Violence Against Women Act

By Kathie MM

I bit my tongue yesterday. Really, not metaphorically. It hurt like the devil.

Why do I tell you this trivial story?

Because every time I bite my tongue, which I do more often as I age, I find myself agonizing about torture.

I think how infinitesimal my pain is compared to the pain that all too many people deliberately inflict on others while proclaiming their own superiority and the justifiability of their acts.

Almost everyone knows how hurtful, how uncomfortable, how agonizing, how disrupting, how destructive life’s ordinary injuries–bad toothache, broken bone, burned hand–can be. Yet right now, around the world, there are countless people torturing other living beings in a variety of ways.

You have to ask why.

I know there are lots of reasons why some people behave cruelly towards others, particularly others who are not just different but also weaker, more defenseless than they. I also know that a penchant to hurt, punish, maim, harm others often stems from the experience of childhood maltreatment and the observation of domestic violence.

International, national, and state laws against domestic violence and child abuse have been promulgated and efforts undertaken to address these issues. Why has the United States government failed to ratify the International Convention on the Rights of the Child ? Why has there been such resistance to legislation protecting women from violence ? And for how long will international conventions against torture and cruel and inhuman treatment be flouted by U.S. government agencies ?

The record of the U.S. government in regard to torture is a sorry one indeed, as indicated in the Senate Intelligence Committee Report on CIA torture. In my view, torture–like terrorism–is a tool of tyranny and the anathema of democracy.

Please stay tuned for my upcoming series on Tyranny, Torture, and Terrorizing.

Domestic Violence Awareness Month, observed in October, provides an opportunity to recognize the extent of violence in homes throughout the world–and to do something about it.

Sign: "Northhampton is a domestic violence-free zone" — Photo by Ben Pollard, used under CC Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

We know violence against women is a problem; so too is the violence some women inflict on their partners.*

But awareness can lead to change. Just consider:

Fifty years ago, “marital rape” was regarded almost as an oxymoron; according to the 1962 Model Penal Code, rape involved forced intercourse by a man of a woman who was not his wife. Then in 1993, marital rape became a crime in all 50 states.

Forty years ago, most people had never heard the term “domestic violence.” But in 1994, the U.S. Congress enacted the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) as part of the crime legislation.

Forty years ago, most people had never heard the term “husband abuse,” and like “marital rape,” many people scoffed at the idea of a woman abusing her husband or intimate partner. Since 1996, Congress has enacted additional statutes that allow domestic violence offenders (male or female) to be prosecuted in federal courts.

With increased awareness of the seriousness of domestic violence has come increased resources and information:

Our society has not yet reached zero tolerance for domestic violence, but is moving in the right direction.

* Hines, D. A., & Malley-Morrison, K. (2001). Psychological effects of abuse against men: A neglected area of research. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 2, 75-85.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology

Pain’s pathways

Resisting domestic violence