Psychology and Educational Psychology

Psychology and Educational Psychology

Domestic violence among African Americans is a collective action among the community. The most affected personnel by this custom are the women, especially those in marriage, and the children (Adams, 2015). This paper discusses domestic violence, which includes a wife and child abuse, among others, in African American families in the United States. Its main aim is to assess the current literature on black couples and violence, study the applicability of recent theories of violence among the blacks, and summarize some possible solutions to the roots of domestic violence among the African American community.

The real gender discrimination among blacks has also contributed to women accepting mistreatment in their families. However, this suggestion has been made for an observed exploration to bind the blanks in literature. Domestic violence, in this aspect, involves any sexual, psychological, emotional, and economic exploitation. It is one person’s way of trying to control another person. Some associations, like the National Association of Black Social Workers (NABSW), have claimed that domestic violence should be addressed in public and not hidden to be family matters. The organization suggests that if domestic violence is aired in general, it can be easily avoided as people will have a say in it to be able to control it. Researchers have concluded that domestic violence is centered on three main factors in families, that is, respect, collective work, and responsibility, among other factors, as will be discussed further in this paper.

On to the effects of domestic violence, most cases end in homicides (Ashley, 2014). As reported by the Washington post recently, nearly half of the women murdered in the last decade were killed by their recent or previous intimate partner, and about a third of the male killers were known to be possible threats ahead of the attack. Most of these reported homicides were as a result of domestic violence (Ashley, 2014). According to the Washington Post, nearly half of the women killed across forty-seven cities in the United States, forty-six percent of them died in the hands of their lovers or intimate partners (Williams, 2018). The Post also stated that in cities like San Diego, Fort Worth, Oklahoma, Las Vegas, and St. Louis, thirty-six percent of the two hundred and eighty men implicated in domestic homicide had restraining orders against them from their wives or lovers. Others were convicted felons charged with domestic violence or any listed violent crime, including murder.

Since many of the homicides are a result of domestic violence, this still narrows down to women of color, especially in the African American community. Most killings of partners are often brutal, and they involve close encounters (West, 2019). These encounters may include stabbings, beatings, and even strangulation. The women are the most affected person in such an act hence the high rate of homicides of these women. Out of all the killings reported, nearly a quarter of these women killed by their partners were stabbed compared to other murders. Eighteen percent of them were attacked with a blunt object or weapon, while gunshots caused eighty percent of all the deaths. Over half of all women killed as a result of domestic violence were caused by a gun attack (West, 2019).

The Washington Post also reported that violent choking is nearly completely limited to lethal domestic attacks on women (Thoennes, 2010). While less than one percent of all homicides result from strangulation, six percent of women killed by their intimate partners die in this manner. Therefore, this act of violent choking has been considered a red sign in relationships as those who try to choke their partner are far more likely to oblige to dangerous acts of violence later. Many in law enforcement also believe that this act is a reliable indicator of an abusive relationship that could turn fatal.

The homicides rates of women by their intimate partner as a result of domestic violence range depending on the murder weapon (Williams, 2018). At this juncture, the use of the gun comes first with an average percentile of fifty-seven. The use of a sharp object comes second with twenty-two percent of the murders, and a blunt object or no weapon comes last with eighteen percent of the reported homicides. The mentioned study is as part of a long-term effort by The Post to examine murders in major cities in America (Martin, 2015). It is also as a result of the extent to which the authorities fail to solve homicides. Domestic homicides are different from other types of murders in that the killers involved always leave some kind of warning to their victims (Martin, 2015). They can be in the form of direct threats which can be done verbally, or indirect threats like through messages or someone close to the victims.

Domestic violence cases are compound; often the victims involved become unwilling to report abuse in fear of upsetting their abusers even more (Cooper, 2015). In such cases, these women are also in fear of losing their financial support from their abusers since most of them are their source of income too. Those who get courageous enough to seek out often face unreliable legal channels and a lack of organized support. Many victims are murdered even after law enforcement has stepped in, i.e., the police and the courts. The analysis of domestic killings among the women of color draws on public records and news reports. However, the story understates how their intimate partners kill these women as some cities provide falls information about these killings cases. It narrows down to the basis of racial segregation that is common among the people of color; thus, they are neither well represented nor heard by the authority and law enforcement (Martin, 2015).

As stated above, domestic violence among African American women result in homicides. For instance, jealousy is a cause of domestic violence among partners in an African American family (Thoennes, 2010). Most victims of envy are the men, and this happens in instances where the woman decides to end the relationship without consent. Most men find it offensive to be left in a relationship and might be overcome with jealousy. Rejection in men can cause a mental disturbance that makes them aggressive and irrational when making decisions. This level of resentment sometimes makes them abusive and violent to their partners. As a result, most men end up hurting their wives and even killing them.

