Domestic Violence Research Paper

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
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
Do to witnessing this, the children of battered families usually grow up

to have low self-esteem and believe that hitting is right.

Women who are in abusive relationships find it very difficult to leave. Not

only are they afraid for their own lives, but sometimes, if children are involved,

the offender threatens the lives of the children. One woman told a

psychologist, "He promises anything you want to hear. He promises that he will

do anything, lots of tears, and Oh, I'm so sorry, and I love these children, I

would never do it again.' You want to believe that it's just a mistake, but it's not

a mistake," (Berger, 1990, pg. 42). Many women are threatened by their

husband or boyfriend that if they try to leave they'll be hurt worse than ever before or

even killed. 68% fear that their lives will be taken by the abuser, 71% of abused

women believe that they are still in love with their husband or boyfriend, and 66%

believe that they need a man to have a successful and happy life. After repeated abuse

many of the abusers try to convince the victims that they'll change and that it will

never happen again. Researchers stress the point, "Once an Abuser always an