Domestic Violence Against Women in Canada Essay -- Violence Against Wom

Introduction Intimate partner violence has been a significant issue for centuries in all countries. "Since 1974, nearly 2,600 spousal homicides have been recorded in Canada" (Bunge, 2002). Of these homicides, more than three-quarters have been against women. Although through feminism and the women's liberation movement, there has been a slight improvement in the incidences of violence against women, there has also been a drastic change in the perception of the issue by society. After reviewing the most recent literature on violence against women and victimization through intimate partners, it has become prevalent that there are now two crucial stances that are taken. The first position is that of the women being victimized as the main issue, including prevention, causes and incidences. The second position is that of women becoming more 'aggressive' and the issue of violence against both men and women. "Wife battering- the original problem constituted by the 1970s feminists- has morphed in to 'domestic violence' and then into 'husband abuse'" (Minaker, 2006). This literature review will examine the background information on intimate partner violence including different arguments and perspectives, theories, and methodologies as well as discuss the major findings and future directions of research. Background Discoveries and Key Concepts The most notable discovery or key concept behind intimate partner violence with women as victims, would be that the overall rates have seen a general decrease. As found in the National Trends in Intimate Partner Homicide report, "Spousal homicide rates for both women and men have declined between 1974 and 2000" (Bunge, 2002). Many of the authors discussed present different perspecti... ...nd incidence of such violence, there still seems to be gaps amongst the research that creates links to other aspects of IPV. By providing a further analysis of how women go from being the victim to the offender, it may create a more realistic understanding of why the recent intimate partner homicide/violence rates for women offenders has increased. Perhaps society needs to not see females as become more serious 'aggressors' and 'bad girls' but rather as women who are finally fighting back. By relating the social learning theory, the self defense theory as well as the male proprietariness theory to intimate partner violence it creates a more thorough understanding of the causes and affects of this form of violence. Conceivably, future directions of research on intimate partner violence should investigate the reasoning behind this new 'husband abuse' phenomenon.