A Comentary on Domestic Abuse

This literary writing will attempt to examine the impact of domestic violence (DV) in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender community (LGBT). Domestic violence is prominent in a homosexual relationship, if not more so than in a heterosexual relationship (White & Goldberg, 2006). Domestic violence is also associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) (Dunne, 2014). Statistically, domestic violence rates are higher than heterosexual domestic violence with IPV (Fox, 2010). Knowing that domestic violence brings about a plethora of disparities, it is solidified

The following report will analyse the patterns and trends of domestic abuse across 2011/12, 2012/13, and 2013/14 and two main explanations for its occurrence within society. The addressed explanations are; feminism, which can arguably be theoretically underpinned by conflict theory and Social Learning Theory - devised by Bandura’s in 1977 as cited by Ray (2011) – underpinned by psychological positivism (Burke, 2011).

The domestic violence field at first was, was a field I never saw myself interested in. Now, after the trauma in my past I have met some incredible people who work in this field and perform amazing work by helping these people. My therapist Erin Scholezenski, is a trauma therapist that only works with children and adults that have suffered trauma through domestic violence, self-harm, rape, verbal and physical abuse and major trauma events such as the Aurora Movie Theater Shooting. She has her own private practice in Parker, Co and is the Director at Aurora Mental Health Center off Parker and Hampden. Going into this interview, I went in knowing some background of domestic violence but not knowing how this field can impact the therapist that is helping these clients get past their trauma. I wanted to know how domestic violence has affected her life and why she stopped working with perpetrators. I made this my main focus of the interview.

Domestic abuse is a very serious offense, and it needs to be stopped. It is not only a legal offense, but it is a humane offense. Abuse is wrong and lead to very serious consequences for the abuser and the abusee. Relationships are very important and are a wonderful part of life, but they can crumble when tension and strain are not properly taken care of. This can lead to abuse, and once abuse starts it can be difficult to stop. This is why prevention needs to be improved and strengthened. In order to strengthen domestic abuse prevention there needs to be more focus on counseling, classes, and programs.

One hears about domestic abuse a lot in the news or sees it play out when we watch television shows. It is likely that the majority of people know at least one person who is a victim in an abusive relationship. In the eBook “Perspectives on Verbal, and Psychological Abuse,” Roland Maiuro states that “nearly 50% of both men and women have experienced some form of psychological abuse by their intimate partner” (V). In Tod Robbins’s short story “Spurs,” we witness emotional and physical abuse between Jacques Coube and Mademoiselle Jeanne, a newly married couple that had gotten together for the wrong intentions. There is also emotional and physical abuse seen in Graham Greene’s story “The Basement

Because children are more likely to get involved when exposed to severe violence against their parent, children are placed at a higher risk for injury or death by the abuser (Domestic Violence: Statistics & Facts).

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 human’s rights issue I choose is domestic violence. Domestic violence statistics show 85% women and 15% percent of men are victims of domestic violence in the United States, and an estimated number of 960,000 incidents per year. Domestic violence is an aggressive or a violent behavior within the home, involving the violent abuse of a spouse or partner. “Domestic violence is domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, dating abuse, and intimate partner violence (IPV), is a pattern of behavior which involves the abuse by one partner against another in an intimate relationship such as marriage, cohabitation, dating or within the family” (NA, April 21, 2014, In Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia). Domestic violence is a human rights issue because violence against someone can cause physical, emotional, mental, and social effects on men, woman, or children. Being physically abused can mean that maybe you have broken or sprained bones, bruises and black eyes, or other type of scars and marks. “Emotional abuse can be more harmful than physical abuse because it can undermine what we think about ourselves” (Maria Bogdanos, April 22, 2014, Signs of Emotional Abuse). It can lead to insecurities, or thoughts to having negative doubts about yourself. Being mentally abuse is when someone is telling you that you’re not going to be worth nothing and it can be emotional abuse too. When being in an abused situation it can take hold on social effects by going out and being

