HEAVY HANDS

Chapter Two

History of Violence in the Family

Dr. Babcock

Ancient Times

First laws: Code of Hammurabi, Dracon, Solonian Codes, laws of Romulus

Woman property of father or husband (chattel)

Woman could be killed for smallest offense

Women not allowed to participate in government or court proceedings

Divorce only granted to husband

Christian Church followed Roman tradition; St. Constantine executed his wife in 298

British Common Law (BCL)

Patriarchy supported

Upon marriage man and woman become one & the one is the man (Blackstone); no legal rights for women

Evidence of legal restrictions on extent of abuse but it continued

“Rule of Thumb” purported legal ruling whereby husband may beat wife with nothing thicker than his thumb

BCL adopted in America

French Law

1793 Olympe de Gouges executed for writing Declaration of Rights for Women

Napoleon formalized the civil code in France:

women as legal minors entire lives

could be beaten, punched, and permanently disfigured

Napoleonic Code influenced French, Swiss, Italian, and German law

divorce rare intervention; only when beatings = attempted murder

Early America

Followed British Common Law (BCL)

Puritans decried wife beating; first to prohibit IPV through legal system

Massachusetts Code of 1648: married woman should be free from physical correction by husband

American Revolution weakened earlier gains toward protections for battered women

Bradley v. State (1824) declared wife-beating as husband’s right

By 1870, wife beating unpopular as was child abuse

African & Native Americans

Slaves: no legal protections; subjected to abuse from owners

After the Civil War, African Americans were granted right to marry

No interracial marriage until 1967 (Loving v. Virginia)

Native American societies: matriarchal; no child abuse

Indian children sent to boarding schools by White Europeans; women’s rights eroded; violence introduced by Europeans to control family members

Family as Private Sphere

By 1870s, husbands unable to claim legal right to beat spouse (with no permanent injury; see State v. Oliver (1871)

Battering continued behind closed doors (family as private sphere)

Both stitch rule and curtain rule used by police to determine whether to arrest in DV call

Twentieth Century ended legal protections for wives in DV; lack of interest by courts

1960s IPV & child abuse came to courts’ attention again

20th Century America

DV and child abuse emerged as social issues in 1960s

DV classified as misdemeanor & private within family

Law enforcement officers (LEOs) not allowed to intervene unless abuse witnessed

LEOs trained to separate parties for cooling-off

New legislation needed to overcome police noncompliance

Debates centered on most appropriate type of intervention

Family Violence Today

Family violence groups: child (CA), elder (EA), intimate partner (IPV)

Not all violence is criminal; state laws vary

Family violence must be forbidden by law and perpetrator related to victim

Survivors of family violence cross all classes, rich, poor, black, white, old, young, lesbian, gay, married, dating, highly educated or not

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

Intimate partner violence: violence committed in adult intimate relationship, regardless of sex, part of ongoing complex pattern of violent behavior

Control accomplished through limiting money, employment, housing, or educational opportunities

Social isolation common

Physical, emotional, psychological or sexual assaults

Unchecked, domestic violence increases in frequency and severity

Better laws, support, sanctions have reduced rate since 1993

Child Abuse

Neglect most common form of abuse

Any act committed against a child by caretaker that causes death, harm, or risk of harm—physical, sexual, or psychological; failure to provide care

Every state has department devoted to protection of children (CPS)

Two levels of protection:

Civil: child protective services

Criminal: abusers may receive fines or jail time

Child maltreatment occurs at higher rates than intimate partner violence

Elder Abuse

May involve physical, sexual, emotional/psychological violence; neglect, abandonment, or financial exploitation

Two primary forms: domestic and institutional

Abuse either criminal or civil

Abuse may require social service intervention and mandated reporting by officials;

Reporting requirements vary greatly from state to state

Family Relationships

Domestic or family relationship typically defined by blood, marriage, relationship, and cohabitation

Legal definitions vary slightly from state to state

Same-sex relationships where the persons reside as married are considered domestic

Offender not determined by sex, size, or age, but by relationship of victim and offender

Important Concepts

Code of Hammurabi

Draconian laws

Kyrios

Solonian Codes

Patriarchy

British Common Law

Primogeniture

Loving v. Virginia

Boarding schools

Curtain Rule

Stitch Rule

Family Violence

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

Neglect

Physical abuse

Psychological abuse

Sexual abuse

Elder abuse