“The female is, as it were, a mutilated…a sort of natural deficiency. It is not appropriate in a female character to be manly or clever. The male is by nature superior and the female inferior." (Author; unknown)

I. Introduction Domestic violence has been present in our society and an accepted practice of many cultures for hundreds of years. Up until the late 1800's, a man in this country had the right to chastise his wife until the practice was declared illegal in two states (Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence Manual, p. B-8). Old English Common Law allowed husbands to beat their wives provided that the stick they used was not thicker than his thumb; hence the phrase "Rule of Thumb"(Heart on a Chain [Video]). Although times have changed in this regard and laws have been enacted in order to protect women from abuse, the fact remains that acts of domestic violence occur every 15 seconds in the United States. Over the past two decades, extensive research has been done on the dynamics of domestic violence. Through this research, many of the aspects of domestic violence are better understood. Various researchers have theorized the caus

al mechanism behind domestic violence, have studied the characteristics of both the victim and the perpetrator, and have researched the effects on men, women, and the invisible victims of domestic violence: the children. Unfortunately, despite all that has been learned, domestic violence is still prevalent in today's society. The question is why? In an attempt to answer this question, this paper will present and discuss many of the theories of domestic abuse that have transpired as a result of years of research. Additionally, the emotional, psychological, and behavioral impact on the victim and children will be presented through the empirical evidence. Third, this paper will also present approaches to intervention strategies used with family members involved in violence. Finally, this paper will hypothesize, based upon the research, why, in today's society, does domestic violence still exist?II. Definition and Description Domestic violence is defined as the physical or emotional abuse of an adult or child by a family member or friend. Physical abuse includes pushing, slapping, or grabbing, throwing objects, kicking, biting or punching, beating up, raping or sexually exploiting an adult or child and/or threatening with a weapon. Emotional abuse includes name calling, making jokes that are demeaning, verbally threatening physical abuse, isolating or unreasonably confining an adult or child, and/or the repeated humiliation of an adult or child (Woman Aware [Brochure]). A person of any age or sex may be a victim of domestic violence. However, according to statistics, the majority of victims are women, children, and the dependent elderly (Woman Aware [Brochure]). Additionally, although there are many reported instances and services available to men who are victims and to those in gay, lesbian, and bisexual relationships, this paper will focus on the majority; that is the male as the perpetrator and the as the woman victim.III. Etiology of Domestic Violence Due to the complexity of family violence with its many forms, there have been a number of etiological models that have developed over the years (Kashani & Allen, 1998). The following is a description of some of these frameworks for which the understanding of domestic violence has been based on. Psychoanalytic Theory stems from the belief that individual personality traits, which develop early in life, predict the probability that a person will be a victim of or submit to violence. These characteristics can and have been reported as psychiatric diagnosis’s. For example, a common abuse scenario could be explained through the diagnosis of "dependant/self-defeating personality disorder." That is, a woman who tolerates an abusive relationship may exhibit one or all of the following behaviors: a pattern of self-defeating behavior such as choosing people and situations that ultimately lead to failure. She may reject the help of others and respond in negative ways. The reaction of others will then be a source of hurt for the individual. Furthermore, the woman may not follow through with actions that are crucial to her ability to obtain her goals. Therefore, with respect to this theory, it would then seem that the woman possesses an inborn personality trait that may predispose her to tolerate an abusive relationship (Harway, 1998). Sociobiological Theory focuses on the work of Darwin and notion that the physical characteristics and behaviors of species develop over time through the process of natural selection (Rowe, 1994). According to Kashani and Allan (1998), since behaviors that help one's offspring to survive are considered functional, parents are expected to invest more resources in one of their own children than in a non-relative child. Sociobiological theorists would explain that the function of marital violence can be found in the potential purpose of coercive control in marriages which can be viewed as being motivated by the male need to

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