Causes, Effects and Solution of Domestic Violence
Domestic Violence
Domestic violence, also termed domestic abuse or family abuse, comes about when one person in an intimate relationship or marriage setup wishes to control another person. It can thus be argued that domestic violence is used to gain and maintain control over a minor person. Domestic violence can occur to any person and does not discriminate against gender, ethnic backgrounds, and economic level of a victim. Instances of domestic abuse in a relationship take any form, including physical, emotional economic, and sexual abuse. Regardless of the form in which domestic violence, the broadest forms of domestic abuse involve violence against children, parents, and senior citizens. Cases of domestic violence, in most cases, befall women since they are less likely to use their masculinity to subdue their male partners. The extent to which domestic violence affects citizens in a given jurisdiction is shaped by the existence of gender equality rules (Kachynska, 2016). This implies that regions with less gender equality experience display higher cases of domestic violence. Irrespective of the negative implications associated with domestic violence, it is among the most underreported crimes in both men and women across the world. Even though women are more exposed to domestic violence cases, social stigmatization regarding male stigmatization leads to situations where healthcare practitioners overlook male victims of domestic violence. It can thus be argued that domestic violence brings about negative implications in a social setting that can affect the progress of a community.
Causes of Domestic Violence
The major causes of domestic violence can be expounded using social learning theories. According to Akers & Jennings (2019), social learning theories suggest that human beings learn from observing and modeling other people’s behaviors. Borrowing insights from the theory, it can be argued that children brought up in domestic violence environments end up adapting the vice in the future. Arguments presented by the social learning theory are enhanced by the positive reinforcement theory, which argues that exposure of an individual to violent domestic behavior is more likely to imitate the behavior if the behavior is not associated with negative consequences. It thus makes it vital for the government or any other responsible stakeholders to define specific measures to condemn cases of domestic violence.
Many domestic abusers display a common trait of witnessing abuse in their childhood. Exposure of a kid to a chain of intergenerational domestic cycles negatively impacts a child in his or a future life. Under poor parenting, it is perceived that three distinct domestic violence sources include childhood socialization, levels of strain in an individual’s life, and previous exposures to cases of violence enhancing domestic violence (Kumar, 2017). Additional studies carried out indicated that exposure of a child to physical abuse increases the likelihood of the kid to portray domestic violence in the future. It becomes a challenge for children exposed to instances of domestic violence to curtail the vice in their adult life. Physical punishment is linked to high levels of aggressive behavior and thus enchased cases of domestic violence.
Cases of domestic abuse concur with alcohol and other substance abuse. Moderate drinkers display fewer instances of domestic abuse as compared to their alcohol addicts. Studies carried out indicate that alcohol abuse contributes to two-thirds of domestic violence. Excessive consumption of alcohol diminishes an individual’s decision making capability and also triggers aggressive behaviors. A minor misunderstanding that could have otherwise been solved ends in a fight. Together with enhancing aggressive behaviors, alcohol presents abusers a platform through which they can express their emotions. Even though alcohol and drug abuse cases are attributed to elevating domestic violence, it should be understood that alcohol does not directly promote violence. However, drug abuse increases the abuser’s chances of misinterpreting information or the behavior of the other partner.
Social and religious believes guiding an individual’s plays a vital role in shaping how the person in question behaves. A community setting guided by a mindset that women should be submissive to men displays high instances of domestic abuse. Likewise, some religious believes subjects women to a situation requiring them to submit to whatever position the male gender puts them (Daphisha, 2019). Additional social-economic factors likely to promote cases of domestic abuse is the rate of unemployment. In a situation where either the male or female gender is unemployed or underpaid, the superior gender will take advantage of the situation to exploit the other gender. Additional factors that elevate cases of domestic violence include isolation and excessive dependence on the abuser.
Immigration policies in a region contribute to cases of domestic violence. Some jurisdictions across the world have their migration policy tied to whether the person wishing to become a citizen is legally married. Under the explained situation, individuals suffering in the jaws of domestic violence display a go-slow in reporting cases of domestic violence. According to Khan (2017), the fact that immigrant communities do not adhere to their host countries’ rules and regulations triggers cases of domestic violence. The overall impact of the explained situation is elevated cases of domestic violence in immigrant communities. Arguments presented by evolutionary psychology links domestic violence to biological and psychological factors. Men who have any mental disorder are more likely to commit domestic violence. Exposure of an individual to domestic violence leads to adverse effects that affect the victim’s future life.
Effects of Domestic Violence
Exposure to domestic violence bears adverse effects on the victim. The effects, however, varies from one individual to another. Children are the most affected by cases of domestic abuse. It is approximated that 3.3 million children in the United States witness domestic violence (Pingley, 2017). Exposure of kids to cases of domestic violence leads to emotional and psychological future problems. The most important emotional problem evident in kids exposed to domestic violence include aggressive behaviors, anxiety, antisocial behaviors, and poor academic performance. Parents are also negatively affected by cases of domestic violence. The most conspicuous negative effect of domestic violence in a family setup is divorce and family break-ups (Haselschwerdt & Hardesty, 2017). The community also suffers from the adverse effects of domestic violence since it increases alcoholism and other drug abuse cases. Long term effects of domestic violence against women include stress, issues with the immune systems, nightmares, and arthritis. On the other hand, short term effects of domestic violence include unwanted pregnancy, physical injuries, and contracting sexually transmitted diseases.
