Essay On Domestic Violence Crisis Intervention

Substance abuse has no causal link with domestic violence, but there is a complex statistical correlation between the two. Domestic violence is referred to as the intentional psychological, emotional, sexual and physical use of force by a partner or a family member to control another. Sometimes these acts become so violent that the abused can suffer verbal, emotional and physical intimidation which is so demining and hard to take from the loved ones. Additionally, the offender can go to the extent of destroying the victim’s possessions, or use threats, stabbing and to a serious extent kill the partner or the family member. Usually, domestic violence can be targeted to parents, children, spouse, intimate partner, step parents and the elderly relatives. On the other hand, substance abuse has been defined as the patterned use of amounts of a substance or drug using methods that are not acceptable or those that are not allowed by the medical professionals.
A study conducted by the United States Department of Justice revealed that of the people who have been accused and convicted of murdering their partners, more than half at one point or the other has been drinking alcohol. Further studies on the substance abuse have indicated that the violence can be controlled and prevented by either of the spouse or the family member. But in cases where woman has been established to be a victim of alcohol, 51% of the domestic violence cases have not been resolved. This study also indicated that women drinking alcohol can be a barrier to living a violence free relationship. Additionally, risks of intimate spouse’s violence are increased by 87% in cases where both the spouses are abusing substance, alcohol or drug. A similar study conducted in 2002, ascertained that of the people in domestic violence programs, 36% had problems with substance abuse. As much as the findings points out that substance abuse occur together with the domestic violence, there is no study which has established with clear evidence that the two have got a causal relationship. In fact some studies have shown that couples and family members shouldn’t be cheated that treating alcoholism in an individual will be a cure for the abusive behavior. Other studies have also indicated that women who have been violated at home are 15 times at risk of alcoholism and 9 times more likely than the women who have not been abused to involve in drug use.
Some studies have also indicated that frequent alcohol abuse is actually the main ingredient fuelling partner violence. These studies have further stated that domestic violence which are coupled with alcohol and substance abuse are more severe and usually lead to extensive injury and sometimes death. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, nearly 61% of the people who are found of abusing their partners and family have got substance abuse problems. Furthermore, the department established that when a woman in a family is guilty of abusing substance or alcohol, the abusive partner always take cover with substance abuse as the reason for battering the partner in the name of controlling the victim when they are drunk. Also, men who are fond of beating their wives frequently participate in alcohol abuse so that they justify their acts on being drunk. These men after gaining their stability and soberness they usually try to rid off the responsibility by putting the blame of abusing the partner on the effects resulting from alcohol.
Additional studies on children who have run away from the abusive families have established that these children are more likely to abuse substance since when they leave their homes; they just want something to quill their anger which they sometimes think is in alcohol. In addition, children who have experienced any form of domestic violence are more likely to abuse alcohol or substance once they mature to adults more than their counterparts. Additionally, children in families where the parents are abusing drugs are at greater risk of being emotionally, physically and sexually abused than those children in families where drug has never been abused. From these studies it is evident that there are no causal link between substance abuse and domestic violence, however, the two should be dealt away with in substance and domestic abuse treatment programs for success of the programs since there is statistical correlation between the two.