On the other hand, the law must be analysed in regard to how efficiently it protects female victims, to be able to contrast and reflect on the overall problems. A consultation in 2014 was provided by Theresa May, which highlighted key areas where domestic abuse is an issue. Where policing of domestic abuse was concerned, arrest rates varied significantly from 45% to 90% across 42 police forces in England. Furthermore, ‘vital evidence was missed, photographs of injuries were taken in less than half of the ABH cases’ . From these facts it is clear that the authorities do not take domestic abuse as seriously as they should. One reason behind this, is due to the victim choosing to retract their statement and not to pursue down a legal route which ends up in police time being wasted. The Independent Police Complaints Commission, studied an incident that occurred in 2011, a woman successfully gained a non-molestation order against her ex-partner, however the man had breached the order over three times and ended up killing her. Negligence on behalf of the police was largely to blame here, the man claimed not to understand the order so was not held for a breach, and it was not recorded in any of the national police systems. Furthermore, only one handwritten risk assessments were completed for two incidents, so a power of arrest is actually rendered useless if it is not even recorded properly, also they did not record the level of risk, thus resulting in the death of the applicant.

In order to recognize the outcomes of domestic violence, it is key to know precisely what domestic violence is. Domestic violence is anything that involves physical damage, sexual assault, or distress of physical damage. In order to aid individuals who are going through domestic violence, it is fundamental to have a healthier understanding of what triggers domestic violence and how it affects the mistreated, abuser, and children of the mistreated.

The Center for Disease Control defines domestic abuse as, “Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious, preventable public health problem that affects millions of Americans.” (CDC, 2016) An “Intimate partner” describes any person with whom one has had a relationship characterized by identification as a couple, familiarity, regular contact, emotional closeness, physical and/or sexual contact. However, the relationship need not meet all parameters, including current and former partners, heterosexual and same-sex couples. The term “intimate partner violence” describes physical and/or sexual violence, stalking, and psychological abuse and/or coercive aggression occurring on a continuum, ranging from mild episodes severe as a homicide. (CDC, 2016) It has no regard for age, race, religion, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status. The devastating consequences across generations and may be lifelong. It is indicative of a much larger, systematic pattern of dominance and control. (NCADV, 2015)

Domestic abuse is tremendous problem around the globe. There are different forms of domestic violence, all of which are not acceptable and in some places in the world domestic violence is legal. In the places where domestic violence is legal, it is only legal to hurt your wife. If a woman tried to hurt her husband, she would be majorly punished. It is defined as a series of abusive acts in any form of a relationship for one person to have control over their partner. The three most common forms of domestic violence are physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. Even though there are other forms of domestic abuse they all relate back to these three topics.

It is known that women who are in love are going to do whatever it takes to maintain a relationship with their loved ones. Love is the only way to overcome any obstacles they face along the road. Unfortunately, after a while, this love that once existed goes away and is replaced by bruises and hurtful words. A relationship that was once a fairytale story and something beautiful that you would never be able to imagine is affected by an epidemic that is known as domestic abuse.

“Every year in the United States there are over 3 million incidents of domestic violence. That means that every nine seconds a women is beaten by her domestic partner” (Findeley). There are many women that stay silent when being abuse by their partners. The consequences of staying quiet when obtaining abuse can be dangerous and can also lead to death. Many women do not recognize the importance of the fact that there is in speaking out if they are being abuse by their partner. No woman should take domestic abuse by their partners. Every woman deserves a healthy relationship; A healthy relationship involves trust, respect, and consideration for the other person. Domestic abuse has gotten worse during the past years and is still rising up. One can see that domestic abuse can occur everywhere. Domestic abuse is considered a crime and woman should not keep silent when being abuse.

The thing that surprised me the most about Telling Amy’s Story, was not from the actual video itself, but from the follow-up discussion video. When the lady who is the head of the National Domestic Violence Hotline, Cathy Cates, relayed what someone who was an abuser said to her. In a nutshell he told her, while slamming his partner’s head on a bureau, that he was thinking he could do it, it works to give him what he wanted from the partner, and that there were no consequences.