The evolution of domestic violence
The beginning of domestic violence can be outlined with a simple law that was in practice many years ago. Professor Lemon (1996) who has worked in the field of domestic violence since the early 1970’s explains how thousands of years ago women fell victim to the abuse of a man, their ruler, who used beatings as a form of punishment for crimes committed by women. Lemon wrote about the history of “The rule of thumb” which was an actual law that allowed men to whip their wives with a stick, based off the measurement of the man’s right thumb. Over time, laws have changed and evolved into more protection for women who experience domestic violence. For example, during the 1960’s the Women 's Rights Movement was …show more content…
Wives who wanted a divorce because of the abuse they were receiving at home were required to prove that several beatings had taken place before any judge would grant them a divorce. In addition, many believed that women caused the abuse and were possibly suffering from a mental illness. Moving forward to the 1970’s, women had organized a campaign demanding that wife abuse must be stopped. This campaign caught the attention of law enforcement and government officials. Therefore, the Battered Women’s Movement was established creating more protection for women and hundreds of shelters opening over the next ten years. Even though, over time women gained more protection and a safe place to hide, the mental effects of domestic violence were still greatly neglected. On top of that, there was little or no protection for children who were witnesses to these violent acts of domestic violence. When an innocent child observes domestic violence they become a prisoner in their own home. They begin to learn the business of abuse; resulting in damaging effects later in life. In order to stop the cycle of abuse, our current law should be amended to mandate mental health services for all children who …show more content…
Our current court system maintains mental health services to the direct victim associated with domestic violence and mandates the abuser to attend counseling for 36 weeks in an effort to rehabilitate. Although, both of these initiatives are impactful, there is still more that needs to be done to protect the innocent children. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network agrees, “Mental health treatment can give children/adolescents a chance talk about and make sense of their experiences in the presence of a caring and neutral counselor.” (para. 4). Therefore, the current law should be amended to mandate children who are witnesses to domestic violence to attend a number of sessions with a licensed therapist. Children can be key to eliminating the cycle of abuse by understanding right from wrong, which can be assembled with counseling in a protected environment. Although, I cannot clearly give a reason why I stayed with my husband for so long, I do know the reason I left was to provide my two daughters a chance to break the cycle of abuse and hopefully live a happy life free of domestic
The beginning of domestic violence can be outlined with a simple law that was in practice many years ago. Professor Lemon (1996) who has worked in the field of domestic violence since the early 1970’s explains how thousands of years ago women fell victim to the abuse of a man, their ruler, who used beatings as a form of punishment for crimes committed by women. Lemon wrote about the history of “The rule of thumb” which was an actual law that allowed men to whip their wives with a stick, based off the measurement of the man’s right thumb. Over time, laws have changed and evolved into more protection for women who experience domestic violence. For example, during the 1960’s the Women 's Rights Movement was …show more content…
Wives who wanted a divorce because of the abuse they were receiving at home were required to prove that several beatings had taken place before any judge would grant them a divorce. In addition, many believed that women caused the abuse and were possibly suffering from a mental illness. Moving forward to the 1970’s, women had organized a campaign demanding that wife abuse must be stopped. This campaign caught the attention of law enforcement and government officials. Therefore, the Battered Women’s Movement was established creating more protection for women and hundreds of shelters opening over the next ten years. Even though, over time women gained more protection and a safe place to hide, the mental effects of domestic violence were still greatly neglected. On top of that, there was little or no protection for children who were witnesses to these violent acts of domestic violence. When an innocent child observes domestic violence they become a prisoner in their own home. They begin to learn the business of abuse; resulting in damaging effects later in life. In order to stop the cycle of abuse, our current law should be amended to mandate mental health services for all children who …show more content…
Our current court system maintains mental health services to the direct victim associated with domestic violence and mandates the abuser to attend counseling for 36 weeks in an effort to rehabilitate. Although, both of these initiatives are impactful, there is still more that needs to be done to protect the innocent children. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network agrees, “Mental health treatment can give children/adolescents a chance talk about and make sense of their experiences in the presence of a caring and neutral counselor.” (para. 4). Therefore, the current law should be amended to mandate children who are witnesses to domestic violence to attend a number of sessions with a licensed therapist. Children can be key to eliminating the cycle of abuse by understanding right from wrong, which can be assembled with counseling in a protected environment. Although, I cannot clearly give a reason why I stayed with my husband for so long, I do know the reason I left was to provide my two daughters a chance to break the cycle of abuse and hopefully live a happy life free of domestic