An Mphil Thesis On Family Life Cycle and Nature of Domestic Violence : A study on combating family problem in Bangladesh.

Abstract :
Domestic violence against women is a common and insidious phenomenon in Bangladesh. The types of violence commonly committed are domestic violence, acid throwing, rape, trafficking and forced prostitution. A higher prevalence of verbal abuse than physical abuse by partners has been observed, The reasons mentioned for abuse were trivial and included questioning of the husband, failure to perform household word and care of children, economic problems, stealing, refusal to bring dowry, etc. The factors associated with violence were the age of women, age of husband, past exposure to familial violence and lack of spousal communication. The majority of abused women remained silent about their experience because doff the high acceptance of violence within society, fear of repercussion, tarnishing family honor and own reputation, jeopardizing childrens future and lack of an alternative place to stay. However, severely abused women, women who had frequent verbal disputes. Higher level of education, and support from natal homes were more likely to disclose violence. A very small proportion of women approached institutional sources for help and only within the abuse was sever, became life threatening or children were at risk. Interestingly, violence increased with membership of women in micro-credit organizations initially but tapered off as duration of involvement increased. The high acceptability of violence within society acts as a deterrent for legal redress. Effective strategies for the prevention of violence should involve public awareness campaigns and community-based networks to support victims (Wahed, T., 2007). Family life cycle (FLC) is an important variable that can explain different family events. FLC composed of several consecutive stages from marriage to departure of a spouse. It is likely that nature of DV changes with FLC stages. Different aspects of DV has been studied however the relationship between FLC and DV has not been studied. This study intends to study this aspect. The findings of the study is expected to explain the problem of DV substantially and would help to policy formulation to curb DV.

Introduction:
In this twentieth century, when the whole world is awakening to the call of enlightened feminism, Bangladesh still wallows in the swim of primordial misogyny, In many parts of our country , women are still considered to be a burdensome appendage, It is believed that women must be exploited or dispensed with as a non person because she crushes her family with marriage and dowry expenses. Discrimination begins at birth or even before it and continues till she is dead. Women can be burnt for not bringing enough dowry, tortured and harasse4d for not providing money to their alcoholic husbands, raped to satisfy the lust of males, or just to teach them a lesson for being bold and outspoken. This is the reality in spite of the constitutional assurance of its belief in the equality and dignity of all human beings and its guarantee that the State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them or subject them to any disability, liability or restriction on that count. It assures everyone of equality before the law and equal protection of law and directs people to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women because itsaim is to set up a social order in which justice, social, political, and economic shall prevail.

The Constitution has authorized the legislatures to pass special protective laws in favor of women to undo the injustices done to them for ages. A large number of such laws have actually been passed under this head. These laws can misguide anyone. They create a illusion that women enjoy a privileged position in our society and have special rights at the cost of men, but illusion is short lived and vanishes the moment one starts delving with facts. It is then that the real picture emerges and we realize that the whole bulk of this protective legislation is a very modest attempt to combat the deep-rooted and all pervasive evil of horrendous crimes that are committed against women every day. These were committed in that past, they are being committed in the present also. There seems to be no let up in mans brutality towards woman in spite of protective laws to defend women. Now it is strongly believe that violence against women is a violation of human rights. Violation against women cannot be justified by any political , religious or cultural claim, A global culture of discrimination against women allows violence to occur daily and with impunity. It feeds off discrimination and serves to reinforce it eventually. When women are abused in custody, when they are raped by armed forces as spoils of war or when they are terrorized by violence in their home , unequal power relations between men and women arise. Violence against women is caused by discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity , sexual identity, social status, class, and age. These different forms of discrimination further restrict womens choices, increase their vulnerability to violence and make it even harder for women to obtain justice, Perpetrators of violence against women are rarely held accountable for their acts. Women who become victims of gender-related violence often have little recourse because many government agencies are themselves guilty of gender bias and discriminatory practices. Many women opt not to report cases of violence to authorities because they fear being ostracized and shamed by communities that are too often quick to blame victims of violence for the abuses they have suffered. When women do challenge their abusers. Violence against women is so deeply embedded in society that it often fails to garner public censure and outrage. In order to address the issue Family life cycle and nature of domestic violence in Bangladesh The study will compile to assess the effectiveness of the national organizations and the changes of family life cycle in Bangladesh. The study will explore the measures the government will take to ameliorate the situation over the last five years.

Objectives of the study:

The objects of the study are as follows:

1. To know the extent and nature of violence among married couple. 2. To know the relationship between family life cycle and domestic violence. 3. To suggest policy measures to reduce domestic violence.

