Domestic Violence: The Wheel of Power and Control
Domestic Violence:
The Wheel of Power and Control “Only approximately one-quarter of all physical assaults, one-fifth of all rapes, and one-half of all stalkings perpetuated against females by intimate partners are reported to the police” (Tjaden). How does this happen? Anyone who sees this statistic is firstly appalled, and secondly unable to comprehend how such blatant abuse occurs without reprimand. And furthermore, someone who has studied sexuality would look at this statistic and wonder about how many men or transgender people are affected by physical assaults, rapes, and stalkings. But regardless of your response to this statistic, there is one thing that we all can agree on: domestic violence must stop now. And for us to move forward with this campaign, we must first identify the roots of what sprouted this horrifying type of abuse. Firstly, it is important to acknowledge that for any change in the realm of domestic violence, there must first be institutional change, rather than structural change. That is, the system that has been in place is what really requires change, rather than the immediate relationship or family of domestic partners. Institutionalization is well known by sexuality studies for establishing a system that fosters heteronormativity, discrimination against women, problems for gays and lesbians seeking union, and on and on. But the goal of this essay is not to identify what changes the system needs. Rather, it is to examine the direct physical and sexual violence and its relation to power and control; more commonly known as the “power and control wheel”. My group identified intimidation as a major part of domestic violence. While DCCADV doesn’t work directly with victims, they look for group that can combat intimidation in domestic partnership. They define this as anything that one partner uses to scare the other using looks, actions, or gestures. It can be anything from vocal abuse, using weapons or large objects, etc. When one
The Wheel of Power and Control “Only approximately one-quarter of all physical assaults, one-fifth of all rapes, and one-half of all stalkings perpetuated against females by intimate partners are reported to the police” (Tjaden). How does this happen? Anyone who sees this statistic is firstly appalled, and secondly unable to comprehend how such blatant abuse occurs without reprimand. And furthermore, someone who has studied sexuality would look at this statistic and wonder about how many men or transgender people are affected by physical assaults, rapes, and stalkings. But regardless of your response to this statistic, there is one thing that we all can agree on: domestic violence must stop now. And for us to move forward with this campaign, we must first identify the roots of what sprouted this horrifying type of abuse. Firstly, it is important to acknowledge that for any change in the realm of domestic violence, there must first be institutional change, rather than structural change. That is, the system that has been in place is what really requires change, rather than the immediate relationship or family of domestic partners. Institutionalization is well known by sexuality studies for establishing a system that fosters heteronormativity, discrimination against women, problems for gays and lesbians seeking union, and on and on. But the goal of this essay is not to identify what changes the system needs. Rather, it is to examine the direct physical and sexual violence and its relation to power and control; more commonly known as the “power and control wheel”. My group identified intimidation as a major part of domestic violence. While DCCADV doesn’t work directly with victims, they look for group that can combat intimidation in domestic partnership. They define this as anything that one partner uses to scare the other using looks, actions, or gestures. It can be anything from vocal abuse, using weapons or large objects, etc. When one
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