How Does Domestic Violence Affect The Media

Effects of Domestic Violence on Media Domestic violence is an important issue in today’s society. It is said that in America today, about one-fourth, or twenty-five percent of women are abused in some way by an intimate partner (50 Shades….Women 1). The definition of domestic violence is when one person in a marital or intimate relationship tries to control the other person (Benedictis 2). Although is it not a secret, many people of the general public are ignorant about the true definition of domestic violence. Recently, media has been putting a spotlight on cases of domestic violence in America. Media puts out news reports and articles talking about crimes involving abuse. But while media sometimes seems to help the case of domestic violence,

The reality of the situation is that there are many other types of domestic violence besides just physical abuse. Some types of domestic violence include not only physical abuse, but verbal or nonverbal abuse, sexual abuse, stalking or cyberstalking, economic abuse or financial abuse, and spiritual abuse (Benedictis 3). Many times, society may only think it is abuse if there are physical scars, but often, that is not the case. Research has even shown that “verbal or nonverbal abuse can be much more emotionally damaging than physical abuse” (Benedictis 4). One example of physical abuse is Wes 1’s mom in The Other Wes Moore. She is also a good example of how one can suffer great physical abuse but can leave the relationship with little or no scars. Apart from disciplining Wes extensively when he hits his sister, Wes’s mother remains very similar to the person she was before, and one cannot tell that she suffered from an abusive relationship just by her personality (Moore 10). Although society may not think that emotional abuse is at the same level with physical abuse, in reality it can cause much more scars, they are just not as

This is exactly what media does to society’s perception of domestic violence. Media uses the same tactics to manipulate people into think that domestic violence is okay. Most often, media uses glamorous lives or attractive abusers to condition society into believing that domestic violence is not present or is okay in many instances. Media also makes the person receiving the abuse seem to be ignorant of the abuse that is taking place. As society is more exposed to this type of domestic abuse, the people being exposed to it are more likely to commit the same type of abuse to others. Studies have show that “those who are interacting with [50 Shades of Grey] are much more likely to hold attitudes that support violence against women and more likely to be violent against women in their own relationships” (Freidman 6). It is also said that, “[b]oys who witness family violence are more likely to batter their female partners as adults, and girls who witness their mother's abuse have a higher rate of being battered as adults” (Domestic… Violence 4). Bonomi also goes so far as to say about 50 Shades of Grey, “Shame on Hollywood for romanticizing a highly problematic abusive relationship” (Freidman 8). The use of abuse in Hollywood for entertainment is not only highly