DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

We can define domestic violence as a pattern of abusive behaviour in

any relationship that is used by one person in order to gain or maintain power
and control over another person. It does not have to be within the home to be
classified as domestic violence. It is a form of violence that can occur within
any relationship like family and marriage. It is hard to know exactly how
common domestic violence is because people often dont report it and there is
no typical victim.
There are many and different forms of domestic violence including
physical assault, sexual, emotional or verbal abuse. These kinds of abuses
includes any behaviours that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, blame, threaten,
hurt or wound someone. It can happen to anyone, regardless of gender, age,
religion, race or social status. It usually involves a partner, it can also be
another member of the family, but most of the times, women and children are
the main victims of domestic violence.
Throughout history, all the worlds societies considered women being
less valuable then men and that a wife is the property of a husband and he has
the right to carry out whatever behaviour is necessary to make her obey his
rules. Thinking about history, one example that came into my mind is about the
Roman world, where the law gave the man the right to chastise their wives
event to the point of death. Honour killings of women believed to have
brought some shame or dishonour upon the family, dowry violence (a form
of violence in which a bride is killed by her husband or her husbands family
because they are not satisfied with the dowry provided by her family; the
studies show that in India, in 2011 alone, there were 8618 dowry deaths, but it
is believed that unofficially the number is, at least, three times higher), forced
marriage or acid throwing (the act of throwing acid onto the body of a
person with the intention of injuring them out of jealousy) all these are ways
in which domestic violence against women appears around the world, being a
proof that it still exists in its most cruel forms.
Besides these causes, women are abused usually at home by their
partners, being both emotionally and physically affected. Most of the times,
their partners assault them in the presence of their children, who are also
victims of this type of aggression. In some cases, such behaviours are generated
by alcohol, drug or other substances that can influence the way in which one
man acts. Abusers may use this as an excuse for their deeds, but this not means
that they take responsibility for their actions. Nevertheless, many people who
drink too much or take drugs dont abuse their family members; abusers may be

violent without the use of any substance. And if it is not about alcohol and such
things, then the abuses are caused by psychological problems. The abusers may
feel this need to control their partners because of extreme jealousy, low selfesteem or difficulties in manage anger and other strong emotions. Also, there
are men with a very traditional belief that may think they have the right to
control women and that women are not equal to them.
Domestic violence also has effect on children who witness or are the
victims of such king of violence. There are a lot of chances for them to learn
that violence is a reasonable way to resolve conflicts between people. Also,
boys who learn in their families that women are not to be valued or respected,
and who see violence directed against women are more likely to abuse women
when they grow up. On the other hand, girls who witness domestic violence are
more likely to be victimised by their husbands, thinking this is how their
marriages have to be. Yet, in my opinion, there are cases in which children can
develop a fear of relationships and cases in which children learn from their
parents experiences and mistakes and they will never accept to be put in such
situations. The results of domestic violence can be long lasting, the victims
developing problems such as depression, sleeping problems, anxiety attack,
lack of self-esteem and of trust in others, anger, diminished mental and physical
health.
In our country, the victims of domestic violence are protected by law.
They are offered medical aid if needed, they are taken to safe places, helped to
overcome the traumas they suffered and most importantly, the aggressor is kept
away from them. All these can happen if the victims choose that there is no
reason for which they should accept such things, but unfortunately, there are
few cases in which the victims decide to call the police and give them the
possibility to enforce the law. Many of them accept their situation for various
reasons, none too strong to justify their attitudes toward domestic violence. In
my opinion, in our country there are lots of women and children abused by
other members of the family and few of them accepts that they are facing a real
problem and they refuse help from others, especially from state institutions.
Social experiments on this issue were done in order to observe how
people around us react when domestic violence happens in public. Hard to
understand why, but most people act like they dont see anything, they dont
want to get involved in such situations, they behave like nothing is happening
and finally, they simply walk away.
Nowadays, domestic violence is a social issue, is violence in all its forms
against anyone who is considered to be week, easy to manipulate or merely
people who become victims of their partners overnight. The situation can be
changed if we stop being so indifferent to what is happening around us, if we
realize the gravity of this issue and if we think that, in this moment, at least one

person around the globe is a victim of domestic violence an it could be anyone:

it can be a stranger or even someone you know, someone you love.