Domestic Violence in Australia - Coursework Example

Social Marketing Plan on Domestic Violence against Women Name Course Professor’s Name University Name City, State Date of Submission Domestic violence is one of the major problems facing various citizens in all countries all over the world, although not usually openly dealt with and viewed as significant. This essay will focus on domestic violence against women and the girl child. Violence is any form of activity, be it physical, mental or otherwise that has an impact on one’s health or wellbeing. Domestic violence are harmful acts perpetrated at the household level, usually by relatives. Women and girls are more prone to domestic violence because of the perception that they are a weaker species and cannot therefore protect themselves against the offenders. The major terms associated with domestic violence against women and girls are sexual assault, female genital mutilation and physical abuse. Pamela Powell and Marilyn Smith, in an article titled Domestic Violence: An Overview, concentrate on one specific aspect of domestic violence, which they refer to as intimate partner violence (IPV). They define this to be acts of violence meted upon victims by the people whom they are in an intimate relationship with. The authors observe that most IPV acts are never reported to the authorities mostly because of the fear of retaliation by the offenders in case the prosecution does not find them guilty, and that due to this cases’ nature, most victims are ashamed and blame themselves for not having left the relationship early enough. The article categorizes abuse into five groups; physical, sexual, economic, emotional and psychological. Physical includes acts of beating, slapping and even shoving of the victims and leaves behind bruises and swelling. Sexual abuse includes marital rape (where one married partner forces the other to engage in sexual intercourse) and violent attacks on the one’s sexual parts. Economic abuse is where the victim is denied access to family resources and has to therefore remain dependent on the oppressor. In cases where access to money is allowed, he/she has to be increasingly accountable. Emotional abuse focuses on the mindset, and includes occasional criticism and name calling that lowers one’s self esteem, leaving behind a feeling of worthlessness. Psychological abuse is mostly as a result of threats and intimidation. The article also notes that domestic violence does not only impact the individual and family but also the community as the offenders will always want to show dominance over the victim at all places, whether at the workplace, market or worship place. They recommend awareness as the major step towards eradicating the domestic violence menace. Powell & Smith(2011, pg. 5 - 21) UNICEF in their publication titled Domestic Violence against Women and Girls state that no society across the world is free of domestic violence, although its prevalence varies. It defines domestic violence as the violent acts inflicted upon others within or beyond home, as long as they are committed by relatives such as intimate partners, parents or guardians. Violence acts are mostly carried out by men against women or girls, but fewer instances are reported of women being the offenders. The publication states that abuse occurs in cycles during one’s existence, beginning as early as pre-birth where sex selective abortion is carried out to the older years where the elderly are raped. It also categorizes violence as physical, sexual, psychological and emotional. The publication however introduces new forms of violence such as femicide-the killing of women by their oppressors; sex selective abortion in societies where the gender of the unborn child is of very great concern and one sex is preferred over the other, female infanticide where children are killed when still young and female genital mutilation. The publication attests that there are no widely accepted causes behind domestic violence but there are factors behind its wide prevalence. This factors include cultural, where beliefs such as female being submissive make the females not to report abuse; economic where a woman’s dependence on the man makes her vulnerable and force her to bow down to his wishes; legal where the literacy levels of women on their rights are very low and political factors where the females are underrepresented in political power and domestic violence is viewed as a family dispute. The publication proposes that if a strategy were to be reached at to solve the issue, the relevant stakeholders; the family, local community, civil society and the nation must all be brought together. UNICEF(2000, pg. 3 - 20) A study carried out by the World Health Organization in 2005 in ten countries across the world on the prevalence of domestic violence against women and the strategies most women apply to cope with the situation revealed that a large percentage of violence against women is carried out by their intimate partners. The study disputed the notion that the home is a safe escape for the women, citing that most of this incidences happened in the household. Although the numbers varied from country to country, it emerged that among all the women that were interviewed, more than 5% of them were forced to engage in their first sexual intercourse. About one third of the women felt that wife beating by the men was justified, and that the women could not do anything about it. The study revealed that most women that go through this violence often experience poor health problems in the future, and the experiences have a negative impact on their mental health. Most of these women have also either thought about or attempted suicide because of the emotional turmoil that comes as a result of the abuse. The study proposes that the health sector