Shifts in Domestic Violence: How Celebs and the Economy are Playing a Role

Last week in my post "I'm the Victim!": An Exploration of Battered Women Who Kill, I ventured into the issue of battered women, exploring the causes, effects and what would lead these women to kill. Taking from this topic, my venture into the blogosphere this week focused more on the societal influences upon the increase or decrease of domestic violence. Although often viewed as an individual disease, harming loved ones is commonly a result of one's surroundings and third-party influences. Such influences vary from things such as job security, happiness in marriage, family relations, or social circles. In recent news, there has been quite a stir over the effect of the economic downturn on triggering an increase in violent acts within the home. A post by Michael Goot in The Daily Gazette explores that very issue, presents its widespread consequences, and possible remedies for stunting it's growth. He cites Amy Barasch, executive director of the state’s Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence in saying that "job loss can exacerbate a difficult situation and lead to violence" and that "[a] deteriorating economy can also cause a woman to stay longer with an abusive partner because of finances." Furthermore, his analysis recognizes the non-discriminant nature of such acts and how they do not only occur to those in very poor and urban areas. In the end, several different remedies are presented, in the form of YWCA resources and community involvement, acknowledging the need for involvement on both the law enforcement level and the community level. Stemming from this, the news has been buzzing about the recent appointment of Charlize Theron as a messenger of peace for the United Nations (as seen to the left). A post on World News Forum identifies Theron's desire to end violence against women, particularly rape cases in her native country, South Africa. Joining the likes of George Clooney, Yo-Yo Ma, Elie Wiesel and Michael Douglas, Theron will be using her star power to bring important social issues to the forefront of society. This decision has been met with much publicity and community support with celebrity gossip pages spewing their unending support for Theron's endeavor. I have thus decided to comment on these two topics and have copied my responses below.

"Officials fear rise in domestic violence cases"
Comment:

You bring up some very significant points in this article. I wholeheartedly agree with your idea that domestic violence is likely to increase as a result of the economic crisis, particularly as a result of stress and the included statement by Amy Barasch identifying that a "woman [is more likely] to stay longer with an abusive partner because of finances" struck me as very intriguing and easily overlooked. In response to your argument that domestic violence doesn't discriminate, I find that although this form of abuse pervades all different rungs of the socioeconomic hierarchy, many and most of the incidents stem from individuals of lower economic status, the obvious argument being the increased number of life stressors rooted in a need for financial stability. However, on the opposing side, for those of higher economic status, acts of violence may be of greater magnitude and detriment. Whereas threats of violence may be more frequent by those with little financial security, there is, in a sense, very little to lose from those who don't have money to begin with. In contrast, those with greater finances essentially have more to hold over their spouse's head and we are more likely to see cases similar to what Barasch refers to in terms of women staying longer with abusive partners.

Concerning the new police instigation of arrests, I find it to be preposterous that a person would not want the perpetrator to be arrested. If not for the safety of the individual, any violent persons should be imprisoned for the sake of society as a whole. It is a relief to hear that "police are taught to respond to domestic violence calls as any other crime in progress" and taking active strides towards its prevention. Additionally, hearing about the different resources available for victims, such as Coordinated Community Response, Elephant in the Living Room, and YWCA is also rather inspiring and brings forth the question of whether or not these programs will help the aide the future decrease in domestic violence.

"Theron joins U.N. fight to end violence against women"
Comment:

Charlize Theron's recent appointment as a messenger of peace is quite a development and it seems fitting that the news should be so enamored by this decision. Her decision seems to bring a new light to Hollywood, looking past the glitz and the glamour and utilizing fame and funds for the good of others. Her "own experience of domestic violence at the age of 15" gives her a great deal of credibility and gives a sense of hope to those who are currently being abused, demonstrating that women can escape from such a life and gain their own personal success. The work she will do is quite an inspiration in many different aspects, particularly for those battered women and also for those with a disheartened view of Hollywood and celebrity influence. Despite this, society as a whole may be conflicted in their image of her, with some who may criticize her and call her an imitation Angelina, vying for fame through humanitarian work. This leads to the question of whether or not people will take her work seriously, seeing as though she has been a long-time Hollywood star, glazing the covers of magazines and playing roles of meek women on the silver screen. However, regardless of any negative publicity she may receive, her work proves itself to be a success already, bringing light to the issues of domestic violence, a topic unknown to many. Whether or not individuals choose to act upon this new found knowledge, at least the word is being spread to the masses simply through her fame. Realizing this, imagine what she will be capable of achieving with her actual efforts.

