Domestic violence, also referred to as intimate partner violence, intimate partner abuse or domestic abuse, affects over one million people in the United States alone. It can be carried out in any number of ways including physically, emotionally, sexually, psychologically and/or financially. Its legal definition considers it to be “any assault, battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, or any criminal offense resulting in physically injury or death of one family member or household member by another who is residing in the same single dwelling unit” (Brown, 2008). In the United States it is considered a major health problem so much so that it was declared the number one health concern by the U.S. Surgeon General in 1992 (Peterman & Dixon, 2003). Not only is it a rapidly growing health problem but it is a growing societal concern as well. Extending beyond the effect felt by the victims and their families, it impacts our communities, government, law enforcement and public service agencies. However, domestic violence is not a new issue within our society. For centuries, women have been regarded as the property of men, offering them leeway in the enforcement of domestic abuse laws. Public opinion held that as heads of households, they had the right to discipline their wife and children as they saw fit. Eventually, women came to view this prevailing belief as truth. An inevitable outcome was their denial as victims at all. They simply saw it as the way it was and accepted it as such. Non-intervention has typically been the preferred method in regard to family matters. The long standing belief held that ‘what happened behind closed doors was no one’s business other than that family’s’ ruled the attitudes of society, the lega... ... middle of paper ... ...nal of Family Violence, 20(6), 363-363-371. doi:10.1007/s10896-005-7798-4 St Pierre, M., & Senn, C. Y. (2010). External barriers to help-seeking encountered by canadian gay and lesbian victims of intimate partner abuse: An application of the barriers model. Violence and Victims, 25(4), 536-536-52. Stapel, S. (2007). Falling to pieces: New york state civil legal remedies available to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender survivors of domestic violence. New York Law School Law Review, 52(2), 247-277. Tesch, B., Bekerian, D., English, P., & Harrington, E. (2010). Same-sex domestic violence: Why victims are more at risk. International Journal of Police Science & Management, 12(4), 526-535. doi:10.1350/ijps.2010.12.4.204 Tully, C. T. (2001). Domestic violence: The ultimate betrayal of human rights. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services, 13(1), 83-98.
Domestic Violence is a widely recognized issue here in the United States. Though many people are familiar with domestic violence, there are still many facts that people do not understand. Abuse is not just physical, it is mental, emotional, verbal, sexual and financial. Many victims of physical abuse are also fall victim to these abuse tactics as well. An abusive partner often uses verbal, mental, emotional, and financial abuse to break their partner so to speak. It is through this type of abuse the victim often feels as though they are not adequately meeting their partner’s needs.
Stark (2006) would suggest that thirty years of research has failed to produce a consensus as to what constitutes a case of domestic violence considering that 90% of women who report the abuse have no physical injuries. Methods of coercive control do not meet the criminological viewpoint rather, control extends to financial, emotional, and psychological aspects of subjugating the partner thus no physical violence occurs. If only violent means are reported, then the reported number of victims would perhaps change thus creating a more gender symmetrical pattern. Until operational definitions are defined throughout the disciplines with consistency then there will continue to be discrepancies and opposing views. However, integrative theories of feminist views are being explored which investigate the intersection of not only male dominance as a form of oppression but the use of race, class, national origin, age, sexual orientation, and disability and their impact on intimate partner violence as stated by McPhail and colleagues
Domestic violence can be described as any form of abuse towards a victim, whether physical, emotional, sexual, verbal, psychological, or economical. The stakeholders in such violence are the abuser(s), the victim(s) and the bystander(s), all of whom are affected in some form or another by the abuse. For further clarity, domestic violence in this discussion refers to situations where the principle stakeholders, i.e. abuser and victim are in a relationship, for example partners, co-workers or friends. Domestic violence affects all stakeholders, not only the victim but the abuser and bystanders, and it can be easily prevented.
Domestic violence is a terrible curse to all those involved. It inflicts harm on the victim, the perpetrator and witnesses, whether they be children or not. While support services have long been available to assist women and/or children overcome any issues that arise as a result of domestic violence, these services have left out a significant portion of victims, those that are male. In 2012 The Australian Bureau of Statistics found “That 33.3 per cent of victims of current partner violence during the last 12 months were male” (ABS, 2012) and “37.1 per cent of victims of emotional abuse by a partner during the last 12 months were male” (ABS, 2012). This shows the amount of victims that are being left behind by domestic violence support networks in their current state, despite their good intentions. For such a painful and difficult time it is not adequate to leave one third of those suffering behind.
