Definition of Domestic Violence - Essay Example

number Domestic Violence Introduction Domestic violence is a complex and distinct violence. The relationship that binds the perpetrator and the victim were intimately and historically referred to as private, which makes it beyond the reach of law. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines domestic violence as “any acts of exacting physical harm by a household or family member on another, can also refer to frequent or routine pattern of such behavior” (Merriam-Webster). Domestic violence over the years widely associates with serious public health problems. In recent times, reports show a wide estimate in their prevalence. In the US, it is affecting over 22% of the American women through their lifetime. Men are also falling subject to domestic violence however; in most cases, it is usually situational couple violence, therefore, likely to be physically unhurt. The following essay looks at the domestic violence situation to find out how wide spread the violence is in United States. It also looks at the current laws and initiatives put in place to counter the situation. Literature review One agreed upon definition of domestic violence are the willful intimidation, sexual assault, battery, physical assault or any other abusive behavior towards one partner by the other. Domestic violence in most cases leads to cases of psychological trauma, physical injury, and sometimes-even death. It is a fact that those women who are against violence in most cases they are often accompanied by controller comportment and emotionally abusive, which results to a systematic form of control and governance (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence 1). The NCADV fact sheet also contains a brief overview of the degree of domestic violence in the country. It states that statistically in every four women one is likely to experience or become a victim of domestic violence through her lifetime. An estimation of around 1.3 million women is routinely becoming victims of assault in each passing year. Women are the most affected with statistics showing about 85% are women; this is in line with historical view of women being a victim of abuse by someone they know and trust. The NCADV also maintains that the risk for nonfatal close partner violence increases for women in the 20-24 year bracket. The report also supports the argument that the cases of this abuse rarely goes to the police (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence 2). The US office of Justice is also concerned with the rise of unreported instances of domestic violence in the United States. Therefore, the department conducted various public researches on domestic violence and compiled a specific report on their findings in June 2009. The overview of the report starts with a statistical indication that between the periods of 1993 to 2005 the average rate of domestic violence per 1000 persons is 2.1 for men and 5.9 for women (Klein 1). According to the victims, the report narrates that a third of the victims reported actual physical abuse. Two thirds are those that are subject to threats by a physical attack or death. The rate of injury according to the study was over a half of the women victims. Most had mild injury marks with another percentage of about 4.5% having serious bodily harm. A percentage of about three faced sexual assault. The report also showed that women who had separated from the spouse faced a high chance of physical abuse than those who were still in their marriages. When it comes to reporting the cases and police arrest the reports shows that: a large proportion of the abuse victims tends to deny abuse contrary to the police findings and documentation. The research found that, around 29 per cent of the victims claim, there was no assault, however ironically the suspects in most situations admit to the offence with a disparity of 19 per cent (Klein, 5). According to a preliminary report by Manjoo for the U.N. special rapporteur on domestic violence against women, the poor minority together with immigrant women are among those requiring most government support (Manjoo 5). These groups are lowly underserved which requires an effective and greater need for the government to respond. The government can start by responding to the large part of the many minority and immigrant women to matters such as social, financial, and familial isolation of these women. The report states that, in a nationwide survey, black women reports to the police were highest at 67% than that for the white women, which was at 50%. Black men on the other side stood at 48% and for white men at 45%. The African American women, at 16% account for reports on physical abuse by either a husband or partner during the last five years. However, the saddening fact is that in more than 53% of violent deaths in 1997 were African American women (Manjoo 6). The same report states that, on a recent study, 51% of New York City’s intimate partner homicides were foreign-born victims. Another study results put the percentage at 48% for Latinas that were reporting their partners’ increase in violence against them attributing to their immigration to the United States. A study by Wilt and Olson (1996) analyze several studies to identify the relationship between substance abuse and the frequency of domestic violence. The study shows that frequent alcohol use by the male spouse leads to higher chances of violence in a home. Although inconsistent, use of alcohol by the woman also increases the chances of a domestic violence but varies across subgroups (Wilt and Olson 81). One of the studies analyzed results indicated that husband’s alcoholism was a serious problem. The problem was worse to abused women that were under psychological treatment unlike for women in conjoint treatment. While these studies focus on the patterns of alcohol use others associate the violent incident with the alcohol intake at that moment. The results vary with various researchers for instance in a study by Straus and Gelles (1990), 76% of the domestic violence cases neither of the couple was drinking. A study by Eberle (1982) 81% of the women victims experienced four or more times more battering in the event that they were the ones drunk. For men only, 16% women reports showed that the man was drunk at the time of the battering. In December 2005, the