Domestic abuse: prevalence, impacts, and intervention strategies

Domestic Abuse

The human services profession requires its members to be strong-willed, compassionate, energetic and empathetic. These skills are most in need when dealing with one of the most troublesome problems society faces today, domestic abuse. Domestic abuse has wide reaching effects, not only within the family construct, but in the large macrocosmic sense of society as well. Domestic abuse and its often vague and obscure symptoms provide the counselor or social worker with a unique problem that is mostly treated and addressed at the by the human services professional

Across socioeconomic backgrounds of all kinds, domestic abuse appears in many different forms and manifestations. This form of violence is unacceptable, and it seems baffling how people may resort to domestic violence against their wife or husband or even a child. Humiliation and intimidation, in my opinion, are not suitable ways of treating fellow humans. Domestic abuse is of great concern to me due to my professional attachments, but more importantly my human instincts tell me that this issue is preventable and containable.

Unnecessary suffering should be eliminated at all costs. Simplicity and an empathetic approach to living me become more focused during these times of extreme violence seen throughout society and the world today. While it maybe impossible for someone in my position to end all violence, especially upon children, but I feel it is important by doing my part towards eliminating unnecessary suffering by minimizing violence and promoting a peaceful approach to fraternal living and economic and societal prowess.

Before examining the causes and solutions to domestic abuse it is very important to first understand the terminology. Domestic abuse, can appear to be a vague term. My personal definition of "domestic," describes this word as being from the home. Domestic would be a nonpublic type of engagement. Family life is typified by a domestic environment. A typical family, or a normal family, consists of two parents and children, with the parents usually being of the opposite sex. Abuse is a much trickier word to understand. To me, abuse is the misuse of any particular material object. Abuse is an individual set of actions. While one can abuse someone else, it is only when the victim accepts their victimhood does abuse occur. Therefore domestic abuse relies on interpersonal relationships, the individual intentionally infliction of pain, that is supported by the relationship.

The Mayo Clinic introduced a recognition description of how basic abuse may manifest itself. While it may be difficult to first identify how domestic violence is affecting someone, relationships usually have an abusive tone from the beginning of the relationship. Domestic abuse can also be referred to as domestic violence. Domestic violence appears in many different ways, including sexual abuse, physical abuse emotional abuse and threats of abuse. Most times men abusewomen, but abuse can happen in any type of relationship.

Some symptoms of domestic abuse occur when the following behaviors occur:

-name-calling and insulting behavior

- overprotectiveness

- isolation from family and friends

- mandatory obedience

- alcohol and drug abuse

-physical violence, including choking hating and kicking

-physical violence towards pets and material objects

- rape and forced sexual contact

Fullwood (2002) summed up the problem to add perspective to the argument. She found "nearly 1/3 of American women report being physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives. Reports of child abuse or maltreatment are equally alarming with almost 1,000,000 confirmed reports of abuse or neglect the children in 1998. In that same year, an estimated 1100 children three per day died of abuse or neglect nearly 80% of them children under five years of age." If these facts and figures are indeed accurate, society has a very large problem on its hands with social services professionals needed desperately to address the symptoms and bring about healing and understanding.

The Needed Change

With all the continued and rising violence, something appears to be wrong. A change is desperately needed somewhere throughout the system. Perhaps the system is broken. What is most important however is to understand my personal capabilities in addressing this particular issue. I need to understand that I cannot solve all the world's problems in a single attempt, however it is very important that I maintain personal discipline and continue to strive to contribute to my part of the solution. Individual contribution towards large group and the macrocosmic goals, create the circumstances necessary for large-scale societal change, in my opinion.

Specifically, there are two avenues of approach I recommend in addressing change. First, the educational and training systems of the human service professionals needs to be modified in some ways. Systematic and standardized theories, while describing general principles fail to address practical solutions. It is important to understand within his profession that the relative problems of one specific social worker does not always correspond to another. The millions of variables that enter into any domestic situation needs to be somehow addressed as an individual and relative case before applying any general theory. This is the first step in addressing the problem. Social workers and human service professionals need to understand this trend of domestic abuse is getting worse and not better. Solutions start from within and can emit positive solutions outward. I believe this is most important, however probably more difficult to achieve in the next significant change I believe is needed.

Practically, social workers and human service professionals need to demonstrate a balancing approach to their work. Dependence is a tricky and relative term to apply. However, overdependence on a social system causes much unnecessary stress and seems to undermine the societal benefit of its provisions. Finding a balance between dependence and independence in addressing these issues towards the relative cases of each individual domestic problem seems to be the most applicable use of change for this particular subject. More responsibility needs to be given to the social worker in order to prove how independence can manifest itself into understanding and potential. When the social worker of human service professionals appears handcuffed by systematic and bureaucratic red tape, it does not demonstrate self-sufficiency. How can we expect abuse sufferers to gain courage to become more independent, if the system itself is too overly dependent?

