Domestic Violence Essay

2866 Words6 Pages

Domestic violence is an issue that many American women face everyday. However, those who are not exposed to it often do not have a clear understanding of the horrible, damaging effects it can have on a person. It is a hidden issue, one that occurs most frequently in the privacy of ones home. Often times those who are exposed to domestic violence are very reluctant to talk about it. Furthermore, in different states there are similar ways that women can protect themselves from their abusers through various legal processes. Domestic Violence is a severe issue affecting the young and the old in the United States because of the severe effects it has on a person, physically, emotionally, mentally as well as psychologically. Domestic violence has long been associated with divorce in the United States. Women who are abused in their marriages seek divorce as a final way of “getting out” from the abusive relationship. Going through a divorce is a lengthy process on its own, with the inclusion of domestic violence there is a large array of things that need to be looked at in order to conduct a divorce successfully, efficiently and safely for all parties involved. With that being said, divorce laws and procedures related to divorce cases are different in California in comparison to New York. This paper will analyze those differences and how they affect the abused women who are trying to achieve their divorces, what resources are available to them and the criminal procedures involved in prosecuting the abusers.
What is domestic violence? In the dictionary it is defined as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, child abuse or intimate partner violence (IPV), can be broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intima...

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...resources that are available to them. In California and New York, very similar laws and regulations have been established to help women in their divorces as well as seeking protection from their violent abusers. Self-help centers are created to assist battered women and help them establish themselves as full functioning individuals. Although the two states are on opposite sides of the United States, the approaches taken to protect women against domestic violence are in fact very similar with a few minor differences. N the criminal process, these acts of violence are not taken lightly in light of either state. It is important to understand the viable differences of the criminal process in the New York and California, but also to understand that their fundamental goal is to pursue domestic violence abusers to the full extent of the law.

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