IFS Violence: Interpersonal, Family, And Structural Violence Analysis And Theoretical Approaches Essay.

This assessment requires students to demonstrate their knowledge of theoretical approaches to IFS violence.

The analysis must provide a synopsis of the theories you have learned so far and how they apply to social work practice.

Prevalence of IFS Violence in Australia and Worldwide

The term IFS stands for interpersonal, Family and Structural violence. Interpersonal violence is referred to physical as well as sexual abuse in childhood along with domestic violence which is considered to be a common issue in the society. According to survey, more than 6 to 15 percent of the women experiences domestic violence every year in Australia. The lifetime prevalence is expected to be as high as 28 percent to 54 percent (Ali & Lees, 2013). When it comes to childhood sexual as well as physical abuse the prevalence rate ranges from 3 percent to 54 percent worldwide (Johnson, 2015).

Domestic violence on the other hand takes place when an individual tries to control their partner or family member in a way that oppressor intimidate them. Major controlling behavior associated with family violence includes threats, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and physical assault. Financial exploitation along with social isolation are two other chief aspects. Preventing an individual or a group of individuals to meet their basic requirement is known as structural violence. Structural violence is chiefly conducted by Social institutions.  According to researchers, structural violence includes ageism, elitism, racism and sexism (Maynard & Purvis, 2013). IFS violence is associated with various kinds of prolonged healthcare effects including both physical and mental diseases. Several approaches based on theories have been taken to prevent IFS violence. In the following paragraph analysis of the major theoretical approaches to IFS Violence will be conducted. Along with that the strengths as well as limitations of the theories will also be discussed in this essay.

Analysis of Interpersonal, family and Structural violence with the help of feminist and anti-oppressive theories 

In the following paragraphs analysis of the feminist theories and its application to prevent domestic violence have been performed. According to researchers, in Australia, domestic violence especially against women and children is still an unsolved social issue and is one of the most ignored issues (Hearn, 2013). According to the Feminist theory, in spite of the fact that the domestic violence data reveals that men can also be the victim of the mentioned issue, it is women who are overwhelmingly more victims compared to men. Feminists consider patriarchy to be the chief reason behind this. The feminist theory states that the concept associated with patriarchy that states that men are supposed to be more powerful physically and equate femaleness with powerlessness have give rise to dominant acts of male over female. In other words, it is argued by the feminist theory that the society has constructed the concept of gender in a way in which individuals are socialized to their gender specific roles. This in turn is the reason of power imbalance in the society. The fact that masculinity is defied to be a violent term while feminism is referred to something which is more passive have given rise to the concept that man posses the right as well as ability to control their intimate partners since they lacks physical strength.

According to Root & Brown, (2014) feminist theory associated with domestic violence offers gendered nature of violence where women are vulnerable to become the victims of the violence and men are vulnerable to perpetrating the same. Under the concept of patriarchy, men and women have to represent their specific role of being dominant and subordinate. From time innumerable, the patriarchy society has taught men to suppress their emotions and act tough in order to demonstrate their masculinity. Demonstration of power on women was considered to be highly masculine. Demonstration of emotion like love is considered to be more feminine. On the other hand, the patriarchy society has taught women that there role is to be the subordinate of men and accept the violence demonstrated by their intimate partners. This concept, according to the feminism theory is gibing rise e to domestic violence against omen and children.  According to the feminist disability theory, women with disability are more liable to face social oppression and domestic violence compared to women without disabilities. The major strength of the feminist theory includes that it has made the role of women as well as gender relations highly visible not only in sociology but also in society. Strength of feminism theory is that the theory has the potential to enhance the awareness of the individual about the inequalities created by gender. However, several limitation of feminism theory associated with domestic violence has also been encountered. Firstly, the feminism theories are found to ignore the domestic violence that is experienced by men. According to survey, 12.3 percent of IFS violence has been reported to be done by female partners on their male intimate partners (Cattaneo & Goodman, 2015). The feminism approaches also do not focus on the educational as well as economic achievement of women which in turn demonstrate a selective view of the society. According to the opponents of feminist approach towards domestic violence, the feminism theory, overly focuses towards the gender binary and as a result have ignored the intersection of gender associated with other sexual orientations like the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) population.

