Women and children living together in a shelter for victims of domestic violence. Many cases of domestic
violence and abuse go unreported for fear of retaliation by the victimizer. (Hulton-Deutsch
Collection/Corbis)believes that the violent behavior will stop and re-
mains in the relationship. The tension-building oc-
curs again, however, and the cycle repeats itself,
leaving the victim to feel trapped and helpless.
Family Structure
Another approach to understanding domestic vi-
olence moves attention away from the individual and
focuses on the structure of the family. In this ap-
proach, it is believed that certain characteristics put
a family or a couple at risk for violence. Individuals
who have witnessed violence within their own family
as a child may be more likely to imitate similar behav-
ior in their relationships as adults. At the same time,
conditions exist that produce stress and conflict on
the family. Factors such as low socioeconomic status;
low-income occupations, which may result in frequent
unemployment; and little to no social support from
family, friends, or the community create high levels
of stress. It is hypothesized that individuals who have
learned to resolve conflict with violence use violence
as a method of coping with these types of stressors
(Flowers 2000).
Societal Perspective
A third approach takes a broader perspective
than the previous two and examines domestic vio-
lence in the context of society and societal values. Vio-
lence against women is considered to be accepted by
society as it has been supported through law and reli-
gion since the beginning of recorded time. This ap-
proach examines the traditional dominance of men
in society, which has condoned and even encouraged
men to act violently toward women to maintain domi-
nance and control over them. An unequal distribution
of power in the relationships between men and
women assigns women a lower status. From this posi-
tion of subordination, women become dependent
upon their spouses or partners and are subjected to
the demands and abuse of their mates.The societal perspective may help to explain the
lack of public attention to problems of domestic vio-
lence and prosecution of abusers until the 1970s. Per-
mission for violence by men against their wives has
been reinforced through Western religion and law for
centuries. Examples of spousal abuse can be found in
the Bible and serve to justify a husband’s right to con-
trol the behavior of his wife. During the Middle Ages,
English common law allowed a husband to chastise
his wife as long as he used a stick no larger than the
width of his thumb, a concept commonly known as
the ‘‘rule of thumb.’’ Although legislation was enacted
in the American colonies to outlaw domestic violence
in 1641, with later laws originating in the late 1800s,
the laws were not usually enforced and served only to
curtail extreme cases of violence. It is purported that
American society’s apparent acceptance of domestic
violence resulted from long-held beliefs in Western
society that supported a husband’s control of his wife
and that discouraged intervention by the law.126 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE