The Reasons Of Violence In Domestic Violence And Violence

Violence in intimate relationships is not a new phenomenon. For hundreds of years, domestic violence was considered an acceptable means of punishment. Husbands were allowed to punish their wives and children with violence and everyone just accepted it. In eighteenth century England, a man was allowed to hit his wife and children with anything as long as it was no wider than his thumb. Victims of this abuse had very little options. A husband’s wife and children were considered his property and he could do what he pleased with them. The courts did very little to punish men who beat their wives and children so the men had no reason to stop the abuse. In 1883, Maryland became the first state to make wife beating a crime. Over the last few centuries, …show more content…
Since becoming a public health concern, intimate partner violence has been researched and debated among professionals. Why does intimate partner violence happen in the first place? What exactly stops the violence and abuse in relationships? Are there programs that work better than others? First, one must understand why intimate partner violence happens in the first place. Most successful programs and methods focus on the social stress theory, the power theory or the alcohol theory. The social stress theory argues that living arrangements create stress and increased stress can cause violence. Violence is a response available to a person under stress and can be seen as a norm if used as punishment. The power theory focuses on the manipulation, power and control that exist in unhealthy relationships. An imbalance of power can indicate a potential for violence, and the victims often report feeling helpless. The alcohol theory is an old theory and argues that men who drink alcohol beat their wives. The alcohol theory assumes that alcohol causes violence. Batterer rehabilitation programs were introduced in the 1970’s in order to try and combat intimate partner …show more content…
Reducing the rate of violence in relationships starts with prevention. Children are not born with the ability to sense the difference between a healthy relationship and an unhealthy relationship. The family shapes a child’s view of the world and teaches them how to interact with others. If a small child grows up watching his father beat his mother during arguments, he will grow up thinking that violence is a normal way to handle conflict. The cycle of abuse will continue on into their future relationships unless they are educated otherwise. To deal with this problem, cities and states have implemented courses designed for at-risk parents and children, “Parenting programs and interventions with children subject to maltreatment seek to prevent future perpetration of partner violence by creating safe homes in which conflict is handled nonviolently” (Lundgren and Amin 45). Children who witness violence and abuse are more likely to engage in it as adults, so preventing it from happening at home, where they accept violent behavior as a norm, can prevent future domestic violence. Preventative and educational programs are also important in helping children and their parents understand and appreciate each other. These educational programs teach everyone in the family that everyone is important and both men and women deserve respect. There is evidence that programs have changed attitudes and improved family life,