Using this defense poses many difficulties. In cases of battered-spouse syndrome the victim usually claims self-defense. In order to use this defense she must show that there were no reasonable alternatives. However most battered women will stay in an abusive relationship long after the abuse began even when they are physically capable of leaving. Reasons for staying in such a relationship are usually all psychological (Battered Child/Spouse Syndrome).
Even though its frown up in society there are individuals that are able to continue with they’re violent actions. Kathryn Coleman found a pattern that women were more likely than men to have experienced intimate violence across all types of abuse, to back up Coleman, Mirrlees Black similar found that most victims are women and 99% of incidents are committed by men and that 1 in 4 women will experience abuse and assault by their partner, this is confirmed by research conducted by Russell and Rebecca Dobash they cite examples of wives being slapped, beaten , raped or killed by their husbands however they argue that marriage legitimates violence against women because husbands tend to be in charge and women are often dependent. Radical feminists help explain why abuse patterns are concentrated around women and why they are more likely to be victims of abuse by men. Kate Millett and Shulamith Firestone argue that all societies have been founded on patriarchy; men are seen as the oppressors and exploiters of women, for radical feminists widespread domestic violence is inevitable in a patriarchal society and serves to preserve the power men have over women, they see male dominance over institutions as the reason police and courts are reluctant to deal with cases of domestic violence efficiently. Catriona MirrlesBlack’s
Every year a staggering 8.7 million women are abused by partners in their homes (Roberts, 2006). Violence among current or former intimate partners is pervasive in society. Between 22% and 35% of emergency room visits are due to symptoms or injuries related to ongoing physical abuse (Gilardi, 2005). Battered Women Syndrome refers to the physical and psychological effects of abuse, and describes a pattern of responses and perceptions presumed to be characteristic of women who have been subjected to continuous physical abuse by a partner (Gatowski, Dobbin, Richardson, Ginsburg, 1997). The definition of BWS speaks for itself.
However, many sociologists would argue that this is a result from social causes A shocking pattern of domestic violence is that women are more often only targeted by domestic violence. Coleman found that women were more likely than men to have been a victim of ‘intimate violence’, this is across the 4 types of abuse; parent abuse, family abuse, sexual assault and stalking. Similarly, in Mirrless-black studies he found that nearly one in for women were assaulted by a partner, there was also cases of this being repeated; contrastingly, one in seven men have been a victim of domestic violence and one in twenty repeatedly. Also, Dobash and Dobash found that violent incidents were provoked by a man feeling his self-authority had been challenged in different circumstances. Putting this into real life terms, being late for a meal for instance.
Sexual abuse leaves both behavior and physical signs. Some signs are complaints of genital or anal pain. Irritation, bleeding, and bruising to thighs are also some signs. Most likely the victim has been handled roughly since the attack is about the abuser’s satisfaction, so the victim may also have difficulty in walking or sitting for long periods of time. Sexually transmitted diseases/infections and blood in the victim’s clothing are also signs of sexual abuse.
Significance; Sexual assault is becoming more and more prevalent as time goes on: “One in every six woman will face some sort of sexual assault in there lives” (Rainn). This means it is guaranteed that everyone knows someone who has been a victim of sexual violence. The list could include a sister, a mother, a grandmother, a aunt, a father, a brother, a grandpa and maybe even you. Anyone can fall victim to sexual violence. Not one gender or race is safe from the dangers of assault: “One in every thirty-three males have been assaulted” (Rainn).
Another cause of relationship breakdown is a lack of maintenance. In some circumstances, relationships may become strained due to maintenance difficulties as the partners do not see each other often enough and therefore spend much time apart. Boekhout et al. asked undergraduates to rate various sexual and emotional reasons for men and women to be unfaithful in a committed relationship. Participants judged that sexual reasons for infidelity such as boredom and sexual excitement would be more likely to be used by men whereas emotional reasons for infidelity such as lack of attention would be more likely to be used by women.
At times abusers will block out their abuse they may have experienced as a child. There is anger there, but by acting out with sex crimes, it helps them to forget the abuse
Because sexual abuse is such a disturbing incident, false accusations of sexual abuse have huge, if not shocking, consequences for families. There is a bit of controversy about false memory syndrome, on one side by those who believe that the memories are not true, and on the other side by those who say that people who have committed the sexual abuse acts are using false memory syndrome to question allegations against them. The effects of memories such as these rising to the surface, whether they are actual memories or not, is often devastating to formerly functional families. The article in question has taken on the view from the False Memory Society in which the accused has stated that the accusations are false. The article revolves around one daughter who is split on whether to believe her sister’s letter about her father sexual assaulting her when she was 2 or to believe that her father is innocent.
My mother and a boyfriend of hers had a few fights, and also 2 of my sisters and their boyfriends had their little spats. I even went through it myself with my ex-wife once when we separated and things escalated, but in my case it was actually domestic violence towards me and not the other way around. I know firsthand about the male perspective of domestic violence because I am probably in that statistic of cases not reported. I was surprised to find that there are so many cases where the victim had no one to protect or standup for them before the 1970s. I was really surprised to find out that with so many advocate groups and shelters for victims, there are not more people who are victims of domestic violence do not try to get out of the relationships.