Domestic Violence and the Effect it has on Family

Violence affects a healthy family’s relationship, state of mind and well-being, in other words, it’s normal functions. Because of violence, children are forced to endure and cope with mental, physical and emotional trauma leading to a display of impacts on health, development, and wellbeing. The effects build up over time and can impact on every aspect of their life.  How many children and innocent lives must suffer from something unnecessary? Imagine walking into a home late at night to find a child hiding in a corner, with a bloody face and cuts all around their body saying they were self-inflicted or making up other silly excuses like falling down the stairs out of extreme fear. Up to 75% of all acts of domestic violence occurs between the ages 18-24. No child should ever see domestic violence as normal because the moment that happens a future perpetrator has been born. We need to take a stand and refuse to let domestic violence become something we ignore.

Every action is followed by a reaction; however, occasionally the reaction is only a temporary solution that leads to long-term consequences. This is especially true of how domestic violence is currently governed by the criminal justice system and social norms. A lack of preventative care exists and this ignores the consequences of domestic violence in our society. Incidents of domestic violence are often treated as one-time or isolated occurrences; however, in many cases abusers and victims fall back into these learnt behaviors. Therefore, domestic violence is a never-ending cycle that cannot be stopped without cultural and legal changes that focus on preventing further instances of violence and empowering victims to break the cycle.

According to the above literature and the fact on the ground domestic violence physically, psychologically and socially affects women, men and their families. In addition, the abuse usually is an attempt by one partner to exert control through pressure, fear, verbal abuse or threats of violence. Therefore, the family system concepts theory “understanding the significance of the environmental context of the family system is the key to assessing family process and outcomes” Thomlison, 2010, p. 45). The family system “concept 1 theory is the family as a system is greater than the sum of its individual system (Thomlison, 2010, p. 46). In addition, this theory is very helpful on identity the impact of the domestic violence on the family because the issues are related to one another any change in one part will affect the others (Thomlison, 2010, p. 46). According to this concept, a practitioner can clearly visualize children growing up in violent homes do not need to be physically abused to take on violent and delinquent behavior it is enough to witness their mother’s or father’s abuse. For instance, if a practitioner is dealing with a teenager who is struggling lose the ability to feel empathy for others, feel socially isolated, unable to make friends as easily due to social discomfort or confusion over what is acceptable. The practitioner if he uses concept 1 can assist and understand the cause of teenage behavior during intervention if he understands the family as a whole”

Every nine seconds a woman is assaulted or beaten in the United States (Domestic Violence Statistics, 2013). Women between the ages of 20-24 are at a greater risk for abuse than any other age group.” (CITE). Domestic violence is a social problem that happens every day nationwide. For example, an estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault each year (Domestic Violence Facts, 2007). This estimated number is just the instances of abuse that are reported by women to police each year. Many women do not report domestic violence to the police out of fear for many different reasons such as fear of being killed, increased violence, losing their children, not being financially stable, or not aware that there are resources available to them. Violence affects everyone regardless of race, socioeconomic status, background, and education level. There are many different ways that domestic violence can occur such as through partners/spouses male or female, teen dating, and same sex violence. “Nearly 1 in 5 teenage girls who have been in a relationship said a boyfriend threatened violence or self-harm if presented with a break up.” Domestic violence among men are underreported, men can also fall victim to domestic abuse by the hands of their female abuser. However, in relationships, where the partners are of the same sex domestic violence is often overlooked. “The legal system often fails to recognize or respond to same gender cases (Seelau & Seelau, 2005).” No

Domestic Violence is a highly prevalent public health problem with devastating effects on individuals, families and the communities. Most Americans are seen at some point in their lives by healthcare workers, and the health care setting offers a critical opportunity for early identification and even the primary prevention of abuse. It is imperative that as healthcare workers, any suspicion of domestic violence be addressed.

According to the United States Department of Justice (2014), domestic violence is defined as a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship. Domestic violence can happen in the form of physical abuse, sexual, emotional, or psychological abuse. It can happen to anyone, regardless of their race or gender. Domestic violence is often life threatening for many women. Domestic violence results in 1200 deaths and 2 million injuries among women (Baker, Billhardt, Warren, Rollins & Glass, 2010). History of domestic violence shows that domestic violence is one of the leading causes of homelessness. Housing instability among women and their families is a social issue that has bitter consequences. Women who were financially dependent on their abuser do not have financial means to survive. The current housing policies and programs for domestic violence victims create barriers for women that result in unstable housing.

