Introduction
According to statistics, every third woman and girl has been subjected to physical and social violence at least once in her life (Wallace & Robertson, 2019, p. 110). Most often, violence comes from a close person whom the victim knew well. One hundred thirty-eight women are killed by family members every day (Wallace & Robertson, 2019, p. 451).
As of 2019, out of 88,000 women killed as a result of violent acts, more than half were killed by partners or family members, and more than a third by a man with whom they were in a relationship at the time of the murder or in the past (Wallace & Robertson, 2019, p. 51). Women are physically weaker and more vulnerable to sexual abuse. In many countries, women still do not have the right to choose a husband; their testimony in court is considered less significant than a man’s voice.
That is not the most complete list of crimes committed in the modern world against women. At the same time, only 40% of victims of violence can get help, and only 10% report to the police (Wallace & Robertson, 2019, p. 91). That is why it is necessary to raise the topic of violence against women into a separate acute problem of our time, which is vividly demonstrated in the documentary Private Violence.
Film Summary
This essay is dedicated to the documentary Private Violence, which Cynthia Hill directed; the movie was released in 2014 by HBO. The main topic of the movie is domestic violence, as shown by two survivors. In the end, the movie focuses on exposing the fallacy of the frequently posed query, “Why didn’t the woman just leave her abuser?”. The movie tells the stories of two domestic violence survivors.
Kit Gruelle, a former victim of domestic abuse who is now an advocate for all female victims of violence, is the first survivor. She advises abuse victims on how to present their cases to those who wronged them. To bolster a case, Gruelle locates witnesses to the abuse if a victim is taken against her will beyond state lines (Hill, 2014, 28:40). This is a kidnapping accusation, which carries a significantly lengthier term because the dysfunctional legal system bizarrely declares that beating someone nearly to death is more illegal than crossing a fictitious border with them.
Deanna Walters is the second survivor; her estranged husband Robbie kidnapped and tortured her for four days inside the cab of his truck, but he was never charged. Deanna, a young mother, was subjected to some of her ex-husband’s most heinous acts of violence. People who haven’t gone through something similar would not even want to imagine Deanna’s life as a nightmare. She was tortured frequently in front of her child to the point where she would have convulsions. She was on the verge of death (Hill, 2014, 1:22:59).
One day, her husband’s insane jealousy broke down. He threw her in the back of his truck. He drove her across the nation while stopping sometimes to do the most abhorrent, stomach-churning acts of cruelty against the woman he purportedly loved too much to even consider losing to another man. Deanna miraculously made it through.
Concepts
Male abusers do not want to part with their victims for the most part. They are trying their best to avoid such an outcome of events and act in such a way as to keep their victim near them (Wallace & Robertson, 2019, chpt. 21, p. 332). Both Kit Gruelle and Deanna Walters, as women with a high level of empathy, had pathological attachment (Hill, 2014, 38:19). They were dependent on their abusers not only physically but also biochemically, so they voluntarily returned to them several times.
Power & Control Wheels
Power and control wheels used by abusers are often not only emotional, but also physical. For example, it may be withholding documents, as in the case of women whose lawyer was Kit Gruelle (Hill, 2014, 14:22). In the case of Deanna Walters, her daughter acted as a control wheel, which the abuser ran around to harm in case of disobedience of a woman (Hill, 2014, 1:08:14). Thus, abusers manipulate their victims using the most valuable thing in a woman’s life as a lever of pressure.
Types of Partner Abuse
Infliction of bodily injuries, beatings, and torture are types of domestic violence and physical abuse. As a result of a physical act of a violent nature, harm to human health may be inflicted, for example, Deanna began to have seizures from beatings (Hill, 2014, 1:02:38). The level of physical violence is varied, ranging from causing minor beatings to the extreme form – murder.
Sexual Abuse
Sexual violence is a type of coercion, which can be expressed in the form of forced touching, humiliation, or intimate orientation. For example, Deanna Walters was forced to have sexual intercourse (Hill, 2014, 1:02:18), and sexual acts were performed against the wishes of Kit Gruelle’s clients (Hill, 2014, 28:51). Many women who their husbands have raped hide this fact from others, they feel a strong sense of shame, and often feel guilty for what happened.
Emotional Abuse
Psychological violence is often called emotional. Most often, women and children are the typical victims of domestic violence. One of the forms of family violence is considered to be moral intimidation and threats experienced by Deanna Walters and her daughter (Hill, 2014, 1:08:01).
