Domestic Violence: Prevalence and Trends - Essay Example

?Domestic Violence: Prevalence and Trends Introduction There is a continuing debate on the causes and consequences of ‘domestic violence’. The level of such practices and changes in these trends has been identified and describes by various research and governmental organizations. The differences in the analysis and study of domestic violence are greatly dependent on how the researching entity defines this concept. The term domestic violence consists of two broader terms ‘domestic’ and ‘violence’. The research results are, hence, dependent on what is counted as ‘domestic’ and how they identify certain acts as ‘violence’. The term ‘domestic’ can comprise of a number of relationships and it is evident that the wider is the range of relationships included in its definition the higher are the result of domestic violence research. The term domestic is defined as the people living in a single household by some authorities like Police departments. This definition includes the relationships between siblings, parents and children, married couples and so on. The other school of thought classifies relationships as domestic which exist between intimate couples only. This definition may involve the relationships that exist between couples at early stages of their relationship when misunderstanding and violent situations occur due to inappropriate or insufficient knowledge about each other. Violence, in the same manner, ha a number of possible definitions and the scope of its definitions differ greatly from person to person and organization to organization. The research data available, keeping this view in mind, may differ significantly. Some researchers believe that any kind of physical and attempted assault is termed as violence regardless of the causes and reasons of it. Whereas, others believe that the acts with an intention of the person to harm are termed as violent (Gelles, 1997). It should also be noted that violence is not associated with the physical assault only. The psychological distress, bullying, emotional abuse and other such activities which harm the individuals’ mental and psychological state are also termed as violent. Such acts cause a great harm to the individuals but the effects are usually not visible (Straus and Sweet, 1992). Reasons of Domestic Violence The main reason behind the increasing trends of domestic violence is that people follow the generational cycle of domestic violence and are exposed to these instances in every phase of their life. The acceptability of this trend and the gender bias form the foundations of such behaviors. Family environment, low self-esteem and substance abuse are found to be the sources of encouraging domestic violence and aggressive behaviors. Media plays an important role in our lives today. The new trend on the popular media of portraying murders and sexual harassment has created another major area for the concerned people to research, analyze and take necessary steps to stop the harmful effects. More and more people are now exposed to murders, aggressive behaviours and rape scenes via media. This heavy exposure has led to the visibility of these crimes to a large public which was never apparent to them in past and especially in their routine life. This heavy exposure to rape scenes and sexual harassments are creating new difficulties in the form of increased sexual violence. The use of violent exposure, blood, aggression and sexual harassment has been increased in the music videos, movies, dramas and so on. The media, in this context, is harming the psychological wellbeing of people. In order to understand the effect of this sexual exposure and sexual violence against women a number of studies have been carried out. For instance, a study reveals that college men’s perceptions and beliefs are strengthened as they learn from the sexually unrestrained magazines that women tend to get pleasure from forced sex (Malamuth & Check, 1985). Check (1984) studies the behaviours and attitudes of Canadian male samples frequently exposed to pornographic media and conclude that such exposure leads to greater approval of violence against women. In order to understand the consequences of rape and sexual portrayal on the perception of people a number of experimental studies have been carried out. Malamuth and Check (1980) reveal that the sample of men who were shown positively perceived rapes of women (i.e. when women were sexually excited) considered rape as a less violent act than those who were exposed to negative consequences of rape scene. In movies like ‘Swept Away’ women are depicted as not being intensely affected by the violent male behaviours and rapes. Hence, it is not baseless to believe that such exposure of women in the mass media is affecting people’s perceptions and behaviours. The violent nature and aggressiveness associated with rapes is being miscalculated. Other factors which encourage violence and aggression against women include exposure to domestic violence in childhood, knowledge about these in the early ages of life, drugs, tension, depression and life problems like unemployment, financial crisis etc. Prevalence of Domestic Violence Interpersonal violence is common among the larger population due to the experience of it in one or the other way by more than 36 percent of the population researched. It is, however, observed that women are more likely to experience domestic violence than the male counterparts. The British Crime Survey (2001) provides that approximately 45% of females and 26% of male between the age 16 and 59 are being faced with the interpersonal violence incidents in their lifespan. This estimation incorporates the respondents’ exposure to any sexual assault and stalking during their lifetime. In addition, 24% females as compared to only 5% male were found to have sexual assault experience