Addressing Violence, Abuse and Oppression

Debates and Challenges

Barbara Fawcett, Fran Waugh

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9780415422635
• eBook ISBN: 9781134100552
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Health Care Delivery

Everyone working in health and social care is at one point or another confronted by violent behaviour and its consequences. Addressing Violence, Abuse and Oppression provides a broad overview of violence in relation to a range of groups and areas that involve human service professionals.

Adopting an international perspective, this book looks at the ways in which violence, abuse and oppression can be clearly associated with power imbalances which are often gendered and which are covertly or overtly manifested at a range of levels including the interpersonal as well as the organizational and the political. It explores debates and challenges with regard to theoretical orientations, policy frameworks and how power imbalances intersect with a range of influencing factors including gender, poverty, indigenous/ethnic issues, class and sexuality.

Examining the implications for human service professionals, each chapter of Addressing Violence, Abuse and Oppression provides an historical overview, explores theoretical perspectives, examines specific policy and practice context, appraises the contribution from research and assesses the impact for individuals and groups.

1 Introduction

This book focuses on violence, abuse and oppression and explores debates and challenges with regard to policy frameworks and influencing factors such as poverty, status and age. It adopts an international perspective and critically examines the implications of policy and practice for different groupings of people in different contexts, taking full account of aspects such as ethnicity, indigenous issues, class and sexuality.

Definitions of violence, abuse and oppression vary. Abuse and oppression can be regarded as manifestations of violence, with violence being broadly defined to include psychological, emotional and economic as well as physical aspects. A related, but differing approach is to focus on the ways in which these three areas are interconnected and intermeshed. Alternatively abuse and oppression can be considered separately in order to draw attention to the ways in which structural power imbalances can adversely affect marginalized groups in public and private settings. The chapters in this book both recognize and relate to these varying perspectives, but a common theme throughout is to both understand and respond to violence, abuse and oppression as social processes with social consequences. These are in turn intricately associated with the position of the person or group undertaking the defining. As a result, throughout the book understandings of violence, abuse and oppression are continually interrogated in relation to the specific area being discussed.

Gender has to feature strongly in any discussion of violence, abuse and oppression. Whether referring to what has variously been termed domestic violence, intimate partner violence or violence to a known other, or to forms of public or state violence, statistics demonstrate that although women are perpetrators, and not all men are violent, far more men commit violent acts than women. As a result there is a clear focus in this book on the operation and reproduction of gendered power imbalances at individual and social levels. The chapters have also been informed by the historical development of the various feminisms (for example, radical, liberal, socialist, ecological, postmodern) as well as by contemporary contributions and these have been used to explore a wide range of issues relating to violence, oppression and abuse.

As violence, abuse and oppression are clearly associated with power imbalances, which can be covertly or overtly manifested at a range of levels and which include the interpersonal as well as the organizational and the political, it is recognized that analysis of theory, policy and practice, whilst imperative, has to be accompanied by action. What this is and how it is played out will vary according to context, but the ways in which those working in the human services operate both strategically and operationally is significant. In order to facilitate action, all of the contributors to the book examine and explore the implications for human service providers of their analysis and highlight key pointers for further change.

Violence, abuse and oppression have an international resonance and in this book emphasis is placed on maintaining an international relevance whilst also ensuring that there is a focus on specific countries to provide examples or to illustrate the arguments and points being made. The countries referred to include western nations such as Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and the USA as well as countries such as Malawi, Bangladesh and Uganda. This broad span facilitates international comparisons and highlights the very different concerns held by different groups. Clearly there are commonalities, but there are also specific issues which require attention.

