Introduction
The feminist theory emerged in the 1970s when political movements showed support to feminism in society. The feminist theory is anchored on the theoretical perspective that male coercion is the cause of domestic violence against women in society (Javier and Herron, 2018). The theory shines a light on social issues, trends, and problems that are most time overlooked in society but contributed to male domination and female oppression. Advocates of the feminist theory posit that domestic violence against women in the society that lead to female oppression is caused by the male ego (Ruddle, Pina and Vasquez, 2017). Due to male ego and coercion, women in society experience domestic violence in the form of female infanticide, assault, rape, and any other form of cruelty. Feminist theorists advocate for feminism as a way to ensure equality between men and women in society. However, feminism is supposed to be complete independence of body, mind, and spirit to effectively patriarchal domination and the oppression and exploitation of women in the family and society.
According to feminist theory, domestic violence against women is a reflection of unequal power between women and men in the family or society. Domestic violence is also an indicator of inequality in personal relationships. The theory also argues that domestic violence is systematic since patriarchal control of women is inbuilt in men; hence violence is viewed means by men to maintain their power (Wood, 2015). Unbalanced relationships between men and women, lead to domestic violence, which impacts the growth and development of children in society. When children are exposed to domestic violence against women who they consider their caregivers, they develop poor social interaction and straggle emotionally and sometimes tend to develop withdrawal traits (Katz, 2015). It is important to note that the negative effects of domestic violence against women in society have a wholesome negative impact on child growth.
Family System Theory
The family is the first and most important institution that shapes and determines a person's behavior. The family provides the first social contact with an individual in the world. According to the family system theory, the functions like a system where each member has a role that responds and interacts with other members' roles in the family in a certain way. The way the family interacts and its social situation has a possible impact on determining violent behaviors (Javier and Herron, 2018). The causes of violence in the family may be due to factors like biological determinants that include hormonal factors; cognitive processes that include managing anger, processing of social information; behaviorist positions, which include conditioning and intra-psychic determinants like the personal characteristics of individuals. The family system theory provides a theoretical perspective that explains that family misunderstandings and conflicts are important determinants of how others in the family interpret violence.
An individual interpretation of violence as a result of family system interactions shapes an individual's traits towards violence. Traits like aggression, suspicion, immaturity, and jealousy are developed. Once such traits are developed, then people in the family develop different ways of dealing and interpreting domestic violence. When a child is exposed to a family system where domestic violence is frequently experienced, the child develops a specific attitude towards domestic violence, which also determines the child's behavior towards violence. Family system theorists have established that instigators of domestic violence have the trait of violence rooted in their family structure or system (Katz, 2015). The theorist further explains that family structures provide an underlying gender and sexual division of labor and hierarchical structures of power, which provide a fertile ground for the development of traits that promote domestic violence against women in the family and the society at large.
Frustration-Aggression Theory
The Frustration-Aggression Theory is a Socio-Psychological theory that posits that the external environment is the main determinant of an individual's violent behavior in society. According to the theory, a careful examination of the external environment can explain the concept of domestic violence in the family and society at large (Javier and Herron, 2018). An individual's daily interactions with the environment form interaction patterns that shape the individual's behavior towards violence. Frustration-Aggression Theory, as an element of the Socio-Psychological theory, was first proposed by Dollard in 1939, and it was derived from the basics of the Freudian theory (1930). The theory explains that interaction with the external environment leads to some element of stress or frustration. According to the theory, some level of stress and frustration leads to aggression, and this is explained in the sense that when the external environment interferes one from reaching set goals, then the person gets frustrated and become aggressive or violent.
Aggression can either be verbal or physical, intended to cause harm to others. It can also be emotional when one experiences restlessness with increased tension moments or when one feels angry, leading to hostile or destructive attacks to others. However, aggression may be inhibited by both external control and internal norms. Exposure of children to a healthy external environment is important for minimizing exposure to stress and frustration, which triggers the element of aggression and violence in individuals (Katz, 2015). Living in an environment where domestic violence is experienced exposes children to stress and frustration, leading to the development of aggression and violent characteristics.
Studies have established that frustration or stress remains active in a human mind for a considerable long time and can be cumulative. Thus, when children are exposed to domestic violence, the stress and frustration they experience can accumulate and stay in their minds over a long time; hence it can detrimentally affect their growth and development.
