Domestic violence has been on the steady rise in the recent past. Research asserts that the trend is on the increase because of a variety of reasons, which include economic pressure, alcohol consumption, mental illness and the need to exert control. Notably, domestic violence has also different names that are used to refer to it, and these include family violence, spousal abuse, intimate partner violence and domestic abuse. This abuse usually takes the form of one partner been abused by the other. The abuse referred to in this case is not limited to physical aggression, which includes hitting, battery, kicking, slapping and throwing of objects. Sexual abuse, stalking, intimidation, economic deprivation, emotional abuse and domineering also rank amongst domestic violence. The main idea that domestic violence centers on is control. Control in domestic violence takes many forms that include public control, intimidation and dominance. Various consequences of domestic violence abound and these include physical trauma, physical abuse and economical deprivation. However, it should be noted that the consequences are not limited to the partner only. Children and responders also suffer the effect of domestic violence. The children tend to become aggressive and anxious. It is indicated that the violence, which they are accustomed to from time to time also affects the way they interact with other children. On the side of responders, it is indicated that they suffer from burnout and vicarious trauma. Burnout is also referred to as emotional exhaustion resulting from increasing demands of energy in handling those involved in the domestic violence. On the other hand, vicarious trauma happens to professionals such as social workers, counselors, and advocates. This abounds from the fact that they listen to stories of domestic violence from time to time, which leads to vicarious trauma.
Thus, this essay expounds on domestic violence as centered on control and examines the effects it has for abusers, victims and the society.
Firstly, it should be noted that various types of control do exist under domestic violence. The first form of control is dominance over the other partner. Dominance abounds in various forms. However, research opines that mostly men use this form of violence against women. Male dominance abounds from the fact that men consider themselves as the stronger sex and; thus, want to exercise their supremacy over females (Rhoad). For a clear understanding, male dominance is perpetuated by their masculine nature and; therefore, some men want to exercise control over their women, which is considered as a form of abuse or domestic violence. Research indicates that such men will want to domineer their women in almost all the aspects of their livelihood and the woman in the relationship will feel been treated unfairly. This abounds from the fact that the man in the relationship will want to preside over everything including how the woman conducts herself or the places she can visit. Supremacy is also felt when it comes to making of family decisions. The man in the relationship will also domineer over such issues and the decision that they make should be paramount. This describes a very unhealthy relationship that is based more on fear than mutual understanding. Thus, by and large, this type of domestic control can be blamed entirely on the consequences of inequalities (Thottam). This derives from the fact that many traditional families live by the fact that males have a greater dominance over women and children; thus, they can get away easily with the abuse they advance to their families. The sense of male privilege also makes men in such relationship to use force when they think they are been deprived of what they should be given naturally. This mostly applies to sex whereby the men want to exert pressure on women to allow them have sex even when they are not willing.
The second form of domestic violence control is humiliation in public places. This occurs especially when the woman is not financially stable. Thus, the man will want to use all the means to get the woman to be under him, which results to public humiliation. Public humiliation sometimes entails the hitting of a woman in a public place where people can get to see how humiliating she is been treated. There is some psychological connection when it comes to public humiliation. Psychologists deem men who harass their women in public have some inferiority complex within them. This abounds from the fact that they want to prove themselves on the public in order to be considered as strong. In addition, sometimes such men are usually accosted with the feeling that their spouse is cheating. So they take the step to humiliate them publicly in order to get the woman to feel ashamed and quit what she is accused of. It should also be noted that domestic violence in public places also follows other routes such as forced genital mutilation, dowry-related violence and sterilization (Thottam). Sterilization, which takes the public form of a hospital, is mainly done in order to make the lady sterile. This is control over the woman because this is usually forced, which denies the woman her right to procreate. Forced genital mutilation and dowry-related violence are considered as traditional forms of public domestic abuse. Forced mutilation has been an ongoing tradition in many African countries, which the WHO has completely criticized. This is usually aimed at reducing the sexual arousal of women and it is considered as domestic violence because in some communities, husbands tip off their friends or community regarding their discovery if the women did not undergo the tradition earlier. Such women are subjected to public humiliation because they are kidnapped by people coordinating with the husband and taken through the custom forcefully. On the other hand, dowry-related violence comes into the picture when a husband that has been living with a lady and even has kids with her publicly refuses to pay dowry, disowns the lady. This is usually an attempt to get the family of the lady to lower their demands regarding the amount of dowry they want (Rhoad).
Thirdly, intimidation abounds as a way that spouses employ in controlling each other in reference to domestic violence. However, it is mostly practiced by men. Intimidation also takes various forms. The first form that it takes concerns verbal attacks. This takes the place of communication as the man always wants to know that his will comes before that of the woman. It is usually in the form of verbal abuse. Another way that intimidation operates in a domestic violence issue concerns the use of sincere tone in situations where the perpetrator wants to get something. This always abounds in the form of the perpetrator using sweet words in situation where one wants to get something, but the perpetrator is nice always. Intimidation can also occur when the perpetrator says one thing and does the other (Thottam). This leaves the spouse been intimidated confused about everything that is taking place. It also makes the victim not to know what the intimidator wants or needs from him/ her.