at least once in their lifespan. Women were found to have experience of severe sexual assaults with 7% reporting such incidents. Out of this 7%, 5% females reported raping incidents and the remaining 3% reported other types of severe sexual assaults including penetration of the body no less than once in their lives. Male respondents, showed considerably lower results about rape incidents i.e. 0.9% and those who have encountered some serious sexual assault totaled 1.5% (Mirrlees-Black 1998). The British Crime Survey reveals that an estimate amount of one-fourth women and approximately 17% of men over the age of 16 have encountered non-sexual domestic abuse once in their lives. The non-sexual abuse or violence includes force, threat or emotional distress cases which form a major part of the domestic violence discussion. In addition, 19% of female respondents and 12% of male respondents reported stalking or harassment faced at least once in their life. The British Crime Survey further extends the scope of research by carrying out a research on the prevalence of domestic abuse for a period of 12 months before the interview. The results for their lifespan since the age of 16 and the results for the prior year’s exposure to domestic violence differ significantly. The research reveals that an estimation of 13% females compared to 9% male reflect on having some kind of interpersonal abuse in the 12 months period prior to the interview. The expansion of this data reveals that approximately 6% of females reported to face nonsexual abuse, 2% reported mild or average intensity sexual assault and ?% informed about severe sexual assault cases. On the other hand, men reported lesser instances of nonsexual abuse i.e. at 5%. Men also reported 0.2 percent of sexual abuse regardless of the severity and 6% reveal stalking instances (Mirrlees-Black 1998). Comparing the results reported by respondents on the last year experiences of this sort with that of their lifespan since 16 require concentration. The reasons behind the differences that exist are mainly due to the time period under review. A year of their life is a considerably shorter time period and the data reported on the two time periods are not comparable for this reason. The memorization and recalling habits of respondents are also a notable factor here. The differences may occur due to poor memory or recalling skills. The respondents may not be able to bring back such incidents in their memory since 16, however, they may be able to identify and explain the last year’s experiences. These differences may also be a result of the change in domestic violence instances since 16 years of their lives till now. These changes may involve better laws created and implemented to discourage domestic violence, education and proper information with the individuals to tackle with the violent behaviors they face. In other words, we can say that there are numerous reasons for this change and no single reason can be blamed completely for this changed result. The UK Statistics Authority (2009) proposed that there is evidence available which suggest that the majority of the women are victims of the male abusers. This illustrates the fact that women are more prone to the violent acts then men. The violence against women is majorly due to abusers of opposite gender. In contrast to this proposition the National Statistics on domestic violence as exposed by Home Office Statistical Bulletin 2007/08 reveals that approximately 40 percent of the victims in domestic violence instances are men. This Bulletin further expands the discussion by categorizing the victims as per their ages and provide statistical data on people’s exposure to violence and its experience between the age 16 and 59. This expanded text provides that although the number of female victims is higher, the proportion of male victims is also alarming. The Bulletin reports that 57 percent of women experienced some kind of domestic abuse in their lifetime. 43% male victims propose a relatively lesser amount yet it poses as a threat for the society. In case of intimate relationships, 45% men are victimized and 55% women respondents are observed. The ‘any family abuse’ category divides the male and female victims with 38% and 62% respectively (Jowell 2009). The Bulletin further reports on the adult victims to measure the prevalence in the violence cases. The people aged between 16 and 59 are examined to assess the situation. This report suggests that females are highly probable to experience intimate violence as compared to males. The statistics further illuminate that women are victimized most of the times; however, the figures gathered for male counterparts are also significant. The report reveals that 3 out of 10 women, aged over 16, experience some kind of domestic violence. On the other hand, two out of 10 men of the same minimum age are expected to have such experiences in their lives (Walby & Allen 2004). Comprising the results of the Bulletin, it can be said that altogether 6% of women are victimized as compared to 4.5% of men. The extent of the Problem The issue of domestic violence has been a point of discussion for years now. The scope and extent of the problem is, however, rarely taken into account. The crime Surveys, for instance, are more inclined towards measuring the results of domestic violence in the current or the last year. The extent of domestic violence and the scope of it through the lifecycle of a person remain unknown. The studies involved in this research paper are, hence, gathered for the lifespan or the major portion of the responders’ life. The extent of domestic violence is not concentrated to a single gender, age group, relationship, ethnic group or some other stereotypical category but it is present in one form or the other in the lives of common people. The term domestic violence incorporates every offensive