Ch 10 and Dr Ajavi Violence in Families Families in a Violent Society Violence in families is shaped by the history culture and distribution of power in society US leads in industrial nations in violence we are distinguished from other countries to the extent to which we are willing to rob maim kill and rape one another o 4 times greater likelihood you will experience family violence o Children in US more likely to live in poverty link to violence disadvantage and violence are strongest for the poorest and most neglected of the poor o Economic inequality racial ethnic discrimination leads to higher rates of violent crime Institutionally Sanctioned Violence structural components of violence o Non intervention stance of legal system privacy of marriage often look the other way o Legality of corporal punishment how we view punishment intentional use of physical force as a method of changing behavior o In education US supreme court ruled in 1977 teachers had right to use corporal punishment o Schools promote violent aggressive sports o Religion also supports violence Violence in the media TV and movies for children Pornography o Glorified in movies and tv o By age 10 most have seen 16 000 simulated murders and 200 000 acts of violence o Studies link exposure to media violence and negative outcomes long and short term o Encourages male dominance o Central feature conflation of sex and violence o Sexualize rape battery sexual harassment and child sexual abuse o Celebrate and promotes and legitimize them Music o Popular music celebrates violence o Contempt for women and legal authority Video games o 18 million industry o Main theme centered on violence o Increasingly realistic and interactive Literature and folklore Important to note research linking violent behavior to media violence is inconclusive Real world violence cannot be directly associated with simulated violence Customs and Beliefs Support violence Parents encourage sons to be aggressive Parents consider it part of their role to train sons to be tough Parents consider it normal to discipline children by hitting them Simons Lin Gordon 1998 found that harsh physical punishment by parents may also lead to dating violence as youth learn that it is okay to hit the ones that you love p 475 Violence and the social organization of the Family Family encourages conflict o Power system power is unequally distributed btw parents and children btw spouses and male parent typically dominant Male dominance is perpetuated by legal system and religious teaching More events over which a dispute may develop in the family o Activities are greater and feelings are more intense Family privacy enhances likelihood of violence o Insulates family members from society s protection o Often prevents abused members from seeking outside help Relationship Violence Defined as a pattern of physically sexually verbally and or emotionally abusive behavior or privacy intrusions in a relationship abuse takes many forms It ranges from punching slapping pushing and grabbing to rape and murder from threats of violence verbal attacks and other forms of intimidation to extreme jealousy possessiveness and controlling behavior Relationship abuse is designed to be isolating and controlling taking different forms at different times and limited only by the energy imagination and desperation of the abuser Types of relationship violence 1 Domestic violence 2 Intimate partner violence IPV o Violence btw husbands and wives cohabitating partners and dating couples o In form of physical beating slapping kicking rape verbal emotional and sexual o Difficulty to define can t agree on common definition o Majority of abusers are male and most targets are female males can also be victims o Center for Disease Control 2006 estimates that more than 8 4 billion dollars was lost due to IPV in the form of medical treatment mental health services and lost productivity Contexts for intimate partner violence o Lower SES greater chance of violence being recognize SOCIAL CLASS No limited to one social class Under reported in higher SES Mens unemployment putting family more at risk for violence Poverty limits womens response to abuse less likely of escaping o RACE AND ETHNICITY Minority groups more likely to live in poverty Immigration status also complicates race and abuse o o o Substance abuse alcohol drugs more likely to abuse be targeted INDIVIDUAL AND RELATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS Occupation high stress high demands pressure to be violent Inadequacy of male partners male feels not good enough leads to jealousy leading to some sort of control EMOTIONAL ABUSE From Ridicule and personal put downs to humiliation and trying to convince someone he she is crazy FAMILY HISTORY OF ABUSE Sometimes becomes normal if you saw it when younger 3 Teen dating violence TDV 4 Dating violence o Nearly 1 in 3 32 college students report dating violence by a previous partner and 21 report violence by a current partner o More than half 60 of acquaintance rapes on college campuses occur in casual or o Ninety percent of college women who are victims of rape or attempted rape know o The attacker is usually a classmate friend boyfriend ex boyfriend or other steady dating relationships their assailant acquaintance in that order Violence Against women Women are victims in 8 of 10 spousal homicides Every year more than 1 million women are stalked by intimate partners Most temporary restraining orders against intimate partners are violated Native American and African American women report significantly higher rates of intimate 22 women report that they have been physically assaulted violence victimization than do other racial groups Asian americans lowest Cyberbullying Child preteen or teen is tormented threatened harassed humiliated embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child preteen or teen using the Internet interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones It has to have a minor on both sides or at least have been instigated by a minor against another minor Once adults become involved it is cyber harassment or cyberstalking Adult cyber harassment or cyberstalking is NEVER called cyberbullying Digital Abuse In the online environment it can be anonymous with the abusers hiding behind fake stolen or impersonated accounts and screen names It can involve spying and digital tracking of communications and online activities It can mean using technology cell phones social networking sites etc to stay in constant