Monografias.com > Sin categoría
Descargar Imprimir Comentar Ver trabajos relacionados

Abuso doméstico y violencia contra los hombres (página 2)



Partes: 1, 2

Popular emphasis has tended to be on women as the
victims of domestic violence. Many studies show that women suffer
greater rates of injury due to domestic violence, and some
studies show that women suffer higher rates of assault. Yet,
other statistics show that while men tend to inflict injury at
higher rates, the majority of domestic violence overall is
reciprocal.

Modern attention to domestic violence began in the
women's
movement
of the 1970s, particularly within and women's
rights
, as concern about wives being beaten by their husbands
gained attention. Only since the late 1970s, and particularly in
the masculism and
men's
movements
of the 1990s, has the problem of domestic violence
against men gained any significant attention. Estimates show that
248 of every 1,000 females and 76 of every 1,000 males are
victims of physical assault and/or rape committed by their
spouses. A 1997 report says significantly more men than women do
not disclose the identity of their attacker. A 2009 study showed
that there was greater acceptance for abuse perpetrated by
females than by males.

Violence towards
men is a serious social problem

Women's violence towards men is a serious social
problem. While much attention has been focused on domestic
violence against women, researchers argue that domestic violence
against men is a substantial social problem worthy of attention.
However, the issue of victimization of men by women has been
contentious, due in part to studies which report drastically
different statistics regarding domestic violence.

Some studies—typically crime studies—shows
that men are substantially more likely than women to use
violence. According to a July 2000 Centers
for Disease Control
(CDC) report, data from the Bureau of
Justice, National Crime Victimization Survey consistently show
that women are at significantly greater risk of intimate partner
violence than are men. Other studies—typically family and
domestic violence studies—show that men are more likely to
inflict injuries, but also that when all acts of physical
aggression or violence are considered in aggregate;
women are equally violent as men, or more violent than
men.

Centers for Disease Control

In May, 2007, researchers with the Centers for
Disease Control

reported on rates of self-reported violence among intimate
partners using data from a 2001 study. In the study, almost
one-quarter of participants reported some violence in their
relationships. Half of these involved one-sided
("non-reciprocal") attacks and half involved both assaults and
counter assaults ("reciprocal violence"). Women reported
committing one-sided attacks more than twice as often as men (70%
versus 29%). In all cases of intimate partner violence,
women were more likely to be injured than men, but 25% of men in
relationships with two-sided violence reported injury compared to
20% of women reporting injury in relationships with one-sided
violence. Women were more likely to be injured in non-reciprocal
violence.

Strauss, argues that these discrepancies between the two
data sets are due to several factors. For example, Strauss notes
that crime statistics are compiled and analyzed
differently from domestic violence statistics.
Additionally, Strauss notes that most studies show that while men
inflict the greater portion of injuries, women are at
least
as likely as men to shove, punch, slap or otherwise
physically assault their partner, and that such relatively minor
assaults often escalate to more serious assaults. Minor
assaults perpetrated by women are also a major problem, even when
they do not result in injury, because they put women in danger of
much more severe retaliation by men. It will be argued that in
order to end 'wife beating,' it is essential for women also to
end what many regard as a "harmless" pattern of slapping,
kicking, or throwing something at a male partner. Strauss also
notes that data confirming that women can be violent have been
suppressed because the data contradicts preconceptions that men
are responsible for most or all domestic violence.

Reasons given for
non-reporting

The 2000 CDC report, based on phone interviews with 8000
men and 8000 women, reported that 7.5% of men claim to have been
raped or assaulted by an intimate at some time in their life time
(compared to 25% of women), and 0.9 percent of men claim to have
been raped or assaulted in the previous 12 months (compared to
1.5% of women).

A 2007-2008, online non-random, self-report survey of
the experiences and health of men who sustained partner violence
in the past year. The study showed that male victims of abuse are
very hesitant to report the violence or seek help. Reasons given
for non-reporting were they:

(1) May be ashamed to come forward;

(2) May not be believed; and

(3) May be accused of being a batterer when they do come
forward.

