Domestic Violence Demon by Steven Deare - Term Paper Example

Name: Course: Institution: Tutor: Sociological Analysis of Media Article Title of Article: Domestic Violence Demon The media article Domestic Violence Demon was published in Australia and describes why domestic violence is much worse than even the much feared incidents of gang shooting. In this article, the author has argued that while most people fear street shooting and gang raid, the most horrific crimes are perpetrated at homes and by close relatives. While shootings and other crimes claim about 20 lives a year, domestic violence affects thousands of families notwithstanding the fact that most of these cases are not reported to authorities. Though brief, the article has indeed brought into public attention one of the most pertinent social issues that often go unnoticed by the public. In the article, the incident rate of shooting has been compared with that of domestic violence. The result is a grim image that provokes many questions on what authorities are doing to protect people in their domestic settings. The author has creatively combined first person and third person narrations to demonstrate how this issue, which is often given limited attention in the media, is fast eating into social structures that are the foundation of calmness and tranquility in the society. While providing public security is a core responsibility of the government (APIAHF, 2005), not enough measures have been taken by the government and the society to protect people against horrible ordeals happening ‘behind closed doors’ as the article puts it. Essentially, domestic violence describes a wide range of domestic behaviors which involve people in an intimate relationship or those who have had such a relationship (Richter, 2004). While most people are aware of the physical consequences of domestic violence, consequences can also take psychological, emotional and sexual dimensions. As noted in the media article, it is difficult for authorities to establish why domestic violence is such a high-incident issue. Domestic violence occurs in different forms and it can be difficult to establish a clear demarcation between the various forms because of the apparent differences in family and intimate relationships. Differences in living arrangements among communities are another major issue that makes it difficult to understand patterns in domestic violence. According to a report by New South Wales Child Death Review Team (2008) domestic violence does not discriminate on any ground and can, therefore, occur in both same-sex and heterogeneous relationships. The behavior cuts across all age groups, ethnic backgrounds and economic levels. While women are traditionally the most common victims of domestic violence, men are of late getting increasingly abused especially verbally and emotionally. In the article, it has been noted that domestic violence is a major social issue that continues to be an important public issues and an epidemic that maims, tortures and kills. According to Holt, Buckley & Whelan (2008), domestic is a pervasive form of human rights abuse that denies spouses and children a sense of self-worthy and equality and the right to enjoy fundamental rights. Instead of using an image of a severely beaten mother and her children lying on a street, the media article has printed an image of police officer, in fact a crimes manager, in deep thought. This has effectively captured the notion that domestic violence is an issue of major concern not only to the victims of the act and their immediate families but also to the authorities as well. In fact all over the world police have difficulties detecting and preventing domestic violence. As such, the issue has become a public health issues that requires concerted efforts by the society and the government to solve it. It is however the case that domestic violence cannot be eliminated fully, not least from the perpetrators’ minds. Various researchers (Bagshaw & Chung, 2007; Blagg, 2004 and Fehlberg & Behrens, 2008) have conducted extensive studies on the cause and risk factors for domestic violence. It has been found that while there is no one factor that can be associated with domestic violence, perpetrators of domestic violence bear certain characteristic and traits which can perhaps give insights into the dimensions of the issue. Some of these characteristics and traits include alcohol and drug abuse, financial distress, separation and experiences of child abuse (National Crime Prevention, 2008). Personal distress; lack of stable social support and pregnancy have also been found to have a strong correlation with domestic violence. It is therefore important for the society and police to have a clear understanding of this variable in an attempt to unravel the nature and dimensions of domestic violence (WESNET, 2008; Ellsberg & Heise, 2005). Reporting on the consequences of domestic violence, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2005) has noted that the problem escalates from simple threats and verbal abuse to active violence. While physical harm may be the most obvious consequence, the psychological and emotional consequences of this form of violence can be severe. Psychologically and emotionally abusive relationships can lead to traumas such as anxiety, depression, substance attack, panic attacks, homelessness, psychotic episodes, slow recovery from mental illnesses and suicide attempts. In Australia, domestic violence is a common and widespread public problem (Fehlberg & Behrens, 2008). However, it is not easy to determine the true extent of this problem in Australia owing to the complicated scope of the acts of domestic violence and the nature of family relationships in which the acts occur. In a 2005 Personal Safety Survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the following facts were obtained: i. One precedent of men (about 68000) and two percent of men (about 16000) had been victims of domestic violence from their current partners. ii. 35% and 15% of men and women respectively had experienced acts of violence