IRM 9-1
Chapter 9: Victims of Violence by Lovers and Family Members
from Crime Victims: An Introduction to Victimology, 10e by Andrew Karmen
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Upon completing this chapter, the student should be able to:
L01. Distinguish between the different forms of domestic violence and intimate partner violence.
L03. Differentiate victim-blaming, victim-defending, and system-blaming arguments when applied to
intimate partner violence.
L05. Explain the battered-woman syndrome.
L07. Discuss the shortcomings in the way the criminal justice system handled cases of intimate partner
violence prior to the victims’ rights movement.
L09. Describe the problem of dating violence.
L11. Explain the different strategies underlying prevention efforts to reduce violence within families.
LESSON PLAN
Correlated to PowerPoints
I. Violence within Romanic Relationships and Families [Learning Objective 1]
A. Victims of nonstranger interpersonal violence require special handling for the following
reasons:
1. They live in close proximity to their assailants.
3. They and their assailants are dependent on each other.
B. The term domestic disturbance has been replaced with the term intimate partner
violence (IPV).
See Assignment 1
II. The Rediscovery of “Wife Beating” [Learning Objective 2]
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A. Violence against intimates is now the most thoroughly studied victim–offender
relationship.
1. For centuries, men were permitted to beat their wives and children because they
considered their wives and children as property.
2. In the mid-1600s, the Puritans passed laws forbidding verbal or physical abuse
between family members.
a. Occasional use of force against one’s wife was permissible as long as it
3. A second wave of reform launched in the 1970s. It rediscovered the plight of
battered wives and shattered the illusion of domestic tranquility.
a. It was led primarily by feminists’ intent on exposing injustices of the
patriarchy.
B. Victim Blaming versus Victim Defending [Learning Objective 3]
1. Many lodging accusations are not believed until charges are substantiated.
a. Maximalists claim that many accusations are false.
i. Lodged only because of divorce proceedings
2. Blaming her for his violent outbursts
a. Victim blaming emphasized the wife’s shortcomings—domineering
nature, coldness, and cravings for punishment.
b. It placed the entire burden of change on the woman.
ii. Implies that it is not a criminal matter
3. Defending her from blame
a. Victim defenders (e.g., the media) depicted men as super-macho types
who thought conventional sex-based roles gave them the right to beat
their wives.
What If Scenario
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Imagine that you have been tasked with finding a middle ground between the maximalists and minimalists on the issue of
IPV. Where would you begin? What importance would you place on statistical data and anecdotal data? Do you think your
goal can be achieved? Explain your reasoning.
C. How Victims Suffer
1. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) include the following four types of behavior
under the heading IPV:
2. IPV can cause the following:
a. Emotional harm (panic attacks, sleep disorders)
b. Physical injuries (digestive disorders, VD, pregnancy complications)
c. Self-destructive habits (smoking, drinking, drugs)
Class Discussion/Activity
In small groups, research the ways in which technological advances have increased and/or changed the ways victims suffer.
Discuss your findings with the entire class. Can this same technology be used to reduce victim suffering?
D. Estimates of the Incidence, Prevalence, and Seriousness of Intimate Partner Violence
[Learning Objective 4]
2. Maximalists argued that IPV was an epidemic. Minimalists argued that there
were methodological problems with data collection.
a. Which victim–offender relationships should be included and which
should be excluded—wives, ex-wives, partners, girlfriends, significant
others, and the like?
b. How are the data collected? Domestic disturbance statistics include
more than intimate relationships.
3. Maximalist arguments
a. IPV affects twice as many women as breast cancer.
b. Women are more likely harmed by someone they know than a stranger
c. National Violent Deaths Reporting System (NVDRS) shows 320
murder/suicides in 2015.
d. One in four women and one in seven men experience IPV.
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© 2020 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
j. Social costs of domestic violence are equal to about $5–$10 billion a
year.
k. Violence against women is a leading cause of homelessness.
4. Minimalist views
a. The definition of violence is overly broad and inflates the scope of the
problem—some forms of IPV can be perpetuated by mobile devices and
social media sites.
b. Most IPV does not inflict any wounds.
c. Murders by intimate partners are rare—1 in every 200,000 in 2015
E. Recognizing Warning Signs
1. Statistical profile of a couple in which the woman is at risk for a severe beating is
as follows:
a. The family income is low.
