Domestic violence

Domestic Violence

Any pattern of violent behavior or abuse of one individual toward another in a domestic context such as in marriage or cohabitation. Domestic violence can also happen between a spouse or a partner to another in an intimate relationship. This phenomenon can happen in either a heterosexual  relationship or even same sex relationship.

Domestic violence can exist under different masks: physical, emotional, verbal, economical, and sexual. The extent of the crime ranges from subtle forceful behavior to martial rape or physical abuse that result in injuries or even death.
Statistically, 80% of the victims are women. However, there are also other possibilities: the male could be the victims; or both individuals in the relationship could engage in violence toward one another; or the victim's retaliation toward abuse.




Let's talk more statistics to provide a better perspective of domestic violence. It is not true that domestic violence does not happen to many. It is recorded that every 9 seconds, there's a woman beaten in the world. It is estimated by the  American Medical Association (AMA) that 3 to 4  million female victims check in with abusive and violent-related injuries.

If these women face such dangerous living conditions with their partners, why won't they just leave? Yes, almost 50% of these female victims leave their husband or boyfriend. However, "the women are 70 times more likely to be killed by their spouse or boyfriend after leaving the relationship for 2 weeks comparing to any other time of the relationship". There was a report from AMA that said: every 5 years, there are as many women are killed by their spouses or partners as the amount of female casualties in the Vietnam war : 54,000.

The organization "Advocate to End Domestic Violence" notes a pattern in domestic abuse. These crimes under many masks have a similar pattern which could be divided into 3 phases. Phase one is the tension building. More arguments happen between the victim and abuser. The abuser would yell at the victim for no apparent reason. The victims are often accused of committing acts that they did not do. Phase two is the Abusing incident. This includes physical violence such as kicking, hitting, shoving,grabbing,etc. The abuser screams and yells violently. There could be cases of objects being thrown across the room. The abuser could also coerce the victim to sexual intercourse. Phase three is the honeymoon stage. The abuser would apologize for his or her wrongful behaviors and promise the victim that it would never happen again. The abuser would attempt to buy jewelry or gifts to make up for the abuse. These three phases make up the Cycle of Domestic violence.



Therefore, how do we react to domestic violence? It is important for the victims to speak up. Make the abuser's actions known to your friends and gain their support to fight this war with domestic violence. If your friend shows any signs or injuries related to domestic violence, offer help and say you'd always be there. Tell them to report it to the police. Restraining orders are often issued in these cases. However, in many cases, the abusers could be persecuted and incarcerated.