3.0　Introduction

3.0　Introduction

In exploring domestic violence,we cannot avoid a discussion of marriage and the family.As stated in Chapter 1,domestic violence is characterised as occurring between adults who are or have been intimate partners or are in a family relationship(Hague and Malos,1998;Lan &Jin,2000;Xu,2004;2004 Home Office^[1];WA^[2]).In particular,it occurs between adults in a sexual relationship,either within a marriage or cohabiting (Mooney,2000).Domestic violence has close links with marriage and family.Moreover,gender inequality can be viewed as often providing the context for domestic violence between wives and husbands (Hester,2005).

The family is the traditional living form for people in both the UK and in China and it is still the fundamental unit in society (Deng &Xu,2001).The majority of people want to marry and have a family,hoping in particular for a close and supportive family group like those portrayed in films,novels and poems where marriage and family life are shown as so harmonious and happy (Pan,1998).However,family life,in reality,is by no means always harmonious and happy(Giddens,2001).The 'dark side' of marriage and family life is experienced by many people.For example in China,forced marriages,child betrothals and child marriages (Therborn,2004),marriages between consanguineous relatives^[3] -normally cross-cousin marriages (biaoqin hunyan) - and polygamous marriages,still persist and many women and children are subjected to domestic violence.This 'dark side' of marriage and the family is often the result of gender/power inequalities between women (wives) and men (husbands),and between adults(parents and elders) and children.

How and why does domestic violence occur in the home,and between husbands and wives particularly? Why is it that it is women who are the principal victims in miserable marriages and who often endure an unhappy family life? What causes gender inequality in marriage and in families? What causes the perpetrators(usually husbands) to harm their victims (usually wives)? In order to gain some understanding of the causation,we need to examine what marriage and family are,and to analyse their history and the construction of gender inequality.This chapter will firstly examine definitions of marriage and family in both the UK and in China,and then analyse patriarchy and gender inequality in marriage and in the family.In considering the literature,the principal questions to emerge are:

　• How is marriage and the family theorised,and

　• How does gender inequality exist in marriage and in the family and between wives and husbands?