2. Highest risk groups include African-American women, between 18 and 34 years
old, separated, and heading up households.
3. Risks are elevated when the partner is a young adult, comes from a low-income
family, is undereducated, is chronically unemployed, and endured poor
parenting.
F. Fatal Attractions: Slayings of Intimate Partners
1. FBI’s SHRs show the following:
a. Sixteen percent of murders arose out of intimate partner conflict.
2. Figure 9.1 shows SHRs for 1977–2015.
a. Most wives and girlfriends died in 1988.
b. Most husbands and boyfriends died in 1977.
c. IPV has subsided substantially.
d. Female violence toward males dropped more than male violence against
females.
G. Explaining Intimate Partner Violence: Why Doesn’t She Just Leave Him?
[Learning Objectives 5 and 6]
1. Therapists called the cycle of violence and learned helplessness battered woman
syndrome. It has the following three phases:
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© 2020 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
a. Tension building
b. Violent explosion
c. Tranquil, loving aftermath
2. Critics argue the following:
a. The term syndrome implies that all experiences are the same and that
3. Other plausible reasons for staying with violent mates include the following:
a. Feelings of dependence
4. Women in abusive relationships must understand they are crime victims.
5. Social scientists have competing explanations for the prevalence of abuse.
a. Exchange theory—beatings are rewarded with goal achievement
b. Resource theory—men hold the most power
c. Coping theory—beatings relieve stress
d. Subculture-of-violence theory—acceptable behavior
e. Feminist theory—consequence of the patriarchy
Class Discussion/Activity
What cultural values and myths prevent society from understanding why women stay with their abusive mates? Can these be
changed? If so, how could that be accomplished?
H. Enabling Victims Who Feel Trapped to Escape
1. The highest priority of the battered women’s movement is to provide aid.
2. Government-sponsored shelters spread through the 1980s.
a. “Pro–family” organizations sought to limit government funding, calling
3. Women seeking emergency shelter suffer 60–70 beatings a year.
5. Shelters are often filled to capacity, which means wait lists and time limits.
See Assignment 2
Class Discussion/Activity
What kinds of services would best help battered women escape their abusive situations? Should those services be provided by
the government? Is there a way for private firms to provide services? What are the merits and potential problems with each
scenario?
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I. Battered Women and the Criminal Justice System: Violence Is Violence—or Is It?
[Learning Objectives 7 and 8]
1. Intervention options are greatly debated.
2. 1950s and 1960s favored a preserve-the-family approach.
3. Since the 1980s, there has been a rely-upon-the-legal-system approach with three
tenants.
4. The police response
a. In the past, responders only made arrests if injuries required stitches.
b. A field experiment showed arrests greatly decreased recidivism.
i. Arrests were mandatory directives in other cities.
ii. Results in other replication sites showed increased recidivism,
5. The prosecutorial response
a. Historically, prosecutors have discouraged women from pressing
6. The judicial response
a. The judges can set bail low or high as needed or speed up case
7. The legislative response
a. Law has restricted the use of the parental alienation syndrome argument.
b. Landlords cannot penalize battered women who break leases.
Media Tool
A Cry for Help: The Tracy Thurman Story
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-Television feature on the abuse case that changed domestic violence policies in the United States
-Discussion: Who are the victimizers in this story? As a student of criminology, what warning signs did you note in
the movie? Why do you think the responding officers acted as they did? Why did this case spark the change in domestic
violence policies?
What If Scenario
Imagine that you and your classmates are patrol officers for your local police department. Hold a debate arguing the merits
and potential problems of the mandatory arrests for domestic violence. Then, imagine yourselves as prosecutors and debate
the pros and cons of adopting a no-drop policy in your area.
II. The Rediscovery of Battered Husbands and Boyfriends
A. In the late 1970s, social scientists uncovered an overlooked problem—husband beating.
1. Journal articles indicated that 28 percent of females and 22 percent of males
perpetrated violence against their partners.
a. Critics argued that much of this violence was done in self-defense.
2. Battered men face unique problems.
3. Most battered men are able to support themselves, which encourages them to
leave troubled relationships.
