Disadvantaged populations: characteristics and social impacts

Victims of Domestic Abuse

The disadvantaged population that I chose is victims of domestic violence. I choose this population since it is a global problem whose scope is wide and, in America alone according to the Centers for Disease Control (2003), annually affects more than 25 million American women. It is also more hopeful, in a way, than other social problems in that with sufficient attention and information, and, with knowing what to do, it can be prevented.

Challenges that victims of domestic abuse violence face vary from country to country in their severity as they are also controlled by socio-economic and ethnic variables (as most problems are). In all countries, women are considered 'second-rate' individuals; some countries, however, share this perception more intensely than others. In Spain, for instance, female victims of domestic abuse would be more severely challenged than they may, for instance, be in America due to the fact that, as their law itself states, aggressions against women initiate from cultural factors and occur due to the very fact that the woman is female. The country itself admits that sexual inequality is representative of its mandate, and that, according to Spanish constitution, attackers possess legal rights in perceiving their victims as lacking the basic rights of respect, freedom, and power of decision (Shipway, 2004).

Oftentimes, too, although not always, domestic violence initiates from the pressures of impoverishment (Jewkes, 2002), and, therefore, victims of domestic violence have the added disadvantage of being ignored and treated unfairly due to their economically disadvantaged position.

Thirdly, the power or affluence of the persecutor or over variables of influence may lead to matters of domestic abuse being overlooked. To elaborate: many cases of spousal abuses are known exclusively by family physicians or other primary care providers and do not involve the police. Yet, due to the perpetrator being feared or respected for some reason or other, the medical professional sometimes fails to empower the patient, to give advice, or to refer to the appropriate service. In some cases, there have even been misunderstandings about domestic violence incident itself with cause being unfairly attributed to victim (Abbott, & Williamson, 1999). Ethical mandates that would pertain to working with this group.

B. The code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) stresses two appropriate preambles that are applicable to social workers or other individuals working with victims of domestic abuse: the first accentuates recognition of the dignity of human relationships whilst the second emphasizes respect for the individuality of each and every human.