Domestic Violence

Domestic violence in the law

occurs when a person is subjected to an act or omission mentioned inn subsection by other person who - 1. is cohabitating with the person in an intimate relationship, 2. has had a family relationship 3. has had a family relationship in which they dont live together 4. has been in a dating relationship with the person whether or not have lived together 5. is the other parent of a child regardless of marital status but from a sociological perspective this definition is too broad and narrow

the following are acts or omissions that constitute domestic violence

a) intentional threatened act or omission that causes bodily harm or property damage b) causes reasonable fear of bodily harm or property damage c) conduct that reasonably constitutes psychological or emotional abuse d) forced confinement e) sexual abuse

other types of abuse that were not defined in the law

1. financial abuse 2. coercion 3. fear 4. access to resources

Domestic violence from sociological perspective

DV does not mean it is a argument or a spat. It is a Pattern of behaviours that have a wide range of abusive tactics. These may or may not include physical violence. it is aimed at power and control that is not limited to a single incident

Coercion

entails the use of force or threats to compel or dispel a response.

Control

is the comprised of structural forms of deprivation, exploitation and command that compel obedience indirectly by monopolizing resources, dictating choices, micro-regularing partners behaviour and depriving of supports needed to use independent judgement.

control tactics are often centered on gendered enactments

like sex, apperance, public behaviour, housework, work, finances, children etc.. coercive control is based on a gender strategy. this is because societal norms are already set up to support it and it makes this type of behaviour invisible.

the harm of DV

consistency of abuse + cumulative impact of 'minor ' incidents which leads to fear and safety concerns, entrapment in relationships and loss of autonomy. because there are pre existing inequalities, the tactics are effective

DV is a gendered phenomenon

85% of victims are women, large amount of men are perpetrators. women are more likely to be injured, killed by partner, experience distress, fear, sense of being trapped

Where did gaslighting come from?

In 1944 movie gaslight, in which this ladies husband leads her to believe that she is going insane by dimming and brightening the gaslights and insisting she is imagining it.

altered state of realities

1. manufactured by abusers, and reinforced by institutions. First, abusers do and say things to try to make victims seem and feel as if they are losing their minds, as if their perceptions of reality are wrong. Second, institutional authorities regularly deny and minimize women’s experiences of abuse

What is gaslighting?

a form of psychological manipulation commonly used by domestic violence perpetrators. It is a product of cultural discourses, structural inequalities and institutional vulnerabilities. It is only effective because abusers weaponize the factors into being effective against the victim. Gaslighting is the glue that holds patterns of physical abuse, name-calling, control, and isolation together.

Gaslighting tactics

the goal to make the victim feel crazy. through - denying events, mind games, lying about details, casting victims as unreliable, eroding victim credibility, casting victim as abusers. these tactics are not random and the abuser knows what to do

How does the social position of the victim shape the specific form that gaslighting takes in a relationships?

credibility, relationship where one person is superior and one is inferior and weaponizing that against them. Gender, income, cultural differences.

what makes gaslighting powerful?

is supported by cultural discourses and gendered stereotyped, radicalized and classed. Association of femininity and irrationality / out of control / emotions / lack of reason. cultural ideas about womens promiscuity and sexual pathology and association with mental illness with being an 'un fit mother'. these are then amplified by institutions through police, courts, CPS, mental health system and immigration

how do victims experience gaslighting?

going crazy, losing their mind, chronic pain, on going health issues, mental health issues because of abuse, losing control of their body