Patriarchy explains the widespread nature of violence against women.

The term ‘patriarchy’ refers to the system of male domination over women in society. It has historically derived from Greek and Roman law, in which the male head of the household had absolute legal and economic power over his dependent female and male family members. Patriarchy in its wider definition means the manifestation and institutionalization of male dominance over women and children in the family and in society as well. (www.ruralwomyn.net/define.html) “It encapsulates the mechanisms, ideologies and social structures which have enabled men historically to gain and maintain their dominance and control over women.” (Marsh, 2000, 95) Therefore, patriarchy, presents the idea of male superiority and total control over women.

The essay will try to argue that patriarchy explains the widespread nature of violence against women to some extent by discussing the nature of patriarchy in history throughout Europe and domestic violence in contemporary British society. Moreover, the essay stress on feminist arguments especially the radical feminist arguments to suggest that there exist a relation between patriarchy and widespread violence against women.

Violence has developed gradually through the ages. According to Fox (2002), amalgamation of three schools of thought; Judeo-Christian religious ideas, Greek philosophy and Western legal code has promoted ‘patriarchy’ in society. All three traditions have viewed patriarchy as normal and natural practice. Male superiority over women has been a norm in the past societies. Even women got use to believe and accept that view. According those ideologies, women are regarded as inferior and weak human beings for whom being victim of male violence are natural and acceptable in society of ancient times.(Fox, Vivian C, 2002,15-34) However, the situation has changed to some extent. The government and the various institutions in society such as women groups’ especially feminist groups have step forward to address the issue of violence against women with more emphasis in recent years. Although various initiatives have been applied by government institutions to eradicate violence, current statistics reveal that women are still subject to many forms of violence mostly perpetuated by men.

Violence against women has become a controversial issue in recent years as the rate of violent behaviour against women has increased. According to Hammer and Saunders (1984), male violence against women is widespread. (Abercrombie & Warde, 1996, 238) Domestic violence is one of the important areas to discuss and explore the real situation of women in contemporary British society. However, before discussing domestic violence more extensively, a firm definition should be provided to get a clear idea about what the term really indicates. According to Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC) the definition of domestic violence is: “any form of physical, sexual or emotional abuse which takes place within the context of a close relationship. In most cases, the relationship will be between partners (married, cohabiting, or otherwise) or ex-partners”. The HASC noted that, in most cases, the abuser is male and the victim female. Moreover, some of the most physically violent incidents are those committed by men on their female partners. Besides, it also noted that domestic violence is not limited to any particular social group or class, but occurs across the society. (www.societyguardian.co.uk/domesticviolence)

Various statistics, largely done by government itself, reveal that domestic violence has increased to a great extent in contemporary British society. The 2001/02 British Crime Survey (BCS) found that there were an estimated 635,000 incidents of domestic violence in England and Wales. 81% of the victims were women and 19% were men. Domestic violence incidents also made up nearly 22% of all violent incidents reported by participants in the BCS. Moreover, repeat victimization is a common scenario. The results of the British Crime Survey found that more than half (57%) of victims of domestic violence are involved in more than one incident. No other type of crime has a rate of repeat victimization as high (Home Office, July 2002).According to Stanko (2000), every minute in the UK; the Police receive a call from the public for assistance for domestic violence. This leads to police receiving an estimated 1,300 calls each day or over 570,000 each year. However, according to the Crime in England and Wales 2001/2002 report, just less than 35% of actual domestic violence crime is reported to the Police. (www.womensaid.org.uk)
Therefore, these statistics do not represent the whole situation as most of the women feel reluctant to report to police or any other forms of authority because of fear, shame, stress etc. Moreover, the limited response of the law enforcement agencies is taken by some writers as evidence that the state should be considered a patriarchal institution rather than a neutral body. The harsh treatment of women who complain of rape by the courts and the sometimes lenient sentences handed down by judges, strengthen this view. (Abercrombie & Warde, 1996, 238)

