Abused Wives Essay Research Paper — страница 2

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determine what was legal or illegal in regard to wife abuse. In 1864, North Carolina overturned the “finger-switch rule”. However, the court cautioned that a “man’s home is his castle” and that it was best to “draw the curtain’s” so that the spouses could “forget and forgive”. In 1871, Alabama and Massachusetts enacted a similar policy. In 1883, Maryland was the first state to outlaw wife beating. By 1910, 35 of 46 states granted divorce on the grounds of physical cruelty and many states made wife beating prosecutable as an illegal assault. However, police and courts often overlooked wife-abuse as the custom of chastisement still prevailed. (Okun, pg.5-6) From the 1920’s until the 1970’s the plight of abused wives was rarely heard. However, it was

rediscovered because of three factors. (1) Kempe and Helfer (1963) published a paper on battered child syndrome. This awakened public awareness regarding family violence. (2) The nation became more aware of violence due to the civil strife of the late 1960’s and the early 1970’s and also due to the Vietnam War. (3) The emergence of the feminist movement made the public more aware of the injustices women faced both at home and in the work place. (Okun, pg.7) The first shelter in the U.S.A. for battered women was opened in 1974. Currently there are over 600 shelters for battered women throughout the United States. Studies have been made regarding social policy in order to help and protect abused women. However, the problem is not yet resolved. (Okun, pg.7) There is social

stigma in regard to being an abused wife. One of the reasons for this is the many myths that exist in regard to wife abuse. These include: (1) Violence is a private affair. Unfortunately many people, including the police officers, believe this myth and hesitate to intervene. (2) Women provoke, want and/or enjoy the abuse they get. Most women try to please their abusive partner in hopes of preventing the abuse. In reality the abuser is the only one responsible for his behavior because he chooses to beat his wife regardless of her behavior. (3) A separation is made between ”worthy” and “unworthy” victims. “Worthy” victims are those who leave their husbands and prosecutor them. The “unworthy” victims are the women who stay married to their husbands or refuse to

prosecute them. People who believe this myth fail to realize that abuse often escalates when women attempt to leave or prosecute, and that women are scared to leave due to the fact that they have no means of supporting themselves and their children. (Wilson, pg.13-17) You might expect that if a woman had been beaten, she would not hesitate to seek help from law enforcement or a social service agency. However there are several reasons why wife abuse often remains a hidden crime. To begin with, for many women the pain and inner shame prevent them from revealing their beatings. She unrealistically hopes that her abuser will change and become the charmingly affectionate and caring person he was when they were dating. Many women are raised with the value system that they can change a

wife-beater, and internalize the belief that their marriage is “for better or for worse”. When a man hits a woman for the first couple of times, he may apologize continuously, shower her with gifts, and promise not to do it again. The woman, in her desire to hold on to the relationship, will believe him because she wants it to be true. (Berger, pg.46-47) In many homes it is considered “normal” to have some level of violence between husband and wife. This is most likely to be the case when one or both partners have been exposed to violence as a child. A woman who saw her own mother being beaten may grow up believing that all men batter their wives. If she sees her abuse as “just the way things are,” it probably won’t occur to her that she can take steps to end the

violence. (Okun, pg.166) Sociologists Murray Straus, Richard Gelles, and Suzanne Steinmetz, found in a 1980 survey, that one in four wives and one in three husbands thought that hitting ones spouse was a necessary and normal part of being married. (Straus, Gelles, Steinmetz, pg.47) Fortunately, spouse abuse is no longer considered acceptable behavior. Yet some men continue to abuse their wives out of fear of sharing empowerment with them. (McKenzie, pg.80) A woman may also be unwilling to report the abuse because she fears reprisal by her husband. It is not unusual for a man to beat his wife even more severely if she calls the police or tells someone else about the abuse. Furthermore, police intervention rarely provides a woman any real, immediate protection. Therefore many women