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Semester Topic Proposal

Rebeca Camacho

University of Texas at El Paso

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Introduction

Subject

Why is it that perpetrators of domestic violence act abusively towards their partners? Was

it the way they were conditioned from a young age? Was it due to societal norms, such as the

patriarchal system? With this paper, I hope to focus on the various factors that could be leading

perpetrators to become violent towards their partners.

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to find out what may be influencing the behavior of domestic

violence offenders. The findings may then help to shape the way society handles the things that

could potentially be causing it to prevail. For example, providing conflict resolution and anger

management courses to individuals at a younger age, before they get seriously involved in

relationships, may help condition their responses to negatively stimulating situations. However,

unless we see the things that need to be changed, we cannot work towards changing them.

Main Point

The main point of this paper is to focus more on the perpetrators of domestic violence,

their past experiences, their beliefs, their environments, what they perceive to be societal

expectations, etc. In doing this, we may get a better understanding of where the violence stems

from and get a clearer understanding of how we can decrease domestic violence.

Significance

The significance of this paper is that it may provide us with a better idea of how we can

better focus the use of resources to impact the lives of individuals who may be in danger of

becoming domestic violence perpetrators and or repeat offenders. For example, working towards
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changing perceptions of gender roles (e.g., male as the king of the castle, sole provider, being

smarter, etc.) at an early age so as to remove societal pressures men could be feeling and or

finding alternatives to prisons as they have been shown to make men more violent. With an idea

of what is causing specific behaviors, we will have a better chance of changing that behavior and

this will give us a better chance of moving forward in ending of domestic violence.

Background Information

According to the National Coalition Against domestic violence, in the United States it has

been shown that nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner, and

1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have been victims of [some form of] physical violence within

their lifetime.

Current Situation

The Problem

Due to a large amount of focus on the victim, we may not see underlying causes of

domestic violence and this will not allow us to deal effectively with the problem. This research

will focus on finding what things and or experiences may be influence of affect a person in

becoming a domestic violence offender.

The Problems Causes

Other factors, like childhood experiences, societal expectations, cultural/ethnic gender

norms, etc., may be influencing the negative behavior in certain individuals that become

offenders. Yet, the focus is often on the victim instead of the offender and the offenders views

and perceptions.
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The Problems Effects

Because we never see where violence stems from, we never make changes to stop

domestic violence, and domestic violence continues to be a problem in this country.

Project Plan

Major and Minor Steps

A major step that I will be taking to complete this paper is doing online and library

research. I will be looking at social and behavioral science studies/books regarding my topic, and

also look at other sources of information such as government statistics and criminal justice data.

Deliverables

I plan to deliver a complete research paper at the end of this semester discussing the

information that I have found on my topic.

Qualifications

My qualifications for doing this paper are that I am a student at the University of Texas at

El Paso that was assigned to choose a semester topic and write a paper on it, and that I have done

research beforehand for other courses on other topics.

Conclusion: Costs and Benefits

In conclusion, the purpose of my paper will be to give insight into domestic

violence from the perspective of the perpetrator in order to provide insight to

ways that may more effectively decrease domestic violence. The costs of this

paper will be the amount of time and effort I will be putting into it. The

benefits will be that we get a better understanding of the underlying causes

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of domestic violence. By finding out what causes perpetrators to become

violent, we can slowly but surely stop all domestic violence. Thank you for

taking the time to read through my proposal, and if you wish to contact me

for any reason, my email is rcamacho12@miners.utep.edu and my phone

number is (915)-247-1937.
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References

1. Domestic violence From a man's point of view. (2010, October 23). Retrieved January 29,

2017, from http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2010/10/24/domestic-violence-from-a-man

%E2%80%99s-point-of-view/
2. Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved January 29, 2017, from http://www.ncadv.org/learn-more/statistics