The 229 U.S. heterosexual men, between 18 and 59, had
been physically assaulted by their female partner within previous
year and did seek help. The researchers say their findings
emphasize the need for prevention on all levels:

There are many reasons why we don't know more about
domestic abuse and violence against men. There are a number of
commonly reported interactions in which violence against men
erupts.  Here is one example that illustrates a common
dynamic. 

Man attempt to
remain unemotional

The woman is mildly distressed and upset. The man
notices her distress and then worries she may become angry.
  The woman attempts to communicate and discuss her
feelings.  She wants to talk, feel supported and feel less
alone.   She initially attributes some of her distress or
problems to him.  The man begins to feel defensive, shuts
down emotionally and attempts to deal with the problems
rationally.  He feels a fight is coming on.  The woman
feels uncared for, ignored and then gets angry.  She wants
him to share the problem and he doesn't feel he has a
problem.  The man will attempt to remain unemotional and
stay in control of him. 

He avoids accepting any blame for how she feels. 
He is also worried that she may explode at any moment and that
she will certainly do so if he talks about his feelings. The man
will start talking about her problem as if she could feel better
if she would only listen to him and stop acting so upset. 
He fails to understand how she feels and tries to remain
calm.  He tells her to calm down and ends up looking
insensitive.  She begins to wonder if he has any feelings at
all.  She tells him that he thinks he's perfect.   He
says he is not perfect.  She calls him insensitive.  He
stares at her and says nothing but looks
irritated. 

The woman is frustrated that he won't reveal his
feelings and that he acts like he is in control.  On the
other hand, the man feels out of control and like there is no
room for anybody's feelings in the conversation but hers.
Communication breaks down and the woman begins to insult the
man.  When the man finally expresses his disapproval and
attempts to end the fight.  The woman becomes enraged and
may throw something.  The man will usually endure
insults and interactions like this for weeks or months. 
This whole pattern becomes a recurrent and all too familiar
experience.   The man becomes increasingly sensitive to
how the woman acts and becomes avoidant and unsupportive. 
The man begins to believe that there is nothing he can do and
that it may be his entire fault.  His frustration and anger
can build for months like this. 

The door to
violence has opened wide

This risk of violence increases when the woman
insults the man in front of their children, threatens the man's
relationship with his children, or she refuses to control her
abusive behavior when the children are present.  She may
call him a terrible father or an awful husband in front of the
children.  Eventually he feels enraged not only because of
how she treats him, but how her behavior is harming the children.
  At some point the man may throw something, punch a wall,
or slam his fist down loudly to vent his anger and to communicate
that he has reached his limits.  Up till now she has never
listened to what he had to say.  He decides that maybe she
will stop if she can see just how angry he has become. 
Rather than recognizing that he has reached his limits,
expressing his anger physically has the opposite
effect.

Man has tried to
hide his anger 

For a long time the man has tried to hide his
anger.  Why should the woman believe he really means
it?  After all, he has put up with her abuse for a long time
and done nothing.  Instead of realizing that things have
gotten out of control, the woman may approach him and say
something like, "What are you going to do?  Hit me?  Go
ahead.  I'll call the police and you'll never see your
children again." 

Once he expressed his anger physically, the situation
became dangerous for him and for her.  The door to violence
has opened wide.  He should walk away.  When he does
walk away, she ends up angrier than ever, will scream obscenities
at him and strike him repeatedly.  She may even strike him
with an object.

Domestic abuse
and violence against men

There are many reasons why we don't know more about
domestic abuse and violence against men.  First of all, the
incidence of domestic violence reported men appears to be so low
that it is hard to get reliable estimates.  In addition, it
has taken years of advocacy and support to encourage women to
report domestic violence. Virtually nothing has been done to
encourage men to report abuse.  The idea that men could be
victims of domestic abuse and violence is so unthinkable that
many men will not even attempt to report the
situation. 

The dynamic of domestic abuse and violence is also
different between men and women. The reasons, purposes and
motivations are often very different between sexes. 

