Dissertation on Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence is a wide spread problem today, you read it in the newspapers and see it in the media daily. There are not enough programs in place in todays society that people in a crisis can go to for help. There should be more state funding for aid, shelters and education, and then maybe there would be a change for the better. The stat should also enforce stiffer penalties for abusers, and not let them out of jail for good behavior. After the Simpson trial in 1994 you heard a lot more about domestic violence and its effect on American lives. Teenagers and children see and hear about domestic violence in the media and sometimes even experience it first hand in there own homes. Education in schools should start with trained counselors that would be able to assist students who have been exposed to this type of family crisis. The counselors could also instruct students on the tell tale signs of domestic violence and the counselors can be there for the students who need help. In my interview wit a nurse that worked for CASA, which is a shelter that assist victims and removes them from dangerous situations, she said the most frustrating part of her job was when the victim that went back to the abusive relationship after the abuser begged the victim that it would never happen again. She had some statistics that I though was very interesting: men against women committed ninety-five percent of all cases of domestic violence crimes. Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between the ages of 15-45, Up to thirty-five percent of women who visit emergency rooms are there for injures related to ongoing abuse. Sixty percent of sons over the age of 14 were injured when attempting to protect their mothers from there attackers. Under state laws battering cases are almost always classified as misdemeanors. Sixty to eighty percent of batters grew up watching their fathers batter their mothers. The nurse agreed with me that education is the key; to start with young people is in her opinion, half the battle. More funding and stiffer penalties for repeat offenders, she also said would help control this widespread epidemic. Domestic violence is an important public health problem today one in every four women is abused in their lifetime. Despite the high number of critical cases it is estimated that only between five and ten percent of cases are correctly identified. Domestic violence is not limited to any social ethnic, educational, racial or religious category. It is found among

women who are married, unmarried and among women involved in same gender relationships. There is a cycle that has been followed in several studies that involves six different phases: The build up phase, where the attacker gets very frustrated and angry, the stand over phase, were the attacker then physically intimated his victim, the explosion phase, were the attacker actually commits the crime. Phase 4 is the remorse phase, were the attacker feels sorry for the attack he committed. Next come the pursuit phase, were the attacker tries to win back his victims love. Lastly comes the Honeymoon phase, were the attacker is benevolent and promises to change and to never strike the victim again. Eighty percent of the time if the victim accepts the attackers apology and continues the relationship this cycle keeps repeating itself. A newspaper article, Shatter Love, Broken Lives states that 23 women were killed in Massachusetts in the name of love in 1994. Of the 23, four were married, four were separated or divorced, fourteen were dating their killers, and one woman was pregnant. Of the men accused in the killings, five were under court orders to stay away from the women, three had restraining orders filed against them in the past and two had previous domestic violence related charges filed against them. One was on probation, and one was out on bail. Of the 23 women killed, a handgun killed fifteen. Another article reports that women are not the only victims in household children too are affected. Children who witness the violence often do poorly in school. These children are more prone to have a variety of emotional and social problems. In conclusion, I believe that by teaching our children about domestic violence and teaching them how to know when to come to other adults for help is the key in battling this growing epidemic. If the state would make available counselors in each school who are trained to take teach kids of all ages of how to stay away from the cycle of violence then that would be a giant step forward in the right direction. I also believe that the courts should have stiffer laws regarding violence in the home and stiffer penalties for repeat offenders. Also the courts should look at abusers serving full sentences rather than only a portion of the original time due to good behavior. In my opinion marriage is union of two people to make them stronger as individuals rather than to put one of them into a situation were they feel that their safety is a concern.