Expert Opinion: Domestic violence and women
Resmiye Oral, MD, is a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and the Director of Child Protection Program at the University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine. We have reached Dr. Oral for her expert opinion on violence against women for this issue of The Bridge.
Violence, unfortunately is a learned conflict resolution method. Individuals, who have witnessed this method being utilized as they grow up in their core families, in their communities internalize it instead of more constructive communication methods.
Domestic violence (DV), is a pattern of controlling behaviors that one partner uses to get power over the other including physical violence, emotional or mental abuse, sexual abuse, and economic control. In the USA, it is one of the most serious public health problems, which is the most common cause of injury to women 14-45 years of age. Eighty-five percent of DV victims are women. An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year. Only 25% of all physical assaults perpetrated by intimate partners are reported to the police. Fourteen percent of women report unwanted/forced sex, which is rape by their husband at least once in their life time. The latter rate increases to 40-45% if the husband is also physically abusive (1,2).
One in three American women and 1/4 of women worldwide report having experienced DV in their lifetime. The fact that DV rate is higher in the USA is most likely due to reporting bias since in the USA with the leadership of feminism, public has become much more aware of women’s rights and DV and how the society should approach it to prevent it. In many other countries worldwide, DV and violence against women in general have not only been considered an unfortunate “norm”, it unfortunately has become a weapon of wars across the globe:
Some societies strictly ruled by dogmatic religious norms, “respect” the right of the husband to physically discipline or “tame” his wife, which has lead to high rates of unreported DV in such societies (3,4). Saudi Arabia has just banned DV as a crime in 2013, where the implementation of this law will be very difficult since a woman is not allowed to be outside of her home without her male companion. Turkey’s report card on DV is not much better than some very oppressed societies. As well known, many sexually assaulted women are killed in Turkey to “save the honor” of the family in addition to some being forced to marry their rapist (4). Some other victims of sexual assault are forced to commit suicide (4). Physical violence against women in the home is a norm in large subsections of the society.
Why do men resort to violence in relating to women. Most violent men come from violent homes witnessing their father battering their mother. This constant exposure to violence triggers an always-on flight or fight reaction, which leads to increased levels of brain cortisol and other stress hormones. This leads to what is now called toxic stress reaction. These trauma survivors role model after their male “mentors” and resolve all conflict by using a variety of violence tools: This allows them to feel in control, strong over their “weak” victim and any time they feel losing control, they resort back to violence again, the vicious cycle of power-control. If they are also raised with the rhetoric of women are inferior to men and they need men to survive, their demeaning behaviors to women are justified by the culture as well (5).
In Turkey, there has been 1400% increase in the reported cases of DV, lately. This hopefully reflects the fact that the public finally has started seeing this as a crime and a problem thus, feeling strong enough to bring it to light. However, reliable research has to be done to understand whether, the more conservative and permissive rhetoric of the political conservatives ruling Turkey for the last decade and increasing religious influence on the national education program have been creating new generations more inclined to violence and domestic violence.
Whether protective systems have been put in place or not with this increasing awareness is another question unfortunately. Although, efforts to integrate into the European Union have been fruitful in the public’s increasing recognition of the facts about DV, state’s efforts to empower women to disclose DV readily, to address and manage reported cases in the most humane manner, and to prevent it to the greatest extent have been rudimentary. For more than 70 million population, there are only 120 women’s shelters in Turkey, when the need is 372 (6). According to international conventions that Turkey has ratified, Turkey has guaranteed to establish a women’s shelter in every community with more than 10,000 population (8 cities with more than 100,000 population do not have any shelters), a women’s counseling center and a sexual assault crisis management center for each town with more than 50,000, none of which has materialized so far (6).
What should individuals do in the face of DV being such a strong part of our societies? First and foremost, when witnessed, all DV should be reported to authorities. Turning a blind eye, a deaf ear to DV occurring in our neighbor’s home may end up in the death of the victim, which we as bystanders can prevent from happening by reporting. We must force our policy makers to comply with the international laws and allocate appropriate funding and resources so that adequate number of DV shelters, women’s counseling centers, and sexual assault response centers can be established in communities that need them the most. We must vote for the right candidates, who will address women’s issues appropriately.
Professionally, we must interview our female clients if we work in educational, health and humans services field, about their trauma history starting from childhood into adulthood including their experience with violence in all settings. We must interview our male clients about their trauma history as well. Some of the DV perpetrators might be acting out on their own trauma, which may be treated with appropriate resources and referral.
For long term prevention and elimination of DV, we must start training our children with a rhetoric based on egalitarian gender roles, recognition of women and men being equal partners in the home and in the society regarding every domain of life. We must make sure our children are raised witnessing us adults, resolving all our conflicts with others by the use of language and respectful expression of ourselves. We must protect our children from being exposed to verbal, physical, or sexual violence in the home and the same in the society to the best of our ability. As a result, our children may grow up to form a new generation that may eliminate the “Power and control” wheel, which engages violence, male privilege, isolation, loneliness, fear among others and may fully cherish the “Equality and respect” wheel, which engages love, respect, constructive words and healthy conflict resolution methods..
References
1) https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-domestic-and-dating-violence (2/26/2015)
2) http://www.saveservices.org/reports/ (2/26/2015)
3) http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/02/world/meast/saudi-arabia-domestic-violence/ (2/26/2015)
4) http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/aug/23/turkey-domestic-violence-honour-killings (2/26/2015)
5) http://www.ncdsv.org/images/powercontrolwheelnoshading.pdf (2/26/2015)
6) http://www.milliyet.com.tr/siginmaevleri-magdurlara-yetisemiyo/gundem/detay/1754620/default.htm (2/26/2015)
7) http://www.ncdsv.org/images/powercontrolwheelnoshading.pdf (2/26/2015)
Resmiye Oral, MD is a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and the director of Child Protection Program at the University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine.