I disagree with the statement that spousal abuse only exists when couples are poor. Research shows that there is an association between domestic violence and poverty, which implies that low-income households are disproportionally affected by this problem (Fahmy & Williamson, 2018). Furthermore, gender asymmetry can be observed as females are more likely to suffer from severe and repeated spousal abuse. According to Fahmy and Williamson (2018), “women experiencing poverty in the UK are more vulnerable to DVA [domestic violence and abuse], and this conclusion is consistent with wider international evidence” (p. 481). However, financial stability is only one of the aspects that contribute to the issue. A conceptual model developed by Aziz et al. (2018) indicates the following factors: temperamental attitude, substance abuse, witnessing family violence, gender ideologies, possession of resources (education, earnings, and employment), and positive attitude toward beating women. As can be seen, poverty makes women more vulnerable to spousal abuse, but the problem can be found across households with various income levels.
From my professional experience, I can conclude that financial insecurity often aggravates a woman’s dependency on her spouse. As a result, such individuals are at a higher risk of experiencing repeated intimate partner violence. At the same time, families with a high socioeconomic status are also affected by the problem. There are various factors contributing to spousal abuse, such as societal, community, cultural, gender, behavioral, and individual (Aziz et al., 2018), which implies that no one is immune to this issue. Domestic violence and abusive control affect affluent families and are often underreported. Therefore, this problem is global and widespread, and it would be wrong to assume that spousal abuse only exists when couples are poor.
References
Aziz, N. N. A., Idris, S. A. M., Ishak, M., Wahid, N. A., & Yazid, Z. N. A. (2018). Factors affecting domestic violence against women: A conceptual model and research propositions. International Journal for Studies on Children, Women, Elderly and Disabled, 4, 191-198. Web.
Fahmy, E., & Williamson, E. (2018). Poverty and domestic violence and abuse (DVA) in the UK. Journal of Gender-Based Violence, 2(3), 481-501. Web.