The litany of statistics suggests that violence in the home dwarfs other categories of violent crime. In fact 34% of all violent offenses reported to the police in two Scottish cities were assaults between family members. Seventy-six percent of assaults were committed against wives by husbands only 1% against husbands by wives. (Gondolf pg 2)

The abuse of woman has been with us for a long time. In ancient Egypt, men were expected to bash their wives teethes out with a brick if they spoke out against them, and the medieval church sanctioned flogging of disobedient wives. As recently as colonial times

Substance abuse, alcohol abuse in particular, frequently emerges as the prominent risk factor contributing to myriad family problems. Despite media attention, alcoholism (alcohol dependency and abuse) continues to account for the overwhelming majority of the substance abuse problems in the United States and, not surprisingly, remains the most frequently mentioned form of substance abuse contributing no family problems in general and family violence specifically. The link is becoming clear, whether one refers to the actual occurrence of violence in the home or to the intergenerational and developmental consequences of living in the home with a family culture of alcoholism and violence. (Roleff pg. 55)

About two-thirds of violent homes, there are three phases the couple goes through over and over, in a circular pattern. The aspects of the violence may vary from home to home, but the cycle almost always has these ongoing components. First, tension builds. The man becomes edgy, critical, irritable. The woman may go out of her way to keep peace during this period. She avoids anything she fears may set him off on a tirade. (Berry pg. 31)

At the heart of this argument is the notion that men and women are socialized into conflicting roles. Their learned differences make conflicts inevitable. The man’s socialization into a masculine role causes him to conflict in the way he knows best with violence. The absence of violence in a relationship is therefore the result of two partners in a perfunctory way living separate lives, risking a lack of fulfillment, or moving beyond the sex role boundaries to a genuine sharing of emotions and power. (Gondolf pg. 45)

Then comes to the second stage, the violent outburst with acute battering. Often the man will

Some topics in this essay:
Sex Roles, Cycle Violence, , gondolf pg, berry pg, substance abuse, gondolf pg 2, domestic violence, pg 2, dilemmas instance based, roleoff pg 26, berry pg 31, roleoff pg, abuse causes, moral dilemmas instance, based relationships, abusive home, moral dilemmas,