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Domestic Violence - Social Issue

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Domestic Violence - Social Issue
Domestic Violence- a social issue
In this essay we will look at the history of domestic violence, and the slow rise to women’s rights and the government’s response. The issues related to and with domestic violence, such as alcohol and other drug abuse and mental illness. What becomes of children that bear witness to domestic violence? Finally how far have we come as a society to protect our members from domestic violence and its ramifications?
The history of domestic violence (DV) is as long as domestic and family settings have occurred. Patriarchal religions that evolved around 5000 years ago have been a detrimental influence on man’s control over and the ownership of women. Men were able to discipline their women, keep them submissive and controlled under the premise of their religious cannons.
Previous to this system there was goddess worship, and then it was very different, far more equal as Logan states “Archaeological evidence reveals that at all other times, Mother Goddess worship was the primary religion almost everywhere across the globe. Women enjoyed power, protection, safety and rights enviable nowadays…” (Loganhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/meimei-fox/in-defense-of-the-goddess_b_2207715.html).
In the legal court there was a ‘law’ cited by men for hundreds of years, it was a common law. This was the rule of thumb. The law as cited from the book “Laws of Women” states “A man may beat his wife with a stick or rod as thick as his middle finger and as long as his forearm”. However the wife had to have caused her husband insult, such as being unfaithful, giving away property, if she insulted his beard, [or] wished dirt on his teeth. He was allowed to hit her three times anywhere on the body except the head (www.historyofwomen.org/wifebeating.htmlsdwry3 ).
In 1889 Louisa Lawson was the first to stand up against DV; she said “Will it be believed, a hundred years hence, that such a state of things existed?” (http://timeline.awava.org.au/timeline) and is



Bibliography: http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/pubs/fm2010/fm85/fm85a.pdf http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BN/2011-2012/DVAustralia http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/domestic_violence_and_children http://www.huffingtonpost.com/meimei-fox/in-defense-of-the-goddess_b_2207715.html Logan A. 11/29/2012 http://www.historyofwomen.org/wifebeating.htmlsdwry3 http://timeline.awava.org.au/timeline http://www.whiteribbon.org.au/

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