Another researched cause of violence among African Americans is substance use and drug abuse. The emergence of the crack cocaine economy has become a leading cause of domestic violence, which also commonly affects the African American community (Cooper, 2015). Most black men and women and even children are victims of crack cocaine addiction. Therefore, in a household with a partner who is a drug addict, he or she is most likely to be violent to the other when demanding for means to acquire the drugs. In most marriages, the males are the ones who are profoundly affected by the impact of substance use and abuse (Cooper, 2015). Addiction leads to loss of work as it’s hard for an addict to work correctly. An addict husband is most likely to get violent when asking for money for his drug. He can get physical with the wife if she refuses to give him the money. Among the reported cases of domestic killings, most partners are found to be addicts, especially in the African American community (Williams, 2018).

Collective work and responsibility cause domestic violence among African Americans. For instance, in cases where the husband is jobless in a family, and the woman is the breadwinner, emotional, psychological, and economic abuse can be relevant. Generally, even throughout literature, men are described to be egocentric when it comes to their dignity and personality (Martin, 2015). They are considered as the head of the family as they are the providers. Therefore, in cases of a jobless male figure, while the woman is the head, it causes emotional distress to the man. Such a man is most likely to get physical if disrespected by the wife under any circumstance (Martin, 2015). He is most likely to apply any of the violent acts mentioned above that may lead to domestic slaying, e.g., stabbing the wife, choking, or even shooting.

On respect, each individual in a family should be respected despite their gender. However, this aspect lacks in most African American families (Ashley, 2014). Compliance is revealed by endurance, caution, and holding one’s spouse in high respect — all these aspects of connection lack in black families. Most individuals, especially the male gender, tend to use abusive words that include curse words towards their partners, often ending in fights. The use of offensive language destroys the aspect of respect. Most cases of sexual violence are evident in the African American community. Even in marriage, most black women still undergo sexual abuse. Black men are violent and vulgar, not only in their language but in their actions as well (Carlton, 2011). Therefore, any act of violence can easily lead to domestic slaying of their partners and even their children.

Most psychologists have introduced a concept of frustrated masculinity syndrome that is common among African American men (Williams, 2018). This concept has its roots in the slavery era, and it describes how some African American men reacted to ethnic biases and several formal obstacles that prevent them from acquiring equivalent entrance to the means of achieving boldness through common ways. Men without such possessions go through obstruction and annoyance.  Such men tend to find other means of showing the significance of their masculinity to the cultural norms, which in most cases, is to be violent and control their household that includes their wives. Such violence sometimes turns extreme to the extent of killing their wives and even children in various ways.

Gun possession is a common factor among the African American community. In most families, the husbands and even the wives possess guns as a form of security. Due to the high rate of violence among the community, they find it securing to own a gun to be able to protect them. However, this factor has contributed to a large number of homicides as well in this community. Their intimate partners kill most women with these guns in cases of overheated arguments. As mentioned above, the use of firearms as the murder weapon comes first as the number one cause of homicides of women of color in domestic violence. However, not only women are killed in cases of domestic slayings. In some instances, women in domestic violence also end up killing their partners. Research says that most women of color are imprisoned for various reasons, most of them being gang-related. However, in a ratio of five to ten women in these prisons, they are charged with domestic slayings and homicides. The Post states that during the prosecution of these women, most of them confess to killing their partners in self-defense. These women commit murders trying to either defend themselves or their children from their violent partners

In conclusion, domestic violence is collective among the African American community, and it is caused by many factors, as discussed above. It also has its effects, the major one being domestic homicides, which is also common among African American women, as discussed above. Killings resulting from domestic violence are evident in society today, and it is high among women of color. They are either the ones being killed or sometimes they are the killers. The reason behind it all is because of domestic violence and its causes, as discussed in the paper. However, this does not define them as a community as there is a chance for change in these situations. Domestic violence is collective, not just in black families, even though it is rampant in those families, but it is present in almost all families.

References

Adams, C.J. (2015). Violence against Women and Children: A Christian Theological Sourcebook. New York: Continuum.

Ashley, W. (2014). The Angry Black Woman: The Impact of Pejorative Stereotypes on Psychotherapy with Black Women. Social Work in Public Health, 29(1). P 27-34. New York: New York Press.

Carlton, L.B. (2011). African American Leadership: An Empowerment Tradition in Social Welfare History. Washington, D.C.: NASW Press.

Cooper, A.J., (2015). The Status of Women in America: An Anthology of African- American Feminist Thought. P 44-49. New York: New York Press.

Martin, E.P. (2015). Social Work and the Black Experience. Washington, D.C.: NASW Press.

Thoennes, N. (2010). Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence: Findings from the National Violence against Women Survey. Washington, D.C: U.S Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs.

West, T.C. (2019). Wounds of the Spirit: Black Women, Violence, and Resistance Ethics. New York: New York University Press.

Williams, O.J. (2018). Domestic partner abuse: the results of a national survey. Violence and Victims, 9, P 495-514.