Class Discussion/Activity
What cultural values and myths prevent men from reporting abuse at the hands of their partners? Can these societal norms be
changed? If so, how could that be accomplished?
III. Victim Provocation and Murder: When Is the Slaying of a Wife Beater Justified?
A. Intimate Partner Homicides and the Criminal Justice System
2. Some in the victims’ rights movement believe that the dead men are really the
aggressors and that the battered women should not be jailed.
B. Arguments Stressing That the Brutal Man Did Not Deserve to Die
1. Victim defending leads to offender blaming.
2. The battered woman did not fulfill her legal duty to retreat but stood her ground
and engaged in mutual combat.
4. Women cannot inflict vigilante justice.
6. Victim defenders make several observations.
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© 2020 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
a. Courtroom testimony should focus on the woman who killed.
b. Society should never condone revenge killings.
7. Husband-blaming arguments assert that escape was not a realistic option.
a. Wife has post-traumatic stress disorder and lives in constant fear.
b. Battered woman syndrome is a legitimate defense in court proceedings.
C. Arguments Emphasizing That the Brutal Man Provoked the Lethal Response
1. Victim-blamers argue that violence was self-defense, not revenge.
2. Men killed by their victims are more abusive than the typical batterer.
3. Battered women who kill are more isolated socially and economically, have
suffered more severe beatings, had children who were abused, and had partners
who were heavy drinkers.
D. Legal Questions
1. Battered women who act in self-defense face no charges.
3. Most cases are resolved with the women pleading to a lesser charge.
5. Victim-blamers prefer self-defense arguments, even though they do not fit the
standard definition.
6. All crimes are socially defined.
See Assignment 3
Media Tool
The Burning Bed
-Nonfiction book by Faith McNulty and a television movie on the murder of a batterer by the wife whom he abused
-Discussion: What drove Francine to believe she had no other options but murder? Should she have been charged
with first-degree murder? Was she temporarily insane? Do you agree with the jury’s verdict? Explain your reasoning. How
do you think this movie affected public opinion?
IV. The Rediscovery of Other Victims of Beatings
A. Dating Violence [Learning Objective 9]
1. CDC is raising awareness of the problem.
3. From 20 percent to 33 percent of teenagers have experienced dating violence; 50
percent–80 percent know of others who have.
5. Assaulting reaches a peak at age 20 and then gradually declines.
7. Minimalists argue that definitions are broad and include noncriminal verbal and
emotional dimensions.
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8. Courtship violence differs from marital violence.
9. Why do young women remain with abusers?
a. Traditional norms are challenged.
b. Jealousy is a sign of intense feelings.
c. Violence is the norm of behavior.
See Assignment 4
What If Scenario
Imagine that your good friend confides that his new girlfriend “likes to be smacked around.” Then, when you react
negatively, he reminds you that they are not married and she is free to leave him anytime. How do you respond?
B. Abuse of Parents by Adolescents
1. Estimates are confounded by severe underreporting.
3. Physically aggressive fathers with drinking problems are the most likely targets.
Media Tool
Terror in the Family
-A television feature on a teenaged girl who abuses her parents
-Discussion: What precipitated Deena’s change in behavior? How does the film handle the concepts of punishment,
therapy, and interventions by the criminal justice system? Why do so many of these situations go unreported? Do you think
the ending is typical of real-world cases of adolescent abuse?
C. Elder Abuse [Learning Objective 10]
1. Least likely of any age group to be victims of violence because of precautions
taken.
2. Elder abuse was rediscovered in the 1970s.
4. Adult protective services agencies investigate suspected cases of abuse.
6. CDC recognizes several dimensions.
a. Physical abuse
7. Maximalists argue severe underreporting.
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9. Offenders are most commonly close relatives living in the same home. Victims
are most likely ailing women over 70 years old.
10. Differential risks include the following:
a. Mental illness and physical frailties
b. Limited income
See Assignment 5
Media Tool
How the Elderly Lose Their Rights (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/10/09/how-the-elderly-lose-their-rights)
-An article by Rachel Aviv about the ways in which guardians can control the lives of seniors without their consent
-Discussion: How would you describe the situation of elder abuse in this case? Why are guardians like Parks able to
control seniors without their consent? Why does this kind of situation go underreported?