or aggressive behavior which harms or may harm a person physically or mentally. The non-sexual violence forms a major part of this generational trend of domestic violence (Mildorf 2009: 65). Considering age as a factor to understand the extent of domestic violence provide remarkable results. The people over the age of 16 till 59 are studied in the British Crime Surveys and the results show a wide exposure of violence in their lives. The gender based study of the extent of this problem reveals that women are the most affected group of domestic violence. The study is more concentrated on noticing the trends that exist between female and male genders. The differences are studied and the results show noticeable experience instances in female respondents as compared to men. The concentration of mostly studies to prior year’s experience limits the scope of the study. Firstly it limits the comparability of last year’s results to the accumulated results of previous studies and secondly it ignores the previous exposure and experiences of domestic violence which may be intense enough to affect the personality, health and psychological state of a person. Hence, the extent of this issue and the affects it makes on people cannot be studied in an appropriate manner until people’s lifespan experiences are recorded and incorporated in the research. From the research conducted so far, however, it is affirmed that domestic violence is prevalent and increasing in the UK with a pace which is alarming for the society as a whole. Keeping the impacts of domestic violence in view, it can be said that it affects the overall health, development and psychological wellbeing of a person. The behavior and cognitive abilities of a person are also affected by sexual or non-sexual harassment (Matthews 2004). The effects of domestic violence extend to the whole life of people in one way or the other. Discussion and Conclusion The causes of domestic violence are discussed in brief; however, the most common reasons are included in this research. The causes of domestic violence need to be controlled in order to limit its prevalence in the UK and in other countries. This research mainly focuses on the trends of such instances in the UK and provides an analysis on how different genders and different age groups are experiencing these. The statistical data of 2001 reveals the prevalence and victimization of women as higher than men. The recent research (i.e. of 2009) on the same subject matter reveals similar results. Women are more prone to such instances than men. The researches which are included in this research paper reveal that there is no considerable difference in domestic violence experiences of women and men. Women are still facing more difficulties and consequences due to domestic violence. However, a considerable increase in the domestic violence instances faced by male respondents has been found. In the previous years, male respondents showed around 26% results when asked about their experiences of domestic violence. However, the more recent study by The UK Statistics Authority reveals that 47% of male victims are found in the survey. Previous studies were more inclined towards studying the impacts and trends in domestic violence as it affects women. The questionnaires and survey reports kept this phenomenon in view that women are more affected. This phenomenon or estimation was not incorrect; however, this approach might have underestimated the statistics about men facing the same instances. The recent studies, however, keep both genders in equally important positions when dealing with research on domestic violence or any other abuse. This might be the reason for such differences in the results about men. The discussion about domestic violence is important for the society and the residents. The increasing emphasis is due to the consequences of such incidents over the entire life of a victim. The research does not incorporate any detailed analysis of how such cases affect the individuals or their families or the whole society, yet some information is presented to support the claims about its dangers. There is a need to improve the situation and resolve the prevalence issues. In order to do so, the government, individuals, private entities and the whole population should be included in the programs which are designed to curb this issue. The unified struggle to combat this issue is required (Summers & Hoffman 2002: 36). Different programs, laws, educational and awareness campaigns like ‘zero tolerance’ may be helpful in education people about domestic violence and its negative consequences. The laws should be designed keeping victims and their adversity into consideration. These laws should be implemented and enforced completely and to every individual in order to reduce the increasing trends of domestic violence. The educational campaigns as well as inclusion of this field in the curriculums of high school and graduate level academic degrees may help in developing awareness among children. In conclusion, we can say that domestic violence is a threat to personal development, psychological state and health of people. It is increasing in today’s society and needs to be addressed and resolved. It requires closer attention and more struggles from the government and non-governmental organizations to protect both men and women from the harms. The resistance to violence, reluctance on exposing their experiences and fear of repetitive instances are acting as hurdles to the researches carried out in learning about domestic violence and its changing trends. There is a need to provide victims with protection, security and rehabilitation facilities from the trauma of such violent acts. The increasing trends of domestic violence, direct towards an increased threat of its prevalence in the long run. 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