Domestic Violence and Abuse - Case Study Example

Domestic violence Domestic violence is the willful intimidation, battery, physical or sexual assault, or other cruel behavior committed by a close partner against the other. It may result in psychological trauma, physical injury, and even death in some cases. In America, one in every four women experiences domestic violence in her lifetime. About 1.3 million women face domestic violence each year. Most of the survivors of domestic violence are women; they make up 85 % of such abuses. Most victims of domestic violence never report their cases to the police (Ncadv.org). Judy North and Whitney Benson are two survivors of domestic violence. Judy was married to Karl Millhauser while Whitney was an intimate relationship with Brad Christiansen when the abuses happened. The two women eventually broke up with their partners because of the abuses. Because the two women delayed quitting their abusive relationships, they ended up suffering for quite some time. Psychological abuse involves trauma caused by coercive tactics, acts, or threats of acts such as humiliation or withholding information from the victim. It could also involve playing mind games, ignoring feelings and placing blame on the victim. The abuser can frequently get annoyed if the victim fails to agree on some issues, or the abuser can deliberately do something that can make the victim feel diminished. For example, the abuser may resort to violence if the victim fails to do what they want. In some cases, the abuser may disregard what the victim wants and also isolate them from friends and family. The abuser can also smash objects or destroy other property belonging to the victim. The victims usually feel that they have no way out of an abusive relationship, or they have nothing without the abuser. In the case of Karl and Judy, psychological abuse was evident. Karl could occasionally criticize some of the issues that were of great concern between Judy and her parents. His aim was to isolate Judy from her parents by developing hatred between them. He could select the issues that Judy did not like about her parents so that she could feel Karl was always right. In doing so, he managed to isolate Judy from her parents. Judy eventually developed hatred towards her parents. Judy was suffering, but she failed to quit the relationship because she was not aware that Karl was engineering the tensions between her parents and her (Weiss). Physical violence is the use of force that can result in pain, body injury or impairment. It could involve acts such as hitting, choking or burning the victim. The abuser may also use weapons or other objects to harm the victim. In some cases, the abuser may use threatening gestures or even force the victim to abuse alcohol or other substances that the victim does not like. Some of the indicators of physical abuse include sprains, fractures, dislocations, burns, abrasions and bruises. In the case of Whitney and Brad, physical abuse was evident throughout their relationship. In one incident, Brad stuffed sausages full of pepper into Whitney’s mouth because she refused to eat them. He was aware that Whitney was allergic to pepper, but he seemed not to care about the repercussions. Whitney herself feared for her health, but Brad took advantage of the situation to instill fear on her. Despite these numerous physical abuses, Whitney failed to act quickly to rescue herself from her abuser (Weiss). Verbal abuse involves the use of words to devalue or hurt someone’s feelings. It involves acts such as intentional public embarrassment, using words to instill fear, yelling, name-calling, or dictation what the victim can do or wear. Intentional public embarrassment is used by the abuser to degrade the victim. It may occur at workplace or other public places. The embarrassment may involve the exposure of some secrets that tarnish the reputation of the victim. It may also involve calling the victim names that are considered abusive. The abuser may use words to instill fear by issuing threats such as killing or harming the victim and also threatening to expose confidential personal information. In the case of Judy and Karl, verbal abuses were evident throughout their entire marriage. The abuser can also dictate what the victim can do or wear. Judy faced verbal abuses in the form of frequent insults from her husband. Karl could occasionally take Judy to her workplace in his car every morning. As soon as she alighted, Karl could yell insults at her as she walked towards the school. His aim was to embarrass Judy in front of her colleagues. The insults confused Judy because she never knew what she could do anymore (Weiss). Fear and intimidation is a kind of abuse where the abuser imposes fear on the victim by using certain looks or gestures. The abuser may also exploit the immigration status of the victim by threatening to inform the immigration authorities. In addition, the abuser can destroy the victim’s possessions or make threats involving children. The abuser uses certain looks or gestures that make the victim feel that there is an imminent physical harm from the abuser. The victim will try to avoid such harm by acting according to the demands of the abuser. The abuser may threaten to inform the authorities about the immigration status of the victim so that the victim remains in a state of fear of arrest and deportation. The abuser can destroy the victim’s valuable possessions such as travel documents, documents related to work, or even academic testimonials. The abuser can also threaten to take custody of the children in case the victim decides to break up. In the case of Judy and Karl, fear and intimidation was evident. When Judy was recuperating in the hospital after the assault, she used to live in fear. She was wondering where could go afterwards as soon as she was discharged. Her parents also never knew where to take her because of the fear of Karl. He had instilled fear in her. She feared that Karl might come after her again (Weiss). Because Judy and Whitney took long to quit their abusive relationships, they ended up suffering for quite some time. Both of them stayed in their relationships because they were hoping that their partners could change their behaviors. The two women were brought up in peaceful backgrounds, and this contributed to their delays in staying in abusive relationships. There are two treatments that the survivors of domestic violence should be given. They are group therapy and survivor therapy. Group therapy reduces isolation and enables victims to identify with others. It helps them to see other people in various stages as a means of hope for a future that is free from abuses. Survivor therapy focuses on empowerment, safety, strengths, understanding oppression, education, and healing the effects of trauma (Duque). Works Cited Duque, Jennifer. “Treating the Domestic Violence Victim: Crisis Intervention and Beyond.” University of Illinois. Web. 20 June 2014 National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “Domestic Violence Facts.” Ncadv.org, n.d. Web. 20 June 2014 Weiss, Elaine. “Surviving domestic violence: voices of women who broke free.” Volcano, California: Volcano Press, 2004. Print. Read More