Wife Abuse

Abused Wives

“Every three minutes a woman is raped! Every fifteen seconds a woman is battered! Every six hours a woman is battered to death!” (Mckenzie, Cover) Research indicates that half the women in this country will experience some sort of violence, from a husband or boyfriend, in one form or another and more than one-third are battered repeatedly every year. (Wilson, pg. 8) Domestic violence is often dismissed as a problem that affects only a small group of women, however, as the facts show, the problem is not rare.

The term “wife abuse” has many definitions: One of these is the use or threat of physical violence against a partner in a primary relationship. Physical violence is defined as an act that has the potential for physical injury to occur. According to this definition the abused person does not have to be married to the abuser to qualify as an abused victim.

In most states, if a woman does not want to press charges against her husband/boyfriend, the case is dropped. Often a woman will not press charges because she is scared of further abuse and/or economic deprivation for her and her children. (Felder, Victor, pg.20) Wife abuse is not a “private matter”. Its presence undermines society. Furthermore in cases where children are witnessing the abuse, the effects on the children is horrible. Studies show that children who witness wife-abuse are at greater risk for being abused or becoming abusers themselves. “Violence begets Violence” (Straus, Gelles, Steinmetz, pg.97-101) The Attorney General should prosecute wife-abuse cases with or without the consent of the victim.

Throughout history men have been held responsible for their women and children. With that responsibility, men were given power; That is, men historically have had the power to use force to control the behavior of their dependents and were expected to use so-called reasonable force in the exercise of their responsibilities. At times reasonable force included death, and has typically included beatings, and deprivation of food and other resources. (Straus, Gelles, Steinmetz, pg. 9-11) Wife abuse to an extent was the right of a husband. (Okun, pg.2)

The laws of chastisement date back to 753 B.C.. This law, also referred to as the “switch-thumb law”, allowed husbands to beat their wives with a rod or stick as long as its circumference was no larger that a man’s thumb. The rational for this law was that a wife was a man’s possession, (like a cow), and he was responsible for her behavior. Therefore, he had the right to punish and discipline her. (Okun, pg. 2)

The Christian Church also played a role in wife abuse. In the Rules of Marriage, by Friar Cherubino of Siena, it states:

When you see your wife commit an offense…Scold her sharply, bully and terrify her. And if this still does not work…..take up a stick and beat her soundly, for it is better to punish the body and correct the soul. (Okun, pg.3)

This privilege of “correcting” one’s spouse was given only to men. (Okun, pg.3)

The right of a man to kill his wife existed until the 1600’s in Russia and even until the 1900’s in some localities. In England, husbands escaped punishment for murdering their wives until the 1800’s. Wives had no right to refuse to have sex with their husbands. In fact there was no such concept as “marital rape” until the 1970’s. (Okun, pg.3-5)

In the 1880’s, England enacted several laws in order to protect women. One law established life-threatening beatings as a ground for divorce. Another law prohibited men from keeping their wives under lock and key. Yet another law deemed it illegal for a man to sell his wife into prostitution. (Okun, pg.5)

The Constitution of the United States did not address issues regarding spouse relations, except for the fourth amendment which secures the privacy of the home. Thus, it was left up to state legislature to determine what was legal or illegal in regard to wife abuse. In 1864, North Carolina overturned the “finger-switch rule”. However, the court cautioned that a “man’s home is his castle” and that it was best to “draw the curtain’s” so that the spouses could “forget and forgive”. In 1871, Alabama and Massachusetts enacted a similar policy. In 1883, Maryland was the first state to outlaw wife beating. By 1910, 35 of 46 states granted divorce on the grounds of physical cruelty and many states made wife beating prosecutable as an illegal assault. However, police and courts often overlooked wife-abuse as the custom of chastisement still prevailed. (Okun, pg.5-6)

From the 1920’s until the 1970’s the plight of abused wives was rarely heard. However, it was rediscovered because of three factors. (1) Kempe and Helfer (1963) published a paper on battered child syndrome. This awakened public awareness regarding family violence. (2) The nation became more aware of violence due to the civil strife of the late 1960’s and the early 1970’s and also due to the Vietnam War. (3) The emergence of the feminist movement made the public more aware of the injustices women faced both at home and in the work place. (Okun, pg.7)

The first shelter in the U.S.A. for battered women was opened in 1974. Currently there are over 600 shelters for battered women throughout the United States. Studies have been made regarding social policy in order to help and protect abused women. However, the problem is not yet resolved. (Okun, pg.7)

There is social stigma in regard to being an abused wife. One of the reasons for this is the many myths that exist in regard to wife abuse. These include: (1) Violence is a private affair. Unfortunately many people, including the police officers, believe this myth and hesitate to intervene. (2) Women provoke, want and/or enjoy the abuse they get. Most women try to please their abusive partner in hopes of preventing the abuse. In reality the abuser is the only one responsible for his behavior because he chooses to beat his wife regardless of her behavior. (3) A separation is made between ”worthy” and “unworthy” victims. “Worthy” victims are those who leave their husbands and prosecutor them. The “unworthy” victims are the women who stay married to their husbands or refuse to prosecute them. People who believe this myth fail to realize that abuse often escalates