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