Knudsen, Dean D. and Miller, JoAnne L. Abused and Battered: Social and Legal Responses to Family Violence. Aldine De Gruyter, Inc.; New York. 1991.
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is historically referred to as domestic violence. It describes a pattern of coercive and assaultive behavior that may include psychological abuse, progressive isolation, sexual assault, physical injury, stalking, intimidation, deprivation, and reproductive coercion among partners (The Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF), 1999). IPV leads to lifelong consequences such as lasting physical impairment, emotional trauma, chronic health problems, and even death. It is an issue affecting individuals in every community, regardless of age, economic status, race, religion, nationality or educational background. Eighty-five percent of domestic violence victims are women (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2003).
Mantel, Barbara. "Domestic Violence." CQ Researcher. N.p., 15 Nov. 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. .
Domestic Violence Statistics states, “Around the world, at least one in every 3 women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime” (1). The United States Department of Justice defines domestic violence as, “a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner” (para. 1). Domestic violence is a crime that numerous citizens fall victim to in every country. Anyone can be a victim of domestic violence regardless of race, gender, sexuality or religion. Being a victim of domestic violence can affect a person’s way of life permanently and the way these victims interact with other people can become a difficult task and can eventually affect their future. Domestic violence is substantially wrong because it can cause drastic permanent effects in a person’s life, can cause physical, emotional and intellectual damage, and affects a child’s state of mind of what is normal and what is not if they are in a domestic violent atmosphere. While women are usually victims of domestic violence, men are victims of this crime as well. The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney states that, “According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief, men account for approximately fifteen percent of the victims of reported intimate partner crimes” (Clark County Prosecuting Attorney, par.1). Physical, emotional, economic and physiological abuses are all forms of domestic violence that many people would consider to fall under another crime. There are many crimes that many citizens commit, but domestic violence is one of many that should not be taken lightly.
McHugh, M. C., & Frieze, I. H. (2006). Intimate partner violence. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1087, 121–141. doi: 10.1196/annals.1385.011
Domestic violence is a universal phenomenon, with millions of people as victims and perpetrators (World Health Organization (WHO), 2012). It destroys homes and families. Victimization occurs regardless of race, gender, religion, class, and sexual orientation. The term is often used to refer to violence that occurs between two people in an intimate relationship, but extends to violence against children and the elderly (Valiulis, 2014, p.124). I use the term domestic violence in this research refers to intimate partner violence. Globally, 30% of women have endured either physical or sexual abuse at the hands of their partner (WHO, 2012, p.2). Unfortunately I was not able to find a reliable global statistic on the victimization of men.
Domestic violence is not just fighting, hitting or an occasional argument. It’s a chronic abuse of power. The abuser of domestic violence, controls and tortures the victim of threats, intimidation, and physical violence. Domestic violence is one of the leading causes of violence in America. The abusers are not only men, women can be abusers as well. Women make up the vast majority of domestic violence. According to the American Bar Association (ABA), 90-95% of domestic violence victims are females and 70% of intimidating homicides are females. Domestic violence is a serious crime and everyone needs to be aware of its effects. This essay presents and explains the evidence supporting the major risk factors for intimate partner homicides.
Kennedy, Bernice R. Domestic Violence: A.k.a. Intimate Partner Violence (ipv). New York: iUniverse, 2013. Print.
Sadly, we live in in a world where domestic abuse is almost a normalized cause due to the frequency of reports. From Johnny Depp and his wife Amber Heard, to Chris Brown and Rihanna, it seems like most of these domestic violence cases are only against men and that women are not capable of abusing their significant other. In the scholarly article that I chose, the editor, Sherry Hamby, reports that instead of only believing in men abusing women cases, there are just as many women abusing men domestic cases.
Domestic violence is skyrocketing in our society. In the U.S., as many as 1.5 million women and 850,000 men were physically assaulted by their intimate partner last year, and numerous children abused by their parents. These sad criminal acts will continue to grow in our society, unless our community takes action to stop these crimes.
For the purpose of this paper, domestic violence is “the emotional, physical, psychological, or sexual abuse perpetrated against a person by a person's spouse, former spouse, partner, former partner or by the other parent of a minor child” (McCue, 1995, p. 2). While it is these things, the violence is also a pattern of demeanor used to create power and control over another individual with whom an intimate relationship is shared through fear and coercion (Bonem, Stanley-Kime & Corbin, 2008). The previously mentioned definition can include both same and opposite sex couples, however for the purpose of this review I will focus primary on opposite-sex couples.