Domestic Violence -- How It Article Review

From a national fiscal point-of-view, after the Clinton's Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity reconciliation Act gave welfare control back to the states, there was a 60 per cent overall drop in welfare recipients, but critics point out that much of this was part of a reclassification from welfare to workfare during an unusually strong economic time (the late 1990s) (DeParle, 2009). Into the 21st century, the $16.5 billion that the states received as welfare rolls dropped were spent on block grants or other types of assistance, rather than saving for economic downturns or recessionary times (Goldstein, 2008).

Scholars point out that the perceptions of welfare also contribute to the cycle of underfunding. In America, one Political Science professor noted, "while Americans with the most exaggerated misunderstandings of the racial composition of the poor are the most likely to oppose welfare," which, in turn, perpetuates racial stereotypes and could increase Americans' opposition and racialization of future welfare policies (Giles, 1996).

Additional research shows that there is a clear correlation between battered women and the ability to secure adequate assistance and funding. Anywhere from 20-32 per cent of women who apply for welfare assistance have been subjected to violence within the past six-months prior to their application. Of interest as well, about 35 per cent of women who apply for welfare benefits remain on welfare after five-years -- most are able to move into at least subsistence work. However, women who were or are subjected to domestic abuse are more likely to remain on welfare. Nearly 82 per cent of the homeless women on welfare long-term had experienced violence, as opposed to just over 56% of those on welfare for less than five years. Thus, without proper assistance and a policy of protection and education, domestic abuse actually costs the American taxpayer more in benefits and after the fact treatment instead of prevention (Lyon, 1997).

Poor women are more likely to experience physical violence from their partners, even though research has shown that abuse occurs in all social, age, and racial groups. One of the difficulties for policy makers centers on the fact that abused women's access to educational and economic resources is one of the central aspects of their decision-making and safety planning. Ironically, it is this segment of the population that has the most complex needs, yet the least amount of resources, than any other social or cultural group (Lyon, 2000). It is how these complex issues are mitigated over the next few years that will become a prime indicator of how we, as a society, are able to remain optimistic and diverse, and yet compassionate.

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The Burning Bed. (1984). Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved from: http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/24570/Burning-Bed-The/

DeParle, J. (February 1, 2009). Welfare Aid Isn't Growing as Economy Drops Off. The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/us/02welfare.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all Dutton, D. (1994). Patriarchy and Wife Assault: The Ecological Fallacy. Violence and Victims. 9 (2): 167-82. Retrieved from: http://lab.drdondutton.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/DUTTON.-1994.-PATRIARCHY-AND-WIFE-ASSAULT-THE-ECOLOGICAL-FALLACY..pdf

Giles, M. (1996). Race and Poverty in America: Public Misperceptions and the American New Media. Public Opinion Quarterly. 60 (4): 515-41.

Goldstein, A. (December 17, 2008). Welfare Rolls See First Increase in Years. The Washington Post. Retrieved from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/16/AR2008121602978.html

Lyon, E. (December 1997). Poverty, Welfare and Battered Women. The National Resource Center on Domestic Violence. Retrieved from: http://www.mincava.umn.edu/documents/welfare/welfare.pdf

Lyon, E. (October 2000). Welfare, Poverty and Abused Women: New research and its Implications. Policy Paper #10 -- National Resource Center on Domestic Violence. Retrieved from: http://vawnet.org/Assoc_Files_VAWnet/BCS10_POV.pdf

Mencimer, S. (2009). Brave New Welfare. Mother Jones. 34 (1): 40-42.

Shields, M., Behrman, R. (2002). Children and Welfare Reform. The Future of Children. 12 (1): Retrieved from: http://www.futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/docs/12_01_Analysis.pdf