D. Battering within Same-Sex Relationships
1. Between 25 percent and 35 percent of same-sex couples experience IPV.
3. Violence is often underreported and unacknowledged.
a. Fear of being “outed”
b. Ineffective police response
c. Fuels homophobia
d. Undercuts the women’s movement
What If Scenario
Imagine that you have been tasked with educating the public on interpersonal violence between couples of the same sex.
What population would you attempt to speak with first? What information would you present? What statistical or anecdotal
data would you find most helpful?
V. Preventing Domestic Violence
B. System-blaming perspective emphasizes social change.
1. Encourage help-seeking behaviors
C. Comprehensive approach includes the following:
1. Remove the burden of behavioral change and the responsibility for finding relief
from the victims
3. Change the prevailing attitudes that condone domestic violence
LECTURE NOTES
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This chapter focuses on the abuse of one intimate partner by another. Intimate partners are people with
The rediscovery of the plight of battered wives during the 1970s shattered the illusion of domestic
tranquility. The battered women’s self-help movement initially encountered resistance and opposition
because of the widespread acceptance of victim-blaming arguments that portrayed beaten wives in an
unsympathetic light. Many people, including some counselors and family therapists, believed a high
proportion of beatings were unconsciously precipitated or even intentionally provoked. Those wives who
were said to be responsible for stirring up their husband’s wrath were negatively stereotyped.
As the terms spouse abuse, wife beating, and woman battering became a part of the American lexicon,
one question kept arising: “How widespread is this problem?” The myth, very few husbands beat their
wives, was hard to dispel because official statistics had no such breakdown under the general heading of
assault. When the battered women’s movement organized speak-outs, it became evident that violence
between lovers was all too common. Yet anecdotal evidence would not suffice to document the true
dimensions of the problem. Maximalists argued that fierce fighting poisoned many outwardly loving
relationships and battering constituted a low-profile epidemic. Minimalists sharply disagreed, in part,
because of the lack of resolution of basic methodological issues surrounding efforts to estimate the
seriousness of the problem.
Therapists working with victims and couples began to recognize a cycle of violence accompanied by
‘‘learned helplessness,’’ which they termed the battered-woman syndrome. Beatings often follow a
treated as special (in a negative sense) by police departments, prosecutors, and courts. These assaults were
not considered to be “real” crimes, because the violence was not unleashed by strangers. The dominant
noninterventionist ideology recommended that the long arm of the law shouldn’t reach into the sanctuary
of the home and intrude into private family squabbles between spouses unless the fighting approached
life-threatening levels. Otherwise, battered women were urged to endure their lot and preserve their
marriages by forgiving and forgetting.
The attention paid to wife beating led inevitably to the rediscovery of battered husbands. Starting in the
late 1970s, several social scientists began to challenge the stereotype that men were virtually always the
initiators and the victors in lovers’ quarrels. They reported that their data on family violence had
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uncovered an overlooked problem within spouse abuse—husband battering. Survey findings revealed
there was some truth to the old cartoon images of women slapping men’s faces, or wives chasing
husbands with rolling pins or throwing dishes at them. Research indicated that women attacked the men
in their lives about as often as the men assaulted the women they professed to love.
several other rediscoveries became inevitable. First, battering can emerge during dating and courtship
when the ties that bind are not so strong. Second, violence by adolescents can be directed at their parents.
Third, adults can become physically and psychologically abusive toward frail, elderly persons. Finally,
partner abuse is not limited to heterosexual couples; violence can also break out in relations between
members of the same sex.
The chapter concludes with a discussion of primary and secondary prevention programs on domestic
KEY TERMS
adult protective service agencies: A part of the state health and human service departments that respond
to medical, psychiatric, and financial crises by seeking orders of protection, contesting guardianship, or
filing criminal charges on behalf of elderly people.
battered woman syndrome: A term coined by therapists to refer to the cycle of violence and
accompanying learned helplessness that marred the lives of their clients.
clinical fallacy: The assumption that a sample therapeutic population is representative of an entire
population.
