INTRODUCTION
During the recent years, one of the most critical issues that have come to the limelight is of the domestic or family violence. According to Tually, Faulkner, Culter and Slater (2009), “Domestic and family violence is when someone intentionally uses violence, threats, force or intimidation to control or manipulate a family member, partner or former partner.” The basic characteristics of such kind of violence includes power imbalance where the abusive behavior is used by the perpetrator so that control is obtained on the victim through fear (Gelles, 1988). In 2009, the deputies of the sheriff discovered a 94-year old woman locked in a wooden shed without any cooling or running water. Her 59-years old son was arrested along with his wife for elder abuse. This is just a single case whereas; family violence is a highly prevalent issue in the United States of America. Every culture and country is witnessing family violence; all the people whether they belong to same or different socioeconomic and religious backgrounds are affected by this violence. Those women who possess fewer resources are a target; but those women who have perceived to be weak whether emotionally or physically are also at a greater risk (Hampton and Jenkins et al., 1996). Domestic violence is not only relation between the couple; the effect of the violence is also on other family members specially the children. Even if the children are not witnessing the violence within their family directly, they are being affected by it (Centerwall and S, 1995). This paper specially addresses the issue of violence within families; exploring the causes of this violence and the results with also some suggestions for prevention.
VIOLENCE AT HOME
We have always been taught that there is danger in coming near to a stereotypical stranger on the street or in the school yard who must be offering a candy to the children. As childhood passed, the danger resumed its place in the dark alleys, wrong crowd and strange cities where the strange men would be waiting to threaten or rape the victim. Violence in different forms leaves the citizens of America fearful today just because the crime rate has increased drastically. But the irony is that there has been an increase in the risk of personal attack because danger is present at the home; the stranger is no more the offender who would climb through the window; rather, it is the family members who are present right in front of your eyes. Even though this is a prevalent issue; very little attention has been given to it. One of the major reasons of this lack of attention is that there is a high tendency in the human beings to absorb outrageous violence for a longer period of time without complaining or seeking help. And to add to this, the issue is that most of people do not even realize that they are victims of violence and being abused in their homes.
Around one-third of the women in America report being abused both physically and sexually by their husband or boyfriend; in 1998, around one million child abuse cases were reported (Heaton and Forste, 2008). The social structure has taught us that family is the safest place where love is the main ingredient that combines its members. But this is not always the case; tensions and conflicts can affect the behavior of even the most loving humans causing them to behave inappropriately. Families tend to be violent due to many reasons which include:
- Structural factors: violence comes into families due to some structural factors including: when less time is being spent within the family, there is more opportunity for violence; if family members have high power differentials, the weak would be victimized; children are considered as subordinated to parents and wives to the husbands who must not fight back. The families get the protection from law and so violence becomes easier to hide in families (Jenkins, 1996).
- Family idealization: Perceiving the family as an ideal unit serves a major role in violent and abusive behavior; the ideal family unit as perceived includes some beliefs: the parents have more rights as compared to the children; parents must control the child development; members of family always decide best for the children and elderly parents; the traditional culture of the family is always right; and matters within the family are family secrets that must not be disclosed.
- Family norms: the norms of the family also contribute to some amount of aggression practiced in the family. Children who have seen aggressive behavior tend to accept this as a norm in the family and would feel justify when they deliver the same behavior towards their own children in the future (Margolin and Vickerman, 2011). Parents believe that it becomes necessary at times to physically punish a child so that discipline can be maintained; this would include spanking or even shutting in a room. It has been summarized by Bender et al. (2007), “Phoenix Children’s Hospital reported the following rates of physical punishments by parents: (a) nearly 66% of 1 and 2 years old, (b) 80% when they reach 5th grade, and (c) 85% by the time adolescents are in high school.”
- Level of social tolerance: it has been researched and identified that there is a major contribution of the society’s level of tolerance and acceptance towards the violence in families. When the society tolerates such a behavior, a spillover effect causes violence at home. Women are characterized as sex objects through their depiction in the video games and advertisements which raises their chances of being victimized; similar is how males are being depicted through the media as problematic (Leonard and Jacob, 1988). Even showing violence through the media contributes to social learning as they observe and learn accepting violence.
- Cultural factors: some of the cultures easily accept violence like the Arab world, where a husband has all the rights to be violent with an unfaithful wife. But violence in the United States seems to be due to the acceptance of the dominance of the males in the society (Levinson, 1989); this not only approves the family violence but is also being shown through the media.