The book has been divided into three parts. The first concentrates on violence, abuse and oppression as they affect ‘women’ and ‘men’ and explores links and associations between these areas and poverty and indigenous issues. Barbara Fawcett, in the chapter on women and violence, looks at understandings of ‘domestic violence’ or intimate partner violence and the associations which have been made between violence and abuse. She considers the effect of violence on women's health and argues that although domestic violence is intrinsically related to gendered power imbalances which are represented differently in varying social and cultural contexts, the view that violence is inevitable, even when tacitly sanctioned by social, cultural and economic practices, is not the case. She emphasizes the importance of zero tolerance campaigns, but highlights the need to explore the ways in which gendered power imbalances foster intimate partner violence in some contexts but not in others. Maurice Hanlon focuses on men and violence. He interrogates the theoretical perspectives which have been put forward to account for gendered violence and examines key features from the burgeoning men and masculinities literature over the past decade before exploring the issues associated with violent men and fathering. Deborah Hart appraises the connections which can be made between poverty and violence in a global context. She explores the challenges faced by people who live in poverty to escape from relationships dominated by violence, abuse and oppression before moving on to address a number of specific questions. These include the ways in which the experience of violence might be different for people living in poverty, how current and emerging social and economic policies and practices maintain oppressive relationships of dependence, and the social and economic policies and practices that promote opportunities to escape violence, abuse and oppression. The chapter on aboriginal issues and violence focuses on Australia. Aboriginal communities experience violence at rates far in excess of the wider community. This violence can only be understood within the context of the historical and traumatic experiences endured by Aboriginal people as a result of unjust and oppressive state policies and practices. These are exemplified by child welfare policies that resulted in the forcible removal of generations of Aboriginal children from their families. Even today, as evidenced by Federal Government incursions into the Northern Territory, Aboriginal people are subject to insensitive and oppressive policies and practices which erode, rather than build on and further develop, existing strengths. This chapter explores the ways in which Aboriginal people are speaking out against the violence in their communities and the strategies they are employing to rebuild Aboriginal society.

Part II starts off with Ruth Phillips exploring feminism(s) and domestic violence within national policy contexts. This chapter examines the role and character of a range of national responses to domestic violence and makes links to wider political and social transformations. These include consideration of the impact of the women's movement, the concomitant backlash, global social policy issues which focus on human rights, and the contemporary political rift between the West and the Islamic world which raises issues about interventions regarding violence against women across diverse cultures. This chapter is followed by Lesley Laing's appraisal of ‘violence’, criminal justice and the law. Within the context of intimate partner violence, Laing examines legal responses and both past and current challenges. She employs feminist analyses to explore the extent to which legal remedies have achieved the core goals of domestic violence policy which are increasing the safety of women and holding the perpetrators accountable. She notes that using the law has proved more complex and difficult than originally anticipated and she appraises the challenges that have arisen in order to chart the way forward. Jude Irwin explores violence within lesbian relationships and examines how the development of discourses surrounding domestic violence have influenced and produced particular understandings of intimate partner violence between lesbians. She draws on stories of lesbians who have experienced intimate partner violence to show that while they may encounter similar forms of abuse in their relationships to those encountered by heterosexual women, the heteronormative discursive constitutions of intimate partner violence both generate and limit understandings and responses to such violence, accentuating its obscurity. Margot Rawsthorne draws from an ecological approach to review the situation of rural women. Contrary to stereotypical images of rural communities, Rawsthorne maintains that multiple bonded ties create barriers to women gaining or seeking support to escape violence. This results from an interplay of personal, situational, and socio-cultural factors which not only makes violence more likely, but also continues to perpetuate the silence and inadequate response to this violence.

Part III Three is concerned with the impact of violence, abuse and oppression on different groupings of people. It is accepted that these groupings cannot be viewed as homogeneous, but significant features are highlighted and interrogated. Fran Waugh's chapter on violence against children within the family examines the theoretical perspectives, the policy underpinnings and the practice implications of measures used in countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America to combat this emotive and highly political area. Key concepts related to risk, protection and resilience are explored and challenges, which include developing policies and practices which are evidence-based and are cognizant of the complexities of children's and parents’ lives as well as the need for the meaningful participation of children and parents in the development of effectual partnerships, are appraised.

