Domestic Violence
Domestic violence refers to the pattern of behaviors that involve the abuse from one partner to another with whom there is an intimate relationship such as cohabitation, marriage, dating as well as in a family. It is a pattern of behaviors that happen in a relationship and is used by a partner to maintain or gain power or control over the other partner. The violence may either be sexual, physical, emotional, psychological, economic or even threats through actions that may influence another individual. These actions include those behaviors that intimidate, frighten, terrorize, manipulate, hurt, blame, injure, humiliate or wound an individual. It is possible for domestic violence to happen to any person irrespective of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or age (National Domestic Violence, 2013).
There are outstanding statistics concerning domestic violence. In every 9 seconds, there is a woman who is either assaulted or beaten in the United States. Worldwide, one woman in three has been, coerced into sex, beaten, or abused in her lifetime. The offender in such a case is usually a family member. Domestic violence is usually the number one cause of injury to women and more than 10 million children in every year witness any form of domestic violence. Most men who witnessed domestic violence in their family as kids are twice more likely to be abusers of their own wives than those from the men from nonviolent parents (Domestic Violence Statistics, 2013).
In most cases, domestic violence that happens between intimate partners often takes place as a way of having control over the other partner although this form of domestic violence is not the most common. There are many kinds of violence between intimate partners, and this includes violence between lesbians and gay couples as well as violence to men by their female partners (Johnson & Ferraro, 2000). The violence that occurs in intimate partners may be classified into four major types depending on the motivation by the offender and social and cultural context. These types are common couple violence, intimate terrorism, violence resistance as well as mutual violent control. Common couple violence is the violence that is not linked to the general control behavior and arises from an argument resulting in one or the two partners lashing out physically at the other. Intimate terrorism form of violence occurs when one partner takes control over the other and is less common and more likely to become greater than the common couple violence. This kind of disorder is more likely to result in serious injuries (Follingstad, Rutledge, Berg, Hause, & Polek, 1990).
Violent resistance is the other kind of domestic violence and is mainly thought to occur as a result of self-defense. It is the violence that is violence committed by the victims against their partners. The other kind of domestic violence is the mutual violent control, which is a rare kind of violence between intimate partners. It occurs when the two partners behave in a violent manner as they fight for control (Johnson & Ferraro, 2000).
In cases where domestic violence involves physical abuse, the form of abuse may involve contacts that are done with an intention to cause intimidation, injury, pain feelings as well as other bodily harm or physical suffering. Actions such as pushing, slapping, hitting, choking, slapping, punching, and burning that may cause physical harm to the victim are usually considered as forms of physical abuse. Physical abuse may also involve acts such as denying an individual to receive treatment when they need or preventing an individual to access sleep or other necessities in life. It may also involve the use of force to have the victims engage in drug abuse against their will. Other actions such as causing physical injury to victim’s belonging such as children or pet with an aim of causing physical damage to the victim are also classified as physical abuse (AzCADV, 2013).
Sexual abuse is said to occur when threats or force is applied in order to force someone participate in sexual activities unwillingly. When a person coerces another person to bet into sexual activities unwillingly, even in situations where both had had consensual sex, is also taken to be an act of violence and aggression. The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined sexual abuse as any attempt to get a sexual act, comment, traffic, or in any other way that it may be directed against the sexuality of a person using coercion, by any individual regardless of the relationship that exists between the victim and the offender (Krug, Dahlberg, Mercy, Zwi, & Lozano, 2002). Sexual abuse may be categorized as the use of physical force in compelling an individual, against their will, to be involved in a sexual act against even if the act was not complete. It may be categorized as any attempt to be involved in a sexual act that involves an individual who is not able to comprehend the condition or nature of the act due to conditions such as illness, immaturity, disability, or even under the influence of drugs such as alcohol.
Marital rape, which is also called to as spousal rape, refers to the non-consensual sex where the victim is the perpetrator's spouse. Marital rape mainly happens when one partner is forced to be involved in a certain sexual act without the consent of the other partner. It is an abuse of power where the perpetrator attempts to have dominance or control over the other partner. Marital rape is sometimes equal to rape that is committed by a stranger in terms of physical and emotional trauma caused. The abuse had been ignored in many states by law but is currently being criminalized all over the world (RAINN, 2009).
