sociology (Research Proposal Sample)

Early Feminist Theories of Domestic Violence Student’s Name University’s affiliations Course Name and Number Professor’s Name Due Date Early Feminist Theories of Domestic Violence Introduction Marriage expectations have caught up to the progress made by women in the workplace and other spheres of society. Feminist ideas have given a baseline for understanding domestic violence for elaborating how gender inequality in the upbringing of children contributes to the continuation of violence and abuse in the homes. The general public is now more aware of how sex role training may give rise to belief systems that justify sexism, male privilege, and gender socialization. Domestic violence, in which a man dominates his wife, reflects society's patriarchal values because it perpetuates the same beliefs. Historical Perspective of Early Domestic Violence Theories Domestic violence persists despite laws intended to safeguard victims and, if necessary, bring those responsible to justice. From the 1960s through the early 1990s, domestic violence was a taboo subject brought up by tense personalities inside families. It was a domestic dispute; thus, it didn't matter if your partner smacked you or not. As of recently, doing so is a felony with serious legal consequences. Rape, domestic abuse, and battered women now have legal protection thanks to the feminist movement and rebel feminism. Theory 1: Family violence is considered in this paradigm because it is a structural stress reaction or adaptation. Domestic violence was a very unusual behavior linked to a personal issue. It was proposed that structural stress and socialization experiences were the two main causes of violence between partners, parents, and children, with situational context serving as an intermediary element (Houston, 2014). It means that if one partner is unable to support the family or grow professionally, tension may turn into violence. Hence when people are worried more, they are more likely to act out. Several forms of domestic violence may emerge when issues like poverty, drunkenness, and gambling are prevalent. Theory 2: Following is the idea of battered women, which has mostly lost appeal as a result of women resuming abusive relationships. One of the many reasons why women returned was a lack of resources. When a woman gets beaten repeatedly, according to the psychological hypothesis of learned helplessness and the cycling hypothesis of violence, she enters a condition of consciousness in which she has no control over what happened to her (Houston, 2014). The second idea was the cycle of violence theory, which according to Houston (2014), has three phases (increasing tension, severe beating, and loving contrition). An event that causes interpersonal tension, a violent confrontation, and the start of the second stage are all included in these three phases. The abuser then apologizes and shows regret for their actions after an argument that was already heated became violent. Feminist Theories’ Response to Earlier Domestic Violence Theories Feminist theorists answered the prevalent view of domestic violence by arguing that blame should be placed on the victims' psychological make-up rather than on their abusers or male authority. Moreover, they were rejected because domestic violence in a private setting permits abuse to continue with little regard for the victims. Feminist theories, as referenced by Houston (2014), suggest looking at the root of the problem, which is often poor relationships that may lead to domestic violence. However, since this case had been outsourced, the judicial system and law enforcement stayed out of the family's business, allowing the mistreatment to continue. Theory 1: The first idea is victimization, which is viewed as the enjoying of suffering and implies that women like being made to feel dreadful and uncomfortable. In addition, viewing domestic violence as a family-related issue deters law enforcement from taking action. The feminist contended that by throwing the guilt on the victim, they were ensuring its repetition (Houston, 2014). Victim-blaming mutual violence is another viewpoint that places the blame for the abuse on the victim rather than the abuser. Houston argues that this is one of the longest and sharpest feminist attacks on the family violence paradigm, focused on how it handled the concept that women were as equally violent and abusive as males. Attacks by males against their female spouses occurred almost as frequently as attacks by women against their male ones (Houston, 2014). However, they were unable to distinguish who hit who first; consequently, without realizing the gravity of the issue, which is to say the woman was not acting in self-defense. More findings suggested that women were physically and psychologically more likely to be harmed than men by domestic violence; hence the mutual violence hypothesis blamed the victim for being abused and criticized the feminist for seeking to be protected by law. Theory 2: The notion that it was a personal or family matter then developed. At the time, psychological thought prohibited criminal justice intervention in favor of mental illness therapies, considering domestic violence as a result of broken family ties. Feminists contributed to the persistence of domestic abuse by keeping it concealed from public view and inside the limits of the family. They said that because domestic abuse is a family affair, the courts should not get involved. Every domestic incident featured people who were living in close quarters with family members or other people (Houston, 2014). According to the first justification, victims would choose rehabilitation than jail. That is, the victim frequently merely asks that the abuser be taken into account. Feminist Theories' Influence on Criminal Intervention Bruno v. Codd: In the case of Bruno v. Codd, the defendants alleged that despite the legislation intended to shield them, the police did nothing to prevent their husbands from beating their wives. Since the case brought to light the police department's reluctance to intervene and end domestic abuse, more people are aware of the problem. According to Aabri.com (2014), the unpleasant reality of the informal reaction was made known to municipal, state, and individual police agencies due to the potential for liability for defecting to make an arrest during an incident of spouse’s abuse. The defendants in Bruno v. Codd, a class action case against the New York City police department, argued that domestic abuse was a crime just like any other. (Houston, 2014) and that, as a result, its victims should get the same constitutional safeguards as other criminal victim...