"I'm the Victim!": An Exploration of Battered Women Who Kill

Jady Voce (pictured right), who recently plead guilty for the stabbing of her husband, was the victim of battered woman syndrome. Contributing to the 10% of homicides in the United States committed by women as a result of abusive partners, her sentence of ten years in prison for first degree manslaughter (a reduced sentence as a result of a plea bargain) will be formally charged on January 5. Regardless of her decision to plead guilty, she is an example of a large population of women who suffer from this very abuse. Battered woman syndrome is defined as a "psychological condition where one’s perceptions of dangerous situations are triggered by events that outsiders would not perceive as life threatening but, are in fact related to and explained by long term, continual, psychological and physical abuse," as stated Dr. Lenore E. Walker, renowned expert on battered women. She identifies three stages in the process: the tension-building phase (mostly verbal bickering), acute battering incident (where the woman is injured as a result of the rage) and contrite phase (where gifts and promises lead women to believe that the abuse has occurred for the last time). In many cases, another added stage to this process is murder, as we see in Voce's case and a large number of other cases leaving convicted women in prison and some on death row. It is the rightful duty of the courts to convict these women for their crimes of homicide, however, their sentences should be reduced as a result of the strenuous mental, physical and emotional consequences invoked by the abuse endured.

The symptoms of battered wife syndrome include such items as impaired functioning, learned helplessness, fear and terror, diminished alternatives and hypervigilance to cues of danger (which is the ability to detect subtle cues of oncoming rage that otherwise would not be noticed). That being noted, women breaking the law by murdering their spouses should not be held to full account for their actions as a result of an inhibited mental state and emotional state. The main argument in favor of abuse victims is the imminent danger defense, with reasonable perception of imminent danger as a justified use of lethal force. Feeding off their increased fear, batterers often manipulate their victims with open threats, sometimes forcing them into positions of violence and homicide. Under such mental and emotional stress, it should not be considered out of the question for women to commit crimes of murder, especially co mingled with the emotions of fear and helplessness already instilled in victims of battered woman syndrome. By no means do I think that homicide in any form is justified, rather I find it necessary to employ delicacy when exploring the severity of the sentencing. Moreover, I am fully aware that not all share in such an opinion, their strongest reasoning being the availability of alternatives to homicide. According to the psychologist, attorney and law professor Charles Patrick Ewing, "the status of battered woman or even battered person is not and should not by itself be justification for homicide," and the use of psychological self-defense would only justify deadly force when utilized "to prevent the infliction of extremely serious psychological injury, [...] defined as gross and enduring impairment of one's psychological functioning that significantly limits the meaning and value of ones physical existence." Essentially, victims of such abuse should rely on law enforcement officials and alternative forms of social and psychological support instead of resorting to such an extreme "solution." Along the same lines, some argue the definition of "imminent threat" and question whether certain cases can reasonably be deemed as such a threat. Granted their beliefs do hold merit and would most likely be the actions I personally would want to employ, yet there are issues that arise within the argument. To a victim who may or may not have experienced years of emotional and psychological abuse, the concept of freedom and other alternatives may not be as evident as they appear to a layperson. Likewise, the image of imminent threat may be different in the eyes of a long-term victim who has undergone strenuous negative mental activity. In regards to Ewing's definition of psychological self-defense, it may be an accurate demonstration, but it creates a very narrow and unrealistic window of the natural, societal occurrences. The effects of psychological damage affect individuals in different ways and to different magnitudes, and where some may not be influenced in such dramatic fashions, others may experience more increased side effects. Although the justification does not necessarily rest upon scientific foundations, its support is rooted more upon common sense, the psychology behind human behavior and the understanding of different human perspectives.

The science of psychology leaves the door open for many different discoveries, concepts and ideas, due to the fact that the brain changes by the second and what was true one minute may be wrong the next. Thus, in regards to human behavior, it is best to leave an open mind and explore the possibility that others in a different mindset may act or react in contrasting ways. Victims of battered woman violence face psychological difficulties much different than the average individual, with their lives encumbered by this cycle of violence (see left). In the event that a woman does decide to kill her batterer, a crime has indeed been committed and the consequences should be enforced accordingly, however, because the crimes are very sensitive and unorthodox, they should be analyzed with a different level of thought and concern. Just as those who are mentally ill are treated as patients rather than criminals, these victims should be treated just as they truly are- victims to crimes who do what they believe to be in their best health and emotional interests. Jady Voce may not be the perfect example, but she is one of the multitudes of women who are beaten and abused. In the event that such a woman should be tried, perhaps the jury should take a deeper exploration into the mindset of the battered woman and the variety of driving forces leading her to kill.