Solutions of Domestic Abuse
Failure to manage domestic violence cases not only bears adverse effects to the victims but also affects the community. Thus, it is vital for the government, community, and responsible stakeholders to define measures to manage and prevent domestic violence. Addressing domestic abuse cases assumes different forms, such as establishing medical services for the victims, defining laws and regulations to enforce support for the victims, and other forms of intervention strategies. Embracing the noted strategies will facilitate quick recovery from the aftermath of domestic violence and also eradicate instances of elevated cases of domestic violence. Even though every member of society should take an active part in fighting domestic violence, the most crucial role falls on the government’s hands. Before presenting the means in which the government can eradicate domestic violence, it is vital to discuss strategic means of managing the vice.
Managing Cases of Domestic Violence
Victims of domestic violence develop a feeling that they are inferiors in a social setting. They thus should be exposed to counseling sessions to draw away the feeling. Counseling victims of abuse entails the valuation of the presence, type, and extent at which the abuse has elevated. A detailed assessment of abuse helps healthcare practitioners and therapists determine the right course of action to help the victim. According to Martin (2017), the counseling session helps a victim of domestic abuse identify dangerous behaviors likely to enhance cases of domestic violence. A study carried indicated that many victims of attempted homicide perceived that their abusers were capable of killing them. This is, however, not always the case. Subjecting such victims to a counseling session eradicates the fear and enhances their ability to deal with their abusers.
Safety planning is a vital component of counseling victims of abuse. The primary reason why many people end up suffering the negative consequences of domestic violence is enhanced by the lack of plans to counter dangerous situations. Safety planning equips victims of domestic violence with skills for dealing with dangerous domestic situations. In the quest to offer abuse victims safety planning lessons, counselors should ensure that they are exposed to their legal rights and freedoms. It is a common scenario for violence victims to undergo the vice without noticing. Counseling sessions help victims recognize early warning signs of violence and report such cases before they cause significant harm. Additional benefits of identifying safety plans for violence victims help them validate, understand, and express their feelings.
Prevention of Domestic Violence
The positive reinforcement posits that failure to define stern measures after an unethical behavior promotes intergeneration of the behavior. The government should thus stipulate stern measures to punisher perpetrators of domestic violence. Reforming the justice system presents the most applicable measure the government can embrace to combat domestic violence (Brickell 2017). For instance, the government should dismiss traditional and religious laws exposing women to segregation. Instead of promoting such laws, it would be vital for the government to campaign for gender equality. Women in many parts of Sun Sahara Africa are perceived as men’s property because a dowry price was paid. The government in such regions should restrict such traditions. Gender norms promoting women’s segregation should also be shunned away by dismantling male chauvinism and femininity attributed to women.
Centers for Disease Control and prevention proposes that the most effective intervention strategy to combat cases of domestic violence is campaigning for respectful and non-violence relationships. The noted ideology can be achieved through initiating individual, community, and societal change. In response to the explained ideology, it is vital establishing early intervention programs such as school-based programs (Edwards, Neal & Rodenhizer-Stämpfli, 2017). Community screening programs should also be implemented to identify society members vulnerable to domestic violence. Lastly, anonymous social media platforms (hotlines) should be devised to present domestic violence victims an effective means of reporting their cases.
References
Akers, R. L., & Jennings, W. G. (2019). The social learning theory of crime and deviance. In Handbook on crime and deviance (pp. 113-129). Springer, Cham.
Brickell, K. (2017). Clouding the judgment of domestic violence law: Victim blaming by institutional stakeholders in Cambodia. Journal of interpersonal violence, 32(9), 1358-1378.
Daphisha, L. (2019). Impact of Traditional Practices on Domestic Violence among the Women of the East Khasi Hills (Doctoral dissertation, Christ University).
Edwards, K. M., Neal, A. M., & Rodenhizer-Stämpfli, K. A. (2017). Domestic violence prevention. In Preventing crime and violence (pp. 215-227). Springer, Cham.
Haselschwerdt, M. L., & Hardesty, J. L. (2017). Managing secrecy and disclosure of domestic violence in affluent communities. Journal of Marriage and Family, 79(2), 556-570.
Kachynska, M. O. (2016). Causes of Domestic Violence Latency. JE Eur. L., 27.
Khan, A. (2017). Causes of domestic violence against rural bangladeshi women: A qualitative inquiry. Géneros, 6(1), 1208-1230.
Kumar, A. (2017). Causes of Domestic Violence in a Particular Area. Asian Journal of Research in Social Sciences and Humanities, 7(8), 105-112.
Martin, G. (2017). Counseling for family violence and abuse. Waco, Tex: Word Books.
Pingley, T. (2017). The impact of witnessing domestic violence on children: A systematic review.