Hypothesis of the study

Nature of domestic violence changes with changes is stages of Family Life Cycle.

Definition of Teams

An overview :
1. Of the different dimensions used u=in describing the family, the family life cycle concept appears to be particularly useful in providing a frame work for understanding the dynamics of how the family per see affects the health and well-being of its members and how the health and well-being of its members affect the health of the family. (United Nations, Occasional Papers Series No. 15,1994, P-3). FLC is composed of several consecutive stages that a family passes from its beginning to the end. Thus, it starts with the marriage of man and woman and ends with the death/departure of either or both of the spouses. In this process every family passes through some particular stages. Glick (1947) described the process as Typically, a family comes into being when a couple is married. The family gains in size with the birth of each child. From the time when the last child is born until the first child leaves home, the family remains stable in size. As the children leaves home for employment or marriage, the size of the family shrinks gradually back to the original two persons. Eventually one and then the other of the parents die and the family cycles has come to an end (p-164). The family structure, composition, roles and relations among the family the family members, and relation between family and other social processes change as family passes through these stages. It is proved very useful to look into the changes occur with the shift of FLC stages to understand different aspects of the family as an institution and its relation to other processes in the society. Different scholars have development and used different FLC stage models according to their own study design. For an example Tuttle stated the following FLCs. 1. Stage-I : Establishment (Marriage to birth of 1st child) 2. . Stage-2 Child bearing family ( Oldest child birth to 6 years ) 3. . Stage-3 Families with pre adult children ( Olde3st Child 6 to 13 years) 4. . Stage-4 Adolescent ( Oldest child 14 17 years) 5. . Stage-5 The young adult ( at least one child 18- 29 years of age. 6. . Stage-6 Launching ( at least one child had left the home) 7. . Stage-7 Post Parental ( All children had left home) In most cases, however, marriage; birth , age and movement of the oldest child; and departure of both or either spouse have been used as the criteria for determining the FLC stage. In the present study considering the Bangladeshi family situation the following FLC stages have been considerd;

. Stage-I Establi8shment ( Marriage to birth of 1st child . Stage-2 Child bearing family ( Oldest child birth to 6 years) . Stage-3 Families width pre adult children ( Oldest child 6 to 13 years of old) . Stage-4 Families width adult children ( Oldest child 13 years and above years of old)

Statement of the problem:

Family life cycle is same in all over the world but domestic violence and its nature are not same. It varies from society to society and country to country. Its forms are also different but roots are the same and effects are the same. Violence by husbands not only creates trauma for the victims and their issues but also have an impact on economy. While there is direct cost involved for the victims-health care costs and legal expenditures; there are also several indirect or hidden costs which cannot be measured with money. However, it is equally important to take into account these costs they have long-term psychological impacts for the victim, her family members, particularly children and in the end, the society and the economy. As domestic violence has a great impact on economy, so we need to measure all types of costs related to the violence.

Methodology of the study:

The methodology are followed in preparing the thesis consists of, but is not confined to , the following: 1. Primary data collection through field interviews, case studies and administration of questionnaires among selected respondents in critical areas, which lack substantial data/ information, in appropriate cases, if needed. 2. Critical perusal of secondary sources including books, articles, reports, unpublished thesis, maps , official records, websites etc. 3. Knowledge development through interview of the expert, both internal and external and focused group discussion. 4. Visit of courts to monitor the implementation of Nari o Shishu Nirjatan Damon Ain. Study Design:

Hundreds of DV cases are recorded is the PSs. For this study data will be collected from the selected number of the couples of such incidents about their FLCs and nature of DV. The collected data will be analyzed to see the nature of DV in different FLCs. Unit of analysis : Couple/Family Study Area : Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Area. Sampling First : Victims families in the selected districts will be identified through a survey, Data will be collected about the extent and procedure of domestic violence. Second : 100 cases will be selected from the Police Stations purposively. Eight PSs will be selected randomly among the total 52 PS DMP area. Fifty DV cases lodged within one year will be selected from each of the selected PS

Respiondents Both husband and wife will be selected for collection of data about their FLC nature of DV Data will be collected from the spouses separately of selected respondents through face to face interview using pre structured questionnaire In addition secondarty data will be collected from the official documents of the Police Stations Data processing and Analysis Data will be computerized and analyzed using software SPSS

Definition of Terms (a) Family life cycle: (b) Domestic (c) Violence (d) Common couple violence

(e) Intimate terrorism (f) Mutual violent control (g) Situational couple violence (h) Physical abuse (i) Sexual abuse (j) Emotional/ verbal abuse (k) Economic abuse Type of Domestic Violence in BD Causes of Domestic Violence Effects of DV