The Complexities of Family and Interpersonal Violence

One may wonder why some individuals remain in the cycle of domestic violence even after instances of abuse. Should it not be easy for an individual to leave a partner who is inflicting pain and stress on him or her? Lenore Walker’s (1979) model for the cycle of domestic violence explores the phases of domestic violence, the different types of abuse, and how these various phases contribute to the continuation of the cycle. Domestic violence is often diagnosed by obvious signs of physical abuse; however there are other unnoticeable patterns that one may not be able to immediately observe with the naked eye. Furthermore, domestic violence affects not only those who directly experience the abuse, but also those who are witnessing it, such as children (Behind Closed Doors, n.d.; Black, Sussman, & Unger, 2010). It is important to recognize the the less obvious markers of intimate partner violence in order to break these patterns and work towards ending the cycles of transgenerational violence.

The term sociological imagination was developed by American sociologist C. Wright Mills to explain the relevance of everyday issues on a social level. He examines “personal troubles and how they can be understood in terms of large-scale patterns that extend beyond individual experience that are part of society and history” (The Promise of Sociology, 5). In the reading, Mills went on to express how personal trouble is a public issue and that one must understand his or her own history before they can go on and understand how they themselves fit into society. A social issue, also known as a social problem, is an undesirable condition that influences many people in society to think it can be fixed. An issue evident in society that many people

Unfortunately, the laws do not solve the problem but make the parents resent having the courts intervene in their daily family life. She explains how different methods of how a child is raised or how the parent is monitored does not guarantee that the child will not misbehave. Instead of holding the parents responsible, a volunteer mentor should be assigned to children with misbehavior qualities as it will help give the children an independent figure to look up to

A little over three years ago, Gabriel Fernandez, an eight year old boy, was beaten to death, allegedly, by his mother and the boyfriend of his mother in Palmdale, California. Based on the reports of the boy’s teacher, who had repetitively conveyed evidence of maltreatment to social services before the child’s death, that fatal incident was not the first time he had been abused (LA Times, 2016). According to the Los Angeles Times (2016), “In the months before the boy was killed, county child protection caseworkers and sheriff 's deputies investigated allegations of abuse without removing Gabriel from the home.” Though the consequences of this situation may be imputed to possible negligence of the social workers involved, this case gruesomely highlights one of the most highly contested policies in child welfare: family preservation vs. child removal. Family preservation can be defined as a social policy which encourages, “comprehensive, short-term, intensive services for families delivered primarily in the home [and is] designed to prevent the unnecessary out-of-home placement of children or to promote family reunification” (Child Welfare League of America). While the definition may sound simple, it is often times difficult for a social worker to determine whether it is best to leave a child in a home to avoid separation, which can be painful, or to remove a child to dodge potential abuse or harm. In order to fully understand the implications of family preservation, it is

The fact is known that when CPS has no other alternative than to assume permanent guardianship of a child through its Permanent Managed Care Program…CPS does not make the perfect parent. In January 2015, the Austin American-Statesman published an article that stated: “At least 86 Texas children died after being abused or neglected by non-parent relatives over five years; Child Protective Services has missed red flags signaling that some family members pose threats to children and federal law requires states to look to families first when removing children from their homes.” The article also stated:

Child maltreatment is a widespread issue that affects thousands of children every year. There are four common types of child maltreatment; sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse and neglect. All of these types of abuse are very serious and can have many consequences for the children and families. The most common consequence of severe child maltreatment is the removal of that child from their home (Benbenishty, Segev, Surkis, and Elias, 2002). Most social workers trying to determine the likelihood of removal evaluate the type and severity of abuse, as well as the child’s relationship with their parents (Benbenishty et al., 2002). When children are removed from their homes there are many options of alternative housing. The

Throughout the past three years, I have noticed that the violence among intimates have increased dramatically. This year has made me realize that no one is safe, anyone of us can be sexually assaulted by a loved one or even a stranger. Many of the sexual assaults on campus are by male acquaintances, but I am sure there are males that have been violated, as well. According to Seccombe (2015), "Many individuals use intimidation to make their victims afraid by using looks, actions, and gestures" (p.336). Although, we may not think that the abusers can make us scared just by facial expressions, it can happen. So, therefore, I believe the "violence among intimates" will continue to increase over the next few years.

Every single case of interpersonal violence is unique because of the complex human interactions and motivations that often bring these acts of violence to fruition. As a result, when survivors are brought into the ER, the spectrum of coping behaviors that one can see is wide and unpredictable. As a trained volunteer advocate for these patients, I was trained on all the different procedures that occur in the ER to document these acts of violence and to help these survivors. I was trained on what a safe kit is, how the police should be contacted, and what rights these survivors have. Although our primary purpose is to provide emotional support, there was an understanding that there was nothing that could train us properly for doing so. As a

After watching these different cases, the way they affected me is that it’s very difficult for social workers to decide to remove the child or let them go back to their house and live with their parents. For them it’s a very difficult and important decision because basically child’s life and future depends on the social worker’s decision. If they say it’s safe for the child to go back to live with his/her parents and if the abuse and neglect still continues, they put the child’s life on risk. I think the 10-year-old Matthew case stand out more than others because even though the dad was physically abusing the child, Matthew still wanted to go back to his house and live with his dad. It’s interesting that the way they were acting it felt like

The theory that best connects with the issue of family violence is systems theory. This theory entails that the “family as a system is thought to be best understood through the recognition that family members (as the parts of the system) interact with one another in such a manner that, over time, these interactions become patterned behavior” (Sutphin, McDonough, Schrenkel, 2013) Every family member that is within this family are characterized as subsystems. The main sub-systems are parent-parent, parent-child, and child-child. In most cases, what happens in the parent-parent relationship impacts both the parent-child relationship and the child-child relationship. A type of violence that can occur between the parent and parent relationship

Child abuse protection laws are enforced in federal, state, and local levels to ensure the physical and emotional wellbeing of children in all of the United States. When a child is harmed or their safety is at risk, social workers take physical custody of the child by placing them in foster care until the family of origin can demonstrate that the safety of the child can be guaranteed; a solution intended to be temporary. With few exceptions to the rule, the family of origin is given the opportunity and the resources to reunify with their children. Nevertheless, family members often fail to obtain essential resources and often face significant barriers towards reunification, which delays permanency for children in foster care.

A friend of mine had experienced conflict with her significant other, and it escalated into violence. They were experiencing the common couple violence. She withheld information from him, with the fear of hurting his feelings, and eventually the boyfriend found out and it escalated from there. While I was not there at the time it started, I received a phone call to come act as a mediator. I do believe that my friends conflict was caused by the chilling effect, which is caused by avoidance and the element of fear. The two ended up verbally abusing each other as I was standing there. The conflict was managed by the boyfriend leaving the house and I could talk to her alone. I feel the conflict was managed the right way by him leaving, instead

E is for Excerpt. “Although certain forms of family violence are found to be quite acceptable (e.g., parents spanking their children, siblings roughhousing), extreme family violence and violence toward certain members of the family are certainly taboo” (Payne). Page 48, second paragraph.

"Family violence is considered to be any form of abuse, mistreatment or neglect that a child or adult experiences from a, or from someone with whom they have an intimate relationship.''

Ronalda, I agree that family violence can be based on several different theories. The psychopathology theory explains factors that contribute to family violence on a medical level. According to this theory people with mental illnesses and personality disorders are more likely to participate or condone family violence. I agree with that personality traits and mental illness should be considered when in a family violence case, but I also think other factors need to be considered.