DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence

Introduction

Domestic violence is a prevalent problem in today's society. While it is easy to see what psychological impact it has on the actual victim, it is oftentimes difficult to see the effect it has on children witnessing these acts of violence. Research done in the field of domestic violence suggests that children and women exposed to domestic violence grow up to either become abusers or to become victims of spousal abuse. The paper will explore domestic violence in relevance with psychological approaches.

Types of Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is a problem that affects everyone including the victim, family members, community, and society. There are several different types of domestic violence i.e. physical, mental, emotional, sexual etc. Physical violence which is the most basic form of domestic violence leading to extensive injury, unsuccessful pregnancies and even murder, if the violence is allowed to escalate (Ehrensaft, 2003).

Physical violence includes slapping, hitting, choking, burning, pulling of the hair, preventing the victim any access to an exit, or the use of any type of weapon. Mental and Emotional abuse is harm to the victims ability to think, reason, or have feelings, intimidation, degradation, and humiliation (Bevan, 2002). This type of abuse degrades the victim's self-worth. The attacker accomplishes this by withholding any type of affection towards the victim, calling the victim degrading names, making either verbal or physical threats towards the victim, refusing the victims friends, time, money, and interest of their own, and by acting in a manner that would imply that the victim is crazy (Kwong, 2003).

Emotional abuse can be the hardest for a woman to identify. Sexual Abuse includes having unwanted sex with a partner, calling the partner degrading sexual names, scarring a partner during sex, not informing the partner of any sexually transmitted diseases that they may currently have, and continuing to have unprotected sex with the partner, forbidding the partner to use any form of birth control. Economic Abuse- preventing partner from making any financial decisions, making the partner justify all spending, unjustly blaming partner for any financial problems that they are having, not allowing the partner to work outside the home (Heyman, 2002).

Some battered or abused women have very low self-esteem, while others display a great deal of confidence and esteem in other areas of their life, such as work, or as a mother, but not in their intimate relationships. An abused/battered woman may believe that she couldn't make it on her own without her partner, and may even feel lucky to have him in her life. The partner has brought her self-esteem down so low that the woman may feel like she is ugly and unworthy of love, and that no one else would want her besides her abusive partner (Rosenbaum, 2003).

Once women are victimized, they often never feel safe again. This affects their future decision-making and has long-term effects on their self-esteem. Violence and its threat are also citied in women's decisions to end involvement in productive ...