domestic violence

While reading Chapter 41 of the book “Seeing Ourselves” the article “Domestic Violence: a cross cultural view” by Elaine Leeder, we were asked to “suspend any ethnocentric value judgments”. This was difficult for me to do, especially when she wrote about child abuse, neglect and infanticide which is “the killing of a child under one year old”. I was appalled that in India killing a child is only considered homicide if the child is over 12 months old. Leeder discussed how rising industrialization and modernization have raised family’s economic expectations and it is causing problems to be acted out at home. “Mild” forms of wife beating are common and freely admitted as justified f the women does not “behave”. It is only admitted by about 22 percent of women, however, because women do not think it is worth mentioning. Only when the abuse is extreme they will admit it. Being under the influence of alcohol, sterilization, neglecting household duties, infidelity or disobedience is “justified” excuses for abuse. Women cannot realistically choose not to get married in India because of low paying and minimal employment opportunities available to them. Females are considered a financial drain since they move away when married, and cannot help the family financially. Therefore, male children are preferred and get better treatment, including better medical care and preferential feeding.
In Japan more than ¾ of the wives reported abuse and 2/3 resulted in serious injury. Japan has no laws against beating your wife and has no government funding to help woman. It is not recognized, there is not even a word for it in Japanese.
Vietnam has “invisible violence” which is when woman work there job outside of the home and then come home and work 5-6 hours on household chores. 17.5 percent of deaths are from family violence and 87.5 percent of divorces are caused by family violence. Men sometimes take loves into the home against the wives will.
In Africa when men were asked why they beat their wives they shrugged and replies “it is our culture”. Law enforcement does not view abuse as a problem, therefore they are unhelpful. Abuse is worse in the countryside then in the cities.
i think that it is sad to see so many women and children beaten and not protected. everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
BY ASHLEY

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