The Effects Of Domestic Violence On Children

Lorenzo 'Shakes' Carcaterra was a boy from Hell’s Kitchen, New York, in the 1960’s. Shakes is of Italian decent and lives with his father and mother in a small apartment. Lorenzo’s father worked long hours for little pay and was quick to anger and used violence to control the household. Shakes witnessed the physical and emotional abuse of his mother. He never confronted his father, but always tried to play the peacekeeper between the two. Shakes mother was not fluent in English and had a hard time connecting to the community and her son. The trauma that Shakes went through because of the domestic violence shaped his psychological and social development. Shakes was a resilient kid and sought social support from three boys: Thomas "Tommy" Marcano, Michael Sullivan, John Reilly and various other men in his community.

Groves, B.M. (1999). Mental Health Services for Children Who Witness Domestic Violence. The Future of Children, 9(3), 122-132.

Domestic violence, alternatively referred to as Intimate Partner Violence, is defined by the Department of Justice 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.” While domestic violence is commonly thought of as only physical or sexual abuse, domestic violence can also be emotional, economic, or psychological. Domestic violence has remained constant in society throughout history, even though over time society’s response to the issue has changed. While domestic violence affects everyone regardless of race, gender, age, etc. it is estimated that approximately 90% of all victims are women. For the purpose of this paper, I will be focusing on

The formative experiences that define a child's home life will have a lasting impact on the individual as he or she enters the later stages of childhood, adolescence and adulthood. The degree to which one's family life is loving, nurturing, supportive and attentive is a substantial determinant in emotional, social and intellectual development. Accordingly, a home which is abusive, violent, negative and neglectful is more than likely to have deleterious effects for the child both while and well after maintaining residence there. This turns us toward the focus of the present study, which is the impact levied by domestic violence on children.

“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

Domestic violence became a realization and a serious concern in the mid 1970’s for many Americans. “This realization is due to the women advocating on behalf of the battered women movement”

Domestic violence is any incident or repeated incidents of coercive, threatening, or controlling abuse, behavior, or violence between intimate or former partners and family members, which can involve emotional, financial, physical, psychological, and sexual abuse (Domestic Violence, 2014). Women are at a higher risk of experiencing violence at home than they are in the street, Most women who die due to homicide are more likely to be killed by their partner or ex-partner and domestic violence is a major cause of death during pregnancy (Lee, 2013, p. 1350). Even in circumstances where the abuse does not become lethal, domestic violence survivors sustain serious injuries physically, neurologically, psychologically, emotionally, and

Growing up one may have been told “If a girl/boy hits or is mean to you then they like you”. Growing up with this in mind a child could easily grow up believing physical harm is a sign of love. With the vase society children, can find models in athletes, teachers, parents, television, and media. Because Domestic Violence comes in many forms ranging from race, age, sexual orientation, religion or gender and happens in marriages, co- parenting households, or regular dating relationships, children are heavily exposed. The most common way abuse is shown is through physical harm, mental break downs, verbal threats, and emotional abuse (Webb, C. 2000, October 2). A Domestic violence situation could easily turn in to a learned trait if seen or experienced often and through various ways. Often when asked “Why do you stay” a female may respond “My mother did” or if asked “Why do you abuse your girlfriend/wife” a male may respond “It’s how I was raised”. Using Albert Bandura’s Social learning theory one can see how at a young age if exposed to certain behaviors, a child can take what is observed and later imitate these behaviors. Social learning often happens in two main stages; observation and imitation. Bandura believed that learning is a cognitive process through social context that occurs through observation or direct instruction. These two stages; observation and imitation can mold children differently. If a child is exposed to such harsh and violent actions, it is

Overall, these abuses lead to some significant impacts not only on the victims, but also on the society. Though, some abuses have minor impacts, but most of the abuses have long-term affect and some of them of the affects of abuse stay for decades. In an article, “The Hidden Consequence Of Domestic Violence Linger For Decades”, from Think Progress, the author Tara Culp-Ressler wrote, “You’re at a higher risk for some of the largest health problems that our country is facing today” which informs that the victims of domestic violence are at higher risk of some of the serious health problems which can significantly impact on one’s life. Most of the affects of domestic violence are with health, which is caused mostly from physical abuse, but from emotional and sexual abuse as well. The minor health affects from domestic violence can be recovered by seeing the doctor immediately, but the major injuries takes a long time to recover, and some major affects don’t even recover which leaves the victim as disabled and makes them different from a normal person. The Affects from sexual abuse can ruin one’s life as it has a chance of causing affects in the reproductive system especially for the women. Emotional abuse is also has significant affect, perhaps the biggest affect on a victim’s life as it plays with the emotion of a person. Other than the health affects, the domestic violence have some significant impact in a victim’s life because the victims usually don’t live freely like a

