According to Gordon, Ghosh-Dastidar, Liou-Mark, & Dasgupta (2019), over the recent past, t here have been surging numbers of incidences involving intimate partner violence in America, with some groups showing more cases than others. For instance, 10% to 50% of Latin American women report being violated in domestic incidences where white couples indicated 8% of cases of male to female physical abuse ( Gordon et al., 2019 ). There is a significant difference between Hispanics and blacks and white Americans, with the later reporting three times more cases than the white community ( Gordon et al., 2019 ). This fact indicates disparities in intimate partner violence occurrence dependent on ethnicity, which shows the correlation between domestic violence and sociocultural. Mainly, intimate partner abuse may vary from sexual mistreatment, which includes spousal rape, bodily, and emotional harm (Sonia, 2020). The research paper discusses various social and cultural perspectives that describe domestic violence
Discussion
Social Perspectives
In most cases, intimate partner violence results from the background within which families live and the social problems within their environments. The violence continues to increase, as a result of various societal issues. According to a survey conducted by the CDC, 1 in 4 women is likely to suffer intimate partner violence, while 1 in 7 men are likely to be victims of the violence (Reznikova & Bakina, 2020). The cases of gun-related domestic deaths have risen by 26% between 2010 and 2017, showing that the vice goes as far as causing death or permanent injuries and trauma in children and parents (Reznikova & Bakina, 2020). While most individuals may appear to be inherently violent or aggressive, there is an excellent correlation between social issues and violence (Bandura et al., 1961). In recent days, mental problems such as stress have been linked to intimate partner violence. As a result of the degeneration of depression, individuals become more violent with the inability to solve problems within the family. Such issues may include financial constraints or the lack of employment, leading to fights between couples, leading to constant intimate partner violence (Freud et al., 17). While problems such as financial constraints may lead to depression, lack of social and emotional satisfaction, such as the straining of intimacy, may also cause violence.
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Further, social perspective may illustrate intimate partner violence resulting from the antagonism between the genders. For many years in the past, women were generally laid back in matters concerning their development and interaction with the environment. However, in recent years women have been seen to work towards equality and, in many instances taking the front line in the development of society (Nicolson, 2019). This competition has been recognized as a motivation towards the struggle for control of society. Feminists view intimate partner violence as a social tool to keep women in line as men endeavor to control the community subconsciously (Nicolson, 2019). While this could be true, it is also essential to understand that men are also victims, and hence this theory applies to both genders. Just like the social class struggle, there may exist a struggle between the genders, with one struggling to lead the other or subdue each other.
Domestic violence is, in some cases, a matter of gains and motivation, and in most instances, the reward is emotional or social gratification. The social exchange theory expounds that the manifestation of domestic violence relies on rewards and risks. In cases where the rewards overtake the risks, the probability of abuse is expected to be high (Rollè et al., 2019). This fact indicates that intimate violence is a result of motivation with a higher probability of violence in places where positive reinforcement is more likely than negative reinforcement. In this view, men abuse women to achieve respect as the heads of the family or to have their way emotionally over those of the women. If this need is more likely to be made then, the violence will occur more. In areas where this violence is treated as a crime, and one is expected to be charged with abuse, there is a lesser likelihood that intimate violence will occur. In other instances, harm to children is viewed as a way of ensuring children are disciplined (Bandura et al., 1961). Therefore, this reason may motivate extreme actions, causing emotional and physical harm to children.
Cultural Perspective
While extrapolating on the police culture, Emile Durkheim indicated that there is bound to be homogeneity in small communities, resulting from the integration and solidarity of the members. In tightly integrated communities, there is a system of rules that result in creating a culture ( Payne, 2020 ). In some mechanical groups with traits such as solidarity, domestic violence may be an institution's way of integration to create a sense of adherence with men taking the role of administrators. Individuals raised in such communities, even in modern societies tightly integrated, are highly likely to be abusive as the furtherance of behavior learned in past experiences. This fact explains the role of subculture in intimate partner violence, where it is a behavior that is passed on from one individual to another within a group. Social interaction theory posits that experiencing trauma from abuse is likely to produce the exact reaction, which is the development of abusive tendencies in individuals who have suffered abuse. In communities that have many cases of intimate abuse, the behavior continues among younger individuals. For instance, in African societies, intimate violence is a cultural behavior in most situations. This fact explains why a third of the African women report having experienced violence within families, whether in nuclear or extended families. However, there was a decline in incidence and acceptance rate of violence by 10% in 2017, which could be a result of cross cultures due to the interaction between people from different cultures with the setting in diversification (Reznikova & Bakina, 2020). This fact indicates the role of culture and social interaction.
