Essay Sample on Family Theory and Domestic Violence

Introduction and Overview

Violence against women can erupt in any corner and all layers of society. However, there is a group especially susceptible to mistreatment, and they are immigrants. However, we need to be more specific; they are undocumented immigrants, in particular in the Hispanic Population. Mainly those who are in an irregular situation or have come after a process of family reunification (Cuevas & Sabina, 2010). There are multiple factors in domestic violence with Latina women like cultural values, the existence of children and the low self-esteem engrained in their characters from childhood. The aggressors take advantage of their emotional, legal and economic situations. The victims do not know anyone in this country, they are vulnerable to their dubious circumstances and most of them are considered illegal aliens in the United States. The foreigners, especially those from Latin America countries like; El Salvador; Guatemala; Honduras; Mexico and also "Ecuador" are the most predominant in the USA. They all come from socio-cultural structures based on patriarchy societies, where the social system primary gives the power and authority to the masculine gender. Based on this cultural foundation the male power lineage continues and reproduce in America.

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Hispanics make up 17% of the United States of America (USA) population, and according to a recent study by Catholic Charities, Hispanics are one of the cultural groups where beatings, insults, and threats are acceptable in their country of origin (Alvarez & Fedock, 2018). Domestic violence in the Hispanic community is widespread. Nowadays, society not only supports manifestations of violence but also recognizes them as characteristics of masculinity, as is the case of Latin culture. According to the National Latina Network (2016), one in every three Hispanic women have experienced domestic violence in their lives and 2016 alone, at least two in every twelve Hispanic women experienced domestic violence.

Domestic violence is a social evil experienced by thousands of people around the world. Violence has a detrimental impact on the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of survivors, as well as affecting those around them (Cummings, Gonzalez-Guarda, & Sandoval, 2013). However, experiencing this situation in a country where many are forced to immigrate represents an additional challenge in the process of survival.

An example of this issue is the case of Maria Cabrera a Mexican activist based in Cincinnati, Ohio, separated 12 years ago from her husband and who experienced domestic violence. Cabrera stated that she left him because he was an alcoholic and every time he came home drunk, she feared for her life and that of her children. She did not know English, did not know how to drive and her children were still little, but she knew she could not stay in a relationship that was not healthy (Withers, 2017). Maria's cultural value has always been influenced by the typical male behavior where the men must prove his upholding sexual dominance. It took courage and bravery to leave her husband even against her personal beliefs. The report Migrant Women and Gender Violence of the Federation of Progressive Women makes it very clear that this group (Hispanic Immigrants), "because of being a foreigner," is surrounded by "a series of circumstances that increase their helplessness and make it difficult to break the violent cycle" (Ahrens et al., 2010) In the Latino culture, it is difficult for women to break the concept of traditional social norms that teach females that a respectable lady will stay with the husband no matter what happened inside the relationship otherwise this will bring shame and dishonor not only to the women but also to the family.

Family Systems Theory and Domestic Violence

Usually applied in the context of couple therapy, family systems theory (FST) assumes that the victim and the abuser participate in maladaptive modes of interaction. Violence serves to keep some distance or reinforce a certain family dynamic already in place. Many therapists argue that FST can be appropriately applied to violent men and their victims if certain precautions are taken (Geller & Wasserstrom, 1984). In a workshop titled "Families and Violence: A Feminist-Informed Systemic Approach" (Vancouver, 1993), Virginia Goldner explained that she has adopted a feminist systemic approach to her work with couples. It excludes couples in which 1) violence is frequent and severe, 2) the woman has no autonomy, no social support or no financial support and 3) the man does not assume responsibility of the violence it inflicts. She argues that violence must stop before the therapy begins and that, even if both parties take part in the therapy.

In this theory, the family is conceived as an emotional unit. This theory uses systemic thinking to describe the complex interactions within the unit. The family, by nature, makes its members intensely emotionally connected. Often people feel distanced or disconnected from their family, but this is more a feeling than a fact. Families so deeply affect the thoughts, feelings and actions of their members that it often seems that people lived under the same "emotional skin". Consistently, people ask for the attention, approval and support of others, and react to the needs, expectations and discomforts that they perceive from others. Linkage and reactivity make the functioning of family members interdependent. A change in the functioning of a person is predictably followed by reciprocal changes in the functioning of others. Families differ in the degree of interdependence, but to some extent it is always present.

Presumably, emotional interdependence evolved to promote the cohesion and cooperation that families need to protect, shelter, and feed their members. However, the increase in tensions can intensify processes that promote unity and teamwork, and this in turn can cause problems. When family members become anxious, anxiety can spread and increase in an infectious manner. As anxiety increases, the emotional connection of family members ceases to be comforting and becomes stressful. Eventually, one or more members feel overwhelmed, isolated or out of control and this is what results in domestic violence. Changes in work or work status intensify the tension even more. The stress of having a greater responsibility or increasing time away from home causes considerable stress in a family. The theory of family systems focuses attention on the problem as an example of what occurs within a system, therefore between several people. They tend to see individual problems as cases of larger relationship problems occurring within the family or within a society/community. This means that when a family member develops depression, the effect of this is not only located within the depressed person, as it affects all family members. Once the immigrants arrive in the USA, they are homeless, and even when they get a house, it is not a decent house. Secondly, they have to get a job and when they are unable to get a job, they will not be able to pay rent and will thus be left homeless. Getting jobs for immigrants is not easy and the fact that they are far away from home means that the family cannot be able to call on resources. Lack of affordable housing, unemployment, and limited access to resources and supports are factors that cause so much stress and this is manifested through domestic violence.

Many feminists fear that FST reduces the severity of violence by relieving the abuser of responsibility for violence. In addition, the TSF may not take into account the power differences between men and women in the society. Considering the cause of violence as systemic may indirectly reinforce the idea that the woman is responsible for the feelings and actions of her husband (Stordeur and Stille, 1989). There can be no real communication as long as there is violence or a threat of violence (Ganley, 1981). We can refer to the conceptual framework of the Family theory. This concept elucidates the interconnections of family relationships inside the specific socio-historical context and how these settings shape the life course of an individual. This theory deliberates how different events or life transitions with others can change or can promote a person's life trajectory.

The family in its development goes through different stages and each of them has its specificities, its tasks and its moments of imbalance or internal readjustment, called normative crises. In the transit through this life cycle, the family oscillates between periods of stability and periods of change, characterized the latter by internal contradictions that are necessary and essential to promote their development. These contradictions arise from family events that are highly significant events for the individual and the family, and that cause changes in the daily rhythm of family life that give rise to problems, as the family has to face them restructuring their habitual procedures. At times it is hard for men to get work and their partners end up getting jobs first (Arbona et al., 2010). The trajectory of an immigrant Hispanic woman is overwhelming and unbearable to assimilate. The stress of migrating from another country in terms of acculturation is devastating not only for the traumatic journeys but also for the exposure of physical aggression. They find themselves in a strange country with distant customs and cultures. The endless hours of work, the added demand of responsibilities, and the care of children do not encourage contact with the local culture, and they lack access to information about their rights as immigrant women. Moreover, their salaries are meager, so they need the support of another salary (Alvarez & Fedock, 2018). The aggressors take advantage of the situation in their victims, making a woman feel worthless and with the idea that without a male life will be undeserving.

The ecology and new environment have been shattered for those women; they are unable to endure situations of abuse for various reasons. For instance; taking legal action against their partner would add even more emotional and traumatic approaches to their lives and could address the rejection of family and friends. From the ou...