Denise Lynch, using Australia as a case study, argues that structural violence is being perpetrated against asylum seeker children following arrival in their country of destination. She illustrates this argument by providing evidence relating to the difficulties experienced with regard to health, education, housing and poverty. She draws attention to how this form of structural violence and oppression, caused in some part by their unresolved legal status, results in children being unable to develop and form an identity or a sense of belonging with their new country. In consequence, she maintains that perceptions of Australia as a country, where children and families are given a ‘fair go’ is questionable. Zita Weber concentrates on the contentious arena of mental health and violence. She explores the rise of the contemporary collective movement of consumers of mental health services and assesses the importance of this in challenging the history of past institutional and professional violence, abuse and oppression. She draws from past and present scenarios to examine entrenched controversies and to formulate a vision of enabling policies and practices. Agi O'Hara looks at suicide as the most severe form of violence against the self. She recognizes that an individual may be prompted to take this course of action as a result of organizational, individual and/or routinized acts of abuse and oppression and explores the various understandings which have been put forward, the connections which can be made with self-harm, and reviews associated motivational features, ‘risk’ factors and policy aspects.

Barbara Fawcett provides an historical overview of how disability has been both understood and responded to and interrogates conceptualizations of disability and the links and association which can be made between these and issues concerning violence, abuse and oppression. She appraises the concept of ‘vulnerability’ and argues that assessment and protection measures can further constrain rather than promote wellbeing and security. Lindsey Napier and Fran Waugh identify the different ways in which older people have been characterized with respect to their experience of violence, abuse and oppression. They critically review oppressive perceptions and make links between theory, policy and practice before discussing possible ways forward. Rosalie Pockett interrogates controversies relating to human service professionals, violence and the workplace. In this, she critically examines debates surrounding the incidence, measurement and cost of workplace violence, causative factors and the current discourse on the management, containment and elimination of workplace violence. Finally, in the concluding chapter, the key themes raised in all the chapters relating to the multifaceted and complex nature of violence, abuse and oppression and the ways in which violence, abuse and oppression intersect with aspects such as age, ethnicity and the operation of gendered power imbalances are appraised. The implications for human service professionals are also re-emphasized and summarized and ways forward are considered.

Part I

Lenses for understanding

Framing debates within violence, abuse and oppression

2Women and violence

Barbara Fawcett

Domestic violence is a global issue which resonates throughout society. Its manifestation in social relations reflects gendered power imbalances and social divisions. The impact of domestic violence is wide ranging and considerable. It affects the safety as well as the health and wellbeing of individuals. It also negatively influences individual and social resilience and the capacity to build and maintain strong communities. In this chapter, a number of key areas will be examined. These include an examination of definitions and explanations of domestic violence and an appraisal of associations which have been made between violence and abuse. As part of the discussion multi-country links between women's health and domestic violence will be explored and matters associated with professional responsibility and responses will be considered.

As a starting point, it has to be recognized that domestic violence can include violence between directly or indirectly related family members as well as intimate partner violence. The focus of this chapter is on domestic violence defined as intimate partner violence and this takes place between partners or former partners and includes violence perpetrated by men against women, by women against men and violence which occurs in same-sex relationships. However, although domestic violence perpetrated by women against men is gaining currency as a social issue, available research and statistics consistently show that the predominant form of domestic violence relates to violence towards women by men. In the European Union, for example, 25 per cent of all violent crimes reported involve a man assaulting his wife or partner (European Parliament, 2005). In the United Kingdom, domestic violence accounts for 31 per cent of all violence against women (Home Office, 2006) and in Australia, 1.1 million women experience violence by a partner both during and after the relationship (Carrington and Phillips, 2003). With regard to this latter example, it is important to acknowledge that as the population of Australia is approximately 20 million people, this constitutes a significant figure. It is also notable that intimate partner violence cuts across class divisions, age related factors and ethnic distinctions.

