Final Paper
Domestic Violence
Abstract
Domestic violence is a violent or aggressive behavior within the home, typically involving spouses or partners. This paper will talk about describe the effects it has on the victim but the children and other witnesses as well. It will also talk about the violence in same sex couples as well. This paper will also talk about the federal response to domestic violence.
Antrinette Bowie
What is Domestic Violence?
Domestic violence is not just physical violence alone. Domestic violence is any behavior with the purpose to gain power and control over a spouse, partner, girl/boyfriend or intimate family member. ("Introduction – Domestic Violence." Introduction – Domestic Violence. Web. 03 November. 2018.). Abuse is a learned behavior; it is not caused only by anger, mental problems, drugs or alcohol, or other common excuses. Domestic violence is when one partner that is in an intimate relationship abuses the other. The abuse can either be physically, sexually, emotional or a combination of all three. ("Domestic Violence." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 01 November. 2018.)
Physical abuse can include very aggressive acts, such as being beaten and/or forced sexual activity including intercourse, or it can take the form of less severe acts such as throwing, shoving and slapping. In emotional abuse, the abuser constantly try’s to humiliate and puts down their victim. The weapons of emotional abuse can include verbal insults, threats, control of physical activity, unfounded accusations of infidelity, control of economic decisions and social isolation. ("Bureau of Justice Statics." Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Web. 03 November. 2018.)
Depending on the relationship, the physical or emotional abuse may happen very often or not as often. Either way, once violence begins, it will usually can continue and get worse over time. No matter how often the abuse happens, the victim of domestic violence suffers constant terror and stress, living in fear of when is the next episode going to happen. ("Introduction – Domestic Violence." Introduction – Domestic Violence. Web. 03 November. 2018) .While women are most commonly the victims of their male partners, domestic violence can happen between all genders of people and in all kinds of relationships.
It happens between people who are married and between people who aren’t living together. It can be abuse by a man against a woman, or by a woman against a man. It can occur in the same sex relationships. ("Domestic Violence and Abuse: Types, Signs, Symptoms, Causes, and Effects." American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. Web. 03 November.2018.).
Domestic violence may take many different kinds of forms. The destruction of property, psychological and emotional abuse, and physical and sexual assault are all common forms. ("Domestic Violence and Abuse: Types, Signs, Symptoms, Causes, and Effects." American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. Web. 03 November.2018). Perpetrators of domestic violence can threaten victims or use verbal put downs and bad name, attempt to publically humiliate the victim, or play manipulative mind games.
Abusers may act very jealously, and work to control victims' access to family and friends or employment. The abuse may be extreme enough so that the victim loses a job because of absenteeism or decreased productivity while at work, or is prevented from working at all. In its most violent form, domestic violence will involve actual physical and sexual violence, kidnapping of children, torture or murder of pets, etc. Some victims are driven to suicide. ("Domestic Violence Facts." Domestic Violence. Web. 14 November. 2018.).
Shiiann Boyle
Domestic violence affects all who are exposed including children who witness the violence. Witnessing the acts of violence include seeing the act of physical abuse, children may also observe the after effects of the abuse such as bruising, torn clothing, tears, blood or broken objects. (The Batterer as Parent by Lundy Bancroft and Jay G. Silverman (Sage Publications, Inc. 2002).
Children may also be aware of the abuse without physically witnessing it. They may notice fear in certain situations. Witnessing these acts may cause delays for these children in cognitive and emotional development. Children involved in domestic violence situations may be affected differently depending on how domestic violence may be viewed in their culture. These children may also be affected throughout their adulthood. There are many different outreach programs that are in place to help with these issues. Domestic violence is a devastating problem all over the world which can have a strong impact on children. Home should be a safe place of comfort. (https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/domviolence/impact/children-youth/).
Most violent children learned violence from their parents. Domestic Abuse violence between partners in a violent home teaches a child that those who love you are those who hit you. (When Dad Hurts Mom: Helping Your Children Heal the Wounds of Witnessing Abuse by Lundy Bancroft (Putnam Adult, 2004). Most parents who are in a domestic violence relationship stay in the marriage for the sake of the children. Many children also grow up and overcome the poor examples they were given as children. A child who doesn’t overcome they start to have self-doubt and rage. ((T. Herrenkohl, Sousa, Tajima, R. Herrenkohl, & Moylan, 2008; Sternberg, 2006; Wolfe, Crooks, Lee, McIntyre-Smith, & Jaffe, 2003).
Children will grow up to become Hurt and unhappy adults. They often suffer emotional and psychological trauma. In a child’s mind violence is the way to resolve a conflict when in a domestic violence home. Children from violent homes have a higher risks of alcohol and drug abuse. Posttraumatic stress disorder. (Sudermann & Jaffe, 1997). The emotional responses of children who witness domestic violence can cause fear, guilt shame, sadness, depression and anger. Men who are children who witnessed domestic violence were twice as likely to abuse their own wives. (The Batterer as Parent by Lundy Bancroft and Jay G. Silverman (Sage Publications, Inc. 2002).
Growing up in a domestic violence home may be terrifying experience it can affect every aspect of a child’s growth and development. It can be easy to overlook the problem of children that are involved in a domestic violence families. The children seem to be doing fine or doing well. Some parents say that they’re doing their best to keep the child out of the violence. Sometimes children get caught up in the violence and are physically harmed, children are getting emotionally scarred from domestic violence.( McLeer, Callaghan, Henry, & Wallen, 1994; McLeer et al., 1998).
