1. THE DARK SIDE OF THE FAMILY

2. People who die violently are more likely to die at the hands of someone that they know Selbourne (1993) says that the largest category of murder victims in most years is children under the age of five years, at the hands of a family member A woman dies every three days at the hands of a partner

3. Read the following quotation. What questions might one need to ask about the quotation when assessing how much it tells us about attitudes to domestic abuse and violence? “There are only about 20 murders a year in London and many not at all serious – some are just husbands killing wives” Scotland Yard Commander G.H.Hatherill (1954)

4. Why hasn’t the dark side of the family always been visible? Until the ’60s, functionalists said the most about the family Warm bath theory

5. R.D.Laing R.D. Laing said in 1976 that mental illnesses sometimes happen because of the pressures of family life. If you have destructive family relationships, you might get schizophrenia.

6. There are different types of abuse within families: Sexual abuse Neglect Physical abuse Emotional abuse

7. Feminists say… …men commit domestic violence and abuse because they are able to exert power over weaker women and children…

8. Key studies Dobash and Dobash (1980) Large scale research in Glasgow – women in refuges who had left partners First to raise the issue of under-reporting Police often failed to respond Predominantly an issue affecting women

9. Key studies Hester and Radford (1996) studied domestic violence and the law. They suggested that male dominance in families does still exist The law wasn’t very helpful

10. Key studies Lockhurst (1999) studied male victims of domestic violence The problem of woman on man violence is ‘underestimated, under researched and under funded’

11. It is hard to define, and find true figures about violence and abuse – but we know they exist in some families. The privacy and intimacy of family life can be a source of danger to the vulnerable and weak.

12. Questions Why was the dark-side of family life largely ignored for many years? Suggest two reasons why domestic violence is not simply the behaviour of a few psychologically disturbed individuals? Identify two other groups apart from women who are at risk of violence? Why might the most economically deprived be more at risk of committing/ experiencing violence?