NCJ Number
181151
Date Published
1999
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This essay provides an overview of the history of wife abuse and its roots in traditions of patriarchy.
Abstract
Throughout most of legal history, a wife was without independent legal status and was generally outside the protection of the law. This was largely true regarding wife abuse. This stemmed from deeply rooted traditions of patriarchy, in which women were subordinated to the institutional rule of men. In virtually all societies of the world, women were believed to be naturally inferior to men both physically and intellectually. In general, any perceived threat to a husband's authority warranted correction. The reasonableness of a particular form of chastisement was tied to its justification, to what the wife had done to deserve the scolding or beating. The appropriateness of physical chastisement or beating remained largely unchallenged until the decades following the Protestant Reformation. The condemnation of physical beating suggests that a shift in attitudes or values had begun during the 17th century, at least in a segment of English society. In any given period prior to the present, none of the resources available to wives who resisted physical violence provided adequate protection; divorce and legal separation continued to be costly and very public. Thus, throughout history, wife abuse has been either condoned or tolerated. Although husbands are currently less likely to claim a right to chastise their wives, this does not mean they have abandoned the use of physical violence to maintain control. The subordination of women and wives lingers as an ideology. 41 references