Effects of Domestic Violence - Research Paper Example

Effects of Domestic Violence Domestic violence can be defined as an abusive behavior pattern in an intimate relationship whereby one party uses this conduct to practice control over the other party. It may involve sexual or physical violence in the family. It also includes abusing children sexually and physically abusing the elderly parents. Domestic violence is irrespective of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, and religion. It is expedient to acknowledge that apart from the family, domestic violence has a ripple effect to the co-workers and friends. Studies have always indicated a higher female orientation in victims of domestic violence. They fall victim of most of the violence including sexual, economical, psychological and physical abuse (Holt, Buckley, and Whelan, pg. 798). However, current research findings have demonstrated an increasing number of men victims of family violence in recent years. Children have also been expressed as recipient of this violence, suffering major psychological and developmental difficulties. When a child is brought up in the context of domestic violence, at the end of the day, they grow up with the mindset that there is nothing wrong with domestic violence. This kind of thinking initiates a vicious and lethal cycle in which, the children of abusive parents turnout to be abusers themselves (Holt, Buckley, and Whelan, pg. 799). Unfortunately, prevalence of domestic violence remains relatively high with an estimate of one case every 18 seconds. Recent studies have ventured in investigating the overall effects of domestic violence not only to the victims, but also to the entire community. To examine the pervasive nature of domestic violence, researchers have increasingly intensified their research in evaluating the economic pact of the problem to both the victim’s immediate relatives and the broader effects to the national economies. A study conducted in the United Kingdom quantified suffering and pain cost and the cost accrued for post-violence care concluding that this social problem costs the states, business and individuals about 23 Billion pounds per annum (Walby, pg. 76). The victim’s workplace performance suffers the first blow. Physical injuries reduce the victim’s ability to work while psychological abuse often cause concentration deficits, confusion, memory problems missed deadlines and meetings and mistakes. The affected employee has difficulties in work performance, tackling new challenges and there is a considerable decrease in work output (Walby, pg. 79). Co-workers may get worried about violence spillover, which affects their work performance the same way the victim’s work performance is affected. Children are likely to develop emotional and developmental difficulties after a physical abuse encounter in the domestic violence context of following parental abuse on their watch. There are varying responses from these children, including somatic complaints, withdrawal, and aggression (Holt, Buckley, and Whelan, pg. 800). One-third of children who witness their mother being battered demonstrate a considerably higher emotional and/or behavioral problems which include sleep disruption, psychosomatic disorders, fears and anxiety, school problems, excessive crying and stuttering. Male children who grow witnessing their father battering their mother are more likely to be violators themselves as adults (Holt, Buckley, and Whelan, pg. 802). Girls who have been raised in families with maternal abuse have demonstrated tolerance to abuse as adults compared to girls who did not witness such. These children are more predisposed to have disciplinary problems than children of mothers who are not abused. Economic effects Cost incurred in cases involving domestic violence fall into identical categories. Put together, these categories contribute to the overall cost estimate of caring for the victims and significant others. Direct costs are often consumption-related. These costs include legal services, welfare and social services, counselling, healthcare services, transportation cost and justice and police services. Other services used in the process include special education for children of victim mothers. The costs incurred for replacement of damaged property by a violator also add up in the direct cost (Walby, pg. 85). Healthcare services cost following domestic violence is among the most important component of cost. They include hospital stays, clinic and emergency room visits, medication, physical therapy and mental health care. Medical services for victims are not restrained to the immediate violence injuries because unwanted health outcomes of violence stay longer after the event of abuse with some lasting a lifetime (Ellsberg et al., pg. 1170). A WHO research has revealed that there is a strong relationship between domestic violence and both long term and short term mental, reproductive health and physical problems. Money spent on healthcare in treating illnesses and injuries associated with domestic violence siphon resources that would otherwise have been put under use that is more productive. In addition to property replacement and direct services, cost, domestic violence inflicts a considerable indirect cost to the economy on businesses, the victim, the society and the public sector as a whole. These indirect costs cater for effects that have significant monetary value, but there is no actual monetary transaction carried out. Indirect cost usually reflects the effect of domestic violence on productivity and participation in the