Rethinking Domestic Violence

by Donald G. Dutton

Rethinking Domestic Violence is the third in a series of books by Donald Dutton critically reviewing research in the area of intimate partner violence (IPV). The research crosses disciplinary lines, including social and clinical psychology, sociology, psychiatry, affective neuropsychology, criminology, and criminal justice research. Since the area of IPV is so heavily politicized, Dutton tries to steer through conflicting claims by assessing the best research methodology. As a result, he comes to some very new conclusions. These conclusions include the finding that IPV is better predicted by psychological rather than social-structural factors, particularly in cultures where there is relative gender equality. Dutton argues that personality disorders in either gender account for better data on IPV. His findings also contradict earlier views among researchers and policy makers that IPV is essentially perpetrated by males in all societies. Numerous studies are reviewed in arriving at these conclusions, many of which employ new and superior methodologies than were available previously. After twenty years of viewing IPV as generated by gender and focusing on a punitive "law and order" approach, Dutton argues that this approach must be more varied and flexible. Treatment providers, criminal justice system personnel, lawyers, and researchers have indicated the need for a new view of the problem -- one less invested in gender politics and more open to collaborative views and interdisciplinary insights. Dutton’s rethinking of the fundamentals of IPV is essential reading for psychologists, policy makers, and those dealing with the sociology of social science, the relationship of psychology to law, and explanations of adverse behaviour.

Genres: Gender Studies

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Aurélien Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apart from a few yet highly established and influential women's organisations, ideologically rooted within 1970s radical feminism and relying only on shelter studies to peddle their point (despite such studies having been exposed, time and again, for their obvious flaws in the scientific literature), you'll be hard pressed to find any expert on domestic violence believing that it's a 'gendered crime', which can explained away with caricatural (and unhelpful, useless) explanation such as 'it's the patriarchy, stupid!'.

Donald G. Dutton, who teaches in the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia, and who has written extensively on the topic, offers here a brilliant survey of the literature at hand. First published in 2006, it ranges from psychology, psychiatry, sociology, neuropsychology, criminology, and various other fields, to nail a point which should be common sense yet has become nothing but: domestic violence is not motivated by patriarchal values; it's not the product of the patriarchy (he, in fact questions whether we even live in a patriarchy at all!); and it certainly is not a gendered crime, women being as abusive as men are when in intimate relationships. It goes beyond that, though.

Focusing both on what constitutes a cycle of violence in such relationships, and, the reasons that can make an abuser an abuser, he not only debunks the gender feminist paradigm (according to which such domestic violence can only be rooted in women being economically and politically disempowered in society a large, and so also disempowered at home, hence why they can only be victims and never perpetrators themselves...) but, demonstrates how such paradigm has been useless ands counterproductive by being adopted to try and tackle the issues.

From policing to interventions, of course, anyone with an hint of critical thinking can acknowledge that the system is completely broken! Why so, though? Look no further: the paradigm shaping it (the patriarchal model) is nothing but false.

I highly recommend this read. It's dispassionate, clear, comprehensive, detailed, accessible, and, again, relying on many studies and researches from multiple disciplines, which have been piling up for the past few decades yet keep being completely ignored by policy makers, bamboozled by ideologically motivated lobbies holding a firm grip on the debate (let alone popular 'understanding' of such a complex issue!). The tragedy indeed is that we, a a society, carry on to listen to gender interested lobbies instead of the experts. And so it is, then, that the system will carry on being broken, men will carry on being abused, abused women will carry on remaining unsafe at the hands of men whose issues are not scientifically but ideologically addressed, women not fitting the gender narrative will carry on being completely let down (including abusers themselves, in need of help instead of infantilising deresponsibilisation in the name of a politico-social narrative) and, above all, children trapped in such abusive environments will carry on to suffer... with all the consequences for the next generations. Do yourself a favour: read the science.

[Mkittysamom · Rating 5 out of 5]

#Popsugar2021 Social Justice, Passionate Subject

Another book that says it all... we have no way to rehabilitate Ppl with “obvious Personality disorders”. It’s all swept under the rug. Meanwhile nobody can figure out that all SK’s, abusers and such have 1 thing in common.. a f’ed up childhood...duh. And look who our prev president was? #mef*ckingtoo