Summary on Domestic Violence (Essay Sample)

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Domestic Violence
East or West, home is the best. This is a common saying that summarizes the common and widely accepted belief that home is a place of peace, safety, privacy and happiness. People tend to think that beyond the doors of beautiful houses is a happy family in which husband, wife and children enjoy time with each other. The view of family as a happy institution is valid and true for most people, but some families do have dark secrets that often go unnoticed in the society. Violence at home is one of the increasingly common problems in households today and is a harsh reality for families in all societies worldwide. Domestic violence or assault occurs within the household as one party dominates over or controls the other partner in an intimate relationship. It is the deliberate coercion, control, abuse or dominance over one partner through physical, emotional, psychological or sexual abuse in marriage or intimate relationship.
Domestic violence is essentially any violence at home. In the book Domestic violence: A handbook for health professionals, Shipway describes domestic violence as any behavior pattern that involves abuse by one partner against the other or within a family (25). Domestic violence is any form of violence occurring in marriage, dating, cohabitation, or abuse against any member of the family except the spouse. For example, a woman or man who beats up her or his spouse commits an act of domestic violence. Similarly, a person who molests a child, whether adopted or biologically born to him or her, commits an act of domestic violence too. Domestic violence takes different forms or aggression and assault. The word ‘abuse’ is commonly used to describe domestic violence. ‘Abuse’ means improper usage or treatment of a living thing or any entity, especially for some benefit. There are several forms of domestic abuse including physical maltreatment, assault, and violation of human rights, aggression, verbal abuse and other unjust practices (Roach 354). Domestic violence also involves the abuse of spouses or family members through any of the different forms of abuse or assault.
Domestic violence can be described through many terms that mean almost the same and indicate what it entails. It is also known as family violence, spousal abuse or domestic abuse, terms, which show that it happens at within the household and mainly to partners and spouses. It entails intimate partner violence, indicating that it is any form of abuse occurring in an intimate affair. Domestic violence is dating abuse in cases in which violence occurs between dating partners. Other terms used to describe domestic violence such as battering and sexual abuse are better suited to be the types of domestic violence.
Domestic violence is not limited to physical violence and obvious forms of abuse such as sexual abuse. Most people denote domestic violence as physical assault such as wife battering or sexual abuse such as marital rape, but it encompasses more. Domestic violence can be physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, economic, or a combination of several forms occurring simultaneously. For instance, a person may beat and rape his wife, which amounts to both physical and sexual abuse. Domestic rape is any behavior that is threatening, humiliating, intimidating, hurtful, terrorizing, injuring or even forcefully manipulative. The objective of domestic violence is quite often to control and suppress the other partner or to gain an advantage or immediate benefit. Physical abuse involves beating, slapping, and pushing, shoving, kicking, battering and any other form of physical assault. Sexual abuse includes rape or any form of coercion towards unwanted sexual activity. Emotional and psychological abuse involves humiliating a person either privately or in public through intimidation, controlling one’s freedom or undermining the victims esteem and self-worth. Economic abuse is also a common form of domestic violence that involves depriving someone of economic power. Domestic abuse may also involve verbal abuse, which involves the use of abusive language to demean or harm a person in any way.
Domestic violence occurs due to several causes including insecurity, jealously, and stress but drug abuse, crime and mental illness may exacerbate it. Insecurity and jealousy in intimate relationships may precipitate violence. Similarly, stress may ma