Domestic Violence
Domestic violence is a social problem that affects individuals, families, and the communities in which they live. The public awareness and understanding of domestic violence has greatly increased over the last few decades. This knowledge has illuminated the prevalence of families suffering in violent environments. This new understanding has given rise to many resources, agencies and services designed to combat the harmful and lasting affects of domestic violence and to give aid to its victims.
Domestic Violence: What is it? Who does it affect?
Domestic violence is physical or sexual assault, which occurs between two people in a relationship (domesticviolence.org, 2009). Examples of personal relationships that may be affected by domestic violence include married, not married, dating, living together, gay and lesbian (domesticviolence.org, 2009). It's important to remember that victims aren't only women, but men as well. Men that are abused by female or male partners suffer the same debilitating affects.
The victims of domestic violence are not only the battered men and women who endure it but also the children who witness it. A report by Low and Mulford (2012) estimated that approximately 30 percent of children will witness domestic violence at some point in their lives. Furthermore, the negative impact of domestic violence on these children will likely cause development problems in one or more of the following areas: social, emotional, cognitive and/or behavioral (pg 1).
The negative affects of witnessing domestic violence can vary depending on the age of the child.
Behaviors associated with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that infants may demonstrate such as:
"Sleep disturbances, night terrors, s...
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...lence programs discriminate against male victims. Retrieved from http://saveservices.org/pdf/SAVE-VAWA-Discriminates-Against-Males.pdf
Segal, E. A. (2013). Social welfare policy and social programs. (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.
The United States Department of Justice. (2013). Office on violence against women: About the office. Retrieved from http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/overview.htm
Tjaden, P., & Thoennes, N. National Institute of Justice & The Center for Disease Control, (2000). Consequences of intimate partner violence: Findings from the national violence against women survey (NCJ 181867). Retrieved from National Institute of Justice website: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/181867.pdf
Trunk, P. (2012, Jan. 1st). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2012/01/01/zero-tolerance-for-domestic-violence- is-wrong/
Domestic violence can often go unnoticed, unreported and undeterred before it’s too late. Unfortunately, recent awareness efforts have gathered traction only when public outcry for high profile cases are magnified through the media. Despite this post-measured reality, a general response to domestic violence (DV) and intimate partner violence (IPV) by the majority of the public is in line with what most consider unacceptable and also with what the law considers legally wrong. Consider by many, more than just a social discrepancy, the Center of Diseases Control and Prevention currently classifies IPV and DV as a social health problem (CDC, 2014).
Domestic Violence is a widely recognized issue here in the United States. Though many people are familiar with domestic violence, there are still many facts that people do not understand. Abuse is not just physical, it is mental, emotional, verbal, sexual and financial. Many victims of physical abuse are also fall victim to these abuse tactics as well. An abusive partner often uses verbal, mental, emotional, and financial abuse to break their partner so to speak. It is through this type of abuse the victim often feels as though they are not adequately meeting their partner’s needs.
“Domestic violence is an emotional, physical, psychological, or sexual abuse perpetrated against a person by a person's spouse, former spouse, partner, former partner or by the other parent of a minor child” (McCue 2). While it is these things, the violence is also considered a pattern of demeanor used to establish power and control over another person with whom an intimate relationship is or has been shared through fear and intimidation (“Domestic Violence Sourcebook” 9). It has many names, including spouse abuse, domestic abuse, domestic assault, battering, partner abuse, marital strife, marital dispute, wife-beating, marital discord, woman abuse, dysfunctional relationship, intimate fighting, mate beating, and so on (2). Donna Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Accommodations, believes that domestic violence is “terrorism in the home” (2). This type of abuse involves threats, harm, injury, harassment, control, terrorism, or damage to living beings/property (2). It isn't only in relationships with spouses, it also occurs within family, elderly, and children (9).
The outcomes of domestic violence on women are more commonly documented, but we know far less about how domestic violence impacts the children of those relationships. Many women in the United States that are affected by domestic violence try to make sure their children are not harmed by the people who hurt them. There is no denying that children who are abused experience a lot of pain. However, children who are witnesses to the abuse are also affected. Children who see their mothers being beaten could develop real issue later in life. They may develop emotional issues, behavior issues and even mental illnesses.
There exists a vast amount of literature that suggests that there is a connection between intimate partner violence and maladaptive outcomes for children. Studies have shown that children who witness violence undermines the children’s sense of security. Intimate partner violence (IPV) proves to be distressing and deregulating for the children victims of intimate partner violence. Not only is witnessing violence distressing for children but is also been shown that it can interfere with the deal with stressors and learn age-appropriate skills. While there have been many studies to show the effects of IPV on the development of children, there have not been studies that show how IPV can affect children’s memory skills.