Deanna’s husband used vulgar words about the victim, and the use of blackmail and threats (Hill, 2014, 53:00). He also forced his daughter to watch the shocking scenes of her mother’s beating (Hill, 2014, 57:10). Therefore, emotional family violence is called the impact on the mental processes, behavior, or physical condition of a person without their consent, using means of interpersonal communication (Wallace & Robertson, 2019, p. 315). Common means of psychological influence include threats, insults, and mental harassment.
Criminal Violations
The State is obliged to provide measures to prevent socially dangerous acts that infringe on the inviolability of the individual. It should provide effective counteraction to physical violence. However, to be charged with a felony, the rapist must show severe physical abuse to the victim (Wallace & Robertson, 2019, p. 312).
For example, the husband of Deanna Walters was convicted of an offense only when the beatings were so severe that Deanna began seizures (Hill, 2014, 50:13). A similar situation was with Kit Gruelle’s clients, whose rapists were charged with wrongdoing only when the victims’ injuries were serious (Hill, 2014, 33:01). Thus, for the rapist to receive a felony, they need to seriously violate the victim’s right to personal integrity.
Misdemeanor
For physical domestic abuse, the offender faces administrative punishment — provided that they inflicted it for the first time. Beatings are any intentional act that causes physical pain, but without significant harm to health (Wallace & Robertson, 2019, p. 302). These are, for example, wounds, as in the case of some Kit Gruelle clients, fractures, bruises, dislocations, and burns (Hill, 2014, 25:30).
The severity of the damage is assessed by doctors, most often in the emergency room. Medical criteria are used to determine the severity of harm to health, and based on their conclusion, a misdemeanor is declared (Wallace & Robertson, 2019, p. 401). This is a misdemeanor if doctors determine that the victim’s health has been significantly harmed.
Prosecution of Partner Assault
Since criminal cases are criminal cases of private prosecution, they are initiated and considered by magistrates. Having accepted the application, the justice of the peace summons the parties and takes measures to reconcile the parties (Wallace & Robertson, 2019, p. 350). Criminal law provides for the possibility of reconciliation between the parties in the conflict.
Still, there are also some conditions, for example, the accused must repent for what they did, which did not happen in the Deanna Walters situation (Hill, 2014, 1:04:56). The prosecutor is obliged to provide evidence of the beatings inflicted, in addition to the results of the examination, it may be witnessing statements and physical evidence provided by Kit Gruelle clients (Hill, 2014, 01:54). The victim has the right to demand compensation for material and moral damage and expenses for the services of the victim’s representative.
Use of Family Violence Victim Advocates
The main task of family violence victim advocates is to ensure the safety of victims of domestic violence. As Kit Gruelle emphasizes, victim safety planning is a mandatory process (Hill, 2014, 20:21). They also protect the rights of minor victims, including those who witness violence, such as the daughter of Deanna Walters (Hill, 2014, 1:06:21). Family violence victim advocates take care to achieve preventive measures against persons accused of domestic violence (Wallace & Robertson, 2019, p. 217). This is especially important in connection with the fact that, as soon as the criminal prosecution of the aggressor begins, the most critical moment for the victim comes.
Conclusion
The purpose of this paper was to review and identify, based on theoretical material and real examples, the signs of various types of family violence. In addition, the task of the essay was to draw up the consequences for the rapists and the conditions for their onset. At first, the essay presented a description of the film and real events that would help to better understand the various types of violence and ways to resolve this critical problem. Then, with examples, three types of violence were considered: emotional, sexual, and physical. After that, misdemeanor and felony were distinguished as the results of domestic violence, differing in their severity.
After that, the procedure of criminal proceedings in the presence of domestic violence was described, and the role of the family violence victim advocate in the process. It is important to understand intimate partner violence because impunity is the most powerful factor provoking and stimulating violence. Single episodes happen very rarely, and each time, the degree of cruelty and the frequency of relapses increase. Therefore, it is important to understand what is happening in time and get rid of the role of the victim, as well as to hold the rapist accountable for illegal actions.
References
Hill, C. (Director). (2014). Private violence [Film]. HBO.
Wallace, P. H., & Robertson, R. (2019). Family violence: Legal, medical, and social perspectives. Routledge.