Problems within Family Violence - Essay Example

Problems within Family Violence Different manifestations of family violence remain urgent social problems, with child abuse, intimate violence, and elder abuse being the most widespread of all today. They are under constant attention of specialists and researches, aimed at forming a profound understanding of various implications of these issues, such as risk factors, consequences, and other. The main goal in this regard, is to decide upon the most effective measures to be taken in order to reduce the prevalence of cases and offer victims appropriate treatment that would alleviate their sufferings. Unfortunately, despite all the efforts, the research of child abuse, intimate violence, and elder abuse still poses the list of challenges caused by the nature of these problems. At the same time, enhancing the methodology of investigation and introducing the new approaches to the process are the conditions of maintaining the healthy environment in the society and promoting the common good of the population and the great responsibility here is placed on healthcare specialists. To start with, family violence is an umbrella term used to denote any kind of abusive behavior within the family that causes harm to individuals, violates human rights and dignity. The scientific literature suggests the next definition of the term - “family violence”, or as it sometimes referred to, “domestic violence” can be defined as violent, aggressive, or threatening behavior aimed at coercion and control of a family member or at making one fearful. (Groves, Augustyn & Lee, 2004) During the past decades there has been a considerable recognition among healthcare specialists that family violence is among the major health problems as far as it is not a personal matter that threatens only potential victims but a national concern the negatively influences society as a whole. It is recognized that violence as a notion results in devastating effects on families and communities, promoting conflicts and mistreatment and demanding additional costs to be spent on dealing with the consequences of family violence. Therefore, the detailed investigation of the implications of the issue is an important task today. One of the most prevailing types of domestic violence is intimate violence that occurs between spouses and intimate partners during relationships or after they are ended. The following can include intimidation, emotional and psychological abuse, physical injury, or humiliation. Although both men and women can fulfill the role of the aggressor in relationships, numerous studies show that near 85 percent of victims are female. (Groves, Augustyn & Lee, 2004) For instance, it was estimated that one in four woman experiences domestic violence during the lifetime. ("Domestic violence facts," 2009) It follows that approximately 1,5 million women are physically assaulted by a partner annually. For men, this number exceeds 800.000. The consequences of the given problem are quite complex and versatile that can range from post-traumatic disorder and other kinds of emotional distress to serious physical injuries and death. Apart from the negative effects on individuals, intimate abuse also produces serious economic impact, resulting in the raised annual costs of health care services for victims. What is more, what makes the problem of intimate violence severe and difficult to solve is the fact that there are numerous challenges which researches would have to overcome in order to present effective and efficient preventive measures. Among such is the fact that intimate violence has been traditionally regarded as an intimate and personal matter touching upon the family members only. As a result, many avoid public discussions of the problem, feeling shame, being afraid of the revenge, or unable to break with the aggressor, or believing that the incident was too trivial. As a result, intimate violence remains one of “the most chronically underreported crimes” with approximately one-half of stalkings, one-fourth of all physical assaults, and one-fifth of all rapes being reported to the police. ("Domestic violence facts," 2009; Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000) Subsequently, the major sources of information concerning this kind of abuse appear to be the reported cases and surveys or interviews that engage common citizens while conducting researches. Furthermore, equal in the degree of prevalence and in seriousness of the problem to the intimate abuse is child abuse. It can be either intentional or unintentional as well as be manifested in the variety of harmful and threatening behaviors of a parent or caregiver, or in acts of neglect. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (2014), about 14 percent of children suffer from a type of abuse annually, which hinders their normal development and poses considerable threats for the emotional, psychological, and physical development. ("Child maltreatment: Consequences," 2014) As a result, a victim can suffer from the variety of health problems that would persist during the lifetime. Therefore, child abuse appears to be among the central concerns of health care specialists nowadays. The prevalence and seriousness of the given issue demand from educators, doctors, social workers and the community as a whole to be aware of the implications of the problem, such as its signs, risk factors as well as the ways to respond to the cases of abuse when they are suspected. Only in this way it is possible to protect children and prevent more cases of abuse. An important point, in this regard, is knowing the risk factors, such as special needs of children that increase caregiver’s burden, negative interactions between children and parents, the young age of parents or substance dependence. ("Child maltreatment: Risk," 2014) At the same time, identifying a case of child abuse as well as what led to it is a difficult task. Firstly, child abuse is usually hidden from the publicity and both the victims and aggressors can deny its occurrence. Secondly, to find a common language with a child is also a complicated task. At present, the research of child abuse much depends on reporting of cases, by healthcare specialist, other family members, or children themselves. The last problem to be discussed is elder abuse. In general, the characteristics of this issue are much like those of the previously mentioned. For instance, elder abuse can take many forms and can happen on any setting or environment: at home, relatives, or even specialized facilities. According to the Amercian Psychological Association, (2014) 4 million older Americans are subjected to a form of abuse and neglect, which often leads to depressions, anxieties, physical injuries, and early death. However, as with other kinds of family violence, cases of elder abuse are underreported due to the either inability of victims to report, such as physical disability of cognitive impairment, not knowing where to ask for help, or being overly dependent on a caregiver. What is more, there is no single pattern according to which elder abuse occurs, meaning that it can be a continuation of the chain of violence and abuse within the family or can happen when a person changes his/her place of living and becoming a burden for the family members. In addition, people of all socioeconomic groups, genders, cultures, and races can appear under the risk of abuse. ("American psychological association ," 2014)Taking it into consideration and the fact that both developing and developed countries will face an increase in the percentage of older population, the issue of elder abuse should be addressed efficiently and effectively. As a whole, all three discussed issues have several characteristics in common, such as the significant percent of underreported cases, the fact that these kinds of violence and abuse are often passed through generations, or difficulties in researching various their implications. Subsequently, the methods to respond to child abuse, intimate abuse, and elder abuse often coincide. Namely, they should be targeted at raising awareness among healthcare professionals, policy makers, police, social workers and other people who work with the affected groups of the population as well as among the common citizens. The goal is to make the open discussions of abuse encouraged and widespread. In this way both the specialists and victims would know how to react to abuse and where to seek help. To sum up, different manifestations of family violence are among the major health problems today as far as they have a devastating and profound negative influence on persons and communities. At present, much attention is paid at investigating the risk factors and finding effective measures to reduce the prevalence of the problems. However, researches show that child abuse, intimate violence, and elder abuse continue to be widespread among different communities, cultures, and generations. Therefore, training professionals and raising awareness of the population are needed. References (2014). American psychological association . Elder Abuse and Neglect, Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pi/aging/resources/guides/elder-abuse.aspx?item=1 Child maltreatment: Consequences. (2014). Centers for Disease Control And Prevention, Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childmaltreatment/consequences.html (2014). Child maltreatment: Risk and protective factors. Centers for Disease Control And Prevention, Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childmaltreatment/riskprotectivefactors.html Domestic violence facts. (2009). National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Retrieved from http://www.ncadv.org/files/DomesticViolenceFactSheet(National).pdf Groves, B., Augustyn, M., & Lee, D. (2004). Identifying and responding to domestic violence. Consensus Recommendations for Child and Adolescent Health, Retrieved from http://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/userfiles/file/HealthCare/pediatric.pdf Tjaden, P. & Thoennes, N. (2000). Extent, nature, and consequences of intimate partner violence. The National Institute of Justice, Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/181867.pdf Read More