National Congress passed the Violence against Women Act (VAWA) to promote lifesaving programs that will protect women against violence while aiming to end the sexual and domestic violence. The signing of the Act into law was on January 5, 2006 (McLaughlin 1). VAWA has made tremendous efforts towards ending the domestic and sexual violence menace. It is thanks to VAWA that the rate of nonfatal and violent victimization that were being committed by most spouses declined by 49%. This is a significant achievement because as, result savings of over $14.8 billion were resulting from averted social costs. Since its inception (VAWA) in 1994, the rate of reporting domestic violence has increased by over 51% with the direct hotline for such cases going up by 18% for every year (McLaughlin 2). Theoretical Framework There are various theories developed when analyzing the concern for domestic violence. These theories associate different variables towards the domestic violence problem, for instance there is the case of substance abuse, social status, race, gender and the current relationship between the partners. For most researchers, the issue of gender has become common with varying evidence on the partners roles in the domestic violence. In the study carried out by Manjoo (2011), he states that race has a considerable effect in cases of domestic violence, in the US. His research concludes that blacks have higher instances relating to domestic violence unlike for white couples. Apart from race, the same report also associates a larger percentage of the domestic violence to social status. In the report, Manjoo writes that of the reports there is a higher level of domestic violence on Hispanics, Alaska Native, African America, and American Indian women. He attributes this to the social status of these communities of women attributing them to extreme levels of poverty. In the report by Wilt and Olson (1996), they relate the level of domestic abuse to instances of substance abuse and in their findings; they find that the variable directly relates domestic violence. Most research findings always bring out the fact that the issue of gender is inevitable when it comes to domestic violence. For instance, in the Klein (2009) and the NCADV (2009) reports they show that women are in most cases the victims. They also show that to a certain extent men become victims but on rare occasions. US Laws and Initiatives on domestic violence The first step is the VAWA Act which has been of great influence and help to most of the domestic violence victims. The Act had been existence since 1993 until 2006 when it was signed into a law. It has been responsible of awareness and improvement of cases of domestic violence with reports indicating a drop of over 50% in such cases. According to Klein’s (2009) report, the US police departments totaling to 77 per cent have well written operational procedures that govern the reactions to domestic violence emergency calls. These procedures include checking of protection orders, advising caller to stay on the line, and requiring the dispatcher for weapons. It is however, notable that most states have a difference in the correlation that will qualify for a case of domestic violence. This is because, in most states, they specify that the perpetrator and the victim must have been in a former or current relationship. In states such as Montana and South Carolina, cases of the same sex relationships do not qualify as domestic violence (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence). The VAWA law VAWA is one of the initiatives that have created a massive impact towards curbing the domestic violence issue. The Act has clear-cut out issues that have adversely helped the victims of sexual and domestic abuse. VAWA includes the following provisions aimed at defending and empowering the domestic violence victims (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence). An improved solution to response by legal systems and criminal justice that helps communities in quick response to domestic violence The federal government funds the Sexual assault service program a direct service to the victims Provides housing resources aimed at preventing the victims from becoming homeless Support for early children exposed to such violence and young families that may experience or are at risk of domestic violence by changing social norms Creates a National Reserve Center at workplace to help the victims employers bring comfort and safety for the victim employees Looking at these provisions it is clear that the percentage of domestic violence is most likely to continue decreasing as more and more victims become empowered. There, however, need for an additional program that can help to boost this law. The program is to create strategic information system and forums that will reach out to all the citizens. This will also educate the victims of low social status on their rights and procedural activities to follow in the event of domestic violence. Conclusion The United States like any other nation on the globe is facing a monumental challenge with the problem of domestic violence. However, with time the nation has been able to put in place laws and initiatives that are successfully trying to contain this situation. There is substantial progress in this case, and with the more awareness, there is victims are hopeful that with time such cases will be a past. Research in this field is largely helping the Department of Justice to come up with the right initiatives targeting the groups. Bibliography Klein, Andrew R. Practical Implications of Current Domestic Violenec Research: for Law enforcement, Prosecutors, and Judges. Special Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice: Office of JusticePrograms, 2009. Manjoo, Rashida. Domestic Violence in the United States. Preliminary report. Miami: University of Miami School of Law, 2011. McLaughlin, Monica. THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT of 2005: Summary of Provisions. Act summary. New York: National Network to End Domestic Violence, 2010. Merriam-Webster. Domestic Violence. 2012. 13 November 2012. National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Domestic Violence Facts. Fact Sheet. Washington DC: NCADV Public Policy Office, 2009. Wilt, Susan and Sarah Olson. "Prevalence of Domestic Violence in the US." JAMWA (1996): 77-82. Read More