Domestic_Abuse

Domestic Abuse Domestic Violence Domestic violence against women is a serious and widespread problem that is just not confined to the United States. Gelles states that between 20 and 50 percent of women in most countries experience spousal abuse at least once in their life (Gelles, Loeske 1993). Domestic abuse is known by many different names such as, spousal abuse, domestic abuse, domestic assault, battering and wife beating. Whatever the name used to refer to it domestic violence is a very grave and difficult problem faced by women in the United States. Domestic violence is defined as actual or threatened violence or harassment between married or de facto partners living in the same household or who have lived together. The commonly accepted definition among legal professionals according to Johnson is the emotional, physical, psychological, or sexual abuse perpetrated against a person by that person’s spouse former spouse, partner, former partner or by the other parent of a minor child (Johnson 1995). Domestic violence is not a new phenomenon. For years domestic violence was often viewed as par to of the family dynamic. Moreover, our cultural traditions historically have encouraged women to put up with abuse. English Common Law, violence, domestic, women, family, abuse, victims, gelles, between, against, wives, report, power, new, legal, justice, husbands, families, class, being, 1997, 1995, wife, states, problem, physical, phase, over, often, men, journal, gender, department, among, 1994, 1993