What Causes Victims Of Domestic Violence

Sullivan and Bybee (1999) stated that one way that the abuser can control the victim is through social isolation, cutting off any social ties to family and friends to prevent the person from turning to someone for help. Having such ties has been helpful in the past when victimized women have left their assailants with the help of friends and family members. Aside from social support, another important support is community resources to respond to domestic violence, which is very helpful to decrease risk of abuse by their perpetrators. One of the main reasons that abused women return to their abusive partners is that they are unemployed and have no way to financially support themselves. Other resources important in reducing the risk of domestic violence are: “medical attention, child care, affordable housing and safe housing, and help from social service agencies” (p. 44).

The ultimate goal of this research is to reframe the understanding of why women, and men, will stay in an abusive relationship, which can then lead to more effective means of breaking the cycle and helping those who are victimized get out of such relationships quicker and more effectively. When it can be understood why a victim of domestic abuse stays, it is possible to better prevent them from returning to such behaviors after they seek assistance and therapy. The underlying cause of the desire to stay is the missing link between existing literature and the ability to better combat intimate partner

In the United States, domestic violence is the leading cause of injury in women between the ages of 15 and 44 (Nies & McEwen, 2015, p. 329). I have always struggled with understanding why women stay in abusive relationships. Growing up witnessing my own mother be a victim of domestic violence has made me less than empathetic for women who are in those situations and don’t do something to help themselves or their children. For as long as I can remember, I have said that if a person is in an abusive relationship and doesn’t take steps to get out of it, I have no sympathy for them. My goals for this experience were to identify at least two reasons why women stay in an abusive relationship and to identify at least two resources

Have you ever wondered why women who are abused do not just leave the abuser? They are scared. No person should put up with being abused. Most women who are abused don’t have a choice. Being abused is all they know and they do not leave the abuser because they fear for the welfare of themselves and their children, they do not have anywhere else to go, or they blame themselves for being abused.

Some of the reasons why women stay are not self – explanatory. Such as violence is part of life. Violence being a part of life is an aspect that the young girl grew up with into womanhood believing it is normal. “An abuser may use sadomasochistic videos and gravitate toward violent movies and friends, so the woman is surrounded by cultural messages that violence against women is normal and desirable.” (509) By living surrounded by what she sees, hears, and what a woman grew up experiencing, she will believe that this lifestyle has no escape and it is all she knows. She may feel as if no one will support her due to the fact that the abuse is normal and she will begin to maintain the feeling that the abuse is her fault and she brought it upon herself. Many cases, it's difficult to separate the emotional damage resulting from abuse from other harmful effects of abuse. Common effects of abuse on women, whether heterosexual or lesbian, include anxiety, tension, low energy, depression, and insomnia. Many of the violence women and girls face become more difficult to cope with and are not seen as a major

Domestic violence. One out of three women will be a victim of domestic violence at some point of her life. More than one third of all women homicide victims are domestic violence cases. Domestic violence can lead to the victim’s down spiral addiction to substance abuse, and one fourth of the victims’ attempts to commit suicide. (Bancroft, 2003:7). These statistics are alarmingly high, especially when the abuse has been a constant threat to the health of the victim. It is difficult for victims to describe and explain the reason behind their abusers behavior since it is very perplexing and dependent on how he views his partner’s behavior and the outside world. It’s also difficult for partners to leave their abuser when they fear that their safety

In America every third or fourth woman has been victim of domestic violence at some point in her life and according to theoretical research as well as practical experiences, most of the abusers are intimate partners of the victims. They have a special bond between each other and spent a lot of good time together. That is why when abusers turn out to be violent initially, the victims don’t even realize that they are actually being abused. They ignore the warning signs because they have no idea what is coming after it and are caught by surprise when something really unusual happens to them. If the victim leaves that trigger the dangerous revenge in abuser and data shows that most of the severe violent incidents happened after the relationship

Every nine seconds a woman is assaulted or beaten in the United States (Domestic Violence Statistics, 2013). Women between the ages of 20-24 are at a greater risk for abuse than any other age group.” (CITE). Domestic violence is a social problem that happens every day nationwide. For example, an estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault each year (Domestic Violence Facts, 2007). This estimated number is just the instances of abuse that are reported by women to police each year. Many women do not report domestic violence to the police out of fear for many different reasons such as fear of being killed, increased violence, losing their children, not being financially stable, or not aware that there are resources available to them. Violence affects everyone regardless of race, socioeconomic status, background, and education level. There are many different ways that domestic violence can occur such as through partners/spouses male or female, teen dating, and same sex violence. “Nearly 1 in 5 teenage girls who have been in a relationship said a boyfriend threatened violence or self-harm if presented with a break up.” Domestic violence among men are underreported, men can also fall victim to domestic abuse by the hands of their female abuser. However, in relationships, where the partners are of the same sex domestic violence is often overlooked. “The legal system often fails to recognize or respond to same gender cases (Seelau & Seelau, 2005).” No