can play a very vital role in helping eradicate the problem by helping in the earlier identification of the abuse, offering the required treatment to those affected, referring them to the relevant sources for help with counselling and ways of coping with it and providing this help in places where the women will feel safe and protected, thus enabling them to open up and confide. Garcia, et al., (2005) A survey carried out by ABS Personal Safety Survey and the Australian Institute of Criminology in 2012 revealed various facts about men and women who have experienced domestic violence. The study reveals that 1 out of 5 Australian women have experienced sexual abuse, against 1 out of every 22 men. 1 out of 6 of women have experienced this abuse at the hands of a current intimate partner, supporting the fact that most abuse is perpetrated by intimate partners. Sixty two percent of these women have experienced this abuse at home, a place believed to be a safe haven for the females. About 73% of the women interviewed have experienced more than one incident of domestic abuse, 58% of them have never reported this to the police and 24% of them have never sought further assistance or advice from friends, family or trained personnel. The study also revealed that during the period of 2008 to 2010, about 89 women were killed either by their current or former partners. Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety (2012) Shane & Ellsberg( 2002, pg. 1-6) State that poverty and male control are among the prominent causes of domestic abuse. They argue out that apart from the psychological and emotional effects of such abuse on the women, the physical and mental health is also adversely affected. These effects could be short term or long term, depending on the intensity of the assaults. According to them, the notion that having many children puts the women at a greater risk of abuse is false and that the reverse is true; domestic abuse puts the women at a greater risk of having many children as the women do not have any control over their sexual life or the timings of the intercourse. The article reveals that as a result of most women not seeking advice or support from trained personnel, most of them suffer from anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Thus, in a number of instances, increases the chances of them attempting or successfully carrying out suicide. Sexual abuse could cause gynecological problems such as vaginal infections, pelvic pain or in extreme cases, infertility. It could also lead to a woman contracting sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) could result in infections, sexual dysfunction and chronic pain. Consequently, physical abuse towards a pregnant woman often leads to miscarriages, unsafe abortions and still births. This could also lead to giving birth to children that have physical deformities or other health complications. The article proposes that the health facilities should put in place strategies to reduce or completely prevent these complications. This, they say, could be done through providing a friendly environment for the women to enable them to open up during checkups. The health professionals are also advised to ask the patients about these incidents as most victims can easily open up when asked rather than having to tell the story themselves. Training and screening services should also be offered, followed by counselling sessions for all the women. ASSIGNMENT TWO Domestic violence in Australia is increasingly becoming a great challenge, with the number of cases, both reported and unreported, increasing every day. The major problem, however, is not the prevalence of the incidents but the unwillingness by the victims to report them. Most of the women are unaware of their rights in such instances, and are afraid of the stigma, shame and embarrassment associated with the reporting of such. They are also afraid of media coverage of the issues that would pin them out into the limelight and are afraid that the perpetrators may retaliate incase the prosecution does not find them guilty, or in case they serve their jail term and are let out. Awareness among the victims therefore should be considered the main area of concern, as governments have put up relevant legislations and policies that classify such acts as criminal acts that are liable to punishment under the laws. The main theory at play here is the spiral of silence theory by Elizabeth Noelle Neumann. The theory proposes that there usually is a tendency by people to desist from voicing their opinions for fear that they may be against the prevailing public opinion. It states that in every situation, there usually is the dominant public opinion and the minority- those with a different opinion from the dominant one, will tend to remain silent about it. This is usually because of the fear of isolation from the rest of the people or the fear of reprisal and the consequences that come as a result of their actions. In domestic violence against women, despite their knowing that what is happening to them is unjust, most women do not speak up about it. This is because of the stigma accorded such women in the society, for instance, a woman who has undergone rape is deemed as unclean. Such a woman would therefore not want to risk a social fallout, and will therefore silently endure the abuse, leading her towards a downward spiral of silence. Diffusion of Innovations theory on its part would be applicable in creating awareness. The theory provides an approach that gives much significance to the opinion leaders- these being the people who are first to learn about an innovation or product. The opinion leaders hence affect how the rest of the people adapt to the innovation, as they are usually considered to be knowledgeable on the issues at hand. Opinion leaders include people such as influential political leaders, religious leaders and the elders in the societies. The social marketing strategy developed should be able to identify the target audience, their values and beliefs. This would make it possible to determine the people with a high level of influence over the rest, and make it possible to use these people to sell the strategy to the rest of the people.