The attitudes of people in society predominantly men’s toward violence against women supports the view that violence against women is not a very great problem for some people. According to Zero Tolerance Charitable Trust (1998), 1 in 5 young men and 1 in 10 young women think that abuse or violence against women is acceptable. (www.womensaid.org.uk) Thus, still according to certain number of people violence against women is normal. Moreover, studies and anecdotal evidence show that many NHS workers still turn a blind eye to domestic violence. They are untrained in detecting signs of abuse and, if they do, are reluctant to get involved or have no idea how to help. (Moore, W., 2000) According to Horley, the reality is that domestic violence is not caused by alcohol, drugs, unemployment or stress. “It is the result of a complex interplay of psychological and social factors which have created an imbalance of power between the sexes.”( Horley, S ,2001) Therefore, the structure of society, the different social factors such as gender inequality, masculinity , the practices of ‘patriarchy’, play a very significant role in promoting the violence against women. Men who believe that wife beating is legitimate are more likely to become perpetrators. Dobash et al (1996) showed a correlation between reduction of patriarchal attitudes and a reduction in the extent to which men used violence against their partner. Besides, egalitarian partnerships have lower risk of domestic violence. The risk of violence is increased by marital dependency and lack of economic resources. The BCS (British Crime Survey) found that women who were unemployed or housewives had a high risk of domestic violence.(Walby, S & Myhill, A , 2000) As patriarchy is a concept which promote ‘inequalities of power’ between men and women, it is obvious that women who are unemployed and housewives, deprived of equal power, largely become the victim of male violence.

Various feminist writers argue that patriarchy exercises a totalizing influence over women in modern societies. According to Millet, patriarchy has been defined as ‘institution where that half of the population which is female is controlled by half of which is men’. (Cohen & Kennedy, 2000, 103) A whole range of radical feminists have identified violence, both physical and sexual, as a key source of male control over women. The identification of violence against women as a political issue and social problem has been seen as an important achievement of feminism and has associated particularly with radical feminism. (Marsh, 2000, 97) According to radical feminist perspective, male supremacy derives from men’s ability to control women’s bodies. Besides, male dominance is also reinforced by the general culture of heterosexuality as the evidently normal form of sexual relations in contemporary society. Radical feminists believe that violence in domestic life is to a great extent cause by patriarchy. (Cohen & Kennedy, 2000, 103) Despite the progress of feminism in the last few years, men still get the benefit of patriarchy. Generally all the women still have to do all the household tasks and raising the children, getting very less help from male partners. In order to practice exploitation over women, violence is used as a device. (www.ffq.qc.ca/marche2000)

Walby (2001) argues that there exists a diverse form of violence against women which includes not only rape, sexual assault and domestic violence but also child sex abuse, sexual harassment and stalking; all part of a continuum of violence against women. She argues that the relationship between violence and socially structured gendered power relations has been a very significant factor. (Burgess & Murcott, 2001, 126)
As an important radical feminist text, Kate Millett’s Sexual Politics (1970) introduced the concept of patriarchy. According to her view, all societies are patriarchal where male dominate and women are subordinate. Moreover, the practice of patriarchy is maintained via a process of ‘sex role socialization’. Since the family is a patriarchal unit, it helps to inflict the notion of female subordination and male superiority in every sphere of society such as education, religion and literature and so on. She also argued that a whole range of strategies were applied to control women; these included physical and sexual violence. Though similar concerns can be seen in works of other radical feminists, some feminist differ on that issue. Some radical feminists have proposed a biological basis for some differences between women and men. Rich (1970) argues that women’s mothering capacity is the core of men’s oppression. On the other hand, many feminists accept that women have had less power in sexual relationships than men, but some radical feminists such as Catherine MacKinnon identify sexuality as central to patriarchy. According to her view, sexual relations are seen not simply as a reflection of broader inequalities but a source of power which men exercise over women. (Marsh, 2000, 96) Therefore, sexuality plays a significant role in patriarchal societies. By the means of sexual relations, men oppress and control women. According to Brownmiller (1976), the act of rape lies at the origins of men’s oppression of women. Rape is one of the biggest issues in violence against women. However, according to Kelly, not all radical feminist would identify violence as the original source of women’s subordination; many have seen it as an important mechanism for maintaining the subordination of women. The violence is an expression of power and hatred which controls, humiliates, objectifies and disempowers women. (Marsh, 2000, 97)

Besides, Jill Radford, a British feminist and Betsy Stunko, an American feminist argue that sexual violence is used by men as way of securing and maintaining the relations of male dominance and female subordination, which are central to the patriarchal social order. In their view, patriarchy is crossed through and is in interaction with power structures, such as race, class, age and status. These shape women’s experience of sexual violence. Violence frequently features as a form of control of the powerless, the women, in family which is a central institution in patriarchal society. However, it is not limited to the family; violence is also widespread in the public sphere. (Hester, Kelly & Radford, 65, 78)
In conclusion it can be argued that though various factors such as poverty, unemployment, stress, psychological disorder, alcohol, drugs etc can be regarded as causal factors of widespread violence against women, it is ‘patriarchy’, the system of male domination, which explains the widespread nature of violence to a great extent.