Kyndreonna Martin
Domestic violence is the act directed to an individual whom the perpetrator is often in a romantic relationship (mainly looked at from a male predator view). Over the last several years laws at both the state and federal level impact lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender have been changing rapidly. Many states marriage laws have been changed to extend to LGBT partnerships the same legal protections afforded to heterosexual unions. (https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbt/news/2011/06/14/9850/domestic-violence-in-the-lgbt-community/).
Domestic violence victims of same sex marriage or ones that is in a relationship may find protection under domestic violence laws that is formally recognized by the state. Even with the increased recognition of same sex relationships, same sex domestic violence remains vastly unacknowledged and unreported. Victims of the same sex domestic violence may be more likely to fight their aggressors back which could lead law enforcements to believe that the violence was “among equals” and overlook the power imbalance. It is estimated that each year, between 50,000 and 100,000 women and 500,000 men become victims of same sex domestic violence. ((Perales and Todd, 2018).
Same-sex domestic violence is essentially manifested in the same manner as domestic violence in heterosexual couples such as; Physical violence, Psychological abuse (including emotional abuse, stalking, isolation, harassment, threats and intimidation), Sexual Abuse, The withholding economic resources, and the destruction of property. (https://family.findlaw.com/domestic-violence/same-sex-domestic-violence.html).
LGBT victims fear and shame to make their problems visible because the harm they’ll make to their community. Most people who are suffering don’t realize that they’re in a terrible situation or don’t know where to go because they don’t think people will listen or believe them. (World Health Organization 2012).
Domestic violence in same-sex relationships is distinctive in many ways from domestic violence in heterosexual relationships such as; Gay or lesbian batterers will threaten “outing” their victims to work colleagues, family, and friends. This threat is amplified by the sense of extreme isolation among gay and lesbian victims since some are still closeted from friends and family, have fewer civil rights protections, and lack access to the legal system. (Turell, 2000).
Lesbian and gay victims are more reluctant to report abuse to legal authorities. Survivors may not contact law enforcement agencies because doing so would force them to reveal their sexual orientation or gender identity. ((Messinger, 2011; Kelley et al., 2012; Barrett and St.Pierre, 2013). Gay and lesbian victims are also reluctant to seek help out of fear of showing a lack of solidarity among the gay and lesbian community. Similarly, many gay men and women hide their abuse out of a heightened fear that society will perceive same-sex relation- ships as inherently dysfunctional. (Campbell, 2002; Anderson et al., 2008; Murray and Mobley, 2009; Giordano et al., 2014; Costa et al., 2015).
Gay and lesbian victims are more likely to fight back than are heterosexual women. This can lead law enforcement to conclude that the fighting was mutual, overlooking the larger context of domestic violence and the history of power and control in the relationship. Abusers can threaten to take away the children from the victim. (Capaldi et al., 2007; Ali et al., 2016). In some states, adoption laws do not allow same-sex parents to adopt each other’s children. This can leave the victim with no legal rights should the couple separate.
The abuser can easily use the children as leverage to prevent the victim from leaving or seeking help. Even when the victim is the legally recognized parent an abuser may threaten to out the victim to social workers hostile to gays and lesbians, which may result in a loss of custody. In the worst cases the children can even end up in the custody of the abuser. -Center For American Progress. (Charlie Savage, “Gay Couples Gain Under Violence Against Women Act,” New York Times, June 10, 2010, accessed July 3, 2013,).
Errin Eppinette
Nearly one in four American women experience domestic violence. On average more than three women are murdered by their intimate partners every day in the United States. The victims of domestic violence lose about eight million days of paid work each year. Domestic violence compromises public safety, restricts the US economy, and destroys American lives. (U.S Department Of Justice Initiative April 2014).
Due to the many effects there have been many programs put in place to address problems and challenges faced by victims through reduction and prevention strategies. The Violence Against Women Act was created in 1994 to protect and provide resources to women suffering from domestic violence. The Office on Violence Against Women has provided financial technical assistance to communities nationwide to facilitate programs to end domestic violence. (U.S Department Of Justice Initiative April 2014).
Studies suggest that access to legal services can be a critical tool in helping domestic violence victims escape from abusive relationships and that access to counsel has helped to decrease the number by as much as twenty one percent. (Amy Farmer and Jill Tiefenthaler, Explaining the Recent Decline in Domestic Violence, 21 Contemp. Econ. Pol’y. 158 (April 2003). Many women do not have access to legal assistance therefore do not get out of their violent situations. In 2012 the DOJ office for victims of crime funded a program called the wraparound victim legal assistance demonstration project. The project developed holistic models for wraparound legal assistance. It offered the assistance to the victims at no charge or fee to conduct their services. (U.S Department Of Justice Initiative April 2014).
Females of the ages eighteen or older experience more violence than then any other age group. African American females experience higher rates of violence then white females do. (Bureau of Justice Statistics. National Crime Victimization Survey 2009).
Stalking is a form of domestic violence. Stalking is unpredictable and dangerous. No two stalking situations are alike. (victimsofcrime.org). During a period between 2005 and 2006 3.4 million people ages 18 or older were stalked. Females were at a higher risk of stalking than males. It is also stated that females were stalked more by males then by females themselves. (Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2006).