Life, Liberty and Security of the Person Under the Charter, Research Paper Example

Introduction

Domestic violence is much more than just mere arguments, fighting or hitting the victim as it occasionally involves a chronic power abuse through calculated physical violence, intimidations and threats over an extended period of time. Domestic violence is a common and gender neutral problem in the society with significant consequences to the victim, the children, entire family, society and the government (Pampel & Williams, 661-680). Cases of domestic violence affect the society indiscriminately irrespective of heterosexual or homosexual category, ethnic background, economic status and age. Domestic violence is commonly manifested as physical, economic, sexual, verbal or emotional abuse of one partner in an intimate relationship. The settings of domestic violence involve an intimate relationship of married, cohabiting or dating partners. In most cases of domestic violence, the female partner is usually the victim of aggressive behaviors with children if any also suffering from the consequences. Domestic violence involves intimate partners. Although the real meaning of “intimate partners” varies widely with locations, the acts of aggression are committed within adults involved in an intimate family relationship. This paper posits to address some issues in domestic violence with particular interests in the causes of domestic violence, forms of domestic violence, effects and potential solutions

 Research questions

• What are the potential causes of domestic violence?
• In what forms is domestic violence manifested?
• What are the effects of domestic violence?
• What are the possible solutions to domestic violence?

 Causes of domestic violence

Although domestic violence is gender neutral, most cases of aggression involve a male battering the female and therefore, the female partner is in most cases the victim of abuse. However, some cases of domestic abuse target the male as the victim and in some other cases both partners fall victims of domestic violence at the same time. In the case that both partners are victims, there must be attempts of retaliatory action as well as self defense against the aggressive actions from the opposite partner.

Consequently, considering the scenario with the greatest weight, men engage in domestic violence against the women in attempts of misusing the power as well as controlling the women so as to exercise male privilege and male dominance. This is a common phenomenon in majority of societies where men are believed to be superior to women and their children. The ultimate objective behind engagement in acts of aggression in an intimate relationship is achievement of particular goals that they believe that they have a right to. The trend is commonly motivated by the male discriminatory, homophobic, sexist as well as racist attitudes that they hold against the females and the children in the society. In this regard, domestic violence against the females in the society can be attributed to consequences of inequalities that are associated with male and female partners in patriarchal traditions in which case, the tradition encourages men to dominate power as well as control over the partners in an intimate relationship (Perper, Peterson & Manlove, 156).  Domestic violence usually entraps the victim in domestic violence scenario with isolation, control of power, insufficiency of financial resources, chronic problems of health, child protection, shame and fear as the common features.

 Forms is domestic violence

Domestic abuse is basically manifested as physical, economic, sexual, verbal or emotional abuse. The use of physical abuse is anticipated to enhance excessive control and power over the victim of domestic violence in an intimate relationship. This creates a sense of fear that subsequently makes the aggressed partner to submit to the demands of the aggressor. The abuse may come in the form of bodily harm or destruction of property (Rennison & Welchans, 123).

Emotional abuse is also common among intimate partners. The objective of using emotional abuse as a means of domestic violence is to humiliate, control, punish as degrade the victim in a similar manner as the treatment accorded to the prisoners of war. The option of emotional abuse is taken after the use of physical aggression fails in domestic violence and thus emotional manipulation is perceived as a vital tool for the aggressor to achieve intended objectives (Saathoff  & Stoffel, 97-110).

Sexual abuse involves an act of coerced or forced form of sexual manipulation with a motivation of controlling or exercising power over a partner. The ultimate aim of this form of aggression is humiliating as well as demeaning the partner and subsequent instigation of feelings of vulnerability as well as shame.

 Effects of domestic violence

The most common affects that are attributed to domestic violence entails physical disabilities, mental problems, chronic health complications, problems associated with finances, and poor engagement in healthy relationships soon or later after the act of aggression has been executed. Domestic violence may extend to a serious situation with consequences on affecting work place performance for the victim. Victims may also fall prey to post-traumatic stress disorders.  Children growing up in an environment of domestic violence may also involve in aggressive behaviors during their early stages of life which is potentially likely to contribute to a progressive legacy of domestic in adulthood. The future lives of the children could also be marked by acts of violence, dropping out of school and engagement in criminal activities that are likely to lead them to jail in the long ran.

 Solutions to domestic violence

A victim of domestic violence experiences a scary situation and stopping the violence can sometimes be difficult to the victim. Every human has the rights to safety, dignity and integrity and the society, the government as well as individual people are obligated tp protect their neighbors, companions and members of the family against any actions of aggression and violence that may be unwarranted. (Marilyn, 113-123).

Reporting cases of domestic violence to the relevant authorities for action to be taken is one useful approach of addressing such cases. However, in most cases, this never materializes because the abuser intends to instill sufficient fear to the victim to the extent that, even reporting any assault is associated with fear. The victim is made to believe that, their safety and economic status may be compromised. The self esteem of the victim is significantly lowered to the extent that, the victim justifies the aggressive acts as necessary or having contributed to the problems that bring about domestic violence. The children also fear reporting such cases due to the fear of losing their families and ending up in abject poverty, homelessness as well as foster homes which they may have witnessed and detested at one time or another during their lifetime.

Works cited

Marilyn, Pilon “Life, liberty and security of the person under the charter”. Law and Government Division, 2000.

Perper K, Peterson, K, & Manlove J. Diploma Attainment Among Teen Mothers. Child Trends, Fact Sheet Publication No. 2010-01: Washington, DC: Child Trends, 2010.

Pampel, F. & Williams K. Intimacy and Homicide: Compensating for Missing Data in the SHR Vol. 38 (2), 2000.

Rennison, M. & Welchans W.. Intimate Partner Violence. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, NCJ 178247, Revised 7/14/00, 2000.

Saathoff, A. & Stoffel, E.. Community-Based Domestic Violence Services. The Future of Children: Domestic Violence and Children 9(3):97-110, 2007.