While looking for an article to blog about, I was particularly struck by an article concerning teen dating violence and the recession. The article draws a connection between the poor economy and teen dating violence. Countless families are cracking under the financial strains of today’s world and new studies show that kids from families who are suffering from the economy are also facing a rise in teen violence.
I think to draw such a connection is ridiculous. In doing so, we are only creating an excuse for the abusers. Although many families are suffering financially, a material stress like money should never lead a person to harm another. Everywhere in today's world it seems that people too often allow money to take over thier lives. How can a person allow the lack of material in their lives lead them to harm someone that they have a relationship with? Why does frustration with money become the cause of an abusive relationship among teens?
Madeline-- I agree with you in that no abuse can ever be justified, no matter the reasons. One of the questions you raise is very interesting to me: How can a person allow the lack of material in their lives to lead them to harm another person? Our generation is known for being materialistic, to the point of obsession: iPods, iPhones, computers, the "right" designer clothes-- it's alarming to see how much any teenager is willing to spend on an item, especially if they are only going for the brand name. It seems our search for "fitting in" and popularity has now become a huge problem. Teenagers typically don't have a very large income to begin with, and when our parents don't buy nice clothes or technology for us, we get frustrated. However, this of course raises the question: Are we really so blind and short sighted that we let things like lack of material get in the way of a relationship? Have we reached the point where power and money, often synonymous in Western culture, have become more important than love and friendship?
ReplyDeleteI can see the connection, the one between abuse and recession. I don't want to see it, because, frankly, it's ugly, but I can see it, regardless of its truth.
I think your reaction to this connection is somewhat unusual. First of all, I just read three different articles on the subject, and it's pretty clear that they have data backing this up. Why is it so ridiculous that there is at least some amount correlation between the two? Just because a link between two things seems abstract doesn't mean it impossible, and the connection here actually isn't unusual at all.
ReplyDeleteThis is money we're talking about-- a global recession, that is causing unemployment to rise, pay to lower, among many other things. All sorts of these increased stressors can easily cause an unstable relationship or person to be more likely to go out of whack.
Also, your other assertion that reporting this finding is making an excuse for abusers doesn't make sense at all. They're not excusing anything, and they're not trying to downplay the severity of domestic abuse. If anything, these articles are trying to highlight the urgency of needing to do something to protect people being domestically abused, as well as giving some real life examples of the dangers by speculating about the causes for their actions. Saying that money problems of now are making domestic abuse worse is actually a very plausible reality check to the seriousness of the issue, it's not dismissing it.
Above all, I think the reasoning behind your claim that the connection is faulty is slightly idealistic. People do terrible things for money all the time, unfortunately, and although material things shouldn't affect the way we treat people in a perfect world, they can and easily do. And something like money is pretty important-- having a tight budget can mean less food, less comforts, and above all, less security, and the fear that can come from this very easily could lead a person to become more actively violent if they're already an abusive partner. The very question “How can a person allow the lack of material in their lives lead them to harm someone that they have a relationship with?” assumes that abusers have an adequate reason for doing what they do to begin with.
I think that yours is a very peculiar subject. I agree that to draw a connection between financial recession and abuse in teenage relationships is a bit ridiculous. Before I fully believed there is a connection between abuse in teenage relationships and the financial recession I would research the amount of abuse in past years compared to the present. If the rise was insignificant I think it could be attributed to a variety of other things. However, it is possible, even though it may seem silly, that this financial fiasco has caused a rise in abuse in teenage relationships. This crises does not directly affect teens, however, it greatly affects our parents who are likely to unload there anger on their children. I disagree with Anna's idea that lack of matierial objects makes teens more prone to abusive behavior. I think that it is second hand stress that sparks this unacceptable habit.
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