GOALS

Knowledge and learning prevent mistakes. Knowing and understanding appropriate goals that do not appear as attainable helps in developing plans and systems that can contribute to enlightenment. In formulating goals it is important to understand the totality of the situation. Widespread societal change cannot happen unless it happens at the individual level first. Localizing seems to be a useful goal. Quantifying localization may be more difficult, but understanding the importance of inward reflection and self-sufficiency will help realize these goals. I have developed three goals that seem to be attainable and practical for my future profession and for others learning as well.

GOAL #1: Reestablish the importance of self-sufficiency at the educational level.

GOAL #2: Reestablish the importance of self-sufficiency at the street or practical level.

GOAL#3: Synergize the knowledge and theory of the educational level with the wisdom and experience of the practical level.

All three goals can be simultaneously attempted using a methodical yet individual approach to problem-solving. Domestic violence is nothing but a problem that can be solved using logic and eliminating false pretenses. Examining the root causes of domestic violence will identify the misunderstanding of emotion and experience and will help realize these goals which will no doubt contribute to societal change but only when it is sprung from the local and individual levels first.

RESOURCES

There is much evidence and analysis regarding the topic of domestic abuse and domestic violence. The social worker or human services professional could spend the rest of his or her life investigating all that has been written about this problem. For my particular project, I've identified certain articles that help support and contrast my case. A combination of both spousal and child abuse examples were used to highlight parts of my arguments. The literature pertaining to this subject will be introduced throughout the remainder of this essay to support and conflict my argument and will qualify my solutions and analysis.

ANALYSIS

Tarr (2008) highlighted an extremely enlightened point when she addressed this idea of economic autonomy and domestic responsibility. In finding this balance as she suggested "battered women are not immobilized by their situation and they do not need the state, or an employer, controlling their destiny. The process of decision-making defines autonomy: the ability to get information, reflect on that information and make independent decisions. In mediating the tension between protectionism and autonomy, only laws and policies that favor autonomy will provide sustainable change" (p.426). Self-analysis and self-reflection becomes a necessary tool to obtain in solving these problems.

Analyzing the environment is a useful experience to help gather facts and trends before determining a suitable action plan. A SWOT analysis will be useful in determining the strengths and weaknesses opportunities and threats for implementation of any particular business strategy.

STRENGTHS

The empathetic reach of the social services network should never be underestimated. The human heart has the capacity to care and give itself for one another. This is the ultimate strength for any determined human service professional or social worker. It must be kept in the forefront at all times. Following one's desire to help human beings eliminate unnecessary suffering and should never be taken lightly or dismissed. Additional strengths include the organizational capabilities of the human services network and the funding that can accompany such high-profile work.

WEAKNESSES

Disadvantageous to domestic abuse victims is the stigma that's attached to such behavior. Certain causes of domestic abuse such as stress economic hardship, depression, desperation, jealousy and anger all are human emotions that can never be totally eliminated within anyone's psyche. The constant struggle to overcome emotion and reach an equal balance of strength and mercy is not only a human weakness, but is the bane of social services and social workers in general. Emotional responses produce many of the good things in life as well by eliminating and dehumanizing domestic abuse victims, while attempting serves as a week area to exploit.

Society perpetuates domestic abuse making this another weakness. Substandard police units do not necessarily treat abuse as a crime but merely as a dispute in some instances. The overburdened court systems have an easy time losing perspective and minimizing the effects of domestic abuse. Clergy and counselors often are held back by previous failed experiences, that is often rooted from the academic institutions that educate the future humans services professionals.

OPPORTUNITIES

Domestic abuse symptoms arise in many different ways. Every time these negative behaviors arise givesthe social worker and the domestic abuse victim and opportunity to change behavior and grow towards their potential. People who are abused by a spouse or partner may demonstrate the following behaviors: anger, inability to work, substance abuse, diminished mental health, diminished physical health, depression, sleeping problems, anxiety attacks, and most importantly low self-esteem. Understanding the root causes of domestic abuse allows the opportunity to solve these problems and make productivity within society attainable through the reduction and anticipated elimination of violent behavior.

Dutton (2005) agreed that the opportunity to eliminate misunderstanding within academia is available today. Through his analysis he suggested that "the paradigm constructed by domestic violence research has warped our perceptions " and "the most thorough protection of the safety and best interest of the victim derives from assessment of all potential risks to that safety as opposed to a gender bias exclusion of maternal threat " (p.37). It is time for the opportunity to reevaluate what we know and what we don't know about domestic abuse. Only through the relative experience and personal experimentation can the social service professional truly assess his or her environment and begin to contribute towards positive growth and diminishing violence.