Although the counseling and psychological community have
responded to domestic abuse and violence against women, there has
been very little investment in resources to address and
understand the issues of domestic abuse and violence against
men.  In most cases, the actual physical damage inflicted by
men is so much greater than the actual physical harm inflected by
women.  The impact of domestic violence is less apparent and
less likely to come to the attention of others when men are
abused.  For example, it is assumed than a man with a bruise
or black eye was in a fight with another man or was injured on
the job or playing contact sports.  Even when men do report
domestic abuse and violence, most people are so astonished men
usually end up feeling like nobody believes
them. 

The Problem with
Assumptions about Domestic Abuse and Violence

It is a widely held assumption that women are always the
victims and men are always the perpetrators.   Between
50 and 60% of all domestic abuse and violence is against
women.   There are many reasons why people assume men
are never victims and why women often ignore the
possibility.  For one thing, domestic abuse and violence has
been minimized, justified and ignored for a very long time.
  Women are now more organized, supportive and outspoken
about the epidemic of domestic abuse and violence against
women.  Very little attention has been paid to the issue of
domestic abuse and violence against men – especially because
violence against women has been so obvious and was ignored for so
long. 

What Is Domestic
Abuse and Violence Against Men?

There are no absolute rules for understanding the
emotional differences between men and women. There are principles
and dynamics that allow interpretation of individual
situations.  Domestic abuse and violence against men and
women have some similarities and difference.  For men or
women, domestic violence includes pushing, slapping, hitting,
throwing objects, forcing or slamming a door or striking the
other person with an object, or using a weapon.  Domestic
abuse can also be mental or emotional.  However,
what will hurt a man mentally and emotionally, can in some
cases be very different from what hurts a woman.  For
some men, being called a coward, impotent or a failure can have a
very different psychological impact than it would on women. 
Unkind and cruel words hurt, but they can hurt in different ways
and linger in different ways.  In most cases, men are more
deeply affected by emotional abuse than physical
abuse. 

For example, the ability to tolerate and "brush
off"
a physical assault by women in front of other men can
in some cases reassure a man that he is strong and communicate to
other men that he can live up to the code of never hitting a
woman.  A significant number of men are overly sensitive
to emotional and psychological abuse.  In some cases,
humiliating a man emotionally in front of other men can be more
devastating than physical abuse
.  Some professionals
have observed that mental and emotional abuse can be an area
where women are often "brutal" than men.  Men on the other
hand are quicker to resort to physical abuse and they are more
capable of physical assaults that are more brutal – even
deadly. 

Why Does Domestic
Abuse Against Men Go Unrecognized?

Domestic violence against men
goes unrecognized for the following reasons:

  • The incidence of domestic violence against men
    appears to be so low that it is hard to get reliable
    estimates. 

  • It has taken years of advocacy and support to
    encourage women to report domestic violence. Virtually
    nothing has been done to encourage men to report
    abuse. 

  • The idea that men could be victims of domestic
    abuse and violence is so unthinkable
    to most people that
    many men will not even attempt to report the
    situation. 

  • The counseling and psychological community have
    responded to domestic abuse and violence against women. 
    Not enough has been done to stop abuse against women. 
    There has been very little investment in resources to
    address the issues of domestic abuse and violence against
    men. 

  • In most cases, the actual physical damage inflicted
    by men is so much greater than the actual physical harm
    inflected by women.  The impact of domestic violence
    is less apparent and less likely to come to the attention of
    others. 

  • Even when men do report domestic abuse and violence,
    most people are so astonished, men usually end up feeling
    like nobody would believe them.  It is widely assumed
    than a man with a bruise or black eye was in a fight with
    another man or was injured on the job or while playing
    contact sports.  Women generally don't do those
    things.

The
characteristics of men or women who are abusive fall into three
categories

  • Alcohol Abuse.  Alcohol abuse is a major cause
    and trigger in domestic violence.  People, who are
    intoxicated have less impulse control, are easily frustrated,
    have greater misunderstandings and are generally prone to
    resort to violence as a solution to problems.   Women
    who abuse men are frequently alcoholics. 