Individuals in communities are likely to develop symbols consistent with the meaning the group has attached to the symbols. Symbolic interactionism claims that the relationship between individuals in society is greatly affected by symbols and language ( Payne, 2020 ). Where actions of violence may be interpreted as strength. Most of the violence cases by children against their fathers are caused by the association of the action with defense for their mothers against their fathers. The groups the children belong to view as being strong and protective. Violence against men by women who are members of groups that hold feminist views may be seen as justifiable, showing a subculture inclined towards equality of sexes. While most violent cases are those of physical abuse, the killings of men by women symbolize a legitimate act of seeking justice and defense (Reznikova & Bakina, 2020). This view is caused by the values developed by the group or community within which an individual exists, indicating the role of subculture.
The perseverance of intimate violence is considered as a way to keep a family together in some communities. The need to have a stable family is seen as more valuable in some cultures than the safety of the family members. This shows that female victims suffer from sexual and physical abuse perpetrated by their spouses but withstand the actions to keep the marriage (Propen & Schuster, 2017). This tolerance has led to the normalization of intimate partner violence where violence is separate from the family's reality of instability (Reznikova & Bakina, 2020). Mostly, a large number of cases of domestic killings happen in situations where violent acts had not been previously reported. This fact indicates that most cases of domestic violence are only noted after the death of victims. On the other hand, sex is viewed as a right that must be granted to a partner, and due to this cultural view, marital rape is not considered domestic violence (Jayne & Valentine, 2016). This fact indicates that the view of the action as a crime is dependent on the culture of the group to which an individual belongs.
Comparison Between Social and Cultural Perspectives.
It is difficult to separate social and cultural perspectives to view the issue of domestic violence. The problem of competing groups in society is not new, and in many instances, it has social aspects and causes. For a long time, women and men have been involved in a struggle even with the political approaches of feminism, such as the calls for equality of the two genders. The cultural perspective illustrates that there are also cultural connotations in this social struggle. In recent years, there have been more men suffering from intimate violence. However, men have between victims even in the past, but as opposed to violence against women, male victims do not report abuse. The cause of the unwillingness is because society expects men to be stronger. Culturally, it is more comfortable to view the woman as the victim than to see the man as the victim (Martin, 2016). This expectation is both cultural and social. Further, women are likelier to open up about their problems than men.
The problem of domestic violence is a social construction that has no genetic connection in any way as opposed to arguments posited by some proponents. This fact submits that proponents of the social perspective see intimate violence as a social problem consequential to inappropriate social behaviors ( Payne, 2020 ). The inability to resolve behaviors such as drinking alcohol may lead to intimate violence, which in most cases causes trauma to the children; hence, emotional abuse. Partners that love each other and who do not fight under normal circumstances are likely to abuse each other when under the influence of the substance (Jayne & Valentine, 2016). However, the social problem of domestic violence is as a result of a sexist culture where the society attaches value to an individual's sex. In this view, men are likely to abuse women to maintain their place in society. The social goal is to earn the political reward of control and maintain cultural values that are passed from persons of the particular gender from one generation to another.
Conclusion
There are several causes of domestic violence, which may be viewed from a cultural or social perspective. The attitude and values of the group to which one belongs determine the inclination towards abusing their partners. Children who have suffered trauma due to emotional and physical abuse at home develop violent tendencies as adults, which indicates that interaction with violent family members creates a subculture of violence. It is important to note that domestic violence is about causing physical harm and emotional and sexual abuse. This fact indicates that victims of violence may fail to report or get out of abusive relationships because their social orientation is not inclined towards view such acts as abusive.
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