Patriarchy and the battered women syndrome A study of battered women in Punjab

INTRODUCTION AND REVIEW Domestic violence in this study entails physical, emotional, sexual, and financial abuse suffered by women as young daughters-in-law inflicted by both their husbands and in-laws. In societies governed by patriarchal structures, where men as a group dominate women as a group, such violence is not limited to a husband abusing his wife, but it is a manifestation of the complex interplay between both gender and generational hierarchies. The multitudinal forms of domestic violence and its effect on the victim have been the subject matter of variegated theoretical discourses. A detailed understanding of various components of domestic violence and the impact of a collectivist and an agrarian society such as Punjab, on the nuances of domestic violence is the subject matter of the introduction and review of this research. Domestic violence in the form of coercive controlling violence (Kelly & Johnson, 2008) can have severe emotional and physical consequences for the women who have been the victims. In some cases it may lead to the development of Battered Women Syndrome. Studies have also suggested cyclicity in the nature of violence. Coercive control to which women are subjected to, the cyclic nature of violence, its consequences, and the lack of recourses available to them further entraps the women in abusive relationships. The inter-relationship among these factors also determines the choice of strategies employed by the women to cope with the situation. Choice of coping strategies in turn influences the battered women's mental health and wellbeing. 1.1. Violence against women Domestic violence in gendered societies stems from the general subjugation of women as a group. It is committed to target that particular group in order to suppress them, and the problem has become endemic affecting half of the human race in some form or the other. Beating, coerced sex, and other physical or psychological abuse can be some of the forms of violence. At least every third woman in the world has been subjected to such abuse by people known to them (UNIFEM, 2006). Violence against,