Definition-Domestic Violence
Domestic Violence
Domestic violence is described as a pattern of behaviors used by one person in a relationship to control the other. This problem is not exclusive to only spouses and intimate partners, but is also inclusive of abuse among adult siblings who reside together, as well as adults who care for their elderly parents. Many times these cases are unreported, leaving it difficult to know the depth of the problem. The abuse is not limited to heterosexual couples and women, there are many cases of abuse in homosexual couples and males, women are the biggest victim, making up nearly 2 million of the reported cases. Domestic violence takes place everywhere in the United States, and the approach taken by each state on how to handle these cases differs. There are many factors that are considered when determining the causes of domestic violence. One cause is the ancient tradition of paterfamilias (“father of the family”), defined as ancient Roman law that gave senior males extreme power over the other members of the family. This way of society gave the paterfamilias total control of life and death over the family. Decisions such as letting a child die, selling children into slavery, permission to marry, and permission to strike a spouse or child to enforce his will were all well within his rights. Making any objections to his decisions or actions was forbidden. Another well known cause of domestic violence is the repeating patterns of psychological abuse that victims become used to living with when they are no stranger to the threats and/or acts of violence by their abuser, regardless of the frequency and nature of the violent threats and/or actions. This also causes them to be hesitant to seek help from the community or legal authorities for several reasons. The most common, and very disturbing reason is because they grow used to the violence, no longer aware of how serious, dangerous, and unacceptable this behavior is.They become numb to the effects
Domestic violence is described as a pattern of behaviors used by one person in a relationship to control the other. This problem is not exclusive to only spouses and intimate partners, but is also inclusive of abuse among adult siblings who reside together, as well as adults who care for their elderly parents. Many times these cases are unreported, leaving it difficult to know the depth of the problem. The abuse is not limited to heterosexual couples and women, there are many cases of abuse in homosexual couples and males, women are the biggest victim, making up nearly 2 million of the reported cases. Domestic violence takes place everywhere in the United States, and the approach taken by each state on how to handle these cases differs. There are many factors that are considered when determining the causes of domestic violence. One cause is the ancient tradition of paterfamilias (“father of the family”), defined as ancient Roman law that gave senior males extreme power over the other members of the family. This way of society gave the paterfamilias total control of life and death over the family. Decisions such as letting a child die, selling children into slavery, permission to marry, and permission to strike a spouse or child to enforce his will were all well within his rights. Making any objections to his decisions or actions was forbidden. Another well known cause of domestic violence is the repeating patterns of psychological abuse that victims become used to living with when they are no stranger to the threats and/or acts of violence by their abuser, regardless of the frequency and nature of the violent threats and/or actions. This also causes them to be hesitant to seek help from the community or legal authorities for several reasons. The most common, and very disturbing reason is because they grow used to the violence, no longer aware of how serious, dangerous, and unacceptable this behavior is.They become numb to the effects
Cited: 1. George, Patricia. “Counterpoint: Psychological Counseling Reduces Domestic Violence More Effectively than the Law.” Points of View: Domestic Violence (2011):p1-3. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 20 November 2012 2. Kramer, Liz. “Domestic Violence: An Overview.” Points of View: Domestic Violence (2011):p1-5.Points of View Reference Center. Web. 20 November 2012. 3.Morton, Thomas. “Domestic Violence, the recession and child welfare.” Policy and Practice Apr. 2011:p17+. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web, 26 Nov 2012.