Chapter 10 Media violence and Violence America a symbol of violent brawls unrestrained vigilante activity forcible suppression of political dissidents or undesirables racist attitudes Murder and rape rates in America are at least 4 times higher than other advanced industrial nations o Families more likely to be poor in us higher violence rates o Poor receive fewer benefits for problems such as health care and child care we tolerate extremes of deprivation and social insecurity rather than a sense of collective responsibility for the well being of others o Economic inequality combined with racial ethnic discrimination leads to higher rates of violent crimes Institutionally sanctioned violence o Privacy of marriage should be upheld many look the other way in less extreme cases of domestic abuse o Guns are directly correlated with murder but congress does not do much to stop common citizens from owning guns o Corporal punishment is legal in all states in the U S o 21 states are allowed to paddle their students Allowed in only the U S and Austria American Academy of Pediatrics American Bar Association and the National Education Association support banning paddling o Largest funded sport is football which promotes violence can lead to the thought that violence and intimidation are an acceptable way to act off of the field o Religion supports violence Television and Movies o By age 18 the average American child will have seen 16 000 simulated murders and 200 000 acts of violence o Research finds increased aggressive behaviors and attitudes fears or pessimistic attitudes about the world and desensitization to violence to be correlated with exposure to violent media o Increased depression nightmares and sleep disturbances associated with viewing media violence Pornography Music o Eroticizes dominance and submission o Celebrate violence and contempt for women and legal authority o RIAA justifies it by saying even your parents didn t understand your test in music just like you don t understand your child s Video Games o Many of the themes of these games are violence o They have become incredibly realistic and you can almost put yourself in the position Literature and Folklore o There was an old lady that lived in a shoe o Peter pumpkin eater kept his wife in a pumpkin Violence and the social organization of the family Power system power is unequally distributed between parents and children and the male is often more dominant When a child acts the parent feels they have the right to discipline them in order to get them to conform to their ways Because marriage is between a man and a women this will cause a battle of the sexes Families are constantly doing activities together and have much more intense feelings for one another which can cause greater disputes Family privacy o Insulates family members from the protection that society can provide if another family member becomes abusive o Prevents the victims of abuse from seeking outside help Family violence intimate partner violence spouse abuse There are many different definitions for intimate partner violence o National violence against women survey defines it to include rape physical assault and stalking Domestic violence was one called wife abuse or spouse abuse until women and men began organizing their relationships outside of marriage Conclusions vary based on who is included same sex couples etc and what actions are defined as abusive National Violence Against Women Survey o 33 million American have been victims of violence o 1 3 million women and more than 800 000 men are physically assaulted usually victimized repeatedly o Abused women are assaulted more frequently than men550 000 female victims and 125 000 male victims require medical treatment each year More than 80 of the victims are women Reasons why the extent of woman abuse in domestic settings is impossible to pin down accurately Violent events generally take place in private Treated by medical professionals who often fail to inquire deeply about their Victims often lie about their injuries out of shame fear of reprisal or to wounds protect their partners Many victims do not go to public agencies for help because they feel like they are unresponsive police and the courts o Only 27 of women report physical assaults to the cops o Nearly all the women that didn t report it said they did not think the police would do anything about it Intimate terrorism and situational couple violence Intimate terrorism patriarchal terrorism and to exert general control over the relationship domination that is manifested in the use of a wide range of power and control tactics including violence attempt to dominate one s partner o Perpetuated almost completely by men o Experience violence that is more frequent and more likely to lead to injury o Women are more likely to experience post traumatic stress disorder miss work or leave their partners Situational couple violence such a general pattern of controlling behaviors but occurs when specific conflict situations escalate to violence intimate partner violence that is not embedded in o Perpetuated only slightly by more by men o An argument escalates and one or both partners react physically Power and violence Initiated by a way of gaining and maintaining absolute control of their female partners and is rooted in patriarchal ideas of male ownership of their spouses Incorporates systematic use of tactics that are not physically violent but are nonetheless an exercise of power Use the political and economic vulnerability of women to reinforce their power and dominance over particular women Take advantage of the vulnerabilities of women economic dependence state as an illegal immigrant alcohol or drug dependency responsibility to provide for or care for children Man may feel inadequate so he tries to make up for it by being controlling 8 types of violence in the power and control wheel Developed by abused women through a shelter program in Duluth Minnesota in the 1980s Using coercion and threats o Making carrying out threats to do something to hurt her o Threatening to leave her commit suicide report her to welfare o Making her drop charges o Making her do illegal things Using intimidation o Making her afraid through looks acts gestures etc o Smashing things o Destroying her property o Abusing pets o Displaying weapons Using emotional abuse o Putting her down o Making her feel bad about herself o Calling her names o Making her think she is crazy o