Strong Punishment to Prevent Domestic Violence - Research Paper Example

Strong Punishment to Prevent Domestic Violence According to the US Department of Justice, domestic violence encompasses violent crimes by both current and former spouses, boyfriends and girlfriends. Domestic violence often occurs when one person in a relationship adopts behaviors used to control the other partner. Homicide, rape, sexual assault, and robbery are some of the violent crimes committed to the various partners. Some of the common abuses committed that encompass domestic violence include keeping a partner from contacting their family or friends, withholding money, stopping a partner from getting or keeping a job, actual or threatened physical harm, sexual assault, stalking and intimidation (Cole and Smith111). Although there are various means of dealing with violent crimes, one of the most effective means of deterring domestic violence is through strong punishment of offenders. Statistics on Domestic Violence in the USA Domestic violence, especially gender based violence is a concept that now has drawn much attention in the international humanitarian work. In the wake of the Yugoslavian rape camps, the sexualized genocide of Rwanda as well as the contemporary terrors on sexual violence, the international human rights community has increasingly turned its attention to combating gender based violence, both at home and during war (Burrill 280). Domestic violence against women is one of the critical public health problems that have both devastating physical and emotional effects to women, children and families m in the US. “Approximately four million American women experience a serious assault by an intimate partner during a 12-month period", Find counseling (2010, par 4). Women are more vulnerable to domestic violence and are frequent targets of both sexual and physical assault by their partners as well as strangers. "It is estimated that 2 million to 4 million US women are assaulted by a domestic partner every year. Twelve million women (25% of the female population) will be abused in their lifetime. Up to 35% of women and 22% of men presenting to the emergency department have experienced domestic violence", (Find counseling, 2010, par 5). The rising cases of domestic violence affect children more than any other members of the society. “It has become apparent that in the cases where domestic violence was identified, the perpetrator of the domestic violence and the abuser of the children were likely to be the same individual, usually the child’s natural father”, (Humphreys and Nicky 101-102). Effects of the violence can be seen on the child’s performance decline in school as domestic violence interferes with homework time, sleep time as well as sleep quality and classroom concentration. Regardless of intelligence, domestic violence interferes with school going children in a myriad of ways according to Groves (122). Moreover, there is much evidence of the general abusive impact on children, both indirect and direct of living in circumstances of domestic violence,” (Humphreys and Nicky 101-102). Past research indicates that in cases where sexual abuse is observed, half of the cases are domestic violence cases. “With regard to the cause of the abuse, in over half (53%) of the child sexual abuse cases the abusers were the children’s fathers or father figures. The increase rose to over two-thirds (69%) in instances where domestic violence was also identified,” (Humphreys and Nicky 101). In a study conducted in 1998, it was revealed that women had at least 900,000 violent offences at the hands of an intimate partner while men had at least 160,000 violent crimes by an intimate partner. However, the study did not mention other forms of abuses such as emotional abuse, harassment and stalking (Carter, Weithorn and Behrman 11). Find Counseling on the other hand notes that a third of all the women in the world have been beaten or somehow abused during their lifetimes. “Other statistics indicate that about 4 to 6 million relationships in the United States face physical violence every year”, (Find Counseling, 2010, par 3). Domestic Violence and Heavy Punishment Due to the increase in the domestic abuse cases and limited number of police, several perpetrators are getting away with the crime. Many domestic abuse victims therefore feel that it will do no good to involve the law because there is not enough punishment to match the crime being committed and in most cases, the abuse may end up being neglected (Humphreys and Nicky 102). Furthermore, some of the cases of domestic violence and abuse often go unanswered by the police. This is because the law enforcement does not have the manpower to respond quickly and thoroughly to investigate every case that is reported. In most cases, the police are too preoccupied with other more serious cases which allow domestic abuse to continue and to get worse. Not all cases of domestic violence correction measures become successful or get the correct punishment. This is attributed to several reasons including laxity on the side of