[Cas13] To resolve this, a campaign dubbed ‘Speak Up’ could be put in place. The primary target would be school going girls in a bid to create awareness about their rights, and encourage them to always speak up in case of any form of abuse. The public would also be a primary target, to change their negative social perception about girls and women who have gone through domestic assault, and encourage acceptance and support. The secondary target would be the teachers, who would be in charge of taking the learners through the new information they need to learn, the parents who also have to emphasize this information in the households and the media. The campaign would work towards developing a generation that is literate on matters that are of concern to the womenfolk. Firstly, a unit on the rights of the girl child, activities considered as abuse and available help lines should be integrated into the curriculum, preferably one lesson in a week. During this classes, the students will be taken through the ways in which to identify abuse, and the need for them to immediately report them. Counselling and Guidance departments should then be introduced and enhanced in the schools, with trained professionals acting as the main heads of these departments. The students should then be encouraged to speak to their counselling officers in case of any problem, and they should be assured of their confidentiality. The key aspects of the marketing mix would be the product, price, place and promotion. The product would be awareness. The campaign would strive to ensure that the learners are well aware of all there is to know about domestic violence, what they can do to prevent it and in case it happens, what they can do to stop it. This would ensure that all cases are reported, and the girls seek assistance afterwards. The public would also be taken through the awareness activities, providing information about the torture women go through after violence and the need for acceptance, assistance and support from the society. The price would be the barriers that require to be overcome to enable the reporting of crimes. This include embarrassment, stigma and self- shame among the victims. The students would be trained on fighting for their rights, regardless of the common opinion in the society. The society on its part would be encouraged to change their opinion about women violence, and be more responsive towards helping to end the problem. The place, with regard to the students, would be school. This is where they would readily access the relevant information and also get counsellors who they can talk to incase of challenges. The public would get information from the media, with the various channels discussed under promotion. Help lines would also be made accessible, and victims encouraged to report the crimes to the police. The campaign’s promotion would mostly be through the media. Programs on the need to end domestic violence against women will be developed, and broadcast on major television stations. The Speak Up campaign would have online information pages on all the social sites, making this readily accessible by everyone. Billboards advocating for women and girls to speak up will be placed on major roads and highways, and handbooks with all this information published for use in schools. Speak up ribbons and t-shirts can also be developed, and sold to the people to raise enough funds to support the campaign. Advertisements with the help lines in case of an assault would also be broadcast on the television and radio stations, and also published in the newspapers. Brochures and posters should be placed on school buildings, hospitals and other public places such as the places of worship. This should also include the help line numbers and the nearest places that one can access help. To achieve this, the campaign can partner with other organizations. An example would be a company that develops sanitary towels. From the partnership, a small percentage of the proceeds from the sales of this product would go towards supporting the campaign. The campaign would be affected by the economic, legal and political and most especially social environment. In the economic environment, the campaign requires adequate finances for the advertisements and programs on mainstream media and the social media. Finances would also be required for the training of counselling professionals in schools. The legal environment would be required for the formulation of policies that would incorporate domestic violence learning into the school curriculum, and also policies on the relevant action to be taken against those who o against the human rights and engage in violence. The social environment would include the attitudes and perceptions of the people towards the campaign. A positive attitude is required for the success of change in people’s values and beliefs, and therefore, the success of the campaign. To evaluate this approach, the society’s perception towards women and girls who have been assaulted should first be assessed. A positive perception towards them, and the availability of the required support and assistance would be a positive indicator of the success of the campaign. The number of domestic cases reported should then be established, an increase in this would mean more information and successful completion of the campaign. References Cas13: , (Castelino, et al., 2013, pp. 5-35), Read More