Domestic Violence - Dissertation Example

ID No. Domestic Violence Introduction Domestic violence is not just fighting, hitting, or frequent argument; it is a persistent power abuse in society. The abuser controls and tortures a victim by way of calculated intimidation, threats, and even physical violence, in order to achieve his or her objective. Ideally, the ultimate result of chronic control and intimidation is physical violence. Various scholars have analyzed the most rampant domestic violence—intimate partner abuse. It has been deduced that it is the most common abuse that results to sexual, psychological, and/or physical torture of an individual in which the former or current intimate partner initiates the abuse. Domestic violence has been a growing concern issue as it inflicts negative impact on family members. It is not confined to any ethnic, socioeconomic, racial, age group, or religious setting. In the United States, it is among the vital causes of injuries to women where they are injured, assaulted, raped or killed. Growing or being brought up in a home characterized by violence is traumatic and a terrifying experience which can impose dire consequences on the child’s growth and development. For instance, children are most likely to fail in their academics, they can commit or suffer violence, and they may be subjected to health problems that may remain incurable throughout their lives. The society usually recognizes the gravity of the situation when women are battered; however, little attention has been directed towards children who suffer domestic abuse. The support and intervention programs have been developed in an attempt to change the lives of children who are brought up in violent homes (Szyndrowski 9). In addition, prevention strategies to be undertaken aim at reducing the number of children who suffer domestic violence. However, the programs usually lack sufficient funding and have been ignored by lawmakers who are focusing on increasing arrests of culprits and enhancing severe punishments on them. As such, most of the countries have failed to address the issue of children who are brought up in violent homes; thus, they cannot be assisted or supported. In addition, children growing up in homes characterized by domestic violence have a risk of being involved in extreme violence. Ideally, the overlap that exists between child abuse and domestic violence has been critically documented: in the case where there is the existence of family valence, child abuse is likely to occur. Indeed, growing up in a violent environment is a vital factor for community, and even youth violence. All these factors and issues prompted undertaking of research on domestic violence in society (Stiles 2052). This will provide an insight on strategies to help individuals who are suffering from domestic violence. This paper will endeavor to increase awareness and presumptive involvement of both men and women towards eradicating domestic violence in society. Theoretical Explanation of Domestic Violence Despite the various causes of domestic violence, research has pointed out the theories that explain the cause of this phenomenon. These theories include macro-level theories, micro-level theories, and individual theories. Macro-level theories look for the causes of domestic violence in the social structure and value systems of a society or a particular social group. The extent to which violence is culturally accepted in a society is thought to affect the prevalence of violence against family members. For instance, a consensus that spanking is acceptable, even necessary as a manner of disciplining children. This consensus presents the use of corporal punishment as a legitimate child-rearing practice. Another social consensus that lowers the threshold of domestic violence is the view of the manner in which parents treat their children. They perceive it as nothing but their own business, and that it is inappropriate for outside observers to intervene in domestic conflicts. Micro-levels theories look at the family as the unit of analysis and try to identify features of family functioning that enhance the probability of domestic aggression. Intra-familial stress, resulting from marital conflict, inadequate communication skills, and reciprocal provocation, has been proposed as risk factor for domestic violence. Moreover, it has been argued that members of a family may learn aggressive behavior patterns through reinforcement and modeling. In the case where the abuser learns that his violent acts lead to the intended consequences and the victim learns that the violence can be stopped by complying with the perpetrator’s demands, interaction routines develop that reinforce the performance of aggressive behavior. Marital relationships are not easily dissolved, and parent-child relationships are practically impossible to dissolve (Stiles 2052). Violence has been explained as a response to the dissatisfaction resulting from inequitable relationships. In individual-level theories, the focus is on the potential causes of domestic violence in the individual perpetrator. One theoretical perspective looks at family violence as a learned behavior. Social learning theory as well as learning through reinforcement has been invoked to explain childhood experiences. The witnessing of parental violence may turn victims into perpetrators. In abusive families, children learn that aggressive behavior is rewarded. The abuser usually achieves his or her objective, and that may incorporate aggression into their patterns of behavior. In addition, individuals suffering from personality disorders or mental illness are at increased risk of abusing family members. Effects of Domestic Violence on Children Witnessing violence during childhood can bring a vast array of negative effects. Those effects are closely linked to the child’s age at the time. Problems faced by these children are extremely serious and may pose difficulties during later social development. Behavioral disturbances range from withdrawal, self-esteem problems, nightmares, to aggression, and possibly further physical violence. Domestic violence affects the youngest of the children; this problem starts as early as infancy. Babies from homes with partner abuse may have disturbances with their needs for