History

Domestic violence has been an issue that has plagued humanity throughout history. Before the 1970’s, domestic violence was known as wife-beating, and it was not considered a crime. Media depicted it as a joke, and doctors tried to blame the women, or the man’s social status, for the behavior that was occurring. Domestic violence was seen as a way for husbands to assert dominance and take control of the marriage/household. Very few cases of DV are seen before the 1900’s, because they were not subject to court rule and therefore documentation of them is rare to come by. Some researchers say that the concept of DV was perpetuated by the household ownership of women servants in older time periods.

The 1970’s saw a change in legislation for victims of DV, but still many states and countries were behind and permitted the act under certain circumstances. It was obvious that the court system did not want to deal with something that was viewed as trivial and meaningless.

Stalking, which is a huge part of DV and very scary for victims, was not recognized as an actual crime until 1990. In 1992, the US Surgeon General claimed that the leading cause of injuries to women ages 15-44 was abuse by their husband.

 

 

https://muse.jhu.edu/article/449295

http://www.pacwrc.pitt.edu/Curriculum/310DomesticViolenceIssuesAnIntroductionforChildWelfareProfessionals/Handouts/HO3DomesticViolenceTimeline.pdf