labor force. The premature decease of the victims of domestic violence has an economic impact as well. This economic impact has been estimated using lost earnings following a premature death. About nine hundred million dollars are lost in the United States in lost lifetime supposed earnings (Walby, pg. 83). The family also suffers following episodes of domestic violence (Flake and Forste, pg. 20). Research in Uganda showed that significant time is lost from household labor and chores such as washing and transporting water following domestic violence. The well-being of the family is compromised due to lack of necessary childcare. Women who suffer from this evil have reduced ability to perform household tasks, and neglect may ensue (Flake and Forste, pg. 21). There are negative health effects resulting from domestic violence, not only to the victim but also to the children. Children born in a family of maternal abuse suffer from significantly higher prevalence of lower immunizations rates and certain diseases. In addition to this, the alterations in normal family life because of domestic violence often result in negative consequences on the children’s educational outcomes (Flake and Forste, pg. 26). Peru and Haiti studies revealed that children from families plagued with domestic violence have a higher likelihood of having gaps in their schooling compared to children from violence-free families. Higher rates of school dropouts and interrupted education cripple the potential of better earnings for the children in later life thereby successfully carrying forward the negative economic effects onto the succeeding generation (Flake and Forste, pg. 28). The numerous costs of domestic violence highlighted above are met by various agencies including household, individual, businesses, communities, society, and the government as a whole (national, regional and local). The higher percentage of domestic violence cost is however met by the victim's sole contribution for replacement of property that has been damaged and to access services. The public sector chips in by offering government-subsidized care. In the end, the entire community contributes in the public sector incurred costs by paying taxes. The victims, their immediate households and business bear most of the productivity and indirect labor costs through reduced output, decreased earnings and ultimately, lower profits. Due to the intertwined economic activity’s nature, the costs eventually metastases to the wider national economy via depressed investment, productivity levels, and savings resulting to a decrease in Gross Domestic Product (Walby, pg. 92). Apart from economic effects, domestic violence contributes to the increasing homeless street children. Children may resolve to run away from home, and they end up in the streets. High levels of crimes can be anticipated in such situation due to lack of mentorship in the streets (Kroeger and Nason-Clark, pg. 67). The children in the streets also end up likely reproducing within themselves adding to their numbers and a continuum in the social issue. Higher levels of divorce are currently due to some form of family violence. This creates a rift between parties of the involved partners. Children are placed in compromising situations where they have to choose which parent they want to live with and some end up being brought up by a single parent figure (Holt, Buckley, and Whelan, pg. 802). Long identified as a social ill and a violation of human rights, the overall effects of domestic violence are now being put to limelight. It is justifiable from the findings of universal domestic violence studies that the economic effects of this social ill are felt far beyond the economic well-being of the unfortunate victims, affecting governments, businesses, and entire economies of the country. Having discussed the far-stretching economic repercussions of domestic violence in both the developed and the developing countries, it is impossible to simply pay a blind eye to domestic violence (Walby, pg. 97). It has immense impacts on the victims, their families, the community, and the entire nation. At large warrant keen measures should be adopted to prevent and remedy this evil. Domestic violence perpetrator should be treated as criminals and legal measures taken in the court of law to punish the perpetrators. Efforts to prevent this unacceptable social behavior should be put in place, starting with children of affected families (Ellsberg et al., pg. 1170). Domestic violence costs governments a huge sum of cash to cater for all the services given to victims of this injustice, money that should have been used more productively for the economy of the country. Works Cited Ellsberg, Mary et al. “Intimate Partner Violence and Women’s Physical and Mental Health in the WHO Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence: An Observational Study.” The Lancet 371.9619 (2008): 1165–1172. Print. Flake, Dallan F., and Renata Forste. “Fighting Families: Family Characteristics Associated with Domestic Violence in Five Latin American Countries.” Journal of Family Violence 21.1 (2006): 19–29. Print. Holt, Stephanie, Helen Buckley, and Sadhbh Whelan. “The Impact of Exposure to Domestic Violence on Children and Young People: A Review of the Literature.” Child abuse & neglect 32.8 (2008): 797–810. Print. Kroeger, Catherine Clark, and Nancy Nason-Clark. No Place for Abuse: Biblical & Practical Resources to Counteract Domestic Violence. InterVarsity Press, 2010. Walby, Sylvia. “The Cost of Domestic Violence: Up-Date 2009.” Lancaster: Lancaster University (2009): n. pag. Read More