Domestic Violence: Why Do Women Stay? Essay -- Violence Against Women E

It is common knowledge that Ray Rice used his wife as a punching bag in the elevator of an Atlantic City casino. What is truely remarkable is that his fiancà © became his wife after that vicious left hook to the face left her unconscious. Why do women stay with men who beat them unconscious? Domestic violence is a serious and complex plague of society that affects all, but women make up the largest number of victims in most case studies. In the United States alone, '1.5 million women are raped or physically assaulted by an intimate partner each year. More than 500,000 women victims require medical treatment, and 324,000 victims are pregnant at the time of assault' (Berlinger, 'Taking' 42). Numbers like these show how intense the situation of domes tic violence truly is. 'Two women a week are killed by a current or former partner and domestic violence accounts for 22% of all recorded violent crimes' (Jamil 70). Domestic violence takes such a large number in percentages regarding violent crimes, yet often is dismissed by many with the idea that 'this won't happen to me'. Somehow, somewhere, domestic violence will touch everyone whether by someone they know or by televised publication. Though domestic violence affects men as well, the female subject is more often the victim. Domestic violence has a continuous cycle that has been influenced since birth and can be stopped with intervention but each victim's reason for staying will vary.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Researchers are still trying to understand domestic violence, what causes it and how far back psychologically does it go. A Scottish psychoanalyst, W. Ronald D. Fairbairn, conducted studies such as these. These studies had a grand influence on British object relations and he founded the ?Object Relations Theory? and the ?Dynamic Structure of the mind? (Stringer). Similarly to Sigmund Freud?s ?id?, Fairbairn has levels of the internal unified ego that will split as a self defense mechanism in relation to the emotional pain a child is feeling (Celani 62). This unconscious strategy is necessary. The internal unified ego is composed of the self-esteem of humans and is divided into three parts ... ...Berlinger, June. ?Domestic Violence.? Nursing Aug. 2001: 58-63. Berlinger, June. ?Taking an Intimate Look at Domestic Violence.? Nursing Oct. 2004: 42-46. Berlinger, June. ?Why Don?t You Just Leave Him Nursing Apr. 1998: 34-40. Busch, Noel Bridget. ?Comparisons of Moral Reasoning Levels Between Battered and Non-battered Women.? Journal of Social Work Education 40 (2004): 57-71. Celani, David P. ?Applying Fairbairn?s Object Relations Theory to the Dynamics of the Battered Woman.? American Journal of Psychotherapy 53 (1999):60-73. Hadley, Susan M. ?Linking the Orthopedic Patient with Community Family Violence Resources.? Orthopedic Nursing 21 (2002): 19-24. Jamil, Tanvir. ?Domestic Violence.? Pulse 4 Oct. 2004: 70. Marvin, Douglas R. ?The Dynamics of Domestic Abuse.? FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin 66 (1997): 13-18. Oeltjen, Holly. ?Stop the Beating.? Women in Business 44 (1992): 20-23. Starsoneck, Leslie, and Sharon Friedman. ?Taking Exception to Asymmetrical Role-Taking: Comparing Battered and Non-battered Women.? Social Work 42 (1997): 113-115. Stringer, Kathie. Kathie?s Mental Health Review page. 22 Nov. 2004 http://www.toddlertime.com/fairburn.htm