How Domestic Violence has Evolved
Historically the term domestic violence was traditionally used to describe civil unrest in a country. It referred to unrest as a result of civil conflicts in a country and not due to external influence. However, the term was first used to describe home violence in the United Kingdom Parliament in 1973 (Buzawa, Buzawa and Stark, 2015). Traditionally, home-based violence referred to actions like wife battering, wife-beating, and wife abuse, and it had been a norm in many societies across the globe. Between early 1500 to early 1800, the only known existing law on domestic violence was the Old-English common-law that permitted husbands to beat their wives for correction purposes. Wife beating was a norm, and men knew it was their responsibility to beat wives for correction, and women took beating a norm for correction. It is until late 1800 when Queen Elizabeth rose to the throne of England when laws on protecting the women were first enacted. Moderate beating of wives was allowed, and the keeping of a wife under lock and key was abolished. The new laws also abolished the selling of daughters for prostitution.
Between the early 1900 and late 1960, there were many new laws and social service interventions that were noted. In 1911 the first family court was established in Buffalo New York, and in 1919 women were also allowed to vote. By the end of 1965, Congress had passed a bill prohibiting women discrimination. Many women liberation movements were noted in the years between 1960 and 1970 (Buzawa, Buzawa and Stark, 2015). The movements advocated for the enactment of laws against domestic violence in the family setting, which was considered as an area of deep privacy. It was in the 1970's when the term domestic violence was fully coined to home-based violence between married couples. By early 1980, domestic violence was mainly based on any physical violence against another party in a marriage. However, between the year 1980 and 2020, there were many changes noted in the family setting making the term have a wider scope to include people living together as a family to accommodate for unmarried couples, same-sex relationships, female perpetrators of violence, and any other violence or abuse other than physical violence (Wood, 2015). The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was passed by Congress into law in 1994, and two years later, the Act fully recognized domestic violence as a crime charged in the criminal justice system.
How Domestic Violence has Been Addressed over Time
From the early 1500 to date, domestic violence has been addressed differently in different regions of the world. There have been both individual and group efforts to ensure the plight of women who face violence in the family find justice. With the fact that domestic violence had been a norm in many communities, change in culture has been one of the key influencers of addressing domestic violence. Many communities have had to change their culture and attitude towards empowering women and ensuring equality between men and women. Laws enacted by different governments have also been instrumental in enforcing a change in attitude on domestic violence. Since the early 1970's, there have been many lobby groups globally that advocate for war against domestic violence leading to the enactment of many laws protecting the women (Buzawa, Buzawa and Stark, 2015). The fight for the abolition of domestic violence has also lead to the need for women empowerment to attain equality in the family and society at large. Economic factors were also noted as a cause of domestic violence; hence there have been great efforts to ensure women have equal rights in participation in economic activities. Today even married women have the right to own property, and most societies have accepted it.
Rates, Data, and Statistics on Domestic Violence
According to world health organization (2013), it is estimated that 30 percent of all women who have ever been into a relationship have at a point in life experienced domestic violence that is either physically, sexually, or emotionally inflicted by their partner (Wood, 2015). Data from the United Kingdom National Statistics office indicate that in the year 2015, the common types of domestic violence acts committed were non-sexual violence at 22 percent, stalking at 21 percent, and sexual assault accounted for 20 percent (Buzawa, Buzawa and Stark, 2015). Domestic violence occurs almost in all parts of the world and across different cultures and economic status. However, research has established that women were 68 percent more likely to face domestic violence compared to men in society. But also important to note also it occurs between partners irrespective of sexuality and gender as according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2013, 56.9 percent of bisexual women and 40.4 percent of lesbians reported cases of domestic violence (Ruddle, Pina and Vasquez, 2017).
The impacts of domestic violence are felt by all people in society. Research has established that there is a strong relationship between child abuse and domestic violence, and the overlap between child abuse and domestic violence is between 30 to 50 percent (Buzawa, Buzawa and Stark, 2015). According to data from the CDC, very few cases of domestic violence are reported in the Asian and African continents (Ruddle, Pina and Vasquez, 2017).
