Domestic Violence: the view from feminist therapy

Abstract

The incidence of domestic violence (DV) is on the increase both in Japan as well as in the U.S.A. Moreover, whilst violence by the husband towards the wife is escalating both in type and frequency, the problem is little known or discussed.

In the first part of this paper, I discussed four current myths : ①that the frequency of DV is low, ② that the social and economic status of the batterer is low, ③ that the battered wife is also problematic as well as her husband, ④ that the battered wife does not, in fact, want to leave her husband. The validity of these myths was supported neither by the questionnaire survey nor by the complaints brought to the women’s counseling center by battered wives themselves.

In the second part of this paper, I presented the case of a housewife who had been battered by her husband and who had herself battered her 3-year son. I conducted individual feminist therapy over a 2-year period. Three important viewpoints underpinned this therapy. The first point was the need to bring to her attention that she was a victim of a patriarchal society which allowed strong people (father, husband, superior) to batter weak people (women, children, disabled). The second point was to seek to empower her continuously to develop confidence, self-esteem and acceptance of herself. The third point was that I was able to help create a large social network of 7 agencies and over 20 people in order for her to develop an independent life.

In the concluding part of this paper, I commend the shelter movement against DV. There are currently only 7 shelters in Japan compared to less than 1200 shelters in the U.S.A. We need more shelters to help women and children escape from DV and to enable them to rebuild their life.