Emotional abuse, which is also referred to as psychological or mental abuse, includes the humiliation of an individual publicly or privately, having control over what a person can or cannot do, withholding information, money or other basic needs, separating an individual from their family, or doing something to embarrass a person publically. Any form of degradation may also be considered to be psychological abuse. Emotional abuse may also include verbal abuse where an individual is either threatened, intimidated, or undermined using a word of mouth. Emotional abuse may take a form of threats of harm or injury, name-calling, or use of statements that threaten self-esteem of an individual (University of Illinois, 2007).
Emotional abuse may include isolating an individual forcefully or preventing the victim from contacting either a friend or family member. This is mainly done with an intention to eliminate people who may be of help to the victim, and this causes the victim leave either the relationship or in a situation where they have no resources that they can rely on if they are left alone. Such isolation may result in damaging the sense of having a strong internal strength and may cause the victim to feel helpless and thus not able to run away from the situation (University of Illinois, 2007). Most people who go through emotional abuse end up suffering from depression and this put them in a greater risk of having eating disorders, suicide and drug abuse (Butter, 2006).
One of the major forms of emotionally behaviors that are abusive is the verbal abuse, which involves using language to abuse people or offering threats. Verbal abuse may be characterized by actions such as blaming, name-calling, ridicule, criticism, and disrespect, although less aggressive verbal abuses are also present. Some of the statements that may be seen as having no big impact on the surface may be a source of humiliation, manipulation or even false accusations. Although oral communication is the most common form of verbal abuse, written communications are also termed as verbal abuse (University of Illinois, 2007).
The other form of abuse is the economic abuse. This is the abuse that occurs when an intimate partner seeks control over access to economic resources of the other partner. It may involve denying a partner resource acquisition, putting a limit on the amount of resources that a spouse can use or even exploited economic resources that belong to the other partner. The main aim in preventing a partner from having economic resources is to deny the partner a proper the capacity to have a self support and thus forcing them to be financially dependent on the perpetuator. This may include preventing the victim to have proper access to education, employment, advancing careers or even from acquiring assets. Additionally, the abusers have been reported to give the victims an allowance to closely monitor the spending habit of the victim, spend victim’s money with not proper permission or in order to limit the victim’s financial support (Adams, Sullivan, Bybee, & Greeson, 2008).
Domestic violence may be caused by various causes such as psychological theories, and social theories. The violence may begin when the perpetrator may start feeling the need to have control and dominate the other partner. The need to control a partner may be caused by low self-esteem, jealousy, failure to regulate anger or other emotions or when the offender feels inferior to their partner either in terms of education or socioeconomic status. Some of the men who hold traditional beliefs may think that women are not equal to men, and thus they have the right to control them. The domination of men over women may then take the shape of emotional, sexual or physical abuse. Violent behaviors are usually as a result of an interaction of individual and situational factors. This means that the abuser learns these behaviors from people in their family or community as they grow. This is as a result of social learning theory where people learn through modeling and observing the way other people behave. Those who observe domestic violence are also at a high level of being involved in domestic violence (Goldsmith, 2013).
Biological factors have also been described as contributors in causing domestic violence. These factors are brain dysfunction, as well as genetic factors. The psychological theories usually focus on mental characteristics and personality traits of the offender. Some of the personality traits include poor control of impulses and sudden anger burst. Having a mental condition may also be a cause for domestic violence. Conditions such as passive-aggression, paranoia, and schizophrenia are some of the disorders that may result in domestic violence.
Various incidents of domestic violence take place as a result of jealousy due to suspicion of unfaithfulness by the other partner. Jealousy is also seen witnessed in cases where one partner is performing better than the other. In other cases, jealousy is used as a reason for domestic violence although it is just an excuse to exert control over their partners.
Behavioral theories look at the behaviors that cause the offender to be involved in domestic violence. Social theories focus on the environmental factors like stress, family structures, social setup as well as rational choice theories. These environmental factors are in most cases not the real cause of domestic violence but rather the fueling factors to look for control over a partner. Women who depend mainly on their spouses for their economic well being have a fear of undergoing a heavy financial burden if they leave a man who is abusing them.
Incidents of stress may be also increased when an individual is in a family situation that has an increased pressure due to issues such as inadequate finances. People may result into violence as a way of responding to stress that is affecting the family. Most families that are living in poverty are in a greater danger of experiencing domestic violence as a result of high stress levels and conflicts due to financial constrain among other issues.
