Have you ever experienced something horrible that just wouldn't go away, no matter

how hard you tried to make the problem better it just became worse?
Statistics show nearly twenty-four people per minute are victims of domestic
violence (DV). Three out of ten of these victims will also experience stalking, or rape
and about half of those victims will be murdered by a past or present partner. Domestic
Violence is a public health issue that does not discriminate. Men that are victims are 1 in
18, and even those numbers may be inaccurate according to the Rape Recovery
Services of Utah, " Most men and young boys are afraid to tell for fear of judgment by
their elders", The majority are women victims between the ages of 18-34 (n.d.).
Retrieved April 19, 2016, from http://www.ncadv.org/learn/statistics
Below is the complete list of the 10 states with the highest rate of females murdered by
males in single victim/single offender incidents in 2013:

A. (n.d.). When Men Murder Women - Violence Policy Center. Retrieved April 18, 2016,
from http://www.vpc.org/studies/wmmw2013.pdf

Victims come from all age groups, socioeconomic backgrounds and races. Factors
such as mental illness and substance abuse can affect or co-exist within cases of
Domestic Violence or Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). A surge of awareness is coming
to us through the media as we see an increase in victims who are older adults and
ultimately have their lives ended by their partners.
The most common myths about Domestic violence are that it only happens in poor
families and that victims can "just get out if they want to." Sadly, DV/IPV is just as
rampant as substance abuse disorders. PTSD is common amongst both abusers and
victims in domestic violence relationships.
In looking at causation, it is normal to wonder, "how can I tell if someone is
abusive?" What makes them that way? I feel that "nature versus nurture" is a large part
of the outcome in these situations. I have to wonder if untreated mental health
disorders, lack of childhood stability, exposure to violence (bullying) during formative
years all have something to do with the formation of an abuser. I think many of these
experiences also build a victim. I think that while children are resilient in general, they
still have scars of their negative experiences, if they haven't had a chance to
appropriately process them. Victims and abusers have developed unhealthy coping
techniques that perpetuate the sickness of their relationships. Victims may seek
partners who consciously or subconsciously have traits of people they have had
relationships with in other areas or times of their lives.

They have learned maladaptive mechanisms of relationship management and become

temporarily able to live in the chaos that is most familiar to them. Perpetrators may seek
the same, looking for partners that have traits of people in their past that trigger their
behaviors. Eventually, these relationships implode and take with them the casualties
they have gathered along the way. The collateral is great, and usually includes the
children who have, of no fault of their own become victims.
According to a nationwide study done by http://www.vpc.org/studies/wmmw2015.pdf.
In 2013 out of 1,615 female homicide victims were white 1,086 were black and 36 were
Asian or Pacific Islander, 21 were American Indian of Alaskan Native, and in the
remaining 19 cases were not able to identify. Not every case of DV/IPV will be the
same. There are people who have no history of violence in their own families, yet fall
into controlling and abusive relationships, possibly due to lack of self-esteem or even
loneliness. They accept the treatment they receive for fear of being alone or worse, fear
of being stuck with the bills by themselves, their survival is a fear far greater than the
abuse.
The effects of psychological abuse in intimate partner relationships is every bit as
detrimental as the physical abuse component. Abusing someone emotionally creates a
dynamic of power and control that is unbalanced and without merit. The environment
creates fear and feelings of inadequacy that make the victim feel they have no choice

but to remain in the relationship because they are dependent emotionally, physically
and often times financially.

This chart demonstrates the relationship of physical abuse to other forms of abuse.
Each section shows a way to control or gain power.

Clearly, DV/IPV is a problem we can't ignore. It is important that we empower our

children to have healthy self-esteem, to be able to recognize the signs of relationships
that are not complimentary to them and to be able to find their own voices. Children and
women/men who are affected by domestic suffer from PTSD/post traumatic stress, high
levels of anxiety and arousal, emotional numbing, attachment issues, possibility to
leading to drug addiction and becoming an abuser or one that accepts that form of
relationship again. Walker, L. E., EdD. (2013). The battered woman syndrome (Third
ed.). New York, NY: Springer publishing company. There needs to be more studies on
the impact DV/IPV has on children's behavior after one witnesses the violence. Studies
that have been done 30 years ago still hold up to this day, and considered ruler is that
domestic violence is a learned behavior, and very little research done to prove it may be
psychologically driven, studies have been conducted by Daniel Sonkin PHD that the
abuser may suffer from schitzophrenic disorders paired with paranoid disorders,
borderline personality traits be treated simultaneously or one at a time, usually found
different treatment types depending on the individual being treated.
Still more needs to be done to bring awareness so the next generation may intervene
and help stop the cycle of abuse.

Citations

1. Walker, L. E., EdD. (2013). The battered woman syndrome (Third ed.). New
york, NY: Springer publishing company.

2. Violence Wheel - Domestic Violence. (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2016, from
http://www.domesticviolence.org/violence-wheel/

3. Home. (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2016, from http://www.ncadv.org/

4. Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2016, from

http://www.ncadv.org/learn/statistics

5. A. (n.d.). When Men Murder Women - Violence Policy Center. Retrieved April 18,
2016, from http://www.vpc.org/studies/wmmw2013.pdf

6.Utah Domestic Violence Laws: Charge & Penalties | Criminal Law. (n.d.). Retrieved
April 26, 2016, from http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/criminaldefense/domestic-violence/utah-domestic-violence-laws-charges-penalties