from former partners. iii. 3% of women and seven percent of men were victims of physical violence in the twelve months prior to the survey. iv. Of the women who were victims of physical assault during the 12 months before the survey, about forty percent were assaulted by a current partner compared to only four percent for men. v. 1.3% of women were sexually assaulted during the 12 months prior to the study compared to 0.6% for men. vi. The survey also revealed that young women, women living in remote areas and indigenous women were the most risk groups. The above facts indicate why the article titled Domestic Violence Demon was so important to the public. A research study by Indermaur (2006) has indicated that the problem can have significant effects on the victims’ mental and physical. Moreover, the problem is an important contributor to family breakups. The mental effects of domestic violence can be particularly devastating for men who experience the problem. This is because of the stigma associated with the problem in the Australian community (Bagshaw & Chung, 2007; Quinlivan & Evans, 2009). For this reason, most male victims of domestic violence do not report the cases to the police or counselors, and as a result they experience overwhelming psychological symptoms. The 2005 report by the ABS Personal Safety Survey also shows that experiences of domestic violence are strongly correlated with high incidences of Post Traumatic Disorder and hence the problem is an important public health issue. The effects of domestic violence on children can be quite challenging. According to Meyering (2011), children can be abused sexually, physically and emotionally as a result of domestic violence. A research study by Holt, Buckley & Whelan (2008) has identified domestic abuse and substance abuse by parents as a major factor responsible for child abuse ad neglect in Australia. In most cases, children get exposed to domestic violence by directly witnessing the violence or when they intervene to protect their parents. Studies on children exposed to domestic violence indicate that the behavior can have long term cognitive, behavioral and emotional effects on the children, which can in turn impact adversely on their development, education and employment outcomes. Some of the negative effects of the behavior on an Australian child include: anxiety; aggression; trauma symptoms, antisocial behavior and low social competence (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2005; Victorian Community Council against Violence, 2007). In conclusion, the media article has highlighted domestic violence as an issue that remains to be an important social and public health problem in Australia. The problem contributes to increased cases of illness, disability and even death. It is important that the government develops a mechanism for detecting tendencies that lead to domestic violence. Besides impacting adversely on the spouses, domestic violence is rapidly becoming a major problem for children. Children whose parents are victims of domestic violence are at high risk for psychiatric disorders, developmental problems, low self-esteem and learning difficulties, a reason why the issue should be given priority of all other public health issues. While the government (through the police) is doing enough to address other crimes such as shooting, it is important that enough is done to guarantee security and personal safety at the domestic settings as noted in the article. References Asian and Pacific Islander Institute on Domestic Violence (APIAHF) 2005, ‘Children, Youth and Their Abused Mothers’, available at http://www.apiahf.org/apidvinstitute/CriticalIssues/child.htm Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2005, Personal Safety Surveys 2005, Crime and safety, viewed 18th August, 2012 from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mediareleasesbytitle/F9E5031D932C29 08CA2 571C500784266?OpenDocument. Bagshaw, D & Chung, D 2007, Women, Men and Domestic Violence, Partnerships Against Domestic Violence, Canberra. Blagg, H 2004, Crisis Intervention in Aboriginal Family Violence: Summary Report, Crime Research Centre, University of Western Australia, Perth. Ellsberg, M. and Heise, L 2005, ‘Researching Violence against Women. A Practical Guide for Researchers and Acitivists’. Washington DC, United States, World Health Organization, PATH. Fehlberg & Behrens 2008, Australian family law: the contemporary context, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, pp. 177–179. Holt, S., Buckley, & Whelan, S 2008, The impact of exposure to domestic violence on children and young people: a review of the literature, Child Abuse and Neglect, vol. 32, no. 8, pp. 797–810. Indermaur, D 2006, ‘Young Australians and domestic violence’, Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, No. 195, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra. Meyering, B 2011, What factors shape community attitudes to domestic violence? Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse, Thematic review, no. 1. National Crime Prevention 2008, Young People and Domestic Violence: National Research on Young People’s Attitudes and Experiences of Domestic Violence, Fact Sheet, Attorney General’s Department, Canberra. New South Wales Child Death Review Team 2008, 2000-2001 Report, NSW Commission for Children and Young People, Sydney. Quinlivan, J & Evans, S 2009, ‘A prospective cohort study of the impact of domestic violence on young teenage pregnancy outcomes’, Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, no. 14, pp. 17-23. Richter, L 2004, ‘The Importance of Caregiver-Child Interactions for the Survival and Healthy Development of Young Children’, World Health Organization, Geneva. Victorian Community Council against Violence 2007, Victorian Family Violence database: First Report, Victorian Community Council Against Violence, Melbourne. WESNET 2008, Domestic Violence in Regional Australia: A Literature Review. A Report for the Commonwealth Department of Transport and Regional Services, Partnerships against Violence, Canberra. Read More