Domestic Violence 1

Domestic Violence Theory Deborah Kennedy Kaplan University CJ333: Family and Domestic Violence Professor Kathy Minella

Domestic Violence 2

According to the Domestic Violence Resource Center (2011), one in four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. This means if you are not one of these women being abused you know someone who is the victim of abuse. This paper is going to attempt to talk about the theory that best explains, in this writers opinion, why people commit domestic violence by finding as many supporting details and as much information and evidence as possible.

The theory that this paper will be exploring is called the Multidimensional Theory, and all that means is that there is more than one model that can explain what is going on with domestic violence. Researchers have tried to define one model or theory and box this phenomenon in but, choosing only one cause for why this happens is almost like trying to say there is only one reason why people murder or even fall in love.

At this time, it is hard to determine who may be responsible for the discovery of the multidimensional theory of domestic violence. However, through all the research the one name that kept showing up was Richard J. Gelles, who is an American writer. He is currently a dean at the University of Pennsylvania and holds The Joanne and Raymond Welsh Chair of Child Welfare and Family Violence in the School of Social Policy Practice. He is the Director for the Center for Research on Youth Social Policy and Co-Director of the Field Center for Children's Policy Practice Research. Gelles is an internationally known expert in domestic violence and child welfare. He was influential in the passage of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (in.com, n.d.). What this multidimensional theory really consists of is a few of the other theories blended together to form a model that can not only explain what is going on with domestic violence but how to help the people who are involved (Gosselin, D.K., 2010). 2

Domestic Violence 3

Now the model within the multidimensional theory that best addresses the causes, consequences, and treatments for abused women and children is called the Ecological Model, This model incorporates some of the research that was developed through the three traditional schools of criminological theory (Gosselin, D.K., 2010).

Imagine if you will a large circle and within that circle there are three other circles. This represents the Ecological model of factors associated with family violence. The smallest circle represents the individual, the biological and psychological history that each [person] brings to the family structure, in other words, the behavior within the family. The second circle represents relationships; this is where we find the stressors of life and this circle represents the context in which abuse against members of the family occurs. The third bigger circle is community and the formal and informal institutions and social structure which influence a family and their interactions, you will find poverty and isolation along with limited access to services that can help here. The largest circle belongs to society, this encompasses cultural norms which dictate behavior, laws and policies that tolerate physical punishment of women and children, and acceptance of violence as a means to settle interpersonal disputes (Gosselin, D.K., 2010).

By looking at the levels of this ecological model we see that it incorporates all the levels that we live with each day, like ourselves number one, then the people we surround ourselves with like family and spouses or significant others. Then we move outward toward community which might involve people we work with, then the services we encounter or we may need to help us day to day, we may not even have access to these services which is stressful. Then the outermost ring is society, here we abide by laws, we conform to what is acceptable and turn away from what people deem unacceptable. We have adopted gender roles that we seem to be

Domestic Violence 4

alright with living within them. Males being masculine and dominant and women being feminine and a bit more submissive, violence is even an accepted way of settling problems. Perhaps as we look deeper into these situations we may see just how much violence there really is out there surrounding us in our daily lives.

In order to support the ecological theory evidence must be presented that matches what these circles are telling us. Statistics are the best way to support some of these theories, so this is a good place to begin. Beginning with the inner circle, we had the individual, if you remember that included parent child characteristics, witnessing marital violence as a child, being abused as a child, and alcohol use (Gosselin, D.K., 2010). In a report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Special Reports, State Court Processing Statistics, (2009), most intimate partner violence incidents occurred in the victims residence. Prosecutor files indicated that 58% of IPV incidents occurred in the residence shared by the victim and the defendant, another 21% of IPV incidents occurred in the residence occupied by the victim, but not the defendant, a greater percentage of misdemeanor (60%) than felony cases (49%) arose from incidents that occurred in a shared residence, less than 2% of felony or misdemeanor cases occurred in the workplace. This supports the theory that most domestic violence takes place in the home, now moving on to the children.

Again according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Special Report, State Court Processing Statistics, (2009), states that a direct witness was present for more than 40% of the intimate partner violence cases and more than half of those were children. Child eyewitnesses accounted for 22% of these witnesses and the other 14% were just present during the violence but did not directly witness anything. Those statistics support the theory that children often

Domestic Violence 5 witness marital violence or violence in the home. In that same report it mentions also that a third of defendants in intimate partner violence cases were using alcohol or drugs and most IPV involved a female victim and a male defendant (84%), (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2009). That takes care of the rest of the theories for the first circle at least, children are often witness to these acts of violence in families, drugs, or alcohol is abused, and many times it is the woman who falls prey to the stronger more dominant male in the relationship.

