Free Essay Example. Sex, Gender, and Domestic Violence

Each year, at least 5 million cases on domestic violence are reported in America (Aulette, J. R., Wittner & Blakely, 2009). At least 4000 victims of domestic violence are killed, and the crime has become an issue for debate worldwide (Aulette et al., 2009). Society has viewed domestic violence as an act of males against females who cannot defend themselves, yet males have also been assaulted, especially in prisons. Based on the previous presentation on domestic violence and male victims, this essay focuses on analyzing the topic of domestic violence and ale victims based on the roles of various structures and institutions and the provision of an intersectional analysis. This essay will also provide a summary of the overall presentation.

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Structural and Institutional Analysis

Society views that men cannot possibly be victims of domestic abuse. According to the National Coalition against Domestic Violence, men experience psychological abuse at 48.8 percent (Huntley et al., 2019). The number of these cases has been underreported due to the difficulties which male victims face, including feeling they would be treated of being less than men since a woman abused them. The men think that the criminal justice system will hardly relate to their story, especially in a society that has limited resources for male victims of domestic violence.

In the Law enforcement and judicial system, male victims have reported barriers to contact law enforcement, including fear of being accused of perpetrating themselves. Besides the fact that reports on violence in the United States suggest that a domestic partner has injured 1 in 7 women against 1 in 25 men, and 1 in 3 men in the United States have encountered sexual violence, physical violence, and stalking, male victims' perpetrators have been ignored by the police, while women have been released from the custody of the police in a short period (Huntley et al., 2019). Some cops have been heard telling men to get some guts. Most men, more than half the population of those that have been violated, say that by calling the police, things would get worse.

At work and in families, individuals feel and see domestic violence as a woman's problem. Family members hardly notice when the male person has been abused since he feels ashamed of admitting the abuse. The government of the United States doe does not have enough services like shelters for male victims of domestic violence. Among the 20000 phone calls that have been placed for victims of domestic violence in the nation, most are used by women (Dutton & White, 2013). Domestic violence is underrepresented, with female prisons being more than male prisons. The American criminal justice holds at least 2.3 million people, with 74 percent being male and 26 percent females (Dutton & White, 2013).

Intersectional Analysis

Male victims of domestic violence in the society of African Americans hardly call the police for fear of brutality against themselves or their counterparts. Reporting male domestic violence in the African American community is seen as a betrayal of African ancestry of their race, and it contributes to negative stereotypes (Cannon, 2015). The idea of hegemonic masculinity in the African-American society, as a practice that has made the position of men dominant in the communities, has justified their subordination on the female population, making a man to be marginalized in many ways. A man's masculinity in African society does not allow him to be identified to be violated by a woman. Statistics show that 4out of 10 men victims have been isolated from their friends, families, and have been blackmailed, threatened, and deprived of liberty (Cannon, 2015). A stereotype of domestic violence has included a husband or a boyfriend who assaulted his wife of boyfriend, and yet the male-only snapped in the event of the female's attack. Even at a young age, a little girl will start fights with a small boy in school, and the society will see it as bullying on the part of the male. A lot of shelters on domestic violence do not allow boys ages 13 and above to be with their families (Petrosky et al., 2017). The most affected male victims are those who come from poor backgrounds since they lack resources for obtaining justice. Among immigrant male victims, the language barrier is the major problem. Police can hardly communicate effectively with victims and serve them effectively. Also, mainstream service providers sometimes discriminate against immigrant and refugee victims and tend not to trust them. Some male victims have issues with their mental health or could be disabled in several ways, making them lack the capacity to seek help at the time of abuse (Petrosky et al., 2017)

Summary of Presentation

The American Criminal justice holds almost 2.3 million people, with 74 percent being men and 26 percent being women (Petrosky et al., 2017). According to the Justice Department study, almost ten state prisoners are sexual assault victims. More than 75 percent of the male prisoner's staff have reported sexual misconduct through interaction with the female staff (Petrosky et al., 2017). The result of sexual assault in prisons includes pregnancy, diseases, a jail term for rape, and children taken to foster care. The National Coalition against domestic violence says that 48.8 percent of men experience psychological abuse (Petrosky et al., 2017). At least 23 percent of males have encountered other sexual violence than rape. The society is to blame for lack of support for male victims, especially on the hegemonic masculinity where a man is supposed to be in control, and must be stronger than and subdue women, hence there lack enough violence shelters for men (Petrosky et al., 2017). In the United States, 20 people per minute are abused physically by their intimate partners. Domestic violence has been stereotyped n many aspects, including gender, age, race, and ethnicity (Petrosky et al., 2017). Prevention of justice on domestic violence against male victims includes making attempting to control where they go to by their females, and females keeping them from seeing their kids if they report the maltreatment (Berns, 2017).

Comparisons

Based on the information contributed in this essay, the general relationship in the topics is that the male victims of domestic violence can hardly be heard or taken care of by the society, by the mere fact that they are men, and should not be as weak as women. Different articles suggest that domestic violence against a male is an emerging issue that should be considered in the United States (Petrosky et al., 2017).

Conclusion

Most female abusers of domestic violence and society in general stereotype men based on ethnicity, race, sexuality, and gender. Male victims are assaulted in prisons by the female staff, primarily based on their behavior and how they do things, lowering male self-esteem and confidence. The judicial system in the United States has not addressed the issues of domestic violence appropriately, and the police have failed on their part in looking after the male victims. Male victims in society, due to the idea of hegemonic masculinity, can hardly express themselves and end up not speaking out against their female counterparts.

References

Aulette, J. R., Wittner, J. G., & Blakely, K. (2009). Gendered worlds. New York: Oxford University Press.Retrieved from https://onrf.pw/genderedworlds.pdf

Berns, N. S. (2017). Framing the victim: Domestic violence, media, and social problems. Routledge. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/JOY/Downloads/9780203791578_googlepreview.pdf

Cannon, C. (2015). The illusion of inclusion: The failure of the gender paradigm to account for intimate partner violence in LGBT relationships. Partner Abuse, 6(1), 65-77. Retrieved from https://connect.springerpub.com/content/sgrpa/6/1/65

Dutton, D. G., & White, K. R. (2013). Male victims of domestic violence. New male studies: An international journal, 2(1), 5-17. Retrieved from http://ukfamilylawreform.co.uk/docs/malevictimsofdvbydutton2013.pdf

Huntley, A. L., Potter, L., Williamson, E., Malpass, A., Szilassy, E., & Feder, G. (2019). Help-seeking by male victims of domestic violence and abuse (DVA): a systematic review and qualitative evidence synthesis. BMJ open, 9(6), e021960. Retrieved from https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/6/e021960

Petrosky, E., Blair, J. M., Betz, C. J., Fowler, K. A., Jack, S. P., & Lyons, B. H. (2017). Racial and ethnic differences in homicides of adult women and the role of intimate partner violence-United States, 2003-2014. MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report, 66(28), 741. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5657947/