History Of
Abuse
The History of Wife Abuse goes back to the very beginning.
It has been around so long that no one can actually put a date on it. What
is known is that for many centuries, that it was okay to beat your wife. Yes,
they had laws that specified how you could hit her, but the law was definitely
allowing wife abuse.
It is definitely not a new issue,
it's been around since the beginning. So why is it such an issue today?
Women are now finally talking about it.
That is why it has finally surfaced now. Finally women are saying "I
don't deserve this". I have the right to life, a life without fear"..
For many years abusing a wife was not talked about or treated. It was accepted
as a everyday thing and a necessity. Children were property and could be
disposed of the same way a wife could.
No, the law was set up to control it but never to
stop it. The law sided with and gave men protection. The law stating that
a man could not beat his wife with anything bigger than his thumb....thus
the "Rule of Thumb" became a phrase.
That law told men that it was okay to beat your wife, you just couldn't
beat her with anything thicker than your thumb. The punishment for beating
your wife with something thicker than your thumb wasn't even a slap on
the hand.
The judge would order that the man buy his wife a box of chocolates and
not to beat her again with anything thicker than his thumb.
Although society today is more aware and now has laws protecting women
against been beaten, the old thoughts and ways still are there. I've seen
people and police turn their back when they know wife abuse/domestic violence
is happening. They don't want to get involved.
Even today in some cultures, wife abuse is common.
Death is common in some arranged marriages because the men marry the woman
for her dowery and then claim she died in a kitchen fire. Apparently, in
India - many wives are now (even today) dying from kitchen fires. The government,
the police, everyone knows what is happening but no one is dealing with
it. Sometimes the girl's family will avenge her death but most often, she
is just a memory.
Let us finally end the violence. Stand up, state your opinions, put graphics
and links on your site to show your support to end this violence.
Do you know where it comes from? It was actually a law that prohibited
men from hitting their wives with anything thicker than his thumb. Yes,
it was the law that you could hit her, but not with anything bigger than
his thumb.
The punishment for beating your wife with something larger (if she did
complain) was usually a judge ordering the husband to buy her a box of
chocolates.
While studying to become a social worker, one of the
topics I had chosen to write on was "Wife abuse and the Impact on
the Family". You will see and learn of the effects that Wife Abuse
has on the whole family...and the cycle that causes it to go from one generation
to another.
It was actually okay to hit a wife and it wasn't that long ago either.
Society has come some way in this issue but not enough. Now men are not
just beating their wives, they are killing them as well.
Someone has to take a stand and say "This is enough....no more violence!"
and end the cycle of abuse that will affect every generation in that family.
For more on the Impact - See Effects
of Wife Abuse
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