Domestic Violence and Stalking Among Older Adults Research Paper

Domestic violence can also be called domestic abuse or family violence and involves a behavioral pattern that is associated with violence as well as abuse in a family or a home setting. It usually takes place in both heterosexual as well as same sex relationships and can also involve the children as well. The children may also be the cause of the violence when they commit unfavorable actions to their parents as well as the other siblings. Domestic violence also involves sexual, psychological as well as physical abuse commonly executed by an individual against an intimate partner. It can be associated with a variety of criminal behaviors which include battery assault, stalking, homicide, harassment as well as other incidences attributed to domestic violence like robbery, malicious damage to property, arson as well as endangering the lives of minors. Domestic Violence and Stalking Among Older Adults Research Paper Domestic involves a willful intimidation, battery, physical, psychological and sexual assault or any other form of abusive behavior that forms a systematic power struggle pattern as well as control that is commonly perpetuated by one partner in an intimate relationship. The level of severity as well as frequency of domestic violence may vary significantly but the basic component involves consistent efforts of one of the partners in the maintenance of control as well as power over another.

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The occurrence of domestic violence is generally characterized by a purposeful hurting of one person by another with physical or emotional implications. Since the persons involved in domestic violence are closely related, usually executed by a husband, an ex-husband, a boyfriend, or an ex-boyfriend the term intimate partner violence has also been used to mean the same thing. However, it is also common for women to play the role of an abuser in some cases of domestic violence. The most common forms of domestic violence include, physical, emotional as well as sexual abuse.

Domestic violence is a serious epidemic that is common in majority of the communities irrespective of the status of the concerned parties with regard to their age, religion, race, nationality, sexual orientation, economic status as well as level of education. The vice is rarely reported due to some barriers because the offenders are the source of financial and emotional support to their victims (Lichtenstein & Johnson, 2009). The most notable feature that accompanies domestic violence is a controlling behavior marked with physical and emotional abuse which forms a small fraction of the universal prototype of control as well as dominance. The results of domestic violence can range from physical injury to psychological trauma, and in extreme cases, death may result. Domestic Violence and Stalking Among Older Adults Research Paper The effects of domestic violence may involve psychological, physical as well as emotional consequences across generations as well as entire lifetime of an individual.

Domestic violence and wife beating have been illegalized in all states since 1920. But the seriousness of the criminal justice system was not noted until 1970 when cases of domestic violence escalated in to serious crime with a significant shift from private matters within the family. Routine training for the police, the prosecutors as well as judges has been an ongoing process on issues of domestic violence with corresponding implementation of aggressive interventions. The most suitable interventions have however never been decided as debate on the issue is ongoing. The use of the criminal justice system has resulted to presumption of the accused people as guilty most of them being men. The notion of advocates is that the victims’ needs are usually sacrificed during convictions. The criminal justice system must therefore address the challenges associated with the protection of the rights of the victims and the accused at the same time not forgetting that domestic violence as a prevalent social problem must be treated with the highest degree of seriousness that it deserves. The criminal justice system has much left unaccomplished in its efforts of intervention in domestic abuse issues.

In most cases, heterosexual men are the convicts of domestic violence although an average of five to fifteen percent of convicts for baterering has been documented as being women. However, the women are caught in a self defense situation and are arrested by mistake. Although females have rarely been linked with abusing their male partners, studies indicates that in most cases, they are actually the initial aggressors.

Literature

Walker, L. E.A. (2006). Battered woman syndrome. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1087, 142-157. doi: 10.1196/annals.1385.023

Walker (2006) documents the results of research that led to the identification of the battered women syndrome in 1978 which was considered as a subcategory in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD. According to the researcher, the existence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in the women who are commonly battered is undisputable. The researcher also proved empirically the close connection between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and battered women syndrome.

Lichtenstein, B., & Johnson, I. M. (2009). Older African American Women and Barriers to Reporting Domestic Violence to Law Enforcement in the Rural Deep South. Women and  Criminal Justice, 19 (4), 286-305.

The article reports a research investigating barriers that older African Americans face in reporting cases of domestic violence. Women are forced remain in abusive relationships by traditional gender issues. The victims are generally stigmatized and this hinders reporting of cases of violence. The women are dependent on their abusive partners because they receive financial as well as emotional support so they fear being abandoned and acts of retaliation being taken against them in case they report. The trust that the victims have on law enforcement officers is yet another barrier to reporting cases of domestic violence.

Lee, H.Y., Lightfoot, E., Park, E. (2010). When does a battered woman seek help from the police? The role of battered woman’s functionality. Journal of Family Violence, 25, 195-204. doi: 10.1007/s10896-009-9283-y

Lee, Lightfoot & Park (2010) documents the results of a research finding aimed at establishing the common factors such as the functionality of participation in the social functions among the women who had experienced battering and the involvement of police officers. The participants in this research were recruits from various agencies that cater for domestic violence victims in the United States. According to the findings in this research, a greater proportion of victims involve the police at one time during domestic violence. Additionally, if the functionality of a woman was impacted by domestic violence, the chances of engaging a police increased. The Battered Woman Syndrome was never mentioned in this research since the effects of functionality were given a priority leaving out the physical as well as the mental effects that are associated with abuse.

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Bonomi, A. E., Anderson, M. L., Reid, R. J., Carrell, D., Fishman, P. A., Rivara, F. P., et al. (2007). Intimate partner violence in older women. Gerontologist, 47 , 34-41.

The author documents issues of prevalence, level of severity, frequency as well as duration of domestic violence among women of ages above 65 years. According to the findings of the study, 26.5 percent of the females are exposed to domestic violence in the lifetime. 18.4 percent faced cases of sexual and physical violence while 21.9 percent were exposed to non physical forms of violence. 3.5 percent were exposed to violence for a period of five years.

Asling-Monemi, K., Peña, R., Ellsberg, M. C., & Persson, L. A., (2003). Violence against women increases the risk of infant and child mortality: A case-referent study in    Nicaragua. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 81(1), 10-18.

The author of this article documents the effects of domestic violence on the mortality risks associated with mothers rearing children in the age bracket of 0 to 5 years. Important factors that promote domestic violence were noted as the level of education of the mother, their age as well as parity. There was a close association between sexual as well as physical violence and pregnancy with significant risks of mortality of the infant below the age of five years.

Brooks, S. L. (2008). The use of the creative therapies with survivors of domestic violence. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas Publisher LTD.

Domestic Violence and Stalking Among Older Adults Research Paper