Ways To Reduce Domestic Violence

Introduction

Domestic violence is a prevalent concern in today’s society all around the globe. Domestic violence is described as violent or harmful behaviour targeted at spouses or children at home. This is an issue that has implicated women and children living both in the urban and rural areas (Ibiloglu, 2012). Thereby experiencing domestic violence, victims and children may suffer from post-traumatic disorders and disturb their mental health. It is frowned upon and yet we are unable to eradicate from the surface of earth. We tend to ask ourselves, “why does domestic violence even exist?” In this essay, we will take a look at the various factors that may actually explain why domestic violence is still happening in our society.

Economic, financial, material, social or related in their nature factors may be caused to domestic violence (Tittlová, 2018). In this essay we will look at the following few factors:

Alcoholism

Excessive consumption of alcohol seems to be common within cases of domestic violence. According to statistical surveys, it appears that on average up to 70% of the aggressors were under the influence of alcohol or other drugs during the attack (Tittlová, 2018). The effects of alcohol seem to vary widely for individuals. Effects vary from releasing stress, to increasing aggressiveness and increasing tensions. These effects may play a part in building up to the event of domestic violence. Thus, the individuals may be intoxicated to a point where they engage in domestic violence. However, we may not attribute alcohol as a risk factor to be the only reason how it led to the event of violence. The existence of domestic violence even when the aggressor is sober shows us that alcohol might just be part of a few factors that actually lead to domestic violence. More often than not, people tend to use alcohol as an excuse when they partake in domestic violence.

Women

In today’s context, women have proven themselves capable of being strong and independent. However, the reports of domestic violence on women is still higher than that of those on men (Nadda, 2018). This shows that the notion of women being weaker than men in all aspects is still being circulated amongst society. Women’s dependence on men, be it emotional, political or social, gives rise to a chance to create a dominant setting for the males. Gender inequality may be a reason of violence against women.

Within numerous traditions, the male gender tend to be portrayed as the stronghold of the family, showing dominance in regards to matters of the family. The belief that a man must be reliable and trustworthy may very well be a factor of domestic violence. Failure in any sorts seems to be the reason of aggressive behaviours within any household (Bentovin, 1998). The acts of being violent are said to be a form of self-assertion for the male in the social environment (Tittlová, 2018). This might possibly be the reason of domestic violence against women and children. The position of the male might differ from what he had in mind of being “the breadwinner of the family”, and thus, he applies force to regain what was “rightfully” his position. In layman’s term, the women took up a more dominant role in the family and the male was feeling inferior. In order for the man to feel superior again, he engaged in domestic violence to show his authority. In a patriarchal structure, domestic violence is also used as a tool to ensure obedience in the family. With prolonged usage of this tool, domestic violence may become a norm within and a serious issue from the outlook of it.

Children

With regards to children, the factors are similar to that of those against women. As mentioned, it’s the dominant male within a family that demands respect and obedience. However, we should not attribute all causes of domestic violence to the male gender. Either of the parents might have a tragic childhood that witnessed domestic violence and was traumatized by their parents. The upbringing of a child in such an environment will impart to the child values that are detrimental to them in the future. As such, the traumatized parents might actually deem domestic violence as a norm and inflict harm upon their future offspring. On the topic of obedience, parents may also use violence as a form of punishment to their children. As they were unable to discipline their child through normal means, they resorted to the usage of violence to curb their child’s behaviour.

Other forms of domestic violence include child homicide. Within certain cultures/traditions, the presence of a male offspring is much more beneficial to that of a female offspring. A good example will be that of female infanticide in India. In their tradition, the bride’s family have to give dowry in forms of money, jewelry and even assets to the groom’s family. Thus, female newborns are regarded as unfavourable to the family’s well-being. Poor families foresee that they are unable to take care of their female babies which led them to the decision of killing them.

Staying in a violent relationship

Despite facing all this domestic violence, it is still puzzling that the victims still remain in the family. Thus, we will look at a few reasons as to why would the victims stay in the violent relationship. Financial independency may cause the victim to stay in the relationship. In the cases of women or children with no stable income, it resulted in them enduring the violent relationships. The love of a parent for their child is unconditional, thus, a victim of the violent relationship might choose to stay for the sake of their children. For the fear of making the child homeless or fatherless, women have to grit their teeth to endure the violent relationship and stay to make the family whole (Vranda, 2013). Social status and how the public view upon them might encourage them to stay in a violent relationship too. Dreading the judgemental opinion of the others, victims keep quiet to portray a healthy image of their family.

Conclusion

Victims should be encouraged to step out of their comfort zone and aim to eradicate any form of violence at home. Legal Intervention such as fines, probation, jail time has helped to reduce the cases of domestic violence (Mears, 2001). Domestic violence is real and happening all over the world. Identifying the causes of domestic violence is difficult and solving it is even more difficult. Since the factors that lead to domestic violence are numerous, we should instead focus on spreading the detrimental effects of domestic violence. Thereafter, with adequate education on domestic violence, individuals will be informed of what they should do and try to reduce the amount of domestic violence.

Bibliography

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