  • Psychological Disorders.  There are certain
    psychological problems, primarily personality
    disorders, in which women are characteristically abusive
    and violent toward men.   Borderline personality
    disorder is a diagnosis that is found almost exclusively with
    women.  Approximately 1 to 2 percent of all women have a
    Borderline Personality disorder.  At least 50% of all
    domestic abuse and violence against men is associated with
    woman who has a Borderline Personality disorder. The disorder
    is also associated with suicidal behavior, severe mood
    swings, lying, sexual problems and alcohol abuse.

  • Unrealistic expectations, assumptions and
    conclusions.   Women who are abusive toward men usually
    have unrealistic expectations and make unrealistic demands of
    men.  These women will typically experience repeated
    episodes of depression, anxiety, frustration and irritability
    which they attribute to a man's behavior.  In fact,
    their mental and emotional state is the result of their own
    insecurities, emotional problems, and trauma during childhood
    or even withdrawal from alcohol.   They blame men rather
    than admit their problems, take responsibility for how they
    live their lives or do something about how they make
    themselves miserable.  They refuse to enter treatment
    and may even insist the man needs treatment.  
    Instead of helping themselves, they blame a man for how
    they feel and believe that a man should do something to make
    them feel better. They will often medicate their emotions
    with alcohol.  When men can't make them feel better,
    these women become frustrated and assume that men are doing
    this on purpose.

Bibliography and
References

  • Markowitz, Sara. "The Price of Alcohol,
    Wife Abuse, and Husband Abuse." Southern Economic
    Journal.
    67 no2 279-303 O 2000

  • Dutton, Donald G. (1994) Patriarchy and
    Wife Assault: The Ecological Fallacy. Violence and
    Victims,
    1994, 9, 2, pp. 125–140.

  • Tjaden and Thoennes 2000

  • Green, Nicholas St. John. 1879.
    Criminal Law Reports: Being Reports of Cases Determined in
    the Federal and State Courts of the United States, and in the
    Courts of England, Ireland, Canada, etc. with notes. Hurd and
    Houghton.

  • Dutton, 1994

  • Strauss, 2005

  • Archer, 2000

  • Straus, Murray A." State-to-state
    differences in social inequality and social bonds in relation
    to assaults on wives in the United States." Journal of
    Comparative Family Studies
    . 25 (1994): 7-24.

  • Deal, J. E., & Wampler, K. S.
    (1986). Dating violence: The primacy of previous experience.
    Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 3,
    457-471.

  • National Family Violence Survey, 2000,
    http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/183781.pdf

  • Violence-Related
    Injuries Treated in Hospital Emergency Departments
    ,
    August 1997.

  • Robertson, Kirsten. Murachver, Tamar."
    Attitudes and Attributions Associated With Female and Male
    Partner Violence." Journal of Applied Social
    Psychology
    v. 39 no.7 (July 2009) p. 481-512

  • Wallace, Harvey (2004). Family
    Violence: Legal, Medical, and Social Perspectives
    . Allyn
    & Bacon. pp. 2.
    ISBN 0205418228
    .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Autor:

J. Yeshayahu
Gonzales-Lara

Sociologist

Partes: 1, 2
 Página anterior Volver al principio del trabajoPágina siguiente 

Nota al lector: es posible que esta página no contenga todos los componentes del trabajo original (pies de página, avanzadas formulas matemáticas, esquemas o tablas complejas, etc.). Recuerde que para ver el trabajo en su versión original completa, puede descargarlo desde el menú superior.

Todos los documentos disponibles en este sitio expresan los puntos de vista de sus respectivos autores y no de Monografias.com. El objetivo de Monografias.com es poner el conocimiento a disposición de toda su comunidad. Queda bajo la responsabilidad de cada lector el eventual uso que se le de a esta información. Asimismo, es obligatoria la cita del autor del contenido y de Monografias.com como fuentes de información.

Categorias
Newsletter