Domestic violence Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Domestic violence - Research Paper Example Many people, whether they realize it or not, are reluctant to intervene in cases of domestic violence because they do not have all the facts. Asking questions would seem, to them, as being similar to ‘prying’ or ‘interfering’ in matters that do not concern them (Herring 256). This is particularly true in communities that are conservative. Domestic violence is something that happens to people of both genders, of all ethnic backgrounds and income brackets, and in all age groups. The Occurrence of Domestic Violence in San Juan, New Mexico In San Juan County, which is situated in New Mexico, police officers respond to approximately 1500 incidences on an annual basis- which is actually three times as much domestic violence as takes place in other areas of the nation (Caponera 34). New Mexico is located at the border of the Ute and Navajo American Indian Reservations. San Juan has large populations of mainly three ethnic groups Caucasians, Hispanics, and American Indians. Even though San Juan is considered as being the economic hub of an area that includes northwest New Mexico, southwest Colorado, southeast Utah, and northeast Arizona, its economy is not as prosperous as that of many other parts of the United States. There are larger numbers of jobless young adults than in most American cities. In the past, the excuse of this seeming poverty has been used to explain the high numbers of domestic violence in San Juan. This, however, is a misconception. Even though domestic violence is more common in the financially challenged brackets of the population, it is mainly the result of a culture’s retrogressive cultural beliefs about both genders (Nurius, Macy, Nwabuzor and Holt 562). In some cases, however, poverty exarcebates an already challenging living situation, resulting in anti social behaviours being exhibited. While domestic violence can be used to refere also to sibling on sibling violence or parent on child violence, in San Juan, it is mainly used to refer to the violence meted out by husbands or men on their wives or girlfriends (Caponera 11). In San Juan, eighty-five percent of violence that women experience is perpetrated by their boyfriends or husbands (Malley-Morrison and Hines 951). More than fifty percent of the residents of San Juan are either of Hispanic or American Indian ancestry, while the remaining half are of Caucasian ancestry (Caponera 6). In San Juan, the factors in all present cultures that contribute towards the increase or propagation of domestic violence include financial inequality between women and men, machismo, and the influence of the church. Although there are organizations and individuals working towards altering these retrogressive cultures, there are an assortment of structural barriers they have to combat such as the institutionalized sexism and, in the case of the Hispanic and American Indian sections of the population, breach the ethnic and linguistic divide that have repress ed true change. In San Juan, many of the members of the Caucasian population are adherents of the Mormon faith, which encourages retrogressive practices such as polygamy. In all areas of the world where polygamy is practiced, men obviously have a greater amount of power over the women. The women in such societies are socialized to believe that the main purpose of their lives is to be wives and