There's a lot of recognized violence such as domestic violence, emotional violence, and sexual violence. But these aren't the only types of violence that exist.

With abuse and violence in the home, children can suffer emotionally, physically, sexually, and they may even feel neglected and or think that they are the cause of the problem. (Tsavoussis, Stawicki, Stoicea, et al, 2014) wrote, “A child witness of domestic

Domestic violence is a serious social problem and such a complex issue that plagues society regularly. “On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men” (NCADV) based on the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence statistics. Primarily, this issue is something that has been happening every day around the world. Anyone can experience domestic violence and this occurs across all groups in society, regardless of age, gender, race, religion, sexuality, wealth or geography. First, domestic violence is the intentional physical assault, intimidation, battery(law) which is the crime of unconsented physical contact with

Many of the families in my community do not have the appropriate resources and motivation to overcome their obstacles. The most comment challenges and barriers with family exposed to are religion, culture, unemployment and scare to leave the partner. I am able to relate to those challenges. I was raised catholic but haven’t practiced the religion is years. I home felt conflicted with the religion for a long time. Religion is a big part of the family believes, the respect of marriage and values. My views of the catholic religion change by my own personal experiences with domestic violence. Domestic violence affected my family, nobody in the home feels safe, love or listen too. Domestic violence oppressed my family, my mother, sister and I.

In America most cases of Domestic Violence are never actually reported, many times these cases go unheard and the victims suffer in silence. The worn out cries of a battered woman as she lays on the ground clutching herself and begging her significant other to just stop. The bruises and cuts that remain unreported due to the victim claiming they accidentally fell yet again. The abusers tend to make the victim almost entirely dependable on them. An abuser will do this to gain control and to create a weaker victim, “behaviors used by one person in a relationship to control the other” (Par. 1, Definition). Control. The abuser seeks control over their victims. When their control is threatened they act out in ways harmful to others. Domestic

Murders, rapists, batterers and abusers all have two things in common: they are criminals, and they all take away some part of another human being’s life. Both men and women have to deal with the everlasting issue of domestic violence. Defined by domesticviolence.org (2012) as a behavior “used by one person in a relationship to control the other”, domestic violence can be physical, emotional, sexual, verbal, or even financial. Although the issue of abusers being punished is a significant one, it must be realized that there are victims, and those victims need help. Some countries have no concern or sympathy for victims, as more than twenty countries have no laws against abuse ("Domestic Violence in Developing Countries: An Intergenerational Crisis," n.d.). In many cases, victims should be placed in a counseling program so that they can learn that the trauma they endured was not their fault. Both Sarasota and Manatee counties have shelters for women who have been abused, however, Sarasota County shelters do not offer counseling. Sarasota County is saving money by not having to pay for counseling, but the counseling programs are worth the funds that would have to be put toward them.

Domestic violence is defined as a violent behavior or an act of abuse between couples in the home. It is called family violence. Usually most women are harmed and the witnesses of this violence are also effected. This abuse is frowned upon in todays society. In Chile domestic violence wasn 't taken seriously because of the cultural norm which was that men controlled the women. There are many treatments for the abuse but they are only focused on the victim; the one committing the abuse should be more focused on to change their behavior by giving another way to communicate. Celebrities are even caught on the media committing violent acts against their partner. It affects women emotionally to the point that they think it is

Domestic violence is that dark little secret kept by your neighbor, your friend, your family member, or even yourself. It touches the lives of men, women, and children in every ethnic and economic group on the face of the earth. In order to stem the tide of this egregious and infectious behavior we cannot consider it solely a women’s issue. It is as much a men’s issue as it is a women’s issue, maybe more so, and can only be effectively addressed if we enlist and encourage the help of family, friends, classmates, and co-workers, as well as local, state and national governments.

Domestic violence entails transgressions that tend to exhibit regular occurrence worldwide. Domestic violence is substantially attributable to the psychological, physical, mental, and sexual forms of suffering or anguish. Domestic violence further refers to the family violence or spousal abuse that defines the evident pattern of violent behaviors executed by one spouse to the other in the close affiliations that include courtships, matrimony, family, or individuals staying together (Gueguen, 885). Studies show that in numerous instances the aggressors tend to exhibit their need for gaining power and authority upon their victims by acting violently. There are different forms of domestic violence worth