Consequences of Domestic Violence
The first key consequence of domestic violence is that the victims would suffer emotional trauma in the hands of their abusers. Continuous abuse of individuals would have lasting effects on their brains and would stick in their minds. This implies that the emotions of victims would also be affected and they will not be able to lead a peaceful life because of the continued fear of their abusers. They will develop negative emotional feelings which stick in the mind and would fear to associate with other individuals because of the feeling that they are not wanted by other members. The presence of the abuser increases the level of trauma and victims are likely to suffer from mental problems each time they think about the violence. Trauma would also make it difficult for these victims to share their sufferings with other people because of the fear that the abuser is watching and could do more harm on them. Thus, they prefer keeping to themselves and suffer with their problems without disclosing the information to any other party. Constant thoughts about the abuse aggravate the level of trauma and make it difficult for these individuals to live confidently within their own homes. Increased levels of trauma also emanate from the worse nature in which domestic offenses are committed. Abusers instill fear among victims and they make them weaker in terms of associating with other people (Meyer). Trauma is dangerous as it could lead to permanent brain damage and permanent nervousness among these victims as they feel insecure at all instances. In the long term, trauma would make victims on the run as they try to avert their abusers. Therefore, the increasing levels of trauma among victims could lead to the damage of the brains and they will live a fearful life. There levels of association with other people would be reduced as they develop the feeling that each of these individuals is an abuser. Trauma emanates from the continued levels of domestic violence hence sticking on the mind of victims.
Another consequence is that the abuser imposes physical damage to the victim. It is significant to note that domestic violence always involves the use of strength and any other dangerous objects when dealing with victims. This implies that victims are likely to break some parts of their body which leads to permanent damage of the body parts. Victims are always mishandled as they are weaker compared to their abusers who exert all their strengths in harassing them. The rough manner in which abusers are handled could lead to the breakage of limbs or head damages arising from the falling of victims. In other cases, dangerous weapons such as machetes and even guns are used in the mishandling of victims of domestic violence. The use of these dangerous weapons implies that victims are at a high risk of sustaining both temporal and permanent injuries. The injuries sustained by victims could be life-changing as they could lead to permanent loss of sight or limbs. This means that victims are exposed to the risk of their lives being changed totally because of the physical damage caused by abusers. Permanent damages would have a permanent change on the life of the victim as he/she would not be in a position to continue with the normal activities. More so, the victim could be inured permanently implying that she has to give up with some duties and responsibilities such as the professional field. This leads to the wastage of individuals and the stoppage of their movement toward the realization of their targets. Therefore, the manner in which victims are mishandled in domestic violence leads to increased changes of sustaining both temporal and permanent physical injuries which could be life changing (Thottam). These injuries tend to change the overall mode of operation of the victim because of the slowed activity of the body. Physical injuries also lead to the loss of motivation among individuals and they could retard the level of development envisaged by these victims. Thus, total progress for the victims is denied through the physical injuries that they sustain.
The last consequence is that the victim is forced to live with the abuser because of her economic problems. In most occasions, victims of domestic violence are always poor and lead a life where they have to always depend on other people. Most of them do not have jobs and they are mostly poor meaning that they are only able to live depending on their abuser. The abuser on his part takes advantage of the economic problems faced by their victim to increase the level of abuse. This usually involves blackmails and threats with the belief that the victim is not capable of doing anything on her own. It is also understood that the victim would find it difficult to sue the abuser because of her economic problems and would be forced to live with this individual because his absence would intensify the economic problems already being faced. It is significant to note that the victim would have to stick around in order to access her wants as provided by the abuser. The evils emanating from domestic violence will not matter to the victim as she looks more into the benefits derived from the abuser. The victim would prioritize the positives of the availability of the abuser without putting into consideration the negative factors of domestic violence. Thus, the level of suffering for the victim would continue because of the fear of loss of support from the abuser (Rhoad). This fear will stop her from reporting the incident of domestic abuse or reporting it to the relevant authorities. This consequence could be addressed through organizing campaigns that will enlighten victims on the effective reporting strategies that will help them remain strong even as the abuser is taken away. Economic empowerment of the victims would also be a crucial measure in ensuring that victims have the confidence to report domestic violence incidences without any fear about their lives without their abusers.
In conclusion, in the recent past, there has been a steady rise in the rate of domestic violence. This abuse usually takes the form of one partner been abused by the other. The abuse referred to in this case is not limited to physical aggression, which includes hitting, battery, kicking, slapping and throwing of objects. Notably, this causes of domestic violence bare various consequences to the victim, the accused, relatives and the community at large. Firstly, domestic violence effects to trauma and stress. Apart from the physically injuries one gets in the physical abuse, a person is also traumatized and thus affected emotionally. Emotional torture is a serious issue that might even lead to committing suicide. Apart from this, the other consequence is that to long-term jail sentence or huge fines. The issue of domestic violence has been assumed by many for a long time. However, many states are now serious with the issue and they even treat it as a special case. A special case implies that the case bares special jail terms and fines. Institutions support harmonious living in families should come up with significant measures of addressing domestic violence and ensure that it is alleviated significantly within the society. The elimination of domestic violence would promote progress within society.