FREE ESSAY ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

For my psychology paper I chose to do Service Learning. I volunteered 20 hours at the
Benton County Women's Shelter. I enjoyed the time that I served there. They really made
me feel needed and welcome. I decided, however, that I would not be capable of a career
in this field. Just in the small amount of time that I volunteered there my heart
wrenched for the girls there. I felt helpless to do more for them. And yes, I even felt
sorry for them. That is not to say that I am not going to continuing volunteering. I have
arranged with the organization to volunteer two Saturday's a month. Perhaps it is me that
is weak. I suppose to some degree we are all weak. But the women I encountered there had
the confidence of a child just beginning to walk: determined, but shaky. I couldn't watch
the inner conflict and pain these women endure on a daily basis. I have gained a respect
and admiration for those who can. However, my chosen field of study is Public Relations
and it is my hope to someday gain a position at a charitable organization and become a
spokeswoman for a greater cause.
The Benton County Women's Shelter is a non-profit organization, a corporation with an
overall purpose to work towards alleviating the problems of family violence. They provide
shelter, counseling and financial assistances to women in an effort to instill a sense of
self-purpose and self-esteem. I learned within my first hours of service what a benefit
this service is to the women there. Without it, several would have no where to go.
However, through my volunteer work, I seemed to see the same pattern repeat itself over
and over. The women had little or no self-esteem. Most came from poverty situations. All
of the women I encountered had children. All seemed unsure of their ability to support
themselves and their children. Alcohol reappeared over and over again. Aggression
problems surfaced in both the women and their children. Mostly, all just seemed lost and
were searching for a source of comfort and security. That is what we do at the Benton
County Women's Shelter. We give the women a sense of self-worth. We teach them how to
beat the cycle of abuse. 
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. In one out of every six marriages, the wife is
physically 
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abused. Every fifteen seconds a women is battered in the United States. Daily, four
American women lose their lives to their husbands or boyfriends, equaling more than
one-third of all female homicide victims. These numbers report that too much violence is
directed toward women. 
Violent families are easy to describe but difficult to explain. Research on family abuse
has, on a consistent basis, found that the phenomenon is associated with
intergenerational transmission, low socioeconomic status, social and structural stress,
social isolation, and personality problems or psychopathology. Traditional theories on
the causes of domestic abuse focus on such factors as people's individual characteristics
and life experiences, including the presence of problems such as social and structural
stress, social alienation, unemployment, poverty, substance abuse, past child abuse,
personality disorders, psychopathology, and depression. While domestic abuse can be
studied through "mental lenses" that are psychological or sociological in nature, it is
important also to examine this issue from a medical/public health perspective. While many
theories have been proposed to explain the causes of family abuse, one of the most useful
has been the social learning theory (Wade and Tavris, 285-289). It has been proposed that
learning be composed of both a modeling component and "reciprocal influence". The latter
suggests that we can shape our futures by influencing our environments. In explaining how
social learning theory explains family abuse, psychologist O'Leary (Wekesser and Swisher,
1994, 232) analyzed the effects of modeling on behavior, the role of stress, the use of
alcohol, the presence of relationship dissatisfaction, and aggression as a personality
style. Modeling involves the observation by the child of physical aggression by the
parents or the direct experience of having been physically abused (Websdale, 184-186). In
a study of wife abuse and marital rape, it was found that viewing parental violence was
equally important in creating a future pattern of abuse as the direct experience of child
abuse itself. Modeling, therefore, increases the likelihood that one will use violence in
order to handle interpersonal difficulties. 
Domestic abuse typically follows a "cycle of violence" pattern. There are three phases in
the cycle of violence: tension-building, acute battering and the honeymoon 
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phase. During the tension-building phase, the batterer becomes increasingly moody,
hostile and critical of his partner. Minor battering incidents may occur. During the
acute battering phase, the batterer is likely to assault the victim. Major assault of the
victim, physically and psychologically, usually distinguishes the acute battering
incident from the minor battering incidents that may occur during the tension-building
phase. Shortly after the acute battering phase is the honeymoon phase. The batterer may
apologize, beg forgiveness, or promise that the violent behavior will never happen again.

