Gender-neutral explanations for disparate levels of intimate partner violence between males and females
-By Timothy Lyons
Gender is the social construct of norms and roles of men and woman in an individual society (WHO, n.d.). The evidence, that points to an argument that women are the main recipients of intimate partner violence, is the fact that the main legislation about domestic abuse is called the Violence Against Women Act. There is another side of this argument that would like to remove gender from the discussion.
Society once looked at domestic violence as abuse of women. The portrayal of women as victim-heroes after dealing abuses upon their victimizers could be seen as society turning a blind eye to women as abusers as well as other types of abuse (Buzawa, Buzawa, & Stark, 2017). Some researchers would argue that it does not matter the reasoning for violence that is perpetuated because it does nothing more than justify or blame violence rather than allow for personal accountability. They also argue that there are reasons for the contrast between male and female levels of violence which lies in this justification.
By looking at the violence that women do through the lens of justification there is a disservice to the fight against violence as whole. The argument is that women are underrepresented as perpetrators of domestic violence and that they initiate just as many acts of violence as men. The reason for the disparity then is the way in which this violence is reported, such as in self-defense. This perspective does not see that women claim that they also use violence to control or punish (Buzawa, Buzawa, & Stark, 2017) which is not unlike that of male aggressors. The gender-neutral approach also sees that some studies that are overlooked show men as underreporting being abused.
The arguers admit that male on female violence results in greater injury and that even though injury is an important aspect of reporting, it is imperative to have accountability for all violence for whatever reason. Further argument states that there is a reluctance at the societal level to hold women accountable for their acts based on the views of violence through the context of its administration (Buzawa, Buzawa, & Stark, 2017),
References for Gender-neutral explanations for intimate partner violence
Akers C Kaukinen C 2008 Police Reporting Behavior of Intimate Partner Violence Victims.Akers, C., & Kaukinen, C. (2008). The Police Reporting Behavior of Intimate Partner Violence Victims. Journal of Family Violence, 24, 159-171. doi:10.1007/s10896-008-9213-4. 201804101315551412010551
Buzawa E S Buzawa C G Stark E D 2017 Responding to domestic violence: the integration of criminal justice and human servicesBuzawa, E. S., Buzawa, C. G., & Stark, E. D. (2017). Responding to domestic violence: the integration of criminal justice and human services (5 ed.). Thousand Oaks, Ca.: Sage . 201804091600341410362601
Colorado Bar Association n.d. Cultural Considersations in Recognizing and Responding to Domestic ViolenceColorado Bar Association. (n.d.). Cultural Considerations in Recognizing and Responding to Domestic Violence. Retrieved April 9, 2018, from http://www.cobar.org/index.cfm/ID/21097 20180409160656696303606
Gorman A 2018 Treating Domestic Violence As A Medical ProblemGorman, A. (2018, January 29). Treating Domestic Violence As A Medical Problem. Retrieved April 10, 2018, from https://khn.org/news/treating-domestic-violence-as-a-medical-problem/ 20180410100527314646363
Lynch A n.d. Violence Against Women ActLynch, A. (n.d.). Violence Against Women Act. Retrieved April 10, 2018, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Violence-Against-Women-Act 20180410084321754204154
WHO n.d. GenderWHO. (n.d.). Gender. Retrieved April 10, 2018, from http://www.who.int/gender-equity-rights/understanding/gender-definition/en/ 20180410091721236251115