attachment. These children, more than half of the time, cry excessively. They may also develop eating and sleeping pattern problems. Infants are at a much greater risk for physical injury during partner abuse (Wright 2031). Many times, they end up only as being between the victim and the batterer, and, unfortunately, sometimes they are injured. Toddlers to pre-school aged children who have witnessed violence at home could develop a vast array of problems, such as psychosomatic complaints including headaches, abdominal discomfort and nausea. Children of this age group, under such circumstances, may even resort to behaviors such as sucking of thumb and other behaviors usually engaged in at a younger age. At this stage of life, children look for protection and stability from their parents, unfortunately, during partner abuse, parents usually do not fulfill those needs. Kids become anxious around strangers, and are whiny. In addition, they cry a lot, and they become clingy. Insomnia is much more common at this stage than any other; also, traits of terror may be noticed which is usually characterized by yelling, stuttering and hiding. School-aged children also display psychosomatic complaints that include headaches, abdominal pain, that ultimately result in poor school performance. Witnessing violence makes them less confident in the future and facilitates for them to develop low self-esteem early in life, even distorting their perspective. They are less likely to engage in outside activities and do not make many friends. This is the time in their life when children become exceedingly protective of their parents, they tend to feel shame, and guilty about the whole experience. Exposure to violence at home is being linked to juvenile crime behavior. Conduct disorder and antisocial behavior, even at the age of seven, are powerful predictors of violent behavior towards partners in adolescent and early adult life. An adolescent who witnesses spousal abuse may develop higher rates of communication and coexisting problems with other family members, especially his or her parents. At this age, the kids may totally lose respect for the parent who is being abused in front of them. During abuse, a ton of undermining and controlling happens from the side of the perpetrator. An adolescent may view this as weak characteristics of the abused parent. The child may then conclude that the abused parent cannot control the child since the parent has no control of his or her own situation. The child may view the future absent of optimism and take part in high-risk behaviors. These behaviors may include skipping school, promiscuity, delinquency, aggressiveness, and alcohol and drug abuse. They may also engage in fighting, bullying, lying, and cheating. When comparing adolescents who engage in delinquent activities and those who do not, the only difference that surfaces between the two groups is that juveniles displaying delinquent behavior have been witnessed of domestic violence. Under peculiar circumstances, some of these children may not suffer these unfavorable cognitive, emotional, and behavioral problems. Some of the contributing factors may be gender (e.g. females), socioeconomic status, the amount of outside support being received, and the intellectual capacity of an individual. Men, who witnessed family violence as children, are three times more likely to become the abuser to their own wives, and eventually children on non-violent families. Furthermore, the occurrence of child abuse is 15 times more likely in families with domestic violence problems. In certain states, up to 65 percent of the children in jail for murder are there for killing their abusive parents. Children who have been witnesses to domestic violence are six times more likely to commit suicide than those who have not witnessed violent acts. They might think that there is no one there for them especially if one parent is torturing the other. The one being abused is so helpless that he or she cannot even help oneself, and to be able to help the children. Some statistics state that US spends anywhere from 5 to 10 billion dollars yearly on family violence related costs, medical costs, police and court expenses, shelters, sick leave and absenteeism. Women are three times more likely to be murdered by someone intimate, boyfriend or husband, than by a total stranger. Currently, there is a woman being beaten every 15 seconds in the US. This is according to the research undertaken by Wright (2031). The leading injury to women between the ages of 15 to 44 is domestic violence, even more than rape, muggings, and car accidents all combined. In the United States, there are nearly three times more animal shelters than shelters for battered woman and their children. This is quite demoralizing in society. Domestic violence is a serious issue that has been around for ages and just recently getting serious attention. It especially affects children, no matter what age they are. There is a need for a solid research on the way violence affects children in the families. They are the ones who are suffering the most, and more must studied in order to address the problem properly. In addition, an understanding of the various ways in which an individual and society can deal with this menace needs to be stipulated. Teen Relationship Abuse Most researchers have associated domestic violence with adults; however, in the current society, teen relationship faces adverse domestic violence. Statistics revealed that one-third of college and university-age youth have experienced violence when in an intimate relationship or dating. The same factors that constitute adult domestic violence also affect the teenagers in the intimate relationship. Of particular concern is the date rape, which has been reported to be rampant, in most of the relationship abuse. Approximately 55 percent of all the rapes associated with adolescents have been attributed to dates or acquaintances. Despite their awareness of dating violence, teens do not perceive these issues as serious or detrimental to the relationship. Some research with teens indicated that many of them view dating violence as an acceptable behavior in a relationship. Although not considered a vital issue, teens seem confused and undecided about the causes of dating violence. Some