...nderwent a survey and 40.2% state their child or children have been exposed to domestic violence. (2011) The exposure has the power to immediately stop the child development and have a negative impact on his/her life. The most common type of domestic abuse towards children is done through physical abuse. The inner communities of Los Angeles are a good start to find children who are dealing with physical abuse. African American parents tend to physically discipline their children. By no means is disciplinary physical abuse legal anywhere in the United States. The abuse is considered to be domestic violence and the child can opt to call the police and move to a government placed home. In the world today, children will accept the abuse and never retaliate. The cycle of violence will never end if children continue to endure horrific childhood experiences.
Today, children are likely to experience or witness violence in the home. With domestic violence being the most frequent type of violent crime, a child's homes is no longer a safe haven. Statistics show that domestic violence is the major cause of injuries to women; their husbands or lovers kill one third of all women murdered in United States. Unfortunately, a number of these cases occur in the presence of children.
Most people in society are one sided when it comes to domestic violence. Most people automatically think domestic violence as men abusing women. Most people believe domestic violence is associated with gender. For instance, some people associate men with violent, destructive, and belligerent behavior. While women are often seen as innocent, fragile, and vulnerable. For many years men were the ones showing violent behavior, so most people believe men are usually the aggressor. Many people believe men should never abuse a woman, and if he does he will charged and most likely serve jail time. Although, women are not viewed the same way. Over the years women have become just as aggressive and violent as men have been portrayed. Many women who are violent are given a pass if they abuse a man. More simply, their behavior is overlooked, because they are not seen as a threat to society, so they will most likely not be jailed or punished for their behavior. In addition, there are many resources to help women get out of domestic violence situations. For instance, there are hotlines they can call, shelters they can visit, and support
Domestic abuse, also known as domestic violence, can occur between two people in an intimate relationship. The abuser is not always the man; it can also be the woman. Domestic abuse can happen between a woman and a man, a man and a man, or a woman and a woman. Domestic abuse shows no preference. If one partner feels abusive, it does not matter their sexual orientation, eventually the actions they are feeling will come out towards their partner.
Domestic violence affects a large amount of relationships in the United States each year. As the times have changed, abuse has become less accepted as a normal occurrence, and society has begun working together to provide awareness towards violence in intimate partner relationships. “Problems of family violence are potentially the most destructive in our society” (Kurland 23). Domestic violence is a problem that begins in the home, and spreads to affect the world around it. Violence is present in relationships of all demographics, be it race, sexual orientation, or social class. No one is entirely safe from experiencing abuse, but if society is taught to recognize the signs it can save a life or even prevent abuse from happening.
Domestic Violence and Abuse can be defined as threatening behavior or controlling behavior and violence of those over the age of 16 whom have been or who are an intimate partner or family member. The abuse can consist of: psychological, emotional, sexual, financial and physical. (GOV.UK, 2013).
“One woman is beaten by her husband or partner every 15 seconds in the United States” (Stewart & Croudep, 1998-2012). Domestic violence can interfere with the husband-wife relationship because one spouse is always in constant fear of the other. This violence could vary from physical abuse to ps...
When a child witnesses domestic abuse it can have many different effects on the child. From my research I found that one of the most common effects on the child were mental health problems. In one study, conducted in New Zealand, young people that reported high levels of exposure to inter-parental violence had elevated rates of mental health problems (Fergusson & Horwood, 1998, p.1). Some of the least severe mental health problems included anxiety, inability to focus, and nightmares (Brescoll & Graham-Bermann, 2000, p.2). But these problems, which appear to be less severe, can also be the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (Brescoll & Graham-Bermann, 2000, p.2). In a study conducted in 2001 the results indicated that higher levels of symptoms indicative of post traumatic stress were associated with children who have witnessed domestic violence (Hill & Nabors & Reynolds & Wallace & Weist, 2001, p.1). ?Children who have witnessed domestic violence are more likely to develop symptoms associated with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; that is, high levels of an...
Domestic violence is the willful intimidation of power and control by an intimate partner against another. It doesn’t always look the same because every relationship is different. It can happen to any sex, age, race, gender, or religion group. Abusive relationships come in different forms including physical abuse, sexual abuse and even emotional abuses, but in all cases you find one partner controlling another. It can result in physical injuries, emotional trauma and sometimes death. All of these can affect a victim’s life for a long period of time. There are many different signs of domestic violence and many people wonder why an abused victims stay with their partner.
Domestic violence is skyrocketing in our society. In the U.S., as many as 1.5 million women and 850,000 men were physically assaulted by their intimate partner last year, and numerous children abused by their parents. These sad criminal acts will continue to grow in our society, unless our community takes action to stop these crimes.