DEMOGRAPHICS OF FAMILY VIOLENCE
Family violence is the most complex kind of violence because there is an intimate relationship present between the perpetrator and the victim which is otherwise perceived as a private matter that the law cannot address. It has been found by researchers that domestic violence has high prevalence among the young people as compared to the older ones. The couples below the age of 30 are affected by violence and in particular the young women (Linos and Kawachi, 2012). The National Crime Survey found that women below 20 were abused by formers spouse and the frequency decreases as the age increases (Margolin and Vickerman, 2011). The women who have either been divorced or separated have more evidence of being abused as compared to the married women. But another reason for this is that married women feel reluctant in accepting that they are being abused at home.
It has also been found that families with low socio-economic status are the victims of domestic/family violence; this also related to lower income, less education, and obviously an unsatisfactory occupation. Several studies even relate an inverse relation between family violence and educational qualifications (Centerwall and S, 1995). Some of the studies also show that the family violence is also higher among the people who have blue collar occupation as well as those who are unemployed. Though race and ethnic groups are not a good indicator of violence demographics in families; it has still been reported that in America, the family violence is reported as being higher among minorities. This has been contradicted by the report of the National Crime Survey which found that more white pregnant women are victims of family violence as compared to African-American women who are pregnant (Alhabib and Nur et al., 2010). But this has further been analyzed by Lockhart and identified that race and ethnicity are not independent determinants of family violence; rather it has been found that whites experience similar kind of violence as black women who belong to either the upper class or the lower class; but in the middle class, the black women are more prone to experience domestic violence (Lockhart, 1987).
Relationship has also been found between domestic violence and the substance use especially by the males; when the male partner is a regular alcohol consumer, there is more likelihood of family violence. Though alcohol use in women also leads to violence at home but there is no consistency in this finding. Researchers have found that alcoholism of the husband is a significant issue for the women who are abused. A study by Straus and Gelles found that in 76% of the cases, alcohol was not involved at all; 50% of the women belonging to Texas reported being assaulted when the husband was drunk (Straus and Gelles et al., 1990). Leonard concluded recently that despite the methodological limitations in the studies that inquire association of alcohol to family violence, the findings “strongly suggest that alcoholism and acute alcohol consumptionare related to marital violence. The research indicates that a high percentage of those who engage in marital violence are alcoholics or at least very heavy drinkers, and that the marital violence is often associated with alcohol consumption.” (Leonard and Jacob, 1988).
PREVENTING FAMILY VIOLENCE
In order to prevent violence in families, the most important role is played by family members and the wider community; the reason is that they are being directly affected by this violence. It has been found that the victims first of all seek help from their close ones as compared to the professional providers of service. Further, the members of the community are aware of the need of the family and also which values and traditions can be used to stop violence. In order to prevent family violence, five steps can be taken which are also interlinked with each other:
- Raising awareness regarding the issue of violence in families so that people can identify it as an unacceptable act and not a private matter; by educating the people, there are more chances of reaching those families who do not seek help. Further it changes the norms as people begin viewing it as a cruel act.
- Residents of the community should be connects with the services; all those who have been abused in a form or another must step forward to help others experiencing violence at home. This leads to the creation of access points where the members can easily find people to connect with.
- The next step is to change the conditions of the community and the society overall; it is important that the members of the community should engage in changing those factors that lead to violence while also helping those in need.
- It is imperative to create networks in the community for the leaders; this means identifying and developing those individuals who have leadership skills to raise awareness regarding the domestic violence. These leaders also play a critical role in mobilizing the public regarding the violence, and then engaging in actions which would eventually eliminate violence from the community. This step is necessary for the sustainability of the efforts in the community.
- In order to make the change permanent, it is important that state agencies should be involved; after involving the communities, efforts should be coordinated towards making the state agencies mobilized.
CONCLUSION
Family violence is a constant feature that is present all around the globe but the percentage of domestic violence is high among intimate partners in particular. There are different variables that contribute to violence at home; the most critical factors that have been identified include the norms of the family, cultural acceptance, and lower socio-economic status. Violence in families is not a private issue that must not be disclosed to maintain the honor of the family; this is an epidemic disease that needs to be eliminated. In order to prevent family violence, it is important that community engagement is encouraged so that awareness is raised regarding the problem and the victimized could be helped out. The capacity of the individuals needs to be building so that they can easily intervene in the issues of violence. Until and unless the social acceptance of the family violence is not eliminated, the problem cannot be solved; by raising the awareness of this cruel act, the public is taught to identify the abuse and fight for their rights.
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