Domestic Abuse in the US
Domestic abuse in the United States is a large-scale and complex social and health problem. The family is perhaps the most violent group, with the home being the most violent American institution or setting today. Sadly enough, the majority of people who are murdered are not likely killed by a stranger during a hold-up or similar crime but are killed by someone they know. Not surprisingly, the Center for Disease Control and prevention has identified interpersonal violence as a major public health problem (Herman, 1997). Current estimates suggest that three to four million women are the victims of physical abuse by their intimate partners (Herman, 1997). According to the FBI, some form of domestic violence occurs in half of the homes in the United States at least once a year (Walker, 1984). In reality in one out of every six marriages the wife is physically abused. Every fifteen seconds a women is battered in the United States. Daily, four American women lose their lives to th!eir husbands or boyfriends, equaling more than one-third of all female homicide victims (National Institute of Justice, 1996). These numbers report that too much violence is directed toward women. Historically, domestic violence has been downplayed and, of
The most serious reason for concern is the fear of retribution by the abuser. However, theories centered on these variables fail to explain why the majority of the population that does not experience domestic abus!e, whether as a victim or a perpetrator, are not affected by these variables. Sadly enough, physicians fail to always recognize and/or acknowledge the source of repeated injuries. There are many serious effects of society's reluctance to consider the potential for domestic abuse by female. Shortly thereafter, the women's liberation movement, through the National Organization for Women (NOW), advocated for the end of violence against women and sought improved social services for battered wives. Among their recommendations were the following: a mechanism for community professional coordination in assessment to maximize family safety; the creation of community-based family violence coordination councils; and the need to establish, in every community, a comprehensive, culturally sensitive, and accessible intervention system for family violence that links health, justice, mental health, social service, and educational systems (National Institute of Justi!ce, 1996). Consequently, people possessing this trait are more likely to get angry than others and may actually get angrier more often than others. Why do men stay? Although they may not be victimized if they leave their spouse, there are many reasons why abused men stay in their violent homes. One study found that 35 percent of female emergency room patients are treated for symptoms related to ongoing abuse, !but only approximately 5 percent of the women are identified as victims of domestic abuse (National Institute of Justice, 1996). Domestic abuse typically follows a "cycle of violence" pattern. In the colonial period, laws derived from English common-law permitted a man to beat his wife when she acted in a manner that he believed to be inappropriate. With today's broken marriages and extensive abuse of alcohol and drugs, the matter will only get worse. Analyzing research that investigates health professionals' perspective of domestic abuse helps to confirm the startling reality that exists for victims seeking assistance. It's amazing to me that of all crimes in today's society; domestic violence is the one that is still on the rise. Wife Battering: A Systems Theory Approach.
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Acceptance Essays
