Assignment

Finds passages suitable for the given titles.

1. Kinds of families.

2. Factors making marriage illegal.

3. Requirements for valid marriage.

Text 6 Spouse abuse

Spouse abuse is a crime that occurs among families of all ethnic and racial backgrounds and among both the rich and the poor. Its victims suffer injuries ranging from psychological abuse to severe battering and murder. In fact, spousal assaults are more likely to result in serious injuries than assaults committed by strangers. Approximately one-fourth of all murders in the United States occur within the family context, and many of these are husband-wife killings.

Although both women and men can be abusers, women suffer 95 percent of the injuries inflicted between spouses. Estimates are that two million women encounter such abuse each year. Sadly, many of them are assaulted while they are pregnant. Abuse is rarely a one-time incident. Batterers typically repeat the act, usually with increasing severity. All this violence, however, usually remains behind closed doors and often goes undetected by friends and neighbors.

In the past, both the police and the courts have been reluctant to get involved in such problems between a husband and wife. Until the late 1800s, it was legal in most states for a man to strike his wife. Even after spousal battering was outlawed by every state, police officers often refused to respond to requests for assistance from battered women or to arrest battering husbands.

Assisting domestic abuse victims can be very dangerous for a police officer. In 1987, out of 73 police officers killed in the line of duty in the United States, 13 were killed while responding to domestic violence calls. Many officers say that they have not been given enough training in safe, effective methods of intervention. In the past, most police officers were only taught either to counsel the abuser and his victim or to send the abuser away from the house for several hours.

These practices are changing. Over 40 percent of urban police departments now have policies urging their officers to arrest spouses suspected of assault. Several states have enacted statutes that require the arrest and prosecution of alleged batterers, even if their injured spouses have not signed complaints against them. Those advocating arrest point to studies that have shown this to be the most effective means of preventing repeated abuse, even for those spouses not actually convicted.

However, prosecutors sometimes fail to bring charges against abusive spouses and have been shown to be more willing to reduce the charges than in cases of assault between two strangers. Some judges merely dismiss spouse abuse cases, or give only warning or probation to spouses found guilty. They may city the need to protect family privacy or the goal of promoting domestic harmony as reasons for their inaction. These attitudes are changing, and recent court decisions have pointed out that there is little «family harmony» to protect when one family member is assaulting another.

Abusers usually need help to end their abusive actions and learn effective means of controlling their anger. They frequently are addicted to alcohol or other drugs and must deal with their substance dependency as well as their abusive behavior. There are several independent men’s organizations, as well as services started by battered woman’s programs, which offer counseling and men’s support groups. Community social service agencies, such as the Red Cross and YMCA, often can refer men to nearby programs. Some state’s statutes provide for mandatory counseling programs for spouse abusers as a condition of their probation.

Until recently, men who raped their wives could not be criminally prosecuted for the act. Sixteen states now permit such prosecution. Thirty-two others permit prosecution under certain circumstances, such as one party having filed for divorce or separation at the time of the rape. In addition, a battered wife can file a civil damage suit against her husband that includes a cause of action for rape.