The United States Department of Justice (2015) defines domestic violence as a “pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner”. For this paper I will explore the definition of domestic violence, who the abusers are, and who the victims are. With this foundation I will explore the impact that domestic abuse has on marriage and the family unit along with why as a social work this information is important. When doing a search for the definition of domestic violence one will find that there is no general agreement on the term. Each writer defines the term according to their topic or agenda. For example: the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
…show more content…
However, when we look at domestic violence we can see some startling statistics. When we are looking at age for domestic violence we can see that children as young as eleven years old can be victims of dating violence. Also, 1 in 3 teenagers have been victims of dating Violence (Breaking the Cycle, 2016). While anybody can be a victim of domestic violence approximately 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are assaulted by their intimate partner annually in the United States (American Bar Association, 2016). African Americans were victimized by their intimate partner at a significantly higher rate than individuals from any other race. In fact, black women experience domestic violence at a rate of 35% higher than that of white females, and 22 times the rate of women of other races (American Bar Association, 2016). Finally, women living in poverty have a higher rate of experiencing domestic violence. 25% of women living in poverty have experienced domestic violence (Renzetti, …show more content…
When children witness violence against their main caregiver, the main person who is supposed to protect them, it can compromise the child’s attachment to that parent. At times it can even undermine the trust they have for their mother and her ability to take care of them. Leaving the abusive relationship may not fix this broken relationship between mother and child. If the mother chooses to leave she may be met with distrust and hostility from her child. Children at times will play into the victim blaming that they have learned from the abuser. Experts have suggested that families dealing with domestic violence get help from parent program that will give the family the support they need to build healthy and stable family bonds. These agencies work with parents who have experienced violence to focus on strategies for parenting and ending the cycle of abuse (Healthy Families America, 2015). For many years there was little knowledge about domestic violence, theoretical reasons for the violence was not thought out, and social workers were not trained in how to deal with the problem. For some time domestic violence was looked at as a family problem. However, today social workers can benefit from the research being
However, when we look at domestic violence we can see some startling statistics. When we are looking at age for domestic violence we can see that children as young as eleven years old can be victims of dating violence. Also, 1 in 3 teenagers have been victims of dating Violence (Breaking the Cycle, 2016). While anybody can be a victim of domestic violence approximately 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are assaulted by their intimate partner annually in the United States (American Bar Association, 2016). African Americans were victimized by their intimate partner at a significantly higher rate than individuals from any other race. In fact, black women experience domestic violence at a rate of 35% higher than that of white females, and 22 times the rate of women of other races (American Bar Association, 2016). Finally, women living in poverty have a higher rate of experiencing domestic violence. 25% of women living in poverty have experienced domestic violence (Renzetti, …show more content…
When children witness violence against their main caregiver, the main person who is supposed to protect them, it can compromise the child’s attachment to that parent. At times it can even undermine the trust they have for their mother and her ability to take care of them. Leaving the abusive relationship may not fix this broken relationship between mother and child. If the mother chooses to leave she may be met with distrust and hostility from her child. Children at times will play into the victim blaming that they have learned from the abuser. Experts have suggested that families dealing with domestic violence get help from parent program that will give the family the support they need to build healthy and stable family bonds. These agencies work with parents who have experienced violence to focus on strategies for parenting and ending the cycle of abuse (Healthy Families America, 2015). For many years there was little knowledge about domestic violence, theoretical reasons for the violence was not thought out, and social workers were not trained in how to deal with the problem. For some time domestic violence was looked at as a family problem. However, today social workers can benefit from the research being