CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1    BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Domestic violence is a pattern of behaviour which involves or other abuse by one person against another in a domestic setting, such as in marriage or cohabitation. Intimate partner violence is violence by a spouse or partner in an intimate relationship against the other spouse or partner.

Domestic violence can take place in intersexual or same sex relationships and sometimes involves violence against the children in the family. Domestic violence can take a number of forms including physical, verbal emotional, economic and sexual abuse, which can range from suitable coercive forms to marital rape and violent physical abuse that may result in disfigurement or death. Domestic murders include horror killings and deaths.

Globally, a wife or female partner is more commonly the victim of domestic violence although the victim can also be the male partner. Both partners may also engage in abusive or violent behaviour or the victim may act in self-defenses or retaliation. Where as women who experience domestic violence, at least in the developed world, are often openly encourage to report it to the authorities, it has been argued that domestic violence against men is often unreported because of social norms and pressure against such reporting, those that are often face social stigma regarding their perceived lack of denigration of their masculinity.

Domestic violence often occurs when the abuser believes that abuse is acceptable, justice or unlikely to be reported. It may produce intergenerational cycles of abuse in children and other family member who may feel that such violence is acceptable or condemned.

Awareness, perception and documentation of domestic violence differ widely from countries of abuse during which tension rise and act of violence is committed, followed by a period of reconciliation and calm.

Victims of domestic violence may be trapped in domestic violent situations through isolation, power and control, cultural acceptance, lack of financial resources, fear and shame to protect children as a result of abuse, victims may experience physical disabilities, chronic health problems, mental illness, limited finances and poor ability to create healthy relationships. Victims may experience psychological problems from early ages, such as deregulated aggression which may later continue to be the legacy of abuse when one reaches adulthood. Domestic violence often happens in the content of forced or child marriage.

Domestic violence is an important concern for many societies and policymakers worldwide. Statistics available for European countries show that between 20 and 25 percent of women have been victims of physical abuse at least one during their adult lives and around 10 percent have suffered sexual abuse involving the use of force [Calturo, 2011]. Estimate for the U.S from the national violence against woman survey shows similar numbers out of 3 women surveyed haven been raped or physically assaulted since the age of 18 years [Tyadin and Thoerines, 2000]. More over, in the most of the cases of violence against women, the crime is committed by the intimate partner. This is why many countries have adopted reforms aiming at simplifying the dissolution of marriage when one of the spouses wants to end the relationship. Since the early 1970s, many states in the U.S removed fault as a ground for divorce and almost all of them allowed one of the spouses to file a petition for divorce without the consent of the other. Many European countries have followed similar path during the past 50 years. Making divorce easier can affect the incidence of domestic violence, either by facilitating the dissolution of abusive relationship or by making the threat of leaving more credible, those improving the situation of the victims within the marriage.

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