Domestic Violence and Abuse in Australia :: Violence Against Women Essays

Domestic fierceness is a significant social issue that has a major impact upon the health of women in society. Discuss this statement and identify the factors that may contribute to national violence.Domestic violence is known by many names including spouse profane, national abuse, domestic assault, battering, partner abuse, marital strife, marital dispute, wife beating, marital discord, woman abuse, dysfunctional relationship, intimate fighting, male beating and so on. McCue (1995) maintains that it is commonly accepted by level-headed professionals as "the emotional, physical, mental, or sexual abuse perpetrated against a person by that persons spouse, former spouse, partner, former partner or by the other parent of a minor child" (although several other forms of domestic violence have become increasingly apparent in todays society). Whatever name is used to totallyude to it, however, domestic violence is a very grave and difficult problem faced by Australian socie ty.Although domestic violence can include the abuse of parents, children, siblings and other relatives, it predominantly involves violence against sexual partners with women being the most common victims and men being the aggressors (Family Violence nonrecreational Education Taskforce 1991). It is inadequate to view domestic violence as an aspect of the normal interpersonal conflict which takes place in most families. According to McCue (1995), many families experience conflict, but not all male members of families inevitably resort to violence. It is not the fact of family disputes or marital conflict that generate or characterize violence in the home. Violence occurs when matchless person assumes the right to dominate over the other and decides to use violence or abuse as a means of ensuring that domination (Family Violence Professional Education Taskforce 1991).Although all forms of domestic violence are pressing issues of equal importance, this essay is more specifically direc ted at spouse abuse and aims to reach deeper into the issue of domestic violence by examining its causes with respect to the socioeconomic status of the particular family and its effects upon women in Australian society.The FACS (Family and Community Services) booklet (1995), defines domestic violence as followswhen a woman suffers persistent physical, verbal, economic or social abuse from her partner with the result that she suffers a sustained emotional and, or psychological effect.Domestic violence is the most common form of assault in Australia today. However, it remains a hidden problem because it occurs within the privacy of the home and those multiform are usually reluctant to speak out (Healey 1993).