Effects Of Domestic Violence On Our Society example essay topic

Domestic violence is a large social issue in the United States today, as well as all over the world. Domestic violence includes sibling abuse, elder abuse, spouse abuse, and child abuse. Domestic violence has many names; family violence, wife or child beating, and domestic abuse. Spouse abuse talks about abuse from a marital or a dating partner in an intimate relationship. Domestic violence is merely not just physical, but is any behavior that is intended to control another person through the use of verbal assaults. Domestic violence is a very important social issue because it has a large negative affect on the victims.

Even though Domestic violence can be caused by either male or female it is usually caused by the male due to the large physical advantage. This essay will discuss the history of domestic violence, as well as explain the different types, and ways to prevent it. The history of domestic violence goes back to the beginning of man. Ever since life was created, inferior people were always taken advantage of by dominant people in society. Since men are stronger physically than women, the women were usually the inferior ones that were taken advantage of.

If you go back to Roman Times, if a wife was to ever cheat on her husband in the past, she could be sentenced to death. During the middle ages, the husband had every right to abuse his wife. If you look back to the 1960's and 1970's, you will see that little was done to prevent or stop domestic violence. If the police were ever involved, they usually would leave it to be resolved by the family. Even though many years had passed from the Roman Times and middle ages, wife beatings are still seen as acceptable by some groups in society. Once the 1980's came, a lot of different changes took place.

If the police were called for help with domestic violence, they no longer ignored it. They would arrest and convict those who were guilty of domestic violence. If you look in today's society, not much has changed. Domestic violence today is very common in households, but little is being done to stop it.

If you try to look at what causes domestic violence, you cannot pinpoint it to one specific problem. After researching various causes of domestic violence, one can conclude that it usually starts with a controlling personality to control another person. It can start off with verbal slander and turn into physical violence over time. One major cause of domestic violence is stress. Things such as being unemployed, taking drugs, drinking alcohol, or having little money can cause a person a lot of stress, which can result in abuse. Also, in some cases, it can be due to the person being abused themselves in their childhood.

Statistics show that many people who are abused in their childhood become abusers themselves. These are various factors that can cause domestic violence. When domestic violence occurs there are different types of abuse that can take place. The first kind is called physical violence. Physical violence includes slapping, kicking, or anything that is intended to physically injure the person. The second type is emotional abuse which consists of consistently doing or saying things to emotionally harm another person.

The third kind is sexual abuse. Sexual abuse is when someone is forced to have sex when he / she does not want to. Just because some one is married to someone doesn't mean that they have to have sex with them. Even though these are different levels of abuse, all of them are damaging in their own ways. If you ask people in today's society most will agree that domestic violence needs to be stopped. We as a society know that it is dangerous and emotionally destructive for children to grow up in a violent home.

Most societies have laws that punish domestic abusers, but yet it still exists in our society today People who are abused tend to think that there is no way out because they are so dependant on their partner. They continue to put up with the abuse and learn ways to cope with it. Also due to the history of domestic violence, it is still seen as acceptable in some ways and not a large threat to society. The first stage of the cycle of violence starts off with tension, which usually causes stress.

The abuser can become easily agitated. The abuser gradually becomes more abusive and more severe incidents of abuse start to occur in the household. The second stage of the cycle of violence is the physical violence and battery. The abuser loses control and becomes extremely violent to the victim.

The third stage of the cycle of violence is when the violent outbursts stop. The abuser becomes apologetic and will usually ask for forgiveness, as well as assure the victim that it will never happen again. This phase usually results in the victim forgiving the abuser, in which case the cycle usually begins again. The victim is often afraid to leave the abuser due to them feeling dependant on the abuser. There are many theories about the psychological causes of domestic violence, from alcohol abuse, drug abuse, stress, poor anger management, and an abusive childhood.

However, social conditions can and do encourage violence against women. One such social condition that promotes domestic violence is our society's view of the family structure, with the belief that every group, family or relationship should have one person in charge, and that person has the right to ensure their power and control over others. Abusers usually have the following personality characteristics, either they were abused as children, they feel insecure, have poor verbal communication, have low self esteem, need to dominate, have a lack of assertiveness, or they have dependency needs. If there are no negative consequences such as jail time and filing charges, then the message is that violence is acceptable. Abusers have learned to be abusive by watching others in the family and society. Abusers have also found that it is an effective way of establishing or regaining control in the household.