Domestic violence has numerous effects both on those directly involved in the violence as well as those witnessing violence. More than three million children witness incidents of domestic violence every year in the United States. Most children who are exposed to issues of domestic violence when they are growing up usually suffer in their psychological, as well as developmental welfare. Domestic violence has also been shown to have an impact in the social, emotional, behavioral and cognitive development of children (Lazenbatt & Thompson‐Cree, 2009).
Some of the behavioral as well as emotional problems that may affect children who exposed to domestic violence include increased level of anxiety, aggressiveness, as well as the manner in which a child socializes with the members of family, friends, and authorities. This is then followed by loss of self-esteem and experience of trauma. The child may have a problem learning important skills such as problem solving due to issues such as cognition and attitude in schools. There has been a strong correlation between neglect and abuse experience during childhood and committing domestic violence, as well as sexual abuse when the child grows up (Dodd, 2009). Other people may abuse their partner in front of their children in order to have a ripple effect where the victims are two. Most of these children who witness domestic abuse end up having symptoms similar to those of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Psychologically, victims who are still experiencing domestic violence may experience high levels of fear, stress as well as anxiety. Other common effects are depression, increased risks of committing suicide and the victim goes through an intense criticism. There may be cases of panic and other symptoms that are associated with PTSD. These symptoms are intrusive images, flashbacks, nightmares, as well as avoidance of incidents that may remind the victim about the abuse. Most of these symptoms occur for a lengthy duration of time after the victim has moved away from the dangerous situation. The incidents of PTSD have been described to be the best diagnostic method for individuals who may be enduring psychological effects resulting from domestic violence (Psych Central, 2006).
Physical effects of domestic abuse to on the victim include broken bones, injuries in the head, lacerations, bruises, as well as internal injuries. These injuries may require the victim to seek medical attention. There are other chronic conditions that have been associated with domestic violence. These include irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis, pelvic pain, chronic pain, ulcers as well as migraines. There are greater risks of having miscarriage, fetus injury or death when pregnant individuals are involved in a domestic violence (Psych Central, 2006).
Victims of domestic violence experience serious problems with finances as a result of the economic abuse and isolation that they have gone through. The victims have very little money that they can use, and they have few people with whom they can share their problems. Financial problem has thus been indicated as the major issue that affects domestic violence victims. Financial constraint has also been indicated as the main obstacle that prevents the victims from moving away from the perpetrators (The Advocates for Human Rights, 2006). Lack of education, skills and training hinder the victims from getting a meaningful job to sustain them financially.
Those who respond to the cry of the domestic violence victims have a chance of having a vicarious trauma. This is due to the intensity and gravity of listening to the stories being told by the victims of domestic violence. Most of the responders are professionals such as the police, social workers, therapists, advocates, as well as medical professionals. The vicarious or secondary trauma causes the responder to experience trauma symptoms that are similar to those shown by the victims. These symptoms include hyper vigilance, nightmares, signs of startle response that is exaggerated, and intrusive thoughts (Iliffe & Steed, 2000).
Although the clinicians are well trained on the skills that are necessary in handling domestic violence victims, they too are in danger of been affected by the emotional impact that is mainly brought about by the hearing the experience that domestic violence victims go through. The clinicians may lose their confidence in the ability that they have to offer help to their clients. Dealing with a big number of victims may cause clinicians to have a different view on the world’s perception and may begin to question the basic goodness that may be seen in other individuals. The experience may result in the clinicians losing their trust for others. There is thus need for clinicians to engage in proper self-care practices such as relaxation techniques, exercise, debriefing as well as support from their supervisor in order to avoid the secondary trauma (Iliffe & Steed, 2000).
The attendant of victims of domestic violence may also experience burnout, where they feel emotionally exhausted as a result of the excessive demand on strength, energy, and other personal resources. The signs of burnout may include headache, reduced immunity, fatigue, as well as irritability. Once a clinician has gone through burnout, it may be impossible to retain client’s interest, lack empathy and compassion on the client and feel aversion on the client. It is very risky for the victims to be re-victimized when they see the clinician is working on them going through secondary trauma.
In conclusion, domestic violence is one of the pressing issues in many societies. The incidents happen mainly between people who are close to one another such as spouses, or between parent and their children. There are many causes of domestic violence and the effects of violence to the victims as well as the responders are numerous.
Reference List
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