Victims of domestic violence and their attackers come from all different kinds of places, whether it be someone know professionally or personally. It is quite common and is mostly associated with females. Physical assault is the common form of this violence, though, it may be related to any type of abuse. Having no one to talk to and fear are especially strong when it comes to keeping women from leaving the relationship. Domestic violence is not uncommon in the US, especially amongst females. Almost one-third of American women turn in their significant other for being abusive (Commonwealth, 1998). Domestic Violence against women is commonly overlooked in the United States and almost always unnoticed by society. The way violence is defined is by: Violent or aggressive behavior within the home, typically involving the violent abuse of a spouse or partner. If this is true, then it is perplexing considering how many women are abused by their loved ones every year. People assume that women who are being abused would look small, fragile and weak. They believe she would be a poor minority with many young children. This is true for some abused women, but research proves the stereotype to be false (Walker p.18). In actuality, most of the women have great jobs being lawyers, executives, and nurses. These women are found throughout all levels of wealth and education. The greatest risk comes to women who are in intimate relationship, and domestic violence usually involves a weapon. "Approximately one in four attacks involved the use of a gun or knife,” according to a statistical study. Young minorities were the most vulnerable, as well as poor single women without much

“Each year, an estimated 30 percent of women who become homicide victims die at the hands of men with whom they have a family” (Thomson Gale, 2005, p. 21). People blame the murdered women for not leaving the relationship. Unfortunately people do not realize that most women that leave the relationship have a higher risk of being murdered at the time of separation. They have a 75% higher risk of being murdered if they leave than the women that stay. Men also are victims of domestic violence. In domestic violence men make up five percent of the victims it has. A need of control leads abusers to act out violence. “Every year, at least one million women are physically, sexually, psychologically abused by their husbands, or common law partners, two women are murdered by their male partners every week” (Thomson Gale, 2005, p.26).

Domestic violence is a serious and ever growing problem that the United States is faced with. Many people have suffered from domestic violence, and many more are still suffering even though the abuse ended years ago. Domestic violence victims still continue to suffer from the experience to this day. The effects of domestic violence creates something that will stick with the victim for a lifetime. Because victims fear reporting their problems to the police, many accounts of domestic violence goes unreported (American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, 2001).

According to the United Nations, “(t)he most common form of violence experienced by women globally is physical violence inflicted by an intimate partner. On average, at least one in three women is subjected to intimate partner violence in the course of her lifetime.” (Patti Duncan, 352). As this quote states, whose information comes from studies conducted by the Secretary-General, domestic violence is a major issue around the world. This violence has deep and lasting consequences for the victims and is a large cause of disability and death. Health issues like depression, substance abuse, and attempted

Battered women are women with mental issues due to abusive behavior by a man at home as an after effect of severe, lengthy abuse. A woman is considered battered when she feels discouraged, oppressed, and ineligible to leave the abusive circumstances. In spite of the fact that it may appear the victim can easily leave her situation, however, it feels totally impossible for her. Feeling frightful and powerless, and in some cases even trusting that her abuser will quit abusing her, the victim stays with the abuser, proceeding with the sequence of aggressive behavior at home over and over again. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, on average, nearly 20 women per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States (NCVAD, 2015). These statistics are alarming, consequently posing the reasons why anyone would want to endure physical and mental abuse. Ferraro and Johnson’s research study raises the question how do women experience battering and why do battered women stay in their relationships? They observe how women neutralize their roles as the victim as the result of financial, self-esteem, emotional, and continuity dependencies. Another study conducted by Pritchard, Jordan, and Jones addresses the gaps between battered women in shelters and the criminal justice system. It contributes to a clearer understanding of the processes that entrap some women in a cycle of victimization.

Emotionally abusive relationships can destroy your self-worth, lead to anxiety and depression, and make you feel helpless and alone. Domestic violence and abuse can happen to anyone, yet the problem is often overlooked, excused, or denied. This is especially true when the abuse is psychological, rather than physical. Physically and psychology domestic violence has issues that continue to make things impossible for people when living their daily lives. When someone gets abused, their life is changed forever. The reason being is that they get hurt mentally in reference to that they believe everyone is out to hurt them. They are unable to trust anyone and have close friends or be close with their families because they feel like they are going to get hurt once again. Health care professionals are obligated to report reasonable suspicion that child abuse or neglect is occurring or is likely to occur. There are a wide variety of causes of domestic violence, ranging from ancient social traditions that tolerated questionable behavior by men to patterns of psychological abuse that may include threats of violence and the reluctance of victims to seek help.

Violence is an act of aggression, usually in an interpersonal interaction or relation. When it occurs in the midst of an intimate relationship, it is qualified of domestic or intimate violence. Besides the physical aggression, psychological abuse is now also classified as domestic violence, even though it is not treated as a crime. Statistics are alarming when it comes to domestic violence; in fact, “Between twenty-five percent and thirty one percent of American women will be physically or sexually assaulted by an intimate partner at some point during their lives” (Lutz, 22). The high proportion of women victims of domestic abuse often make people think that they are the only victims, but some men are also abused by their partners; mostly psychologically, but also physically. Children on their side are collateral victims of this violence as they witness a parent being abused. When it comes to domestic violence, society has developed behaviors that do not make it easy for victims to speak up. In fact, people usually treat victims as if they were responsible of their situation by asking questions such as “why does she say?” or “can she not just leave?”. We can reverse the trend of intimate violence if we help the victims instead of judging them. By being available, not stereotyping victims or blaming them for not leaving and creating favorable conditions for survivors to share their experience, we could help victims understand that they are not alone and seek help; this