Battering, also referred to as spousal abuse, family violence, intimate partner violence, or simply domestic violence is a pattern or cycle of abusive behaviors in intimate relationships like marriage, cohabitation, family, or dating. It occurs in many forms such as physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, economic deprivation, intimidation, threats, passive abuse, and stalking, among others. Battering is defined as the infliction of physical or other forms of injury by one partner on the other. In the case of wife battering, the violence is inflicted by the man on the woman.
Battering of women results from various factors including, and not limited to, psychological factors, jealousy, social stress, power and control, and mental illness (Jacobson and Gottman, 1998). The man’s psychological factors that lead to wife battering include the personal traits like poor self-esteem, poor impulse control, and sudden bursts of anger. In most cases, wife battering results from jealousy, especially when the man suspects that the woman is either not faithful or planning to pull out of the relationship. Wife battering, in most cases, is propelled by social stress especially the financial stress. Power and control is the key cause of wife battering. Men always want to dominate the relationship by maintaining or gaining power and exercising control over the woman.
Women always speak the loudest in case of violence. However, for men, the case is different. Most battered men do not speak out due to shame, self worth, denial, and the pride in keeping the beautiful woman, fear of losing especially if the woman was more resourceful and economically stronger.
Battering in gay and lesbian partnerships
Despite being a family issue, domestic violence has been witnessed in same sex relationships; though not common spoken out as compared to heterosexual relationships. A study by Mark Lehman suggests similarities, which includes the frequencies; manifestations like financial, physical, and emotional; co-existent situations like low self-esteem and unemployment; the victims’ reactions like fear, denial and the reasons for staying. Some of the differences include added fear and discrimination facing the gays and lesbians; chances of dismissal by the police; the guilt and lack of support from the peers, who in most cases keep quiet to avoid shifting attention towards the gay community.
Reference
Jacobson, N. and J. Gottman (1998). When Men Batter Women: New Insights into Ending Abusive Relationships. Simon & Schuster.
Janel M. Leone, Michael P. Johnson, Catherine L. Cohan and Susan E. Lloyd (2004). "Consequences of Male Partner Violence for Low-Income Minority Women". Journal of Marriage and Family 66 (2): 472.
Lehman, Mark (1997). "At the End of the Rainbow: A Report on Gay Male Domestic Violence and Abuse." Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse. Retrieved at http://www.mincava.umn.edu/documents/rainbow/At%20The%20End%20Of%20The%20Rainbow.pdf.
