Issue: Domestic Violence Our Action The Authors We, the Domestic Violence Committee, are committed to raising awareness about the tragic effects of Domestic Violence in America. Please read below to gain key knowledge about domestic violence. You can learn more about us and our work engaging in this social action against domestic violence by clicking on the links above or on the menu to the left.

Frequently Asked Questions!

Q) What is Domestic Violence?
A) Domestic violence is any behavior that is intended to control and subjugate another human being; an abuser often wears down his partner by unrelenting criticism and fault-finding. This form of psychological abuse is especially cruel because it is often disguised as a way of ?teaching the woman to be a better person? (Berry, 1995). Domestic violence is the willful intimidation, assault, battery, sexual assault, and other abusive behavior perpetrated by an intimate partner against another (NCADV, 2005).


Q) What are the most common forms of Domestic Violence?
A) The most common forms of domestic abuse include physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Physical abuse involves slapping, hitting, or any kind of action that results in the other person being hurt. Emotional abuse is saying or doing things that mentally hurt another person. Sexual abuse includes forcing someone to have sex when they don?t want to, making them perform certain sexual acts or have sex while others watch the act. Financial abuse includes controlling the finances in the relationship and not let in the other partner have any money (Berry, 1995).

Q) Why are some people abusive to their partners?
A) There are a few reasons for a person to become abusive; one reason is that a person may have seen abuse in their own home as a child. The abuser then doesn?t know anything other than what they?ve seen, so they apply that same views to their relationships thinking that?s way it should be. Drugs and alcohol also contribute to the cause of domestic violence. A person that has a chemical dependency problem and depends on drugs and alcohol experience a change in their behavior, which can then lead to the choice to abuse their partner. The abuser then blames the drugs and alcohol for their behavior and abuse (Domestic Violence Facts, 2005).

Q) What are some of the effects on children who observe abuse?
A) Children who witness domestic violence are more likely to exhibit behavioral and physical health problems including anxiety, and violence towards peers. They are also more likely to attempt suicide, abuse drugs and alcohol, run away from home, engage in teenage prostitution, and commit sexual assault crimes (The Unreported Epidemic, 2006). Most abusers who are violent to the child?s other parent think that the abuse they are inflicting on that parent doesn?t affect the child, but when the child observes abuse from one parent to the other it affects the child. Along with seeing the abuse, some children become targets of some of the abuse. (Straus, M.S., Gelles, R.J. & Steinmetz, 1980)

Q) How might we respond to resolving domestic violence?
A) When trying to help a person that is in an abusive relationship there are many things to consider. You have to think about not only the person but any children that are a part of the relationship. One might consider offering information on the different laws like the Violence against Women Act sought to improve criminal justice and community-based responses to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking in the United States. In different states there are programs that help children that witness abuse. The main goal for support groups is to break the cycle of abuse before it repeats itself in a new generation. Along with giving information, you can help the person move towards leaving the relationship. (When Violence Begins At Home, 2006).

Bibliography
?Domestic Violence Facts? National Coalition Against Domestic Violence Public Policy. Cambridge Library. 19 Dec. 2005 http://www.publicpolicy@ncadv.org.

J.D., Dawn Bradeley Berry. The Domestic Violence Sourcebook. Illinois: NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group, 1995

Straus, M.S., Gelles, R.J. & Steinmetz, S., Behind Closed Doors. United States: Doubleday, Anchor, 1980

The Unreported Epidemic: Domestic Violence, Effects of Domestic Violence on Children. 10 Jan. 2006 http://members.tripod.com/debi_1111-ivil/id47.html.

Wilson, K.J., When Violence Begins At Home Salt Lake City, UT: Hunter House Publishers, 1997