Domestic violence is a terrible problem in Amercian society. The following paper is a discussion and analysis of the problem. The paper first presents a definition of battering and then examines the scope of the issue within the context of American society.
Statistics are presented which demonstrate how pressing the need is for Americans to address this problem and to repair the broken lives which it has created. I hope you will find the analysis useful and engaging, but more importantly I hope you find the information compelling.
One definition ("Domestic Violence Facts Sheet") of "battering" describes this behavior as the "àestablishment of control and fear in a relationship through violence and other forms of abuse. The batterer uses acts of violence and a series of behaviors including intimidation, threats, psychological abuse, isolation, etc. to coerce and to control the other personà." While the violence defined above may not happen often, it nevertheless will always remain below the surface in the relationship. As such, real mediation of the conflict and tensions will be virtually impossible to overcome, let alone bring to peaceful resolution.
This type of violence can include, but not be strictly limited to, a number of other "coercive" behaviors such as actual or threatened physical injury, sexual assault, psychological abuse (including intimidation, threats, privilege manipulation), economic control, and/or progressive social isolation. One of the reasons women stay in an abusive relationship is simply because of economics. Very often, it is the male in the relationship that controls the family financial situation. Some of these individuals go to the extreme of asking their wives to provide to them a regular "accounting" of the budget money (Sheftel).
In 1992, the American Medical Association (AMA) predicted that one in three women would be assaulted by a domestic partner at least once in her lifetimeùth...