Since children are often the eyewitnesses to this violence is it possible that they learn this behavior and mimic it as they grow older only to repeat it in their own lives? According to Rebecca Brooks, (2011), since children are not naturally prone to violence it only makes sense that certain events and factors can cause a child to become violent. Children who live in violent homes tend to become violent. The Child Welfare website states that abused children are 3.1 times more likely to get arrested for violent crimes while they are still a child or even later on as an adult. It seems these children learn or think that violence is an acceptable way of handling their problems because they have not been shown any other way to handle their problems. The second circle includes family stressors, marital conflict, and male control of wealth and decision making in the family (Gosselin, D.K., 2010). Family stressors can lead to marital conflict which in turn can lead to anger and violence. Some of these stressors can be environmental meaning the neighborhood in which people live if it is not safe, pollution, high crime areas, noise like a dog barking that keeps you up all night, or even war-torn areas where the stress may be unrelenting (Texas A&M, System, 2009).

Additional stressors include: disagreements between romantic partners, with friends, rebellious teens, children with special needs, caring for aging parents, being unhappy at work, 5

Domestic Violence 6

major life changes such as having a child, even small things like losing keys to the car, getting a speeding ticket, or getting a flat tire can all cause major stress in a relationship and if people do not understand or know how to deal with these feelings their first reaction will probably be anger (Texas A&M Systems, 2009). These events all support the fact that there are many stressors that are involved in family life that can have an impact on marital relationships enough to cause some domestic violence in response to these stressors.

Circle number three is community and this involves poverty and isolation along with the ability or lack of ability to access services within the community that can help families cope with day to day survival when there is violence in the home. There is such a link between poverty and domestic violence that the government stepped in and allowed states to adopt the Family Violence Option (FVO). Under this program victims of violence are allowed extended time to find employment (Satyanathan, D., & Pollack, A., n.d.). Having the ability to gain access to services within your community reduces the chances for isolation, when a victim knows there is a light out there or help they can turn to then they are not alone. Especially when there are kids involved, victims need to know there is somewhere they can turn if the need arises.

The final part of this circle is society which involves the acceptance of this type of violence, laws and policies that need to be stricter or better enforced, and the rigid gender roles we are teaching our children. Violence is all around us from movies, television to our kids video games. They see it on the playgrounds and if not at home they see it at their friends homes. It does not take a rocket scientist to see that we could use policies to put ratings on some of the video games that are on the market today. We could also as a society learn to teach our kids that boys and girls do not have to act in certain ways. They can be and act however they want to act

Domestic Violence 7 and it is alright. Boys are allowed to cry and be sensitive without being weak and made fun of, while girls can be strong and smart without being called names.

The bottom line is that domestic violence has many causes it is almost impossible to pinpoint just one. People are all different and we all have different personalities and problems. Women are not the only victims of domestic violence. Men are abused by women in some relationships; teens are now being abused in their relationships as they are mimicking what they see in their parents relationships. Children who grow up in these types of homes are likely to continue the cycle of abuse. There are shelters and many programs to help battered women today; however an abusive relationship is harder to walk away from than people might believe. It begins as a game of control, then it becomes isolation, then a breakdown of your mind and everything you thought you knew, then the physical abuse begins. By that time the victim is so helpless she does not believe she has the strength to get away, and if she does, she doesnt believe she can make it without him. It is a horrible circle and in the end the children suffer and begin the circle again.

Domestic Violence 8

References

Brooks, R. (2011). Reasons children are violent. Retrieved August 22, 2011, from http://www.ehow.com/info_7905764_reasons_children_violent.html Gosselin, D.K. (2010). Heavy hands: An introduction to the crimes of family violence (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/ Prentice Hall ISBN: 0136139035

in.com. (n.d.). Richard James Gelles. Retrieved August 22, 2011, from http://Connect.in.com/richard.james.gelles/biography-233887.html

Satyanathan, D., & Pollack, A. (n.d.). Domestic violence and poverty. Retrieved August 25, 2011, from http://www.familyimpactseminars.org/s_mifis04c05.pdf

Texas A&M System. (2009). Identifying stressors. Retrieved August 25, 2011, from http://fes.tes.tamu.edu/health/healthhints/2009/jan/identifying-stressors.pdf