Domestic Violence and Abuse

In the most recent data available from 2015, it was disclosed that nearly 92,000 Canadians had report to the police an incident related to domestic violence; of this number, 80% of them were women (Burczycka, 2017). It is then no surprise that intimate partnership violence has been found to be one of the major causes of violence against women in Canada (Ministry of the Status of Women, 2015). Many agencies focus on supporting directly the female victims and providing them with secured shelters and safe spaces to rebuild themselves after leaving their abusive relationship (Shelter Safe, 2017). However, a need to address domestic violence from the roots arose in Ontario1982, when the community identified a gap in the offer of programs

The purpose of finding the appropriate definition of domestic violence is to clearly distinguish domestic violence from physical violence in general. Due to its nature, cases of domestic violence require specific treatment and perspective as it can be identified in many concealed forms and would not leave behind physical wounds. Therefore to know the types and forms of violence the victims have to face is crucial to develop a legal response.

“Every year, in the United States there are over 3 million incidents of reported domestic violence. Every year, 4,000 victims of domestic violence are killed.” (Domestic Violence: Disturbing Facts about Domestic Violence). Domestic violence is a crime that is not just committed in the United States, but worldwide. This crime is committed every day, every hour, every minute, and every second. Anybody can be a victim or the abuser. This can happen to any child, man or woman. This is a horrific crime. Women are more likely to be the victim in domestic violence than men. “Forty-five percent of all violent attacks against female victims 12 years old and older by multiple

So now it is known that domestic violence is the abuse of one partner from another, and that it can happen to anyone, but what are its effects? Well, there are many, however none of them are pleasant. Domestic violence has been known to be the leading cause of numerous physical, mental, and spiritual deformities within its victims. As one continues to live in the type of unhealthy environment that domestic violence provides, there are usually various risks to one’s well being that parallels this. For one, the ongoing physical abuse that one undergoes when in this type of situation can be the barer of black eyes, sprained and broken bones, and countless bruises on the victim. More long-term physical complications may even include chronic fatigue, muscle tensions, and problems with

Currently in the United States, every one-in-three women and one-in-four men are abused physically by their chosen partner in their lifetime. It is estimated that twenty people per minute are physically affected by their partner; therefore, there are around ten million people every year battered by their partners (“Statistics” National Coalition Against Domestic Violence). The United States Department of Justice defines domestic violence as:

What is intimate partner violence? Intimate partner violence is when a partner is physical and sexually abused. Intimate violence can occur among heterosexual or same-sex couples. Twenty seven percent of women and nearly 12% of men in the United States have experienced contact sexual, violence, physical, or stalking by an intimate partner (Prevent Domestic Violence in Your Community, 2014). 85% of women are victims of domestic violence.1/3 of American women and ¼ of women worldwide will experience domestic/dating violence in their lifetime. (11 Facts About Domestic And Dating Violence, 2014)

“Domestic violence is a type of abuse by one or both partners in marriage, friends, family, dating or cohabitation” (Aziz & Mahmoud, 2010). There are many forms of abuse from verbal and emotional to physical that often escalates over time in intensity for the victim. Data from the criminal justice system, hospital patient medical records and mental health records, police reports, surveys and social services reports of thousands of women revealed that many are injured and killed as a result of violence from someone close to them. “The US Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) 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 regardless of race, age, sexual orientation, religion, or gender” (Robertson & Murachver, 2009). Researchers and the criminal justice system have not been able to agree on a clear definition to domestic violence which can range from physical injury, stalking, verbal abuse and humiliation, denial of shelter and access to money, and intimidation through aggressive behaviors. The definition of domestic violence may vary but the results from physical injury, mental and emotional trauma, and sometimes even death can last a life time.

