Domestic Abuse and Its Consequences
Abuse! There are always people that want to know what is it, and why do they do it? Why do all these women stay in that kind of home, and what are the effects on them when this happens? How do the children deal with this kind of situation, and what effects does it have on them? One of the most important questions you would most likely hear is how do you leave an abusive relationship and how do you cope with it after you do leave? (Women's Rural Advocacy Programs).
First, abuse can happen to anyone. What is abuse? Abuse occurs when one partner uses different types of abusive behaviors to gain control or power of the other. Abuse is described as many things like, physical, emotional, sexual, or it can even just be threat. Domestic violence in our society has grown a tremendous amount (D). Women that are being abused usually do not see themselves as a victim, and that also goes for the abuser (Domesticviolence.org). Warning signs are very important. An abusive man will show signs of extreme jealousy, and have a very poor self-image. 70% of abusive men usually have had
history of abuse in their family as a younger child. Violent behavior is not caused by alcohol substance. Violence is a learned behavior. They have a need to control (Supreme Court of California). The patterns that we see have only one person as the perpetrator. Physical abusers have a target they go for the stomach, buttock, breasts, or genital areas, the reason for this is because it makes it harder for people to see the injuries (Information on Domestic Violence).
Women in an abusive relationship feel embarrassed and trapped. Women stay in these relationships because of fear, fear of the abuser, and em...
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Domesticviolence.org. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.domesticviolence.org/what-is-abuse/
Effects of Domestic Violence. (1996). Retrieved from http://www.findcounc=seling.com/journal/domestic-violence-effects.html
Information on Domestic Violence. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.cwsor.org/info.htm
Supreme Court of California. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.fresnosuperiorcourt.org/family/domestic_violence_issues.php
Women In Abusive Relationships. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.womensdivorce.com/abusive-relationships.html
Women's Rural Advocacy Programs. (n.d.). Retrieved from Types of Domestic Abuse: http://www.letswrap.com/dvinfo/warning.htm
Women's Rural Advocacy Programs. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.letswrap.com/dvinfo/types.htm
Womens Web. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.womensweb.ca/violence/dv/leave.php
This article explains the fear that runs through abused women’s head. Signs within the victim to look for in an abusive relationship is feeling threatened, criticized, controlled, afraid, or shy from the spouse. Physical signs to look for is the abuser hitting, twisting words around, insulting, or purposely putting the victim in danger (Rafenstein
Almost as if they were to be trained as an animal. Second, socioeconomic status was a key factor in abusive relationships. Lower income women are proven to be more frequently victims of domestic violence than wealthier women. Situations where the male partner is underemployed or unemployed, he’s not seeking employment, or they are residing in a poor neighborhood all can have an impact of on abusive relationships. Third, some batterers were abused themselves. Here, batterers were abused during their upbringing whether it be physical, verbal, or sexually abused. They may have also witnessed domestic violence as a part of their childhood. From here, being abusive was embedded in their mind. They were confused about a healthy relationship. Using violence as a means of power and control was the way of life. Boys who witness domestic violence are more likely to batter as an adult. Fourth, race was another factor when being abusive. Black women seem to be more disrespectful towards men and talk out of line resulting in abuse. Black women also worry about the repercussions of reporting domestic violence. A lot of abusive relationships go
Over seven billion people in the world and many unfortunate receive the toll of abuse, either by seeing it or experiencing it firsthand. In all countries around the world abuse flourishes. In the United States one in three women, one in four men, and one in five teenage girls experienced a type of abuse according to the National Institute of Justice. A top concern for ninety-two percent of women is domestic and sexual abuse ("Domestic Violence Statistics"). Sexual, emotional, physical, neglect, or financial abuse leaving lasting effects on children, elders, and victims of all ages. Abusers use different tactics like humiliation, isolation, threats, intimidation, denial or blame to break down their victim preventing them from leaving; which leads to incidences of repeated abuse cause victims to seek help in shelters or agencies advocating against family violence. Yet in some cases after prolonged abuse and too much red tape, victims take action into their own hands and put themselves into precarious situations causing more emotional strife and drama to their already complicated life.
Women will continue to suffer from domestic violence unless there is some sort of intervention to help them. When dealing with this population, it is essential to create a safe environment where the woman can talk freely about the abuse without any retaliation from the abuser. When someone comes into a therapeutic session, everyone deserves to be treated with respect and care. This in turn will create a sense of hope that a different type of life can be possible. Also, knowing that there is a support system can help the woman begin the process of change. Despite this, the process of leaving the abusive partner is slow (Warshaw, n.d.)
“Women have throughout history been the most victimized by someone they knew (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence pg. 1) Most abusers usually start out with emotional abuse because it makes the target emotionally weaker and less likely to fight back. It also probably has the most different ways to inflict abuse. Characteristics of emotional abuse usually consist of putting her down, making her feel bad about herself, name calling, mind games, humiliation, making her feel guilty, and think she’s crazy. A more specific action would be using the children to make her feel guilty about them (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence pg.2). This is usually done by using visitation to harass her and or the children, using the kids to relay messages, and threatening to take them away( National Coalition Against Domestic Violence pg.2 ).Abusers are also known to use things like “coercion and threats”( National Coalition Against Domestic Violence Pg2 ). “Two of the most common threats are to leave them or commit suicide” (National Coalitional Against Domestic Violence pg 2 ). “Most domestic abuse cases are never reported to the authorities (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence pg.1 ).” This is probably due to the fact that most are too ashamed of what is going on and feel that they let it happened or they deserve the horrible ...
