There have been three historical periods during which the problem of domestic violence has become a public issue and been responded to by reformers and agencies of the state—1870s, 1910s and 1970s to present. At each of these junctures, the problem was publicly recognized, statistics were gathered, explanations were proffered and policy reforms were introduced. On each occasion, the move to public recognition and reform was led by a vigorous women’s movement.
The issue has been variously described as wife-beating and, more recently, as violence against women, woman abuse or domestic violence. Research findings show that across time and across cultures violence in marital and marital-like relationships is overwhelmingly asymmetrical, with men using violence against their female partners. While much of this violence remains unreported, current findings from crime statistics, victim surveys and depth-interviews reveal that between 10 and 25 per cent of all ‘married’ women have experienced violence from their male partner at some time during their life. The nature of the violence ranges from slapping and shoving to domestic homicide. The most common form is punching and kicking resulting in injuries such as bruising, broken bones and teeth, and cuts. Evidence further suggests that this physical violence is usually accompanied by other acts of aggression, coercion and intimidation, and is sometimes associated with sexual violence.
Across societies, homicide in domestic settings is, for the most part, the killing of wives, uxoricide. This usually occurs in the context of a history of sustained violence by the man against his female partner. Occasionally women kill husbands and the rate of these acts varies across societies, but this usually occurs in the context of a history of male violence directed at the woman. While death is an unusual outcome of domestic assaults, it none the less represents an important proportion of all the homicides of women, and in some countries uxoricide accounts for a considerable proportion of all the homicides. The evidence about domestic violence tells a common story, of a problem that is serious and widespread in most societies and of violence perpetrated by males against females.
Various explanations have been proposed by social scientists to account for this violence: social and individual pathologies; interactional, situational and family dynamics; and institutional, cultural and ideological forces. In many of these perspectives, male power, domination and control are emphasized to varying degrees. Historical, anthropological and contemporary research consistently reveal that conflicts associated with the use of violence typically include male concerns about power and authority, about jealousy and sexual possessiveness and about the domestic labour of women (e.g. food preparation and child-care). Individual backgrounds and learning experiences have also been shown to be important.
Domestic violence is a problem that has simultaneously involved researchers, social activists and policy makers. Activists have introduced the problem into the public agenda, secured its definition as a social problem and engaged the state in the process of policy making. Researchers have added systematic knowledge and policy makers have engaged in efforts to respond with measures intended to reduce or eliminate the problem and/or to provide support to its victims. The women’s movement has been at the forefront in recognizing the problem internationally, providing the major response in the form of refuge or shelter for abused women and their children, and engaging the state in seeking reforms.
In addition to studying the nature of violence, social scientists have investigated the responses of the state, including their shortcomings and the effectiveness of existing responses and innovative policies and programmes. In this respect, initial attention was focused primarily on housing and refuge provision for abused women and criminal justice responses to violent men and the women they victimized. Evidence shows that housing and shelter provide important sanctuaries for women and children; traditional justice responses are not usually effective in reducing violence or supporting victims; and there is now a climate of change in law and law enforcement in some countries. An emerging area of research focuses on the effectiveness of innovative legal responses to violent men. Studies of the social services show a similar history of ineffective responses followed by innovations whose effectiveness is yet to be studied. Health and health care services have become the focus of growing academic and policy attention.
Within the social sciences, the disciplines of sociology, criminology and psychology have to date provided the greatest amount of research and scholarship. Anthropology, evolutionary psychology, medicine and nursing have begun to study the problem to add new explanations and enhance, modify or challenge existing ones.
Russell P Dobash
R.Emerson Dobash
University of Wales, Cardiff
Further reading
Browne, A. (1987) When Battered Women Kill, New York.
Daly, M. and Wilson, M. (1988) Homicide, New York.
Dobash, R.E. and Dobash, R.P. (1979) Violence Against Wives, New York.
——(1992) Women, Violence and Social Change, London and New York.
Dobash, R.P., Dobash, R.E., Daly, M. and Wilson, M. (1992) ‘The myth of sexual symmetrical in marital violence’, Social Problems 39.
Fagan, J. and Browne, A. (1994) ‘Violence between spouses and intimates: Physical aggression between women and men in relationships’, in A.J.Reiss, Jr and J.A.Roth (eds) The Understanding and Control of Violent Behavior,vol. 3, Washington, DC.
Gordon, L. (1988) Heroes of their Own Lives, New York.
Kelly, L. (1988) Surviving Sexual Violence, Cambridge.
Pahl, J. (ed.) (1985), Private Violence and Public Policy: The Needs of Battered Women and the Response of the Public Service, London.
Schechter, S. (1982) Women and Male Violence: The Visions and Struggles of the Battered Women’s Movement, Boston, MA.
Smith, L. (1989) Domestic Violence: An Overview of the Literature, Home Office Research Study 107, London.
Straus, M.A. and Gelles, R.J. (eds) (1990) Physical Violence in American Families, New Brunswick, NJ.