Society must help to stop domestic violence. The government must ensure the safety and protection of assaulted women and their children. The community should support and help women who want to leave abusive relationships. Money should be put into shelters and counseling to better help with the victims of domestic violence. However, the real problem lies with how society raises its children. Society should rethink its attitude towards women and teach children what is acceptable and what is not when it comes to behavior.

If education is not of great importance to our society to prevent future domestic violence then it will only be a bigger problem as time passes. When we think of abusers, we ask ourselves, "What is the definition of an abuser?" The rough definition of an abuser is one who tries to control another physically, emotionally, or sexually. These same people usually depend on their partner for emotional support since they are usually lacking in emotional skills. The abuser also tends to have the typical male or female personality in today's society.

The man goes out and makes the money to support the family while the woman stays home to cook, clean, and look after the kids. These people usually have trouble accepting responsibility for their abusive behavior. The abuser usually feels guilt or shame for their actions but they try to deny it. It has also been found that many abusers share the same personality disorders such as lack of empathy, as well as depression. They tend to lack social skills and they let their work habits absorb them. They tend to look at innocent situations as situations that are hostile.

Those who abuse adult partners usually grow up in homes that had violence between adults, against children, or both. However, this does not guarantee that one who is raised in an abusive home will be an abuser themselves. The sooner we can recognize these symptoms of domestic violence, the sooner we can prevent it from getting worse or even occurring at all. Some psychologists believe that teaching our children that violence is inappropriate and teaching them better methods of problem solving, is the first step in preventing domestic violence. A key component to teaching our children is to set a positive example and to educate our society as a whole. Educating our society as a whole is a very important key to ending domestic violence.

Educating our society as a whole is accomplished through changes in the way we practice things. Having stricter laws and regulations is important since most abusers are given a slap on the wrist, and it usually does not teach them a lesson at all. All it does is give our society a message that domestic violence is not a major crime and that they can get away with it. When communities can establish policies to arrest abusers, a message is sent from the police to the society that domestic violence is a crime that will and should not be taken lightly. When they join with counseling programs for abusers, the message will also be that those who want to change will be given a chance to.

It has been agreed upon by those who try to put an end to domestic violence that not only the individual abusers need help. These people also feel that we as a society also need help. Domestic violence is still allowed, even encouraged, by certain groups in our society. The media and entertainment industry does not pay enough attention to the seriousness of domestic violence. There are still police officers that will ignore domestic violence when it arises. Also there are judges that still give weak punishment or simply let the abusers off for domestic violence.

These are all problems that hurt our society and make it more difficult to put an end to domestic violence. The message is simply not strong enough for it to make a difference. The message that domestic violence is a crime is not strong enough. What kind of message are we sending if abusers who have multiple offenses, are simply given light sentences and released back into their homes the next day, so that they continue the abuse.

The effects of domestic violence on our society are almost impossible to measure. The amount of money that it costs our society also cannot be measured. Abuse victims sometimes need medical care. Victims of abuse also may require mental health care due to distress. There is an enormous cost to the state in the form of law enforcement officers, courts, lawyers, public health workers and more when it comes to domestic violence. There is also cost to social welfare organizations such as running shelters, counseling services, hotlines, and more.

The educational system is required to provide specialized services to children that suffer from behavioral problems due to domestic violence. Now, you need to think about the fact that children that grow up in a house with domestic violence will more than likely require medical care for stress-related illnesses, as well as mental health care for anxiety and depression. More than likely, these children will suffer in the workforce due to their pessimistic views and possibly low self-esteem, and when they have children they will more than likely continue the cycle of domestic violence. In conclusion, domestic violence is a large social issue that is being dealt with on a daily basis, but more still needs to be done to stop it. It will continue to damage our society as a whole by allowing those who are dominant to take advantage of those who are inferior. It is Darwin's theory of evolution that states "survival of the fittest", but to what degree must we take this to.

If the message is stronger, and the penalties for abuse are strengthened, it can be an excellent way to stop abuse in society today.