Factors Contributing To Domestic Violence And Its Effects On Victims Discussion Paper

Domestic Violence And Socioeconomic Factors

Human health is mostly dependent on the well being of them. If their mental state is not satisfactory then it can affect their health status. Violence is a term which is recognized to all and it present in almost every case, from workplace to home. If violence is destroying the peace of home, then it is termed as domestic violence (Brassiolo, 2016). It is defined as the aggressive behaviour of the abusive partners. Violence is not only counted as physical torture, but also in some cases mental and sexual abuses are kept in the category of domestic violence. A constant fear and anxiety chase the victims of domestic violence which ruins their mental stability. Mainly the sufferers are the women but in some exceptional cases, men also experience domestic violence (Cox, North & Weingast, 2015). This crime is growing all over the world and it has snatched away the peace from the life of its victims. Various factors are associated with domestic violence which is the main reason behind it. This paper is going to analyze what are the factors that cause fear of insecurity within the homes. Paper is also focussed to depict the evaluation of the factors among the victims.  Factors Contributing To Domestic Violence And Its Effects On Victims Discussion Paper

Socioeconomic factors play a major role in the occurrence of the domestic violence. It generally affects the overall human functioning including the physical as well as the mental well being. Lower socio economic status and its correlates such as poor education, poverty, poor health all affect the society ultimately (Krook, 2015). If the financial status of any particular community is not good then it affects the educational achievement of that community which in turn resists their development in the society. It also affects their relationship status among the people of the society. All these reasons keeps them far behind from the main stream of the society. As a result, they cannot access anything so easily as per their demand which acts as a stressor and they always stay under societal pressure. Inequities in the health distribution, inequities in the wealth distribution and inequities in the education distribution are increasing across the globe. However, violence is present amongst all the communities of the society but the worst sufferers are the people from lower socioeconomic status groups. Again, the income of a family is also responsible for violence. In some studies it has been found that if the income of women is higher than the income of her partner then chances of the occurrence of violence become low. Again, some other studies also revealed that if men are getting more salary than their wives then it results in violence as their partners become abusive. This situation can be supported by the bargaining model of economics which depicts that the violence will be decreased if income and economic status of women will be increased (Cox, North & Weingast, 2015). Again, according to the backlash theory of sociology, the violence will increase in some cases (Krook, 2015). So, domestic violence can occur anytime irrespective of the income of partners but in all the cases economic status is related.

Domestic Violence And Psychological Factors

Domestic violence is common in rural areas and some studies revealed that almost 43% women are more likely to experience slapping and beating from their husbands during domestic violence. Race and ethnicity is one of the most important sections of socioeconomic status which is highly responsible for domestic violence. The Hispanic women are the extreme sufferer of violence as they lack some facilities of society and which acts as stressor among Hispanic men (Alaggia, Gadalla, Shlonsky, Jenney & Daciuk, 2015). Due to less educational achievement, the people with poor socioeconomic status are more likely to experience unemployment too. Financial stressor creates negative impact in their homes and as a result they become aggressive and violence occurs. Socioeconomic status is related to behavioural and attitudinal change of human being which makes them more violence on their partners (Cattaneo & Goodman, 2015). So, poverty is not the main factor, rather some stressors that are associated with the poverty are responsible for domestic violence occurrence among the people or community of lower socio-economic status in compared to higher socioeconomic status community.

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There is a massive involvement of psychological factors on domestic violence. Many retrospective studies have proved the fact that psychology correlates to the partner violence. Psychology of perpetrator can be affected by various external factors that can result in their aggressive and dominant behaviours which in turn makes them an abusive partner in a relationship. Psychology develops from the childhood so the upbringing as well as the mental development in the childhood is directly involved with the mental state of a human being. If a child has witnessed the domestic violence or became the victim of domestic violence, then the chances increase that he will also become an abusive partner when grown up (Pearlman, Zierler, Gjelsvik & Verhoek-Oftedahl, 2016). If a boy as a child does not learn to respect women then they will also not respect women in future. This is due to the psychological factor that has made them believe that abuse is normal in a relationship.

