Domestic Violence Amd Women :: Violence Against Women Essays

Domestic violence is a terrible problem that we all must face, not only the people who are victims. We need to stop this before the problem develops into anything bigger than it already is. The battered woman, it has been said, lives in a world of terror and her home is her prison (Berger, 1990, pg. 35). For many hundreds of years people weren't worried about domestic violence. In fact, a popular family journal, the Journal of Marriage and Family, did not include a single article on domestic from 1932 to 1969 (Berger, 1990, pg. 27). Suddenly, more women came out and told of the abuse they had once suffered. Researchers report that 1.8-2.9 million women are battered yearly. Not only do the victims suffer physical pain, but they also have to deal with emotional and psychological pain. The victim may have to face reoccurring nightmares, and may never want to trust another man. Much too frequently, the victim blames themselves. The typical response of an abused/battered woman is, "I provoked him . . . I was being a bad wife, mother, and housekeeper," (Peled, 1995, pg. 141). The very sad part about the violence, beside the physical and emotional stress, is that most likely they know the offender or abuser. So, why, why would a person who is loved, want to abuse their spouse or girlfriend? One of the key responses . . . Jealousy. The husband may become very suspicious, afraid of losing his wife. The abuser sees his wife or girlfriend as a possession. The only way, they think, to relieve this built up anger is aggression. To improve their self-esteem, they abuse the victim physically, emotionally, and sometimes, sexually. Another key factor in wife abuse is alcohol. When the man is stressed, he turns to alcohol to relieve it. Little does he know, that the alcohol makes him more irritable. "He started really drinking excessively and that is when the abuse started. He had been drinking . . . I sat down to read the paper and he wanted his supper . . . he kicked the cat to the ceiling . . . he started slapping my face with both hands," (Berger, 1990, pg. 42). Research shows that men who abuse their wives, often saw their own mother abused. Do to witnessing this, the children of battered families usually grow up to have low self-esteem and believe that hitting is right.