teens feel that violence is an aggressive way to solve an argument. The other causes of such teen aggressiveness are: the rush into a relationship, lack of relationship experience, and being confused about the difference between love and lust. An important aspect in teen dating violence is that teens’ lack experience in intimate relationships. They may lack the skills to communicate their anger, to negotiate conflict, to express their feelings, and to deal with rejection. These skills are being developed and practiced in early dating situations. Repeated breaking up and making up is frequently observed. During the teen years, individuals attempt to develop intimate relationships and skills to maintain relationships, but the learning process is often a painful one. The nature of dating relationships varies with the individual’s age; relationships in early adolescence are particularly short term, less well defined, and more fluid than the relationship of young adults. A young teenage woman can be involved in an abusive dating relationship as an adult woman. She can be isolated or withdrawn from friends, as they perceive her to be one who is involved in violence. However, a teen’s isolation may be even greater than that of an adult. This is because the teen is mistrustful of adults and badly wants to establish his or her independence from them. Moreover, a teen is often afraid to confide with others for fear of being punished for a situation he or she did not create. While adult women in abusive relationships may be isolated from family and peers by their abusers, they do not mistrust all adults. In addition, they do not fear punishment from those with whom they confide. Thus, adults’ abusive situations may be more inclined to seek out or accept advice from other adults. Teens, in contrast, will have a limited social network of possible helpers to whom they can turn. In addition, when teens do talk, they prefer to talk with one of their peers. Unfortunately, peers are as naive about adult dating violence as are the victims themselves. Therefore, while peers may provide a compassionate ear and become a sounding board for a dating violence victim, they do not typically have the life experience to share with the victim. Teens have poor conflict-resolution skills. Inability to resolve conflicts has been identified as an issue in adult relationships that involve violence. As a culture, individuals are not provided with extensive conflict-resolution skills. In many contexts, individuals are rewarded for resolving conflict by using verbal intimidation, bullying and force. Peaceful and non-confrontational strategies are not always admired, especially by boys and girls. The romantic notions of how love is expressed may influence teens in relationships. Love may be associated with acts of devotion, high levels of passion and emotionality, and jealousy and possessiveness. The absence of such behavior is sometimes seen as the absence of love. Jealousy, in particular, has been associated with relationship violence at multiple developmental stages. Male batterers demonstrate more jealousy than do happily married and non-violent men. For teens, however, jealousy, possessiveness, and acts of control may be thought to demonstrate devotion and passion. In the early teen years, many girls and boys develop an interest in the opposite sex. Sometimes, girls may report changing their appearance and their interest in order to attract the attention of boys, or of a boy. The importance placed on having a boyfriend leaves girls vulnerable to dating violence. Some girls would rather endure physical or psychological violence than not to have a boyfriend. Regardless of women’s own sexual desires, girls and women experience heterosexuality as imposed by society in the form of messages they receive every day. In addition, it promotes heterosexuality in the form of myths and norms. Recognition of the potential for harm had led to increasing efforts to intervene in teen relationship violence. Interventions are based on the recognition that teens are unlikely to seek help and that adults have often been oblivious to the signs that relationship violence is occurring. Current interventions are often based and focus on the identification of teen relationship violence, and on developing healthy relationships, and interpersonal and communication skills. In an attempt to mitigate teen relationship abuse, the non-governmental organizations and activists have been given a blow in their endeavors. Shelters for domestic violence individuals do not admit women under the age of 18 years unless they are the children of adult woman who are themselves fleeing abusive relationships. Even with parental permission, shelters are reluctant to house minors. This is because the facilities do not meet the zoning, or licensing codes for housing children. Consequently, as the emotional and psychological damage that intimate partner abuse inflicts on its victims, teens may need to access mental and medical health care services. However, resources available to treat a teen’s mental or physical health are limited in most of the countries. Further, the processes for accessing these services are especially confusing for both the teens and the health care workers who are committed to helping them. Roots of Domestic Violence According to Stiles (2052), the roots of every domestic violence are attributed to a patriarchal family. Ideally, the notion that wives should always be the men’s possession is deeply rooted to social traditions. Women are always disadvantaged from the position they undertake in the traditional custom. Ideally, the breakdown of families is one of the root causes of violence in the society. The disintegration of the traditional family over the past thirty years corresponds with the rise in violent crime. Parent-child relationships have a powerful effect on young children and can either make or break a child. Children who come from single parent families headed by teenage mothers are far more likely than others to live in abusive, neglectful homes; therefore, are more likely to become violent teenagers and adults. As the single mothers do not have the support of a husband in their favor, they are more likely to show aggressive behavior towards their children. Lemmey et