Poverty Essay ⋆ Criminal Justice Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

Poverty is a universal problem known to human beings since time immemorial. The concept of poverty has been defined in different ways ranging from the social structural to a social psychological level. For example, Lewis developed the notion of the culture of poverty, implying that the poor people have a distinct way of life plagued by inadequate access to quality as well as quantity of resources. In either case, there seems to be a tendency to blame the victims of poverty as if they voluntarily chose to be deprived of life’s amenities. Marx, on the other hand, blamed the structure of society for creating inequities for and exploitation of the have-nots by those in power and control.

Overall, a universal definition of poverty may neither be meaningful nor always useful. For example, the average income of African Americans and Mexican Americans in U.S. dollars may be several times higher than that of slum dwellers of Cairo, Dhaka, Calcutta, or Saigon. That, however, does not mean that poverty-stricken families of color in the United States experience any less deprivation than those others. Although international comparisons of poverty are important, the problem should basically look at relatively localized perceptions and impact.

The term poverty is used here in a demographic or economic sense. The U.S. government, for example, determines a poverty line or threshold for a given year based on a low economic status of a person and/or family in terms of annual income, including earnings, unemployment or workers’ compensation, Social Security, Supplementary Security Income, public assistance, veterans’ payments, survivor benefits, pension or retirement income, interest, dividends, rents, royalties, income from estates, trusts, educational assistance, alimony, child support, assistance from outside the household, and other miscellaneous sources. Consideration is given in poverty threshold calculations to the size of the family and ages of its members.

Increasing Rates Of Poverty

The official rates and extent of poverty in the United States started declining in the 1960s (dropping about 50% from the rate in the early 1950s) after gains in the economy and several civil rights reforms were implemented. The downward trend in poverty rates continued somewhat through the 1970s. However, poverty rates started going up in the 1980s due to multiple economic and political factors, and they have continued to climb through the 1990s and beyond (in 2005, about 13% of the U.S. population or 38 million people were poor by the official measure). Studies in sociology have been particularly concerned about dramatic increases of poverty among African Americans and Hispanics (including Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and Mexican Americans) in both rural and urban areas. The poverty rate for African American and Hispanic families, for example, climbed to about 36% by the 1990s and thus was more than 3 times higher than the rate among Whites during that period.

Relationship Between Poverty And Interpersonal Violence

It appears that the rates of interpersonal violence (e.g., homicide, robbery, rape, stalking, and family abuse), based on Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics, have also been generally increasing along with poverty rates during the past few decades. Criminologists have identified a direct correlation between poverty and most criminal conduct.

Studies indicate that reported acts of violence against impoverished women in interpersonal relationships are generally higher than those in middle and upper classes. Research reports have consistently demonstrated that women in low income families, including single mothers and women of color, are at a higher risk of being physically, sexually, and emotionally abused by men in relationships and social encounters.

Explanations for the relationship between violence against women and poverty are numerous. Poverty-stricken women do not have access to many of the resources available to other women, thereby becoming readily accessible to control or dominance by an abuser. These women are likely to stay as victims in violent relationships longer than those in other social classes due to lack of resources.

Bibliography:

Balkin, K. (Ed.). (2005). Poverty: Opposing viewpoints. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press.
Kerbo, H. R. (2003). Social stratification and inequality. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Lewis, O. (1959). Five families: Mexican case studies in the culture of poverty. New York: Basic Books.
S. Bureau of the Census. (2006). Statistical abstracts of the United States. Washington, DC: Government Printing Press.

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