A survey released earlier this year, showed that nearly “8 out of 10 domestic violence shelters nationwide reported an increase in women seeking help.” As reported by the ‘Mary Kay Truth About Abuse Survey’. The survey went on to show that “74% of women stayed with an abuser longer for economic reasons, and 50% of shelters reported that the abuse is becoming increasingly more violent”. With domestic violence on the rise, it’s time that more drastic measures are taken to prevent this horrendous act.

With gratitude, I would like to draw you into a situation that has occurred throughout history. All individuals who work at a center involved with domestic violence should hear my concern about how late elementary to late high school students lack the knowledge about domestic violence.

My sign had the phrase “It’s time to say eNOugh” and a butterfly that has a ribbon for a body, and its wings are filled with positive words about domestic violence survivors. I chose to put that specific phrase because I wanted to reach out to those who are currently experiencing domestic violence, but are afraid of asking for help. That certain group of people was my target because I wanted to shed some light into their lives. They are probably in a really dark place right now and feel vulnerable because of their perpetrator, and I want them to gain the courage and motivation to stand up for themselves, and possibly get help. Words of kindness and encouragement have the power to change one’s perspective on a certain situation, and I was hoping that my sign would have that effect on the victims of domestic violence. I included the butterfly because it is a sign of new beginning, hope, and joy. When a butterfly finally emerges from its cocoon, the world gets to see the beauty of it, and the butterfly gets to see the beauty of the world. This is a metaphor for domestic violence survivors. There was a point in their lives where they were in the dark, and felt like they were trapped. But when they finally learned how to get out of that dark place, they saw the light and beauty of the world around them. They survived a very dangerous situation, and that is able to make them cherish their life even more. The basic goal of my sign was to show victims that it is time to get help,

Abuse is a topic that any age group will discuss, but it isn 't taken much very seriously when it is towards another life form other than a human being. Domestic violence comes in a variety of forms and can involve anyone; animal abuse is one way of violence. Knowing that this case of maltreatment isn 't valued as much as domestic violence is absolutely alarming. Animal cruelty doesn 't have the necessary amount of attention due to the fact that people don 't acknowledge it because of the lack of knowledge, neglection, hatred, and type of abuse an individual can sustain.

Domestic violence is a crime of either passion or violence which should never be tolerated by anybody if at all the society is to be made safe enough for people to live in. Domestic violence can be defined as any threatening, abusive, or violent behavior in the home either between adult children and other adult family members (Gibbons, 2011). It can also be used by one intimate partner to establish power and control over the other partner through fear and intimidation. Domestic violence can happen anywhere to anyone of any race, religion, culture, or economic status. It can occur in any relationship, including heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender and also within extended families (Women’s Aid 2010). It affects both partners, their children, other family members, friends, and colleagues. Although emotional abuse in a relationship can happen equally regardless of gender, the more threatening and dangerous forms of domestic violence are usually committed by a man against a woman (Patriarchal Roots, n.d). Often the aggressor in a violent relationship feels a high level of ownership over the other partner and the children which too often results in injury or death if this person tries to end the relationship or report the violence. Unfortunately, children are not left out and many times they fall victims of abuse or sexual assault (Sexual violence against women, n.d). This can be very traumatizing to the children and they might grow up in fear of being abusers

Domestic violence affects 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men (NCADV, 2015). Although the devastating effects that domestic violence has on women are well known, there is a population of domestic violence victims that we tend to overlook. These are the children of the women and men who are in domestic violence situations. Children are the invisible victims when it comes to domestic violence. There are many statistics being thrown around when it comes to the number of children who are exposed to domestic violence; they range from as little as 200,000 to even 3-18 million (Sousa et. al., 2011). A 2001 study discovered that in 75% of the cases in their study, children were present in the home during the assaults (Hutchison & Hirschel, 2001).