Looking Back, Looking Forward: Two Decades and Shifting Perspectives on Familial Violence (From International Victimology, P 41-46, 1996, Chris Sumner, Mark Israel, et al., eds. - See NCJ-169474)

• NCJ Number: 169477
• Author(s): E A Stanko
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 6 pages
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: Australia

Annotation

This article reports on research findings about exploitation and psychological and physical abuse within the heterosexual family.

Abstract

Feminist research has disclosed that even the most serious incidents of sexual and physical assault are not considered appropriate for inclusion within categories of crime. While all crime surveys should be regarded as underreporting incidents and prevalence of violence within families, a 1994 Canadian study merits special attention. Canadian women reported to researchers incidents of violence which rarely came to the attention of the police; only 6 percent of sexual assault and 28 percent of physical assault incidents were reported to police. Men who use violence against women do so as: a result of possessiveness and jealousy; an expectation concerning women's domestic work; a punishment for women for perceived wrongdoing; and a prop to men's authority. Persons confronting violence within their families must have access to support structures in: social and welfare provisions; housing, including safe refuge and transitional; community support groups; education; criminal justice intervention; medical services; and women's economic independence, including provision for child care. None of these is sufficient in isolation. References