There are numerous answers to the commonly asked question of why a woman would stay in an
abusive relationship. For many women, no other sources of financial support or housing
exist. The responsibility of childcare further complicates the problem. The most serious
reason for concern is the fear of retribution by the abuser. Batterers frequently
threaten to kill the woman or other family members if they tell anyone that they are
being beaten. Despite the abuse, a woman may still love her partner and, consequently,
will lie to protect him. Many victims possess low self-esteem caused by repeated abuse,
both physical and emotional, and believe that they don't deserve help. Finally, the pure
fact of being embarrassed or ashamed may be sufficient reason for the victim to stay. 
Aside from medical and psychiatric treatment for injuries, potential victims of abuse can
be given information and counseling from the health care provider in order to prevent
further victimization episodes. Patients can be informed about the risk factors involved
that would increase the chances of serious harm to them. Psychological counseling,
administered by either the primary care provider or a mental health professional, can
assist the patient in ending personal relationships with abusive individuals.
Additionally, the patient can be provided with telephone numbers and encouraged to
contact existing community resources such as crisis centers, shelters, protective service
agencies, or the police department if there is fear of injury. 
It's amazing to me that of all crimes in today's society; domestic violence is the one
that is still on the rise. It is time to take domestic violence seriously and combat it
aggressively. In order for a positive change to occur, our legal system needs to protect
the 
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battered and not the batterer. A majority of battered women are murdered if they try to
leave an abusive situation. Why is that? Because they don't have the protection they
need. The criminal justice system needs to start a victim relocation program for domestic
abuse victims. This would ensure their safety and allow them enough courage to leave a
horrible situation. There are an estimated 1,500 women's shelter in the United States
today; however, there are over 3,800 animal shelters. In a nation that detests racism and
protests animal cruelty, why are women and children still subjected to torture and
violence in their own homes at the hands of their husbands and fathers? In a politically
correct world too many of us still view women and children as inferior, as property. The
media portrays women as sex symbols and often with a very noticeable lack of
intelligence. Often doctors turn their backs on damage left as the result of abuse
because of the fear of embarrassing their patients. It is time to declare war on domestic
violence. Domestic violence will always be a part of our culture. Women are still not
considered equal and historically it was acceptable to beat your wife if she was out of
line. With today's broken marriages and extensive abuse of alcohol and drugs, the matter
will only get worse. If strong initiatives are not instilled now, there will be many
unnecessary deaths due to the rise in abuse.
It is important that we, as a community, stand up and voice our detest of domestic
violence. It is important for all of us to decide to aid the battered instead of turning
the other cheek. I am relatively certain that at some point of everyone's life they have
been a spectator of domestic violence. I myself, recall when I was 11 years old, we heard
the man in the apartment next to ours, slapping his wife around and calling her names. I
asked my daddy if we shouldn't call someone. My dad responded that it is best to leave
your nose out of other couple's disputes. I wonder if the women that was being beaten
felt the same way? It is no longer acceptable to "turn the other cheek". You must stand
up and speak out against domestic abuse. It will take millions of very loud voices to end
the cycle of abuse. You never know when the battered will become your friend, your
sister, your daughter, or even yourself. 
Bibliography
?Works Cited
Websdale, Neil. Rural Woman Battering And The Justice System, An Ethnography. Ed.
Michelle Lingre. London: Sage, 1998.
Swisher, Karin and Wekesser, Carol. Violence Against Women. Ed. Bruno Leone. San Diego,
GA: Greenhaven Press, 1994.
Wade, Carole Wade and Tavris, Carol. Invitation to Psychology. Ed. Priscilla McGreehon.
New York: Longman, 1999.