al. (265) indicate that violence against children turns into violence towards children. Children from single parent homes are also more likely to be neglected than those children having both parents. Teenage criminal behavior has its roots in the deprivation of parental love that starts back to infancy. Future delinquents and thugs more often than not live in a chaotic, dysfunctional family. This leads to aggression and hostility towards others. In addition, of all murders solved by police in the United States, people on parole, probation, or out on bail commit 32 percent of the crimes. The criminal justice system has helped contribute to society’s high crime rate by allowing the criminals to wander the streets at their own will. Plea bargains and paroling of all criminals keep them from serving sentences they deserve, and helps maintain high rates of criminal activity. Maughan et al. (18) suggest that parole is granted to inmates who do not deserve it, and violations are ignored. Many reward systems can take months or even years off time served. Therefore, in some cases, if an inmate is sentenced up to 10 years, he may only end up serving one year of that sentence. Plea bargains allow criminals to escape punishment for the crimes they commit. In addition, these so-called rehabilitation programs only fool officials into believing that these criminals have undergone a behavioral change, and shave off time being served. Overcrowding of prisons and jails put more criminals back on the street and back to committing the violent crimes that landed them behind bars in the first place. Consequently, domestic violence may be attributed to the age and race of the partners. For example, it just so happens that when a man is under the age of 30, the likelihood of domestic violence transpiring is double. This gives a range of the age expected to commit domestic violence. Another example is the family’s income that ranges above thirty-five thousand dollars (Lemmey et al. 265). Seventy percent of those abusing their spouses are Anglo, about ten percent are Black, and about nine percent are Hispanic. With this information, one can assume that, with people of higher income, it is presumably an Anglo person to commit acts of domestic violence. Women who leave their batterers are at a 75 percent greater risk of being killed by the batterer than those who stay. Being afraid of leaving allows men to empower themselves and force women to stay. Furthermore, domestic violence may be a serious problem in the United States, but some of the factors that contribute to the high rate of domestic violence can be reduced to help control it. The more that control in society becomes loose, the more that crime will keep pace. Since the drug trade, the breakdown of the traditional family and forgiving the poor criminal justice system, the rate of domestic violence has been alarming over the past thirty years. Not much can be done to reduce this criminality aside from stiffer law enforcement. Conclusion Domestic violence has been a rampant crisis across the world. The UNICEF study (2008) provided that between 20 to 50 percent of all female population has been subjected to domestic violence. Ideally, women have been considered as the prime victims of domestic violence in society. The US Department of Justice, in 2006, found out that 25 percent of American women were victims of intimate partner’s violence. Women are prone to severe injuries, unlike men. Within the US, one-third of the women have been reported to be raped by their intimate partners, citing the cause being domestic violence. The theories put forward by various scholars to explain the current increase in domestic violence is quite practical. Macro-level theories, micro-level theories and individual-level theories have been viewed as the perfect explanation for the existence of domestic violence. Concerning vulnerability, women between the ages of 16 and 24 have been reported to be highly victimized by their intimate partner. Race has played a vital role in enhancing domestic violence, as women from African-American descent are highly vulnerable to victimization, unlike the White women, within the age group between 20 and 24. When women are separated from their intimate partners, their vulnerability to domestic violence increases, as with divorcees. As such, it has discouraged women from leaving their relationship since they know that the risk of victimization is high when they are not with their intimate partners. It clearly denotes the reason for the women’s reluctance to leave a marriage or intimate partner even if there is a threat upon her. Recommendations In an attempt to minimize domestic violence and improve its response to the society, vital segments and dedication within society should be incorporated. Currently, domestic violence agencies and child welfare have undertaken programs that tend to address the issue of family violence. However, few of the programs have been effectively implemented, as they have not been supported by donor agencies and the society. Courts have been struggling with domestic violence by imposing severe punishments on the perpetrators. Programs on youth violence have failed to address the various ways in which domestic violence can influence the individual health development. Apart from the programs, the individual needs to understand his/her partner well, and the government should form a board that investigates women who are battered in the society. Works Cited Lemmey Dorothy, Ann Malecha, Judith Mcfarlane, Pam Willson, Kathy Watson, Julia Henderson, Nina Fredland, and Pamela Schultz. Severity of Violence against Woman Correlates with Behavioral Problems in their Children. Pediatric Nursing, 27 (2002): 265. Maughan, Angeline and Dante Cicchitti. Impact of Child Maltreatment and Inter-Adult Violence on Children's Emotion Regulation Abilities and Socio-Emotional Adjustment. Child Development, 73 (2002): 1525 (18). Stiles, Mellissa. Witnessing Domestic Violence: The Effect on Children. American Family Physician, 66 (2002): 2052. Szyndrowski, Deanna. The Impact of Domestic Violence on Adolescent Aggression in the Schools. Preventing School Failure, 44 (1999): 9. Wright, Janis. A Look at Domestic Violence and Children. American Family Physician, 66 (2002): 2031. Read More