Research Paper On Domestic Violence Against Women

According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and The National Institute of Justice, one in four women in the United States has experienced domestic violence during her lifetime (Battered Woman Syndrome, 2012). This type of abuse can be fatal and detrimental to one’s personal growth. When woman are repeatedly abused, they show different signs, symptoms and general characteristics. These characteristics are defined as Battered Woman Syndrome.

Domestic Violence has drastically increased over the years. Violence in the home is a concern for most. The most affected victims rather it’s emotionally or physically are women. They fall into different categories: single, married, separated, or divorced. For years, people try to avoid this conversation. Women of all ages, all ethnicity, and all social level are affected by domestic violence in their homes. There are

Every year in America, there are millions of women who are physically assaulted by their partners (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000). This number is staggering. For the purpose of this literature review, I am defining domestic violence as physical abuse. As domestic violence increases, the need for intervention ever so in demand. Tjaden & Thoeness (2000), describe how the widespread occurrence of domestic violence is influenced by historical and theoretical factors and this is evident with domestic violence intervention. Both of these factors encourage options for treatment for the victims and abusers of domestic violence.

Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behaviour through which a person seeks power over and dominates another person. It’s a continuing behaviour that can demoralize a victim and affect their ability to leave a violent person. The abuse can appear in many forms, while physical violence is a visible form, sexual, emotional, and social violence can be equally harmful (Domestic violence, 2014). Statistics say that 1 in 4 women experience domestic violence in their life, more than 50 of those women are killed as a result and 500 000 children

Domestic violence has become a very serious global issue. Domestic violence can be described as “any incident of threatening behaviour, violence, or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between adults who are or have been an intimate partner or family member, regardless of sexuality” (Home Office, 2008 as cited in Howard et al., 2010). When hearing the term domestic violence it is often pictured as a male physically, sexually, verbally, or emotionally abusing a female that they were or are intimate with. This paints a vivid picture in the heads of individuals because female partner abuse is rooted in history. For a long time women were considered possessions of men and property of the husband, who had the “obligation to control and discipline them” (txtbook). A man was allowed to beat his wife, as long as the stick was no thicker than his thumb (this is where the phrase “rule of thumb” comes from); this law was removed in 1820 (txtbook). In 2011, statistics for the overall rate of intimate partner violence was “542 per 100 000 women, almost four times higher than the rate of men” (txtbook). Additional research “demonstrates that women initiate physical aggression as often, or more often than men” (judicial citation). One of the problems with these studies is that they do not always indicate whether women use violence mainly as a source of self- defence (textbook). Although all genders can be exposed to domestic violence, it is more common for the

Domestic violence. One out of three women will be a victim of domestic violence at some point of her life. More than one third of all women homicide victims are domestic violence cases. Domestic violence can lead to the victim’s down spiral addiction to substance abuse, and one fourth of the victims’ attempts to commit suicide. (Bancroft, 2003:7). These statistics are alarmingly high, especially when the abuse has been a constant threat to the health of the victim. It is difficult for victims to describe and explain the reason behind their abusers behavior since it is very perplexing and dependent on how he views his partner’s behavior and the outside world. It’s also difficult for partners to leave their abuser when they fear that their safety

Each year an estimated two to four million women in the United States are abused by their male partners. Many of them are severely physically assaulted, and thousands are killed. Domestic abuse appears not only with physical violence, but it is very prevalent in psychological abuse. When growing up many children will grow up in a violent home and see the abuse that their parent suffers from their spouse. Due to this they come to have these same actions towards their future spouse. They, the abuser, at times come to believe the abuse is justified. Eighty-five percent of women are victims of domestic violence, and are most likely to suffer from a form of mental or physical illness.

Domestic violence often goes deeper than the bruises on its victim’s flesh. The lasting mental effects are usually what rips apart a victim and destroys their entire life. These disorders are very serious problems, and can even lead people to think they have no other way out and as a result they commit suicide. People should be more aware of the mental effects of domestic violence because not enough attention is given to the severity of these mental illnesses.

