So far the issue of family violence has not been approached rationally. There are some people who go to jail for an argument or a slap, and there are others who get away with breaking their partner's skull and not only get away with it but get to keep the children. It is imperative that this matter be handled sanely. I am proposing a two-pronged strategy to do just that.
One part of my proposal is a sliding scale for domestic violence based on severity of violence committed. This sliding scale would go from mild violence to severe brutality, and the punishment would be dependent upon the severity of the violence. Thus, we would have:
Severe brutality - guns, knives, sulfuric acid, life-threatening injuries
Brutality - broken bones, strangling, lesser injuries
Severe violence - whips, sticks, visible bruises
Serious violence - punching
Mild violence - slaps
with severe brutality fetching an extended prison term, mild violence getting a fine, and the other three getting a prison term of between 3 months and 7 years depending upon the place in the scale.
Another part of my proposal is making illegal the false advertising in relationships. Most abusers don't tell their partners that they will abuse them; they put on a kind and warm front and then spring the abuse on the partner when they believe that the partner is theirs. Most abusive relationships would be prevented by illegalization of this false advertising. The only abuse situations that wouldn't be solved through this are ones in which the abuser tells the partner beforehand that he will abuse her; and respect for people's freedom and people's choice over their lives requires that these situations be left alone.
The sliding scale for domestic violence would bring sanity to the issue of family violence and create punishments fitting the crime. The prosecution of false advertising in relationships will deter most of the abuse situations from beginning in the first place. The first will be cure, and the second will be prevention.
Through this combination of appropriate punishment and prevention, domestic violence can be greatly reduced, and sanity can be imparted to an issue that has not been dealt with rationally.