Domestic Violence in Women

Domestic Violence in Women

Introduction

It has been estimated that around two million women become a victim of assault in a year and more than fifty million are assaulted in their lifetime. The topic has been a great deal of interest for many years; however, it has only been recently that adequate attention has been paid to the intricacies of the relationship between pregnancy and domestic violence. However, it is still difficult to determine the nature of pregnancy-related violence. It has resulted in difficult situations for both researchers and practitioners in order to understand the relationship between pregnancy and IPV (Intimate Partner Violence) for developing and implementing effective safety measures and intervention programs (Dutton, 2009).

There are two ways to measure how common domestic violence is the incidence and prevalence. In the case of domestic violence, incidence is best thought of as the number of acts of domestic violence during a given time in a given population (Walker 2009). Prevalence is best thought of as the proportion of a population that has experienced domestic violence in a specified time period. If every victim experienced only one act of domestic violence in a year, incidence and prevalence numbers would be the same for that year. However, typically incidence figures are higher than prevalence figures when based on the same data. These are typically calculated on an annual and lifetime basis, so both are presented here (Asling-Monemi et al., 2003).

Yearly psychological estimates of domestic violence are taken from the American Crime Survey (ACS), a monthly national survey conducted in the US. In 2008, the ACS estimated that there were 593,100 incidents (69,100 against men and 504,980 against women) of violent victimization by an intimate partner in the country, which translates to an annual incidence rate of less than 1 victimization per 1,000 men age 12 and older and 4 victimizations per 1,000 women age 12 and older (Hattendorf, 2010).

Social and Political Implication

Costs of domestic violence are also borne by the community. It is estimated that billions of pounds are spent annually in medical expenses, lost wages, and reduced work productivity. For example, one study estimated that female victims of violence cost health care plan an additional $1,700 annually. This is a figure that does not include the increased out-of-pocket costs for those victims in terms of copayments or costs not covered. Millions of taxpayer dollars are spent annually on the costs of policing domestic violence, processing and enforcing restraining orders, prosecuting domestic violence cases, treating and monitoring convicted domestic violence offenders, and providing services to domestic violence victims and their children (Kury et al., 2004).

Ethical Implications

In addition to the behaviors common to all the typologies, teenage girls, victims of sexual abuse often experience psychosomatic and physiological symptoms and complaints. Women may believe that the abuse physically harmed their body, they may have a distorted body image in addition to low self-esteem, or they may receive the message from society that they are “damaged goods” or ...