Around the world, one in every three women has been coerced into having intercourse, beaten, or abused during some point in her lifetime (Domestic Violence Statistics, 2015). The topic that will be studied with the paper is intimate partner violence or another term that can be used is domestic violence. Domestic violence or intimate partner violence is the systematic pattern or control or power perpetuated by one partner against another (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, n.d.). Throughout the paper the term domestic violence and intimate violence will be used interchangeably. The misconception is that domestic violence or intimate partner violence is only between two people in a romantic relationship, but this is not so. Domestic violence includes, but is not limited to child abuse, elder and vulnerable adult abuse, spousal or partner abuse, and sibling violence (Can Fam Physician, 1999). This behavior can include but is not limited to sexual assault, intimidation, and physical assault (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, n.d.). Reports from 10 countries have shown that somewhere between 55 and 95 percent of women who experience physical abuse by a partner had never contacted the police, shelters, or other organizations for help (Domestic Violence Statistics, 2015).

When previously taking Women’s Studies and Intro to Women’s Health, this problem was discussed. Domestic Violence in women lives can be a very sensitive subject for some women and maybe even for some males. A lot of health concerns for women do interest me, but I think that this certain problem should be more relevant and have more reasonable solutions. “The research on domestic violence, referred to more precisely in academic literature as “intimate partner violence” (IPV), has grown substantially over the past few decades. Although knowledge of the problem and its scope has deepened, the issue remains a major health and social problem afflicting women.” (Kreager 2014)

These statistics shows how huge issue domestic violence is and how many women are affected each day or yearly. This issue cannot be stop immediately as it is an on-going process. Domestic violence has a huge effect on women’s mental health and it is the main factor to develop such an illness as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, fears of men in future life, sleeping problems and attempts to suicide. Mental illness for women who experienced domestic violence is well known but what about the offenders, what factors contributed them to use violent toward innocent people.

About 4,774,000 women experienced physical violence by an intimate partner every year (Vagianos, 2014). These women come from all different backgrounds. The consequences of violence include acute trauma, poor health, and compromised functioning (McFarlane, Nava, Gilroy, & Maddoux, 2015). Many of the victims of domestic violence find themselves fearful and confused due to their circumstances. In 2012, there were 11, 766 American Woman murdered by their current or ex male partners (Vagianos, 2014). When a woman leaves a domestic violence situation she is much more likely to be killed than she is if she were to stay in the abusive situation (McFarlane et al, 2015). This is extremely problematic, women have a hard time leaving an

These acts, in different cases have left women disabled in one way or the other, subjecting them to a lifetime of dependency, pains and regrets. Moreover, intimate partner violence leads to more psychological torture compared to injuries on physical aspect. There is no physical touching or beating involved but abusive men use degrading and abusive words to pierce women’s minds. This often leads to suicide attempts by women who are abused by men they loved and makes them feel devalued in the society. The use of offensive words by these abusive men as weapon against their wives eventually degrades their self-esteems. Words are powerful weapon against women’s nature. Positive words gladden their hearts while negative words spoken to them could make them sorrowful and regretful for the rest of their lives. Furthermore, sexual abuse is the common aspect of intimate partner violence in homes. Married women and young ladies are either raped or often experienced attempted rape by their husbands or boyfriends. This has left many women with so much hatred and hindered them from having a meaningful relationship after the abusive relationship come to an end. Many women are still battling this devil called sexual abuse from the hands of their partners.

Everything was so perfect in the beginning, and then it all went downhill from there. Everyone in a homebound affiliation is at risk of obtaining a violent status. Domestic violence has had the grandest impact on women. It can be found all over the world, within various countries. Domestic violence has a harsh, negative, and destructive influence on women; domestic violence can lead to emotional, physical, and psychological damage.

Violence alongside women and girls is a sign of previously uneven authority relations among men and women, which have led to command over and unfairness against women by men and to the avoidance of the full progression of women. These types of terrible actions against women and girls continues to be a global epidemic that kills, tortures, and wound- physically, psychologically, sexually and economically. Domestic Violence is the imposing of bodily injury by one family or household partner on another also a frequent or habitual pattern of aggressive behavior. Research shows that verbal abuse against women in Pakistan is 97.5% by the