Two different emotional dynamics can also greatly contribute to the domestic violence and one of them is destructive thought process. Abusers in this case always carry a thought that men should have all control over women and if women do not obey them they should have a right to be aggressive on them and as a result they make harmful physical as well as mental torture to their partners (Berns, 2017). Even, in many countries, still women are considered as a property of men and it allows aggression and control in case of alleged misbehaviour. Even, in some community, if women do any mistake then men try to punish them as they think that they have the right to do so. Another emotional dynamics can be termed as fantasy bond, in which a sense is involved with the perpetrator that the other person is responsible for their happiness and if it is not achieved they should be tortured or punished. In some cases, abusive partners can sexually abuse their wives forcefully. It is also a part of domestic violence that has major contribution in affecting the mental peace and stability of women. These psychological conditions can make a partner abusive in relationship. Again, sometimes, getting affected or influenced by some external factors like anxiety, depression and fear, people consume alcohol and due to over consumption they lose their control over themselves and become more aggressive and violent to their partners to get an instant relief from the hidden emotions and depression. Due to some unnatural behavioural disorder such as getting angry or overreact on something can make a person abusive in relationship (Berns, 2017). Even, studies have revealed that aggressive behaviour is mostly responsible in partner violence. Again, some psychological trauma or mental illness in childhood can also create behavioural disorder among the human being which in turn affects the personal life and creates domestic violence. So, psychology keeps a major contribution in the occurrence of domestic violence among the people from all over the world.

Evaluation Of These Factors

These socioeconomic as well psychological factors contribute to the domestic violence and which highly affects the health and well being of the victims. Even, in some cases massive domestic violence has occurred deaths of the victims. Some victims get irritated due to the domestic violence and they have been afraid of their lives. This thought process results in suicidal attempts among the victims. In some studies, it has been found that more than half of homicidal death of females has been occurred as a consequence of domestic violence. Australian Bureau of Statistics has revealed that almost 16% women have experienced domestic violence in their lives (Dowling et al., 2014). From the women, who have reported domestic violence, 92.4% were still living with their partners and 7.6% women were separated (Henry & Powell, 2015). The Victoria taskforce produced the result that children were involved in almost 80-85% cases of domestic violence in Australia (Dragiewicz & Burgess, 2016). In a survey of EU countries done by the European Union Agency for the fundamental rights of women, revealed that 20% women above the age of 15 have experienced physical violence and 43% psychological violence from their partners while in a relationship (FRA, 2014). All the statistics are alarming and irrespective of the types of violence, it affects the health and well being of the victims and in some cases it has also endangered their lives.

Conclusion

Violence has made the lives of victims full of anxiety and fear. It not only disrupts the life of the victims but also the children as well as the future generation who are yet to come in their lives. Regardless of the financial and educational status, women experience violence from their partners throughout the world. Even, sometime women are less likely to reveal their endurance of violence publicly. However, to omit the crime from the root, apart from the legal assistance, victims also need the support from psychologists to get over all the issues affecting their mental status which comes out in the form of anger and makes them an abusive partner in relationships (Krnjacki, Emerson, Llewellyn & Kavanagh, 2016). Various women support organizations throughout the world have taken initiative in this regard.

References

Alaggia, R., Gadalla, T. M., Shlonsky, A., Jenney, A., & Daciuk, J. (2015). Does differential response make a difference: Examining domestic violence cases in child protection services. Child & Family Social Work, 20(1), 83-95.

Berns, N. S. (2017). Framing the victim: Domestic violence, media, and social problems. Routledge.

Brassiolo, P. (2016). Domestic violence and divorce law: When divorce threats become credible. Journal of Labor Economics, 34(2), 443-477.

Cattaneo, L. B., & Goodman, L. A. (2015). What is empowerment anyway? A model for domestic violence practice, research, and evaluation. Psychology of Violence, 5(1), 84.

Cox, G., North, D., & Weingast, B. (2015). The violence trap: A political-economic approach to the problems of development.  Factors Contributing To Domestic Violence And Its Effects On Victims Discussion Paper