Feminist Theory and Its Application to Prevent Domestic Violence

In the following paragraphs, analysis of anti-oppressive theories and their relation with domestic violence have been discussed. The anti-oppressive practice is defined as an interdisciplinary approach the chief aim of which is to eradicate socio-economic oppression. The anti-oppression theory critically examines the power imbalance in the society and helps the society to develop a social environment free from racism, sexism or oppression. The mentioned practice is largely associated but not limited to feminism, redial, anti-racist and structural frameworks. Anti oppressive model can get segregated into 3 different approaches namely the personal approach, cultural approach and the structural approach (Richie, 2015). While according to the personal approach, men are threatening for the society. This approach ignores the realty that same-sex violence is a part of domestic violence and there exist heterosexual violence and female-on-male violence. According to the cultural approach, language has a major contribution to oppression. According to the general anti-oppression model, the structure of the society is on of the major reason behind oppression.  Like the feminist theory, the anti-oppressive theory also states that inequality between men and women is the chief reason behind domestic violence. According to the anti-oppressive theory, the degree of domestic violence in the society depends on factors like marginalization, poverty as well as specific aspects like ethnicity and race .For instance, woman who belongs to highly poverty stricken family are more likely to get oppressed by their male partner or family compared women from a more affluent family. While evidence of domestic violence against men can also be evidenced, the lower social status of women in the patriarchic society exposes them to a greater risk of being oppressed. The mentioned theory states that, sexual assault to dominate women and children is a vaguely used domestic oppression tool. From time immemorial, sexual harassment has been used as a weapon to oppress individuals of color, individuals who have disabilities as well as individuals who belongs to the LGBT population. According to Johnson, (2016), in order to eradicate IFS violence resulting due to oppression, it is highly crucial to understand the exact meaning of oppression and the factors that keeps it going. Berns, (2017) have defined oppression as the pervasive as well as systematic mistreatment on individuals on the basis of their disadvantaged group. In Australia, oppression is experienced by people on the basis of gender, class, race and sexual orientation. The oppressive theory states that while some groups are oppressed some groups do not fall under the potential target of oppression. For instance, men as a group are not oppressed since they are considered as the “stronger” sex. However, Hanmer & Itzin, (2013) argued that in this era of modernization, domestic oppression depends more on the social standard and financial condition instead of gender. Stereotyping, prejudices and discrimination are considered to be the major factor behind oppressive acts result in domestic violation. Stereotypes can be defined as generalization of a group of people. In countries like India, several girl children are sexually assaulted and even killed due to generalization. Prejudice on the other hand is based on information as well as decision making that is based on rumors and inaccurate information. Prejudice in the society also gives birth to domination against people who lacks social power. Unlike the feminist theory, the anti-oppressive theory has not solely concentrated on the gender bias as the only reason behind domestic violence. In developing countries like India and Africa, individuals often become victims of domestic violence due to skin color. Individuals with dark skin color are often physiologically or physically assaulted. Moreover, social isolation of women with dark skin color also takes place. Even in this era of modernization, in several region across the world, women with dark skin color are considered to be unlikely to get married. Moreover, sexual orientation of family members also plays a major role when it comes to oppression resulting in domestic violence. Family members with homosexual orientation are harassed both mentally as well as physically and oppressed by not only the family but also by the society in a good number of countries.

Strengths and Limitations of Feminist Theory in IFS Violence Prevention

While the major strength of the anti-oppression theory includes an all round identification of sources of domestic violence, the major weakness of the mention theory is lack of intervention that can be used in order to eradicate IFS violence. For instance, structural violence due to racism will not be eradicated if sympathetic white activists spend a good amount of money for non diversity trainings in order to recognize their own racial privilege as well as certifying their decision to renounce the privilege. The anti-oppressive approach that has been taken by social workers is based on the above discussed anti oppressive theories. One of the anti-oppressive approaches taken by men in Australia includes the Intervention program for Men and fathers. With the help of this approach, men batter to confront the gender bias that leads him to beat the woman he says he loves. In IPMF, men disclose the reasons they think are justified to expect submission from women they are with. It has been found that even in today’s era a good number of men posses sexist’s beliefs. According to Pain, (2014), interventions like improvement in communication skills and couple counseling can eradicate domestic violence resulting from sexist belief. However, according to several researchers, the core of sexiest beliefs is deep enough and cannot be rooted out with the help of mere counseling and consultation (Marcus, 2013). Strict rules and regulations against domestic violence and the interference of government have the ability to eradicate the evil practice from the society.

References

Ali, A., & Lees, K. E. (2013). The therapist as advocate: Anti?oppression advocacy in psychological practice. Journal of clinical psychology, 69(2), 162-171. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.21955

Berns, N. S. (2017). Framing the victim: Domestic violence, media, and social problems. Routledge. Retrievd from: https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/25477089/framingvictim.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1534599728&Signature=hCowbrGSwAGhMsSK731Vkz7IVHc%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DFraming_the_victim_Domestic_violence_med.pdf

Cattaneo, L. B., & Goodman, L. A. (2015). What is empowerment anyway? A model for domestic violence practice, research, and evaluation. Psychology of Violence, 5(1), 84. doi: 2152-0828/15/$12.00

Hanmer, J., & Itzin, C. (2013). Home truths about domestic violence: Feminist influences on policy and practice-A reader. Routledge. Retrieed from: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781136370977

Hearn, J. (2013). The sociological significance of domestic violence: Tensions, paradoxes and implications. Current Sociology, 61(2), 152-170. Retrieved from: https://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/17988/1/Hearn_24042012_Current_Sociology_SENT_SW1001.pdf

Johnson, M. E. (2015). Changing course in the anti-domestic violence legal movement: From safety to security. Vill. L. Rev., 60, 145. Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.law.villanova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3269&context=vlr

Johnson, M. P. (2016). Con? ict and Control: Symmetry and Asymmetry in Domestic Violence. In Couples in conflict (pp. 125-134). Routledge. Retrieved from: https://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/m/p/mpj/boothfinal2.htm

Marcus, S. (2013). Fighting bodies, fighting words: A theory and politics of rape prevention. In Feminists theorize the political (pp. 403-421). Routledge. Retrieved from: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/english/currentstudents/pg/masters/modules/femlit/sharon_marcus_-_fighting_bodies__fighting_words.pdf

Maynard, M., & Purvis, J. (2013). Researching women's lives from a feminist perspective. Routledge. Retrieved from: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781135340346

Pain, R. (2014). Everyday terrorism: Connecting domestic violence and global terrorism. Progress in Human Geography, 38(4), 531-550. Retrieved from: https://dro.dur.ac.uk/12511/1/12511.pdf

Richie, B. E. (2015). Reimagining the movement to end gender violence: Anti-racism, prison abolition, women of color feminisms, and other radical visions of justice. U. Miami Race & Soc. Just. L. Rev., 5, 257. Retrieved from: https://repository.law.miami.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1037&context=umrsjlr

Root, M. P., & Brown, L. (2014). An analysis of domestic violence in Asian American communities: A multicultural approach to counseling. In Diversity and complexity in feminist therapy (pp. 143-164). Routledge. Retrieved from: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781317714200/chapters/10.4324%2F9781315784335-7