Kathleen, & Hines, Denise. (2004).  Family Violence in a Cultural Perspective: Defining, Understanding, and Combating Abuse. Thousand Oaks: SAGE.

National Domestic Violence Hotline. (2014). Statistics. Retrieved 6 April 2014 from http://www.thehotline.org/is-this-abuse/statistics/

Payne, Brian J., & Gainey, Randy R. (2010).  Family Violence and Criminal Justice: A   Life-Course Approach.  New York: Elsevier.