Violence and Sexual Violence Against Women, Essay Example

Defining the Crisis Issue

Violence among domestic partnerships , and the resulting post traumatic stress syndrome, is an issue that occurs far too commonly through the United States of America. However this issue becomes more distressing when one thinks of the commonality of violence against pregnant women. The true number of non-fatal injuries to unborn children are not known, however it is suggested that for “every fatality [of the mother or unborn child] there are at least one hundred non-fatal assaults”. (Jenkins 256) According to a survey by the American College of Emergency Physicians, there are between two and four million women abused in the United States every year. (ACEP) And according to the National Centers for Disease Control, “between four and eight percent of pregnant women are abused at least once during their pregnancy”. (CDC)

The results of this violence and the resulting post traumatic stress can be devastating. Of course, while the most tragic outcomes are the deaths of one or both of the victims, there can be lasting effects that can serve to disrupt the survivor’s life.

Children may become injured during IPV [Intimate Partner Violence] incidents between their parents. A large overlap exists between IPV and child maltreatment. One study found that children of abused mothers were 57 times more likely to have been harmed because of IPV between their parents, compared with children of non-abused mothers. (CDC)

In a study that looked at births in Washington state from 1995 to 1998, there was found evidence that “the odds of having a low-birth weight or very low birth weight infant, a preterm or very preterm birth, or an infant who died soon after delivery was significantly elevated among those who reported partner violence during pregnancy”. (Hollander 38) This evidence has created a movement throughout America to readdress the situation of domestic violence and post traumatic stress, and to pay closer attention to the rights of the unborn children involved.

There are many factors that can significantly increase the likelihood of problems with an unborn child. However, one of the most dangerous and avoidable is that of pre-natal domestic abuse. The abuse that is suffered against pregnant women not only causes injury and mental stress to the female, but also creates a situation that could alter the life of the unborn child as well.

The Harvard Law Review addressed this question in 2002 in their article: “The Science, Law, and Politics of Fetal Pain Legislation”. As the article states there are several problems that arise when one is attempt to measure the levels of pain felt by the unborn. The first problem arises with the definition of pain. Because pain is “an internal experience”, to measure it eon would need “direct access to his or her own sensory experiences”(HLR 2011). This means, that without a clear understanding of what pain is to an individual, one cannot measure the amount of pain felt. This evolves both the tolerance for pain that an individual has, and the ability for that individual to express the pain that is felt.

According to the study the article examined, “the current scientific consensus is that no conscious awareness of stimuli is present in the human fetus”. (HLR 2013) The early weeks of pregnancy show that there are no “neural pathways [to] link the cortex or the subplate zone”. (2013) It is according to this scientific study that it is believed that the earliest a human fetus can “be aware of anything is thirteen weeks” (2013) However, even at this time, it is difficult to say that a fetus would feel pain because a fetus has no access to the outside world. Therefore, the fetus would have no basis from which to identify positive from negative stimuli. The current scientific belief is that the necessary fetal developments for the feeling of pain occur “between the twentieth and twenty-fourth week” of pregnancy. (2013) This data has made the identification of unborn children as defendants in legal matters difficult.

The search for a cause of violence has also been linked to social economic issues. According to the Centers for Disease Control, “young women and those below the poverty level are disproportionately victims” of domestic violence (CDC). This information could shed some light as to how to curb this violent trend. However, those of lower economic status have not been the subject of mass media coverage, in regards to violence.

The new law that was written in memory of Lacy Peterson and her son, referred to as the “Lacy and Connor Law”, states that:

[U]nder federal law, any person who causes death or injury to a child in the womb shall be charged with a separate offense, in addition to any charges relating to the mother. (Whitehouse.gov)

This law gives, for the first time in the United States, the opportunity to seek criminal punishment against those who choose to knowingly do bodily harm to pregnant women and the unborn child.

Crisis Intervention Models

According to the Psychological First Aid approach, pregnant women who are abused should be offered brief “to medium-duration empowerment counseling (up to 12 sessions) and advocacy/support, including a safety component, offered by trained service providers where health systems can support this” (World Health Organization, 2013, para. 22).

Application of the Model

The crisis model addresses the issue by providing sessions in which women may feel protected and feel that they’re in a safe place, a feeling, offered by the trained service providers.

The shortcomings of this model are that it offers no extraction from the situation: the abuser is free to attack the abused at any moment upon the woman’s return home. The psychological benefit of these sessions is tremendously beneficial but its infrastructure is rather deleterious in its actual, physical, capabilities. It’s questionable whether or not this intervention may be applied to external settings outside of the antenatal care, or its feasibility in low- or middle-income countries, and it’s over-all affect as a counseling session is as yet uncertain.

Conclusion

The difficulty in scientifically attaching unborn children has caused many proponents of such legal changes to alter their arguments. These advocates have taken to the legal fight with a version of existing law – the “Doctrine of Transferred Malice”. (Seneviratne 884) In this doctrine, it states that a person attempting to grievous bodily harm to one person, but unintentionally causes the death of another person is still guilty of murder of the second person – ever if there was no ill-will or intent to that person harm. (886) The application of this law to the injury of unborn fetuses is the legal grounding for laws such as the “Unborn Victims of Violent Crimes Act” of 2004.

References

“Intimate Partner Violence: Fact Sheet.” (2006). National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.United States Center for Disease Control. Retrieved from  http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/ipvfacts.htm

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Jones, P. (2002). “Violence against women”. United States General Accounting Office. GAO-02 530.

World Health Organization. (2013). “Responding to intimate partner violence and sexual violence against women: WHO clinical and policy guidelines.” Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK174251/