Looking at the effects of both forms of violence, the wounds inflicted by emotional damage run deeper than those inflicted by physical abuse even though there are no scars to show. In most cases, verbal abuse accelerates to physical abuse. This research does not seek to diminish the impact of physical abuse, but states that emotional abuse has larger scale damage to the victims involved. Recent statistical research done in 2014 indicate that 40% of men worldwide experience any form of domestic violence from their spouses ranging from mild to full blown abuse (Sacks,

Domestic Violence is a very common issue happening in the United States. Most of the time, when we mention about the victims who suffers from domestic violence, people naturally pay more attention to the female because they seem to be more vulnerable in the incident. In fact, both male and female have the chances of experiencing violence from their intimidate partners within a relationship, such as people in homosexual relationships. In the article “Domestic Violence is as American as Apple Pie”, it argues that domestic violence is more common than what people think. The statistics data shows that both genders experience domestic violence, even though women experience it more often compare to men. The information from the Centers for Disease Control and

Unfortunately, seven years have now passed and Aaron now has a domestic violence (DV) criminal case pending as well as a possible child abuse case for the abuse of his son. It seems that Aaron has been having a lot of problem lately with the law as well as personal. However, those problem didn’t just start because as a child he had two adjudications of delinquency and served six months in a juvenile detention center for his actions. Yet, he did not learn his lesson from his younger actions and has now been arrested four times for aggravated assault as well as domestic battery that led to one conviction. Furthermore, he has been arrested two times for driving under the influence (DUI), and one of his DUI cases is slated for trial in three months. Therefore, he may be facing another conviction as well as some time in jail and fines once again for the DUI.

According to Philip W. Cook, U.S Department of Justice (DOJ) in its survey for 1992-1993, which was signed to produce more accurate reporting of intimate crime than surveys of previous years, one million women and 143,000 men were intimate violence. In previous studies, women reported an annual average of 572,032 spousal abuse cases, whereas men reported an annual average of 48,983 cases. Between 2001 and 2005, the average annual number of intimate crime cases declined again-dramatically for women, but less for men: 511,000 women and 105,000 men, respectively. The total number of victimized women in this survey continues to show evidence of decline. Although there has also been somewhat of a decline in the number of victimized men, the relative percentage of male victims continues to increase over the years, for example, from 15 percent in 1993 to 17 percent in 2005(abused men). This is a direct example which shows the increase in male victims and decrease of female victims in few years. Philip cook sets an example how many men’s are victimized by female

Domestic violence is against the law! In today’s society, domestic violence is a misdemeanor for the first time offender and becomes a felony after a second offense. The legal system has many different functions. One of the main functions of the legal system is to protect the autonomy and freedom of all citizens. The key role of this function of government is to restrict the actions that are deemed to negatively impinge on the liberties of others. (Kelly, 2003) In the past, criminal law had required that victims sign formal complaints in order for criminal charges to be filed by the state. Today, if the victim decides not to go forward with criminal charges, there are now statutes that have been developed allowing police to make arrests at the time of complaint and bring the offender directly to the jailhouse for court. (Roberts, 2002) In Pinellas County, the state attorney’s office has developed a specially trained domestic violence unit which consists of attorneys, criminal investigator, victim’s advocates, and support staff. In

In our world today, women have been suffering at the hands of domestic abuse for years. Domestic abuse or Spousal abuse has been mistreating women not just physically but also mentally. Most women in an abusive relationship do not report it. One cause can be because of their feelings, even though the spouse may be mistreating them, they still could be in love with them. Because that person wasn’t always abusive, some believe that the person they love is still there and do not wish to trouble them. Also, sometimes leaving the relationship can be harder than it seems. Women may have influenced the abuse by trying to end the toxic relationship. The abuse may have even turned towards domestic violence. Even though it may seem like the simple choice

Studies have shown that an increasing trend of domestic violence is being perpetrated in heterosexual households. Many of these cases involve the male abusing the female, and the female actively attempting to maintain an outward appearance of normalcy despite the silent suffering. This outward image is nothing but a cover to maintain an illusion to the world that everything is good in the relationship, and also in many cases for fear of further abuse for drawing attention to the issue. As a result a closed loop of suffering, pain, and violence is created.

Whenever the thought of domestic violence comes to mind, more than often the visual picture is a women or a child. However, there is another side that has been ignored because it is pushed under the rug. The unfortunate fact is that men are the victims of domestic violence at least as often as women are. While the very idea of men is being beaten by their wives or partners runs contrary to many of our deeply ingrained beliefs about men and women, female or male violence against men is a well-documented phenomenon almost completely ignored by both the media and society (Watson 2013).