Attacking Hate Crimes: Society Fights Back Against an Age-Old Issue

Last week, after delving into the realm of hate crimes (particularly those racially-motivated) in my post entitled “Repeating History: How Race Plays a Role in Crime,” I decided to explore the blogosphere to see how bloggers were responding to this issue in the 21st century. While the FBI releases stunning statistics indicating racial and religious differences between hate crime victims and offenders, some would argue that the issue is wrapped in more underlying psychological factors. Such perspective is reflected by Key Sun, Ph.D., a psychologist, social worker and law professor, in his recent post “Can Race Take the Responsibility for Racially-Motivated Crime?” in Psychology Today Blogs. He there argues that external attribution of violence and a misconception of "race" as a group leads people to believe that race is to blame for something which is actually individually based. The belief held in the blog is that although a person of a specific racial group may hold a particular opinion of another group, that opinion is not necessarily shared by the racial group in question. He identifies that the media often generalizes the offender as a reflection of the entire racial group and thus gives off an incorrect impression and places the blame of hate crimes on the wrong people. On a different level, Virginia Bergman, a former reporter and editor of a community newspaper, recently posted in her blog, Katalusis, her opinion of hate crimes. Her post "Lynching Sarah Palin in Effigy: Hate Crimes Against Women Are Legal,"addresses the issue of hate crimes and how they affect females, particularly in the form of an effigy of Sarah Palin as hung in West Hollywood (as seen to the right). She argues that although racial and political hate crimes are addressed directly and forcefully, such crimes against women are treated with much less regard. In addition to commenting on their respective blogsites, I have included my comments below.

Comment:
Thank you for your very well-researched and thoroughly analyzed blog addressing these very complex and emotionally-charged issues. Being a student of social psychology myself, I have explored and am interested in the study of attribution error and I fully understand your argument, however, I must interject and respectfully question your study. I agree that in many individual cases, their actions are over-generalized by the media and made to display the particular racial or religious group in a negative light. At the same time, while the media should not categorize such groups incorrectly, it would be wrong to assume that they do not share the beliefs whatsoever. There are overwhelming statistics from the FBI to demonstrate that some racial groups are more likely to commit racial hate crimes than others or be victim to hate crimes above others. Granted not all of those occurrences are directly related to racism, however it is impractical to argue with dense statistics indicating that there is somewhat of a correlation between the two factors.

Additionally, as I understand, you have stated that the news media portrays the image of the offense committed by the group rather than the individual. While I somewhat agree with your statement, I feel as though the media presents the case and the faults of the individual, then generalizes the situation to support and supplement previous studies which have been conducted by organizations such as the FBI. Rather than over-generalizing, the news simply finds trends in the actions of the individual and does not transfer the blame away from the individual when relating it to the group.

Finally, in regards to your argument on race not being a group, I found that to be a very intriguing point. It is true that there are no clear leaders, followers and statuses in regards to race and that these individuals are widespread across different cities, states and countries. In spite of this, I cannot help but present the fact that regardless of this vast spread of different races, there are still large racially segregated communities (despite the fact that they are not forcefully segregated). These communities still have pseudo-leaders in the form of involved community members and local citizens who contribute to the actions and ideologies of community members. Thus, although they are not officially recognized groups, their interactions and sense of community in many different parts of the nation make them equally likely to be seen as a group.

Comment:
Thank you for your intriguing post on a highly significant issue, especially for women. Although hate crimes are seen to spread from the focus of race, religion, sexual orientation, and gender (to name a few), many of the focuses are shrouded by the main focus on racial hate crimes. I found you have made a strong point in mentioning that although the Palin effigy was able to hang so long without forceful consequences, the presence of a Barack Obama effigy resulted in a swift removal and arrest. It seems particularly outrageous that there would be such a strong support for one presidential candidate while paying little regard to an equally significant vice-presidential (and female) candidate.

Regardless of the fact that the effigy was claimed to be a joke for the sake of Halloween, the intent was negative and inappropriate and could even be construed as a threat to the life of the potential vice-president. To make the claim that this act was not in any way an act of a hate crime would be quite a generalization in the wrong direction. Hate crimes are identified to be acts with the intent of hurting, intimidating or instilling fear to individuals because of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, political beliefs or disability. The act towards Palin reflects intimidation as a result of political beliefs and possibly gender. It seems ridiculous for multiple reasons that this person was able to display such an image for so long without a greater force stopping them. I agree with what you have said, and if not for the sake of women's rights, actions should have been taken for the sake of national security. This is a history-making moment for women, with a female vice-presidential candidate and it should not be treated with such little respect so as to intimidate other women from taking a stand as Palin has.