My Personal Experience With Family Violence

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Introduction: On an average day in the United States there are about 20,000 phone calls placed to domestic violence hotlines (2013). Domestic violence relates to family violence, which refers to the physical, sexual, or emotional violence that occurs inside of a family. Child abuse, intimate partner violence, sibling abuse, parental abuse, and elder abuse are examples of family violence. Family violence can occur in any household regardless of social status, race, and religion, as well as having harsh consequences. I, myself, have been subjected and a witness to family violence. The violence in my personal experience included sibling and parental violence. The violence escalated over time and eventually came to a halt. There are different …show more content…

However, this is not true. Anyone can be an offender or victim. Also, there is a wide variety of violence that can occur in a family including physical, sexual, and psychological.
My experience with family violence: My personal experience with family violence began when I was around 9-years-old. I was subjected to sibling violence. Sibling violence may be the most common form of family violence (Rev et al., 2014). Sibling violence can be defined as having strong elements of violence and a cycle of violent behavior (Gosselin, 2014, p.150). My parents and I were the victims, while my brother, who was 17-years-old at the time, was the offender. My brother began to workout a lot, and started to take a lot of different substances for muscle building. Around this time he slowly began to always get angry with my parents and I. I would come home from soccer practice some afternoons and he would say rude things to me for no reason, such as “you’re so fat” or “mom and dad hate you”. The rude comments escalated over time when my brother would start to threaten me. My brother would begin to push me …show more content…

This could be a common belief due to economical statistics involving those who experience domestic violence. For example, it is estimated that 20-60% of people lost their job due to domestic violence, causing them to have lower incomes (Rothman, Hathaway, Stidsen, & Vries, 2007). It might also be a common belief due to many victims of domestic violence not being able to get an education, because their abuser will not let them, causing them to lack education. Contrary to stereotypes, abuse happens in every type of family. I came from a middle class family and was subjected to family violence. Which does not fit the common belief of family violence, but shows that anyone can be subjected to family

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