People do not fully understand domestic abuse as much as they should. It is not simple and the different forms of it needs to be explained more often. “Domestic violence is the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another. It includes physical violence, sexual violence, psychological violence, and emotional abuse” (“What is Domestic Violence?”). These types of violence can range from mild to severe. Mild abuse includes pushing, grabbing, shoving, or slapping a woman. Severe abuse includes kicking, choking, beating or using a weapon on women.
According to Ornelas there are three main types of abuse; physical, emotional, and verbal. Examples of physical abuse is when the abuser is slapping, kicking, choking, and punching. Emotional abuse involves mind games, jealousy, isolation from friends and family and making the victim feel worthless (Ornelas). Verbal abuse is constant yelling, put downs and threats. A woman who is in love will do whatever it takes to have a relationship with the person they love, which makes it even harder for her to leave when there is abuse involved. Sometimes it is very hard for a woman to recognize the abuse because they are so in love with their partner. It’s very important to recognize the patterns of abuse and domestic violence. All women should take the signs of abuse very seriously. When women start seeing these signs of abuse they need to leave or call for help and not stay with the abuser.
What can we say about domestic violence in this country that has not been said already? Is it that it happens in our everyday lives but no one ever talks about it in the media? As a woman I say this with great reluctance in regards to one of my sources: “Most of the reported abuse cases happen in poor and crime- ridden neighborhoods where couples or families in crisis have little to no access to counseling or remedies.” My interest is, does counseling really work? One of my sources is “Normlessness, Domestic Violence, and Social Practice” by Sharleen Andrews. This article talks about Implications for Social Work with Families, and How Anomie Affects the Latino Community. Another source is Dying for Love: The Epidemic of Domestic Abuse Cases by Kimberly Davis. This article speaks about how women are in the most danger after they get out of an abusive relationship, and also touches on different perspectives.
Abuse takes on various forms ranging from physical, mental, emotional, and neglect. Abuse is not limited to one particular group culture, but happens to people from all walks of life. Women are often the victims of abuse especially when dealing with spousal or intimate partner valance. Each year, increasingly more women have been reported to be victims of some form of spousal or intimate partner violence. Generally in a relationships abuse being to happen, the abuse begins to forms or a combination of the two. Physical violence or abuse is the first form in which actual violence takes place in the mental abuse. In this form of abuse actual violence does not occur, but the abuser is the demander or belittles the victim, causing the victim to feel worthless; other abusers combine the two forms. The emotional or mental abuse is by far the worst. According to Reed and Enright (2006) “Spousal psychological abuse represents a painful betrayal of trust leading to serious negative psychological outcomes for the abused partner,” (R. The main purpose of spousal or intimate partner abuse, contrary to popular belief, is to inflict emotional pain, not physical pain. There are several categories of spousal psychological abuse; criticizing ridiculing, jealous control, purposeful ignoring, threats of abandonment, threats of harm, and damage to personal property spousal abuse produces a more negative emotional affect when compare to physical abuse. The negative physiological affects produce depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and post traumatic stress disorder.
Other people often overlook domestic abuse. People generally do not like to get themselves involved in other people’s problems, especially when they believe there might be problems at home. For one reason or the other, the person who is the witness to someone who is being abused by their spouse does not want to report the crime, or get involved at all, because they are afraid something violent will happen to them for trying to help. Inside the relationship, there are many signs of the abuse. The biggest sign is that you completely fear your partner. Domestic abuse does not start the day that you meet your partner. It can start a week, month, or even years after.
There is no simple answer as to why domestic violence occurs (McCue 9). Domestic violence can transpire to anyone, yet the problem is over looked (“Abusive Relationships”). This is especially true when the abuse becomes psychological rather than physical (“Abusive Relationships”). When the abuse becomes emotional, it is minimized, but it can leave perdurable scars (“Abusive Relationships”).
There are many different types of domestic violence. Physical abuse is the most obvious form, but this is not to say that outsiders always recognize it. Generally, physical violence causes bodily harm, using a variety of methods. Slapping, pushing, throwing, hitting, punching, and strangling are only a few methods. An object or weapon may or may not be used. There is not always physical evidence of physical abuse such as bruising, bleeding, scratches, bumps, etc., therefore, absence of physical marks does not necessarily mean physical abuse had not occurred. Physical abuse sometimes escalates to murder (Morris and Biehl 7, Haley 14-17).
The popular press article I chose is titled How to Spot an Abuser Before It’s too late by Laura Riley. Laura Riley gives nines warning signs towards if a person is in a relationship with an abusive person. In her years of research she has found that most abusers do not use words to deal with problems. They tend to lash out by hitting someone or something. She explains this as infantile behavior. Another sign she gives is if a person is very possessive. This is how abusers obtain control of their partner by pushing them away from friends and family and normal everyday activities. Another sign is jealousy. Abusers tend to be very insecure so they get overly jealous when their partner talks to the opposite sex. She also has analyzed that if your partner reiterates that you’re the only one for them. The abuser has you on a very high pedestal, so once you disappoint them it gives them all the more reason for them to lash out on you. Another sign is if th...
To begin with, the definition of domestic violence is “the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another” (“What Is Domestic Violence”). Ranging from grown women to young children, many are victims to abuse. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, “nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States” (“Statistics”). Just by calculating, that is 28,800 people who are abused in just ONE DAY! The scary part is that this number does not even account for the numerous cases that are not even told. Many victims are threatened or even hurt so bad that they must keep their mouth shut in fear of even worse abuse to come. Of
Chamberlain, Linda. “Domestic Violence: A Primary Care Issue for Rural Women.” The Network News 27i1p1(3) Article 113 (2202): 1-4.