Another area of controversey in the literature, especially in family therapy, is the application of systems theory. Wright (2002) summarized the system's view of domestic violence as assuming:
(1) sexual or physical abuse serves a functional role in maintenance of the family system.
(2) with equal influence, each family member actively participates in perpetuating the dysfunctional system.
(3) violence against women occurs in family systems characterised by certain relationships structures.
(4) incest or battering is the product of an interactional contest characterised by repetitive sequences of transactional behaviour. (4)
Dell (1989) examined systems theory as a way of understanding domestic violence and its cycles. His major contribution was differentiating between two domains of power,
explanation and
experience. Even if a therapist prefers a systems approach to working with victims of domestic violence (explanation, amoral), effort must be made to connect with the feelings and experiences of the clients. Specifically, therapists must remember: 1) the suffering of victims in domestic violence is real, 2) systems theory is limited in addressing the responsibility of members of the system, and 3) members of the family may, therefore, view systemic analysis of the cycle of violence as "unfair, unacceptable, and even inhuman." (12) This criticism was furthered by McConaghy and Cottone (1998) in describing these two domains as
exogenic (the "world of nature" that is "intrinsically amoral" and has circular causality) and
endogenic (a "personal construction of reality" that interprets the world in moral terms and judges violence as morally wrong). (n1)
***Notes
1) For a more general criticism of Systems Theory on a similar theme, see Berman (1996).