police officers and lenient punishments prescribed by courts. Furthermore, “the perpetrators, when sober, often show signs of reforming on their bad behaviors”, Humphreys and Nicky (101). Several abusers have been allowed to return to the home without any consequences and therefore, the abusers are likely to repeat the crime, which is one reason why there is need for harsher punishments and more law enforcement to ensure that there is no repeat of domestic abuse once the abuser has been allowed to go back home. The government as well as the society must recognize the criminal nature of domestic violence and give appropriate actions to be taken against the offenders and in support of violence victims. In the words of President Obama, "The bottom line is this, nobody in America should live in fear because they are unsafe in their own home, no adult, no child, we will make sure every victim of domestic violence knows that they are not alone, that there are resources available to them in their moment of greatest need," (Nia-Malika, par 4). “The curbing of domestic violence crime is a community mandate and every society must work as a unit in reporting illegal behavior in their neighborhoods”, (Nia-Malika, par 4). President Obama further states that “As a society we need to ensure that when a victim of abuse reaches out, we are there to lend a hand. This is not just the job of government; its a job for all of us." (Nia-Malika, par 4) One of the strategies used in dealing with cases of domestic violence is guidance and counseling so as to encourage change of behavior according to Burrill (280). However, certain quarters argue that measures to encourage change in character and educating the public on the moral values are not sufficient in curbing domestic violence. There must be the support of local laws and legislation protecting against domestic violence. It is only through strict laws and administering heavy punishments that potential domestic abusers will get to think twice before they commit various crimes according to Burrill (280). When there are no laws aimed at fighting domestic violence, even the affected individuals will become fearful in seeking for justice. Strong punishment can help those who have been abused to feel more secure when going to seek justice from the law enforcement organs. Use of harsh punishments on offenders has been criticized by some people claiming that such punishments may not lead to reformation and instead may lead convicts to get used to being treated harshly (Humphreys and Nicky 102). When this happens, there is a higher likelihood that the individual will commit more crimes of similar nature. On the other hand, it is known that harsh punishments work wonders when it comes to dealing with various types of crimes. Potential offenders tend to avoid committing crimes when they know that the punishments that they could get when convicted are harsh. Conclusion The rise in domestic violence in America for the last 20 years has been noted as a great health concern among American citizens. Due to the worrying trend of domestic violence increase, communities living in America are working to develop strategies to stop the violence. One of the strategies is to come up with the best method to stop the violence and provide more protective mechanisms to both children and women affected by domestic violence. Furthermore, guidance and counseling services are offered to domestic violence offenders in some cases. Preventing further rise in domestic violence requires adequate education of both the parents and the children on good conduct as well as strong punishment. Extreme and serious cases such as homicide need strict rules and regulation if an impact has to be made on the society. Stern punishments should be put in place to punish domestic violence offenders so as to curb the ever rising cases of the crime as recommended by various quarters. This should be done to ensure that those who go through the punishments do not relapse to a state of committing similar crimes. Such a measure also ensures that potential criminals desist from taking part in domestic violence and other forms of crimes. Works cited Carter, L., Weithorn, L., and R. Behrman. Domestic Violence and Children: Analysis and Recommendations. The Future of Children: Domestic Violence and Children (1999) 9(3):1-20. Humphreys Catherine and Nicky Stanley. Domestic violence and child protection: directions for good practice, 2007, pp 101-102. Burrill Emily. Domestic violence and the law in colonial and postcolonial. Ohio University press, 2010. Pp 280-281. Find counseling (2010). Retrieved from: http://www.findcounseling.com/journal/domestic-violence/domestic-violence-statistics.html Cole George and Smith Christopher. Criminal justice in America. New York, Cengage Learning, 2007 pp 110-115. Groves, B. Mental Health Services for Children Who Witness Domestic Violence. The Future of Children: Domestic Violence and Children (1999) 9(3):122-132. Nia-Malika Henderson. “Domestic violence on the increase”. The Washington post. Wednesday, October 27, 2010. Read More