THREATS

Threats within a SWOT analysis describe the external elements that may give rise to future problems for the potential project or plan. Re-examining theory and applying new and relative means of solutions to old problems presents many threats. Changeitself threatens many attitudes due to the uncertainty of its nature. The fear of change seems to be at the heart of many issues accompanying violence. The current warlike state of the world tends to threaten the work of the humans services professionals. As the leadership of the countrys at war continue to repeat violent behavior at this high level, it should be no mystery that subordination under these terms will cause violence. This threat of violence, from all sources in all directions, hampers the ability for those wishing to reduce violent behavior and create stable and productive families willing to contribute to society's greater need.

Other external elements in the environment that can cause issue for the peacemakers of the world, deals with the economic instability of the current systems. Baldry (2007) supported this analysis by attributing the behavior to social learning: "bullying and victimization are complex phenomena. The significant Association found between inter-parental violence and bullying, especially direct forms of bullying, could be explained according to the social learning modeling theory of Bondura (1973) " (p.728). This is key information for aspiring social workers and their leaders. Just because an action is performed at a higher leadership level does not always guarantee its sanctity or its justness. War is domestic abuse at an international level. This threat must always be understood as a contributing factor in how abuse happens at the interpersonal relationships in society in general.

OBJECTIVES

Strategic goals need to be accompanied by sustainable objectives in order for success to be realized by the pursuant. In accomplishing the goals set out in the beginning of this essay, I've assigned certain steps to achieve success. Mastering the lessons learned within these three objectives will contribute greatly to understanding and fully realizing the potential of the human services profession.

OBJECTIVE #1: Self-Reliance

In order to fully maximize my capabilities and the capabilities of the profession in general, it is necessary to come to some understanding of my own personal attitudes and emotions. Peace at the local and societal levels requires individuals to eliminate violence within one's own personal life. Coming to grips with the violent nature of existence is essential on the path to becoming self-reliant. Abuse victims need to understand that they are important persons that have value. That message can be communicated from me to them for not only my subordinates in my influence upon them, but most importantly through my own personal experiences and attitudes.

Tarr (2008) supported this interpretation: "our culture has always put a high premium on the concept of independence and evaluate those perceived to be dependent. Industrialization saw white men move from being self-employed to being wage earners which change the definition of independence to the ability to earn income. Simultaneously, the cult of domesticity emerged in middle and upper class women were assigned responsibilities attendant to home and childcare duties that were not seen as work since they were unpaid " (p.425).

OBJECTIVE #2: Non-Violence Promotion

It may be hard for some victims of domestic abuse to differentiate between what violence is acceptable and what violence is not acceptable. It is common that state officials often will abuse their power as it will often manifest into violence and unjust treatment. This problem may be inescapable if it is attacked at the societal level. The promotion of nonviolent behavior must begin within the individual, specifically myself, while expecting the radiation of such behavior to be contagious amongst my coworkers and eventually to the abuse victims that will receive this assistance.

This objective is difficult to grasp in totality due to the inherent violent nature of nature. Humanity seems to consistently struggle against its own emotional status that may fuel violent interactions and eventually victims of abuse. The relative nature of individual experience once again can be helpful in understanding how to promote nonviolent behavior. Violence only occurs when a transaction between two individuals incurs an unjust or coercive response. In some instances, violence and abuse is not understood as violence and abuse due to the regional customs and standards. Throughout the world people treat each other differently in accordance to their regional customs and regional laws. This is not to say that one law is superior to another, it is say that all regional customs may have some validity. Regardless of the situation, it is up to the individual social worker to interpret the relative circumstances in order to eliminate violent behavior in the future.

OBJECTIVE #3: Continuing Education

Errors and mistakes often occur when the human mind misinterprets the magnitude of its judgment. In order to reduce violence within the community, it is important to continually be updated about new facts and circumstances that relate to society. The ever-changing nature of human evolution requires the educated professional to continually update his or her skills so they maintain a flexible approach in applying to different segments of society. Having a naive approach, in some instances may be helpful in applying new ideas to old problems. Continuing to realize that the world is a challenging and a difficult to understand environment at times will assist in reaching the overall strategic goals of reestablishing self-sufficiency at a practical and educational level. Maintaining individual dexterity within the myriad of subjects that can affect the healing of abuse victims directly supports the momentum of establishing new standards that reflect the accomplish goals.

ACTION PLAN

Many good ideas have remained nothing but ideas due to the inability of disseminating logical solutions to problems in material fashion. Material and experienced action is needed for any practical result to become realized. The action plan associated with achieving the strategic goals laid out in this essay requires an inductive approach. Blanket actions stemming from observations without due cause often causes more work than does provide solution. While many believe the medical community and the healthcare industry has answers to these problems, this idea is often misunderstood. Ramsay et al. (2002) concluded that healthcare screening for domestic violence, although an important issue, is rarely successfully dealt with at the medical level. But doctors do not favor screening in the first place, "most health professionals surveyed do not agree with screening of women in healthcare settings and insufficient evidence exists to show whether screening and intervention can