When celebrities or athletes are revealed as perpetrators or survivors of violence in their intimate relationships, intense media and public attention is paid, at least for a while, to this ongoing crisis that kills 1,300 of women every year and injures some 2 million in the U.S. (Click to Empower)
Right now, there is a scandal in the National Football League over the incident in which Ray Rice punched his then fiancé Janay Palmer in a casino elevator. After initially being suspended for two games (and placed in a diversion program that included supervision and anger management counseling) the video of the actual assault came to light and reignited outrage about the relatively light punishment given Rice by the NFL (although other football players similarly charged with domestic violence in the past have seen even lighter treatment by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.)
In the media, the issue has now become one of “When did Goodell become aware of this video?” and not, “What can be done in football and society at large to not only help those who are endangered by domestic violence, but to target men, the primary perpetrators of violence, and teach them not to abuse their intimate partners?”
Is the capitalist criminal justice system capable of addressing the crisis of domestic violence?
According to this domestic violence advocacy website, approximately 1/3 of police time is spend responding to domestic violence situations. While statistics are not kept on arrest and conviction rates for domestic violence charges, I doubt that domestic violence represents 1/3 of all arrests and convictions. So even by its own standards, of addressing a problem by making arrests and punishing those found guilty, the system is failing.
There are numerous cases of police called in to a scene of domestic violence and doing nothing, or even arresting the victim instead of the perpetrator. Of course, in many cases, victims may not wish to pursue charges, because they are financially or emotionally dependent on their partner.
But can the sick heal the sick? If the problem we are talking about is domestic violence, police officers are the employment category with one of the highest rates of domestic abuse. And the abuse isn’t only directed against their family members. Police brutality, particularly directed against people of color, is at epidemic levels in the United States.
If the perpetrator is arrested, if he goes to trial, if he is convicted, he will be sent to prison or jail. What exactly about incarceration is designed to prevent an abuser from abusing again? Prisons are notorious for violence, perpetrated first and foremost by guards on inmates, as well as for rape and other forms of violence between prisoners, as guards “look the other way” or actively encourage it. And unless a convicted domestic abuser actually kills his victim, he is likely to be out of jail relatively soon. Did his time in prison do anything to help him change his ways?
What can make a difference? While domestic violence is not limited to working class communities, research shows that rates of domestic violence go up during times of economic downturn. It is hypothesized that men lash out at those closest to them from the stress and frustration of unemployment and poverty. So, ending poverty and making a job a right could have a positive impact on the DV rates.
Ending poverty and facilitating women’s financial independence would also enable more women to leave abusive relationships.
Massive education campaigns against the objectification and vilification of women could go a long way towards changing men’s attitudes. (Remember, feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings.)
This is why the best cure for disease of domestic violence is socialism, which would address the economic issues that exacerbate the problem, as well as create a people’s government that has the political will to engage in mass education.
And now the liberals are going, “Well that’s all very well and good, but what do you propose doing if all that prevention doesn’t work and someone beats his wife?”
Under a socialist government, the police will be the people’s police, charged with defending the interests of the new workers’ state. (The old police, the racist police forces of today will be disbanded, and the criminal perpetrators prosecuted and punished for their crimes.) So, in the event that police are called to a scene of domestic violence, they will be properly trained to understand the dynamics and act to protect the safety of the most vulnerable parties, typically the woman and children in the home.
However, in socialist countries like Cuba, before the police are involved, cases of domestic violence are first addressed by local women’s committees that support the victim and talk to the abuser. Societal and peer pressure, backed with the threat of more severe legal consequences, is a powerful deterrent.
Already, in this country, under capitalism, we see programs intended to address domestic violence while minimizing the number of men sent to prison. Diversion programs with domestic violence specific counseling have been shown to be effective in reducing repeat offenses. Such programs are relatively rare, but point the way to a new approach to the problem of domestic violence, one that addresses the underlying issues of sexism and the related issues of poverty and women’s lack of financial independence.