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elder abuse: Intentional acts (or failures to act) that cause harm to an older adult.
external validity: Research findings can be generalized with confidence to other situations.
gun surrender laws: Requirements that abusers turn over their firearms to designated third parties
(typically law enforcement) when a protective order is issued.
domestic quarrels).
order of protection: A document issued by the court meant to limit or stop a partner’s behavior.
patriarchy: The traditional system of male dominance.
primary prevention programs: Efforts to head off a resort to physical force by refuting myths,
challenging stereotypes, and changing the attitudes held by large numbers of potential victimizers and
victims, starting with high school students.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. With a small group of classmates, create a list of common terms people use to refer to intimate
partner violence. Provide brief definitions for each term. Why is it important to use correct
2. Determine what resources exist in your community for individuals seeking to leave an abusive
relationship. What limits exist? Does a victim’s gender matter? Does the victimizer’s gender matter?
3. Conduct a content analysis regarding the sentencing of men who abuse their wives and of women
who kill their abusers. What is the average sentence? What are the aggravating and mitigating
4. Develop a survey inquiring about the public’s knowledge of dating violence. Share your discoveries
5. Create an educational pamphlet on elder abuse. Discuss signs, risks, and prevention strategies.
Provide a list of community resources for those who need more information. Disseminate the
MULTIPLE CHOICE ANSWER KEY
Chapter 9 You Decide: Defense Strategy in an Intimate Homicide Case
Battered women experience physical and emotional suffering caused by deliberate, repeated attacks.
The battered woman syndrome is a defense against criminal charges arguing that a woman’s
retaliatory violence arises as a result of repeated physical abuse by her partner.
The victim-blaming perspective views that the abusive male partner drove the female partner to kill him
other options open to her before she chose to resort to deadly force.
The central issue in this scenario examines the issue of battered woman syndrome and self-defense in
intimate partner homicide.
You are a defense attorney. Your client is 30-year-old Francine Hughes. The client was recently
indicted on charges of first-degree murder and murder while perpetrating another crime. On the
date in question, Francine’s husband, Mickey Hughes, intoxicated at the time, berated Francine
about her decision to attend a community college, and refused to allow her to cook dinner for her
four children. Mickey burned Francine’s school books, physically assaulted his wife, and forced her
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Let’s review two concepts before you make a decision about this scenario.
Question 1
In the 1970s and 1980s activists were able to replace a victim “blaming” narrative about domestic
violence with a victim “defending” narrative. Which of these is NOT one of the themes that helped
produce the shift?
a. declining economic conditions as the root cause of domestic violence
b. the victim of domestic violence not deserving or provoking abuse
c. a definition of domestic violence as a social problem
d. a focus on the consequences of domestic violence
Question 2
What condition recognizes that a cycle of domestic violence becomes accompanied with a “learned
helplessness” on the part of the victim of the abuse?
a. battered woman syndrome
b. clinical fallacy
c. battering-reconciliation-battering
d. fatal attraction syndrome
IRM 9-16
d. Incorrect. The term “fatal attraction” is a term from popular culture that is often used to describe
intimate partner killings. See “The Rediscovery of Wife Beating,” LO5, Bloom’s: Remember
What Would You Do?
As the defense attorney for Francine Hughes you must decide how you will proceed in the case.
Specifically, you must decide on a defense strategy for the client.
One option for the client is to plead self-defense. The concern you have with this defense is that in
your state the law of self-defense can be used when a person has a reasonable grounds to believe
and believes that there is a danger that he or she may be killed or receive great bodily harm and the
danger of the killing or the harm is imminent. The more you apply the facts of the case to what is
defensive reaction to years of physical, emotional, and mental abuse at the hands of Francine’s
spouse.
What would you do?
a. Decide to pursue a self-defense claim. Domestic violence is an increasingly important social problem,
and citizens are more aware of the problem than ever before, and will be likely to accept a self-defense
claim as imminent due to the threat of living with a physically abusive spouse.
Domestic violence is an increasingly important social problem, and citizens are more aware of the
problem than ever before, and will be likely to accept a self-defense claim as imminent due to the
threat of living with a physically abusive spouse.
Let’s review two more concepts before you make another decision about this scene.
Question 3
When a spouse is killed the dead spouse is the victim in a criminal trial, whereas the person who claims to
have endured the years of abuse and killed because of it is the offender. Which of the following is an
example of a victim-defending assertion?