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

Domestic violence exists in all social classes. However, domestic violence is reported more often in blue collar and lower class families (Buchman and Salzman 1995). The fact that blue-collar families report more domestic violence does not mean that there is less violence at the upper and middle classes. Lower numbers among the higher classes can be attributed to the fact that middle class families have greater privacy than lower socio-economic families (Funeman and Mykitiuk 1994). In addition, upper and middle class families have recourse to friends and professional counselors to help deal them deal with their violent situations. This allows them to avoid reporting the violence and the police (Buzawa and Buzawa 1990).

Studies have suggested that husbands who beat their wives are attempting to compensate for general feelings of powerlessness or inadequacy. This type of domestic violence is referred to as patriarchal terrorism (Johnson 1995). Husbands may use physical aggression to compensate for their lack of occupational success, prestige, or satisfaction (Anderson 1997). Moreover, men may also use violence to attempt to maintain control over wives or partners trying to assert some independence (Dutton and Browning 1988).

Domestic violence occurs in a three-phase cycle. The first phase is tension building. It usually results from a minor altercation like dinner not being on time, this tension may continue to build over time. Second, the situation escalates, eventually e

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