In relation to what domestic or intimate partner violence can be seen to incorporate, it is pertinent that whilst some commentators focus particularly on direct physical violence (for example, Mullender, 1996), others emphasize that domestic violence can be wider ranging, incorporating emotional and sexual elements, threats and forms of humiliation and control (Hearn, 1996; Hearn and Whitehead, 2006). Hearn (1996) drawing from his own research, highlights how male violators variously deny, rationalize, excuse or belittle their actions. In contrast, he found that for women, often the more wide ranging elements were reported as being the most damaging. The women who participated in the research also emphasized how the lack of control over the initiation of their partner's behaviour, the subsequent interaction and their uncertainty about the outcome, increased the intensity and fear of the violent encounter for them.

With regard to the relationship between violence and abuse, it is notable that some commentators maintain that these areas have to be viewed as separate (for example, Hague and Malos, 1993), whilst others regard the two as intermeshed (for example, Humphries and Joseph, 2004). There is also an argument for ‘abuse’ and ‘abusive acts’ to be defined as violence with ‘violence’ being seen to incorporate physical violence, emotional violence, sexual violence as well as maltreatment (Wang Lih-Rong, 2006). The Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (2004) reports violence ‘can occur on a continuum of economic, psychological and sexual violence’ which spans all cultural and socio-economic groups (Victorian Health Promotion Foundation 2004: 5). Clearly the perspectives presented, can be seen to reflect the orientation of the commentator and the context in which they are writing or undertaking research. However, a major point of difference is that whilst the term ‘domestic violence’ or ‘intimate partner violence’ emphasizes violence in the home and between partners, the term ‘abuse’, tends to create associations with a wider range of settings, individuals and groups. These incorporate residential or resource centres, as well as private homes, and include children, older people and disabled adults.

A discussion looking at those factors which can be seen to constitute abuse, as with definitions of violence, can be very wide ranging. ‘Abuse’ can incorporate physical abuse, sexual abuse, financial or material abuse and exploitation, involuntary isolation and confinement, as well as various forms of psychological abuse. This in turn can include emotional abuse as well as verbal abuse, harassment and being subject to controlling behaviour. As highlighted above, systemic and discriminatory forms of abuse, as numerous scandals in different countries have shown, demonstrates how professional workers can both inflict and be drawn into perpetrating institutionally systemic forms of abuse in both private and publicly funded settings.

Oppression, as with ‘violence’ and ‘abuse’ has been defined in a number of different ways. However, an operational definition is to view oppression as persistent negative discrimination across a wide range of areas which connect and intersect and which operate at institutional as well as at individual levels. Gendered power imbalances will be explored later in this chapter, but at this point it is useful to explore the explanations of violence, abuse and oppressive behaviour which have been put forward.

In relation to explanations of domestic violence and abuse, commentators have sought to explain violence to a known other or domestic violence in a variety of different ways and these explanations are not mutually exclusive. There are those interpretations which have focused on individual pathology. These tend to regard the perpetrator as either having a personality disorder, or a major problem related to alcohol or drug abuse, or having learnt this behaviour as part of a cyclical process where violent behaviour is transmitted through the generations. All of these explanations can be associated with the tendency to view violence in the home as a private matter. These can also be associated with a reluctance to intervene and to the attribution of a degree of responsibility towards the women who choose to remain in violent relationships.

Other explanations draw attention to social causational factors such as economic, social and familial stressors. It is notable, for example, that during the 2006 World Cup matches in the United Kingdom, significantly more cases of domestic violence were reported to the police than for the same period in 2005.¹ Associated with stressor arguments, there can be an accompanying rationale which links the removal of the stressors with the removal of the problem. However, feminist perspectives (and as Fawcett (2006) points out there is not just one feminist perspective, but a number) highlight that solutions are not so straightforward and draw attention to the pervasive effects of gendered power imbalances. Feminist orientations emphasize that domestic violence or intimate partner violence was largely regarded as an aspect of taken for granted social practices that took place in private settings and was attributable to the pathology of those involv...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Addressing Violence, Abuse and Oppression
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of contributors
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Introduction
• PART I Lenses for understanding: framing the debates within violence, abuse and oppression
• PART II Politics and policies within violence, abuse and oppression
• PART III Violence, abuse and oppression – across the spectrum
• Bibliography
• Index