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Summary: This working paper grew out of research
on the gender policies and practice of
development agencies in relation to
domestic violence. Document Summary
INTRODUCTION
'Of all the myths about the family the one which is furtherest from
the actual state of affairs is what we call the myth of family non-
violence. Most people think of physical violence between family
members as something which happens only very rarely. The facts are
just the opposite. Leaving aside war and riots, physical violence
occurs between the family members more often than between any other.'
(Steinmetz and Straus, 1973:5).
This working paper grew out of research on the gender policies and
practice of development agencies in relation to domestic violence.
One aspect which emerged as needing closer examination was the
emotional, psychological and social impact that domestic violence
between adults has on children in the family. Save the Children's
(SCF) concern for the child's right to physical and emotional
integrity prompted the focus of this paper on women and children's
experiences of domestic violence.
Home Truths begins with a review of the various debates put forward
by theorists and practitioners in relation to domestic violence. It
then analyses the impact that domestic violence has on development
and examines on what terms domestic violence should be placed on the
development agenda. It reviews the causes of domestic violence in
different cultural contexts and analyses the role that development
programmes play in addressing or exacerbating the problem. It
examines a variety of experiences, including projects and partners
supported by SCF in the UK and overseas, and the experience of other
community organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), in
order to propose strategies and approaches for community groups and
development organisations in their project work. It also provides
recommendations for NGOs on possible development interventions which
they can employ in more generic development programmes.
RESEARCH METHOD
The research in this paper draws on both quantitative and qualitative
information analysing primary and secondary sources of information.
Wherever possible primary sources include discussions with personnel
both internal and external to SCF. Secondary sources include an
examination of recent academic writings on gender-related violence
and gender and development, public literature forwarded by
international non-governmental organisations (INGO's) such as Oxfam,
Action Aid, SCF, Concern World-Wide and specialist reports such as
those produced by the Commonwealth Secretariat, Human Rights Watch,
etc. Section Three, which focuses on the impact of domestic violence
on children, particularly draws on an analysis of work already
ongoing within SCF field projects. Given the lack of time it has been
impossible to commission, for the purposes of this paper, child-
focused participative research in order to fully comprehend the
impact that violence has on children. Hence, this work does not
attempt to answer all the questions that we may have with regards to
how violence affects children. However, it does aim to help to
initiate the process of raising awareness within theoretical and
practical development circles about the seriousness of domestic
violence - not just for women and children but for civil society as a
whole.
GENDER-RELATED VIOLENCE
Gender-related violence is a global phenomenon that affects women and
girls of all cultures, races, ethnicities, classes and religions and
can be defined as violence perpetrated against women and girls which
affects them solely because of their sex. Gender-related abuse is a
problem which can present itself at any time in the life of girl and
woman. It can take different forms and can begin before birth (femail
sex-selection); at birth (female infanticide); in girlhood (sexual
abuse, malnutrition, female genital mutilation, date rape); and in
marriage (forced and servile marriages, marital rape, physical and
emotional abuse). The facts and figures from different countries
around the world on the nature and extent of gender-based violence
present a grim picture of the reality of girls' and women's lives.
in Home Truths we explore in greater depth the issues surrounding
domestic violence, the most pervasive of all forms of gender-related
violence: a fact confirmed by statistics which reveal that an
excessively high number of women in the world have been physically
abused by present or former partner. Studies by the World Health
Organisation indicate, for example that between 25 to 50 per cent of
all women in most societies have been physically assaulted at least
once by an intimate partner at some time in their lives.
THE DEFINITION OF VIOLENCE IN THE FAMILY
Many terms are used interchangeably to define violence which occurs
within the family: 'marital violence', 'family violence' and 'wife
battery' are all terms which have been used, if somewhat
problematically. For the purposes of this paper, the term 'domestic
violence' will be utilised which, in the authors opinion, captures
the true dimensions of violence within the family.
Domestic violence can be defined to include manipulation, threat and
intimidation, confinement, isolation, rejection and deprivation,
psychological torture and verbal abuse as well as battering
(Commonwealth Secretariat, 1992:10). In the majority of cases it is
women who are the victims of this form of abuse. Although men do also
suffer abuse by their female partners, there is little research on
this and existing literature suggests that men are more usually
victims of domestic violence when the victim of a pattern of abuse
inflicted by them eventually hits back, in self-defence or
provocation. 'Violence is overwhelmingly a male problem; the roots
for this appear to be primarily social...' (UNICEF, 1997).
Studies show that domestic violence has historical and sociological
roots, but the impact domestic violence has on women and hence their
children, is only beginning to be recognised. Similarly debate which
analyses the wider ramifications that violence has on gender
relations and community development has only recently started to
emerge within development circles (Bunch and Carillo, 1992; Davies,
1994).
Owner: Parminder Parbha