Chapter 14

Summary

Chapter 14: Family Abuse, Violence, and Other Health Issues starts by telling us that we are more likely to be killed by a family member than by a stranger. It defines Intimate Partner Violence as violence that occurs between couples in a close relationship. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claims that 27% of women and 16% of men are victims of abuse at some time in their lives, although the actual statistic is estimated to be higher.

Types of Inter Partner Violence

Physical Abuse – when one or both partners get hurt by the other using physical force.

Sexual Abuse – making a partner engage in unwanted sexual activity.

Emotional Abuse – harming a partner’s sense of self-worth.

Between 1993 and 2005 almost 75% of all abuse by a partner was against women. IPV estimates 1,200 deaths and 2 million injuries for women annually compared with 330 deaths and 600,000 injuries among men annually. Women are more likely to experience physical abuse because of they are usually smaller than their partners

Characteristics of Abusive and Violent Households

Abusers tend to be young, poor, unemployed, cohabiting or separated and tend to be alcohol or drug users along with experienced the sight of abuse from an adult figure earlier on in life.

Gender

Women are more likely to experience IPV than men. Men are more likely to use a deadly weapon. Familycide – murdering one's spouse, ex-spouse, children or other relatives before attempting or committing suicide.

Age

Younger people rather than older people tend to be the perpetrators and victims of IPV. Most abuse is estimated to result from financial difficulties.

Race and Ethnicity

Multiracial and American Indian women report the highest abuse rates (43% and 39%, respectively), and Asian American women the lowest (10%). Recent immigrants are reluctant to report violence.

Social Class

Females who live in the lowest income class tend to experience the most IPV. The most likely perpetrators and victims are those who:

marry or cohabit at a young age

had sexual intercourse at a young age

had many sexual partners

were aggressive as children

abuse alcohol and other drugs

are unemployed

live in poverty

have unintended pregnancies or more children than they can afford.

Risk Factors Associated with IPV

the woman's education/income level higher than the man's

the couple is cohabiting or separated rather than married, divorced, or widowed

the partners' race and/or ethnicity differ

the man is sadistic, aggressive, or obsessively jealous

either or both partners were violent during their teenage years

one or both partners grew up seeing a parent or intimate partner hit the other

the man is unemployed and the woman is employed

family's income is below the poverty line

the man is younger than the age of 35

either or both partners abuse alcohol and other drugs

the man has assaulted someone outside the family or committed some other violent crime

the family is socially isolated from neighbors, relatives, and the community

Marital Rape – man forces his wife to have unwanted sexual intercourse. This is the most common form of rape and has been a crime since 1993. An estimated 25% of women in the US have been raped by their spouses, but very few report the crime.

The Cycle of Domestic Violence

Battered-woman syndrome – condition when a woman has experienced years of physical abuse but feels incapable of leaving her spouse. State governors have granted clemency to several hundred women who killed their abusive husbands.

Phase 1: Tension-Building Phase

This phase involves minor offenses that the woman usually justifies and doesn't get mad over

Phase 2: The Acute Battering Incident

Abusers tend to have 2 personalities and woman who are subjected to abuse sometimes trigger the abuser's aggression to get the incident over with.

Phase 3: The “Honeymoon” Phase

The man usually pleads for forgiveness and that it “was the last time.” The woman usually

believes this. The phases start all over again and the woman is usually subjected to marital

rape.

Some reasons women stay in abusive relationships: negative self-concept and low self esteem, belief that the abuser will change, economic harship and homelessness, need for child support, shame or guilt, blaming themselves, fear, and the home becomes a prison.

Warning Signs of IPV and Abuse

Verbal Abuse

Sexual Abuse

Disrespect

Isolation

Emotional Withholing or Neglect

Jealousy

Unrealistic Expectations

Blaming Others for Problems

Rigid Sex Roles

Extreme Mood Swings

Cruelty to Animals and Children

Threats of Violence

Destruction of Property

Self-Destructive Behaviors

Battered men are less likely than women to be trapped in an abusive relationship because men tend to have more economic resources. Child mistreatment – any form of physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and/or emotional abuse. The most common form of child mistreatment is neglect, although most mistreated children are often victims of more than one type of mistreatment. From birth to age 18, 52% of girls and 48% of boys are likely to be neglected. Reasons adults abuse children – stress, poverty, substance abuse, partner abuse, divorce, a combination of factors.

Sibling Abuse

Physical and Emotional Abuse: Name calling and ridicule, degredation, intimidation, torturing or killing a pet, destroying personal possessions.

Sexual Abuse.

Sandwich generation – baby boomers who must now care for their own children and their parents.

Elder Abuse – includes the following: physical abuse, negligence, financial exploitation, psychological abuse, deprivation of necessities, isolation from friends and family, not administering needed medications. It is estimated that family members and acquiantances mistreat 5% of the elderly every year. (0% of the abusers are family members.

Why family members mistreat the elderly:

Living arrangements

Social isolation

Alcohol abuse

Impairment of the caregiver or the recipient

Dependency of the older person on the care giver

Medical costs and financial stress

Personality

Same-sex couples are abusers/abused as often as heterosexual couples.

An estimated 8% of Americans ages 12 and up use illegal drugs. There are two types of problematic alcohol consumption. Binge drinking and heavy drinking. Depression – mental disorder characterized by pervasive sadness and other negative emotions that interfere with the ability to work, study, sleep, eat, and enjoy experiences that were formerly pleasurable. May lead to suicide. Suicide is the 11^th leading cause of death among Americans. Eating disorders: binge eating, anorexia nervosa and bulimia,and overweight and obesity.

Interesting Facts

I found it incredibly interesting that marital rape is a crime. I guess it's due to my age but I never even considered rape a possibility in a marriage. With an estimate of 25% of all women in marriages having experienced marital rape once, that's a scary statistic.

Question

Do you think there should be more “homes” for women who've experienced IPV? What specific programs would you have if you were to create a safe house?

Interesting Articles On Marital Rape

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,147725,00.html

http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?dbName=DocumentViewer&DocumentID=32701

Steve Boser