Lecture 22Outline of Last Lecture I. Family ViolenceA. History of Family ViolenceII. Domestic Violence in the U.SA. Violence and GenderB. Research on Race/Ethnic DifferencesIII. Factors of Family ViolenceIV. Violence Cross-CulturallyOutline of Current Lecture I. DivorceII. Divorce MeasuresIII. Divorce RegulationA. Eras of DivorceIV. Viewing DivorceA. Formal and InformalB. Common Grounds for DivorceC. Reasons for Divorce in Western SocietyCurrent LectureI. Divorce- Every society and country has a method to get rid of your spouse- Data is not consistent from country to country; for instance, there are low divorce rates in Sweden, but most couples do not get married.- Also, some countries do not register divorces.- The majority of countries have seen an increase in divorces, few have seen a decrease.- 75% of people will stay married.II. Divorce Measures- Divorce rates are measures in 4 ways:1. The Crude Divorce Rate. This is where you take the # of divorces/ 1,000 or 100,000 population. This is the most common way to measure divorces. The problem with it is that it includes the WHOLE population. Including those who cannot get divorced; such as children, singles, widows, etc. This rate is highly sensitive to age and highly influences by children.2. The Refined Divorce Rate. This takes the # of divorces/ 1,000 or 100,000 married couples or married women. Advantage: Only measures those who are eligible. 3. The next measure looks at married couples at a point in time and tracks the number of couples who divorce at later points in time. This is the BEST way to look at divorce.4. The next measure takes the #of divorces/# of marriages in a given year. This is the least satisfactory method and the MOST used among the media. IT is misleading because both the number of marriages and the number of divorces change every year.III. Divorce regulation- Hammurabi’s code was the first written regulation stating that a husband could divorce his wife at will, for any reason. FAS 370 1st EditionA. Eras of Divorce1. Era of restricted divorce (prior to mid 19th century): Divorce was rare and was only used so a man could keep his property; children were considered property.2. Era of divorce tolerance (mid 19th century to 1970’s): Divorce was tolerated with reason.3. Era of unrestricted divorce (1970-current): People can get divorced for any reason under the sun.IV. Viewing Divorce- Divorce is seen as functional, that it doesn’t reflect failure but is rather a means to escape.- However, NO society places a positive value on divorce.A. Informal and FormalSanctions may be formed that are informal and formal- Formal: Some places have fine money for divorce. Other places say that you cannot remarry.- Informal: Gossip, exclusion, shaming as a result of divorce.B. Common grounds for divorce1. Adultery (Having sex with someone outside of marriage)2. Sterility (Cannot have kids)3. Economic incapacity (Spouse cannot provide for family)4. Thievery (Stealing)5. Impotence/frigidity (where a partner cannot have sex)6. Desertion (Takes off, leaves family)7. Cruelty (Beating, abuse)C. Reasons for Divorce in Western Society- Industrialization. This has allowed more jobs, and makes it easier for a person to provide for oneself and not dependent on another.- Marriage by choice and personal happiness. If a person gets married because the other person makes them happy, when that person no longer makes them happy, they think that it is time for a divorce.- Less kin involvement. There is less pressure by relatives to stay together because of less involvement.- Status of women. The independence of women and her resources has allowed for her to more easily leave since she can provide for herself.- Declining social stigma. Society is more and more accepting of divorce and there is not much negative stereotyping of divorced