domestic violence

wilkinson explanation + evaluation

• result of stress on family members caused by social inequality

• families of lc more likely to experience more stress increasing risk of conflict and violence 

 

EVALUATION: this does not explain why women are at greater risk for domestic violence 

giddens explanation + evaluation

• family life makes domestic violence quite common as is is emotionally intense and personally intimate

• increasing isolation of the nuclear family increases intensity and escalations to violence

 

EVALUATION: doesn't explain why some families are violent and others are not 

radical feminist explanation + evaluation

• Dobash and Dobash (1979) - there is still cultural support for the view that men have a 'right' to discipline their wives or partners + little institutional support offered by society for the abused

• major factor is husbands perception that the wife was not performing her domestic duties to his satisfaction 

• domestic violence is an inevitable feature of patriarchal society

 

EVALUATION - this fails to explain female violence against male partners and children

new right explanation + evaluation

• domestic violence only occurs in dysfunctional families

• family instability comes from a rise in cohabitation and divorce and well as decline in moral standards

• happens more in lc families due to lower moral standards

 

EVALUATION: ignores female on male domestic violence as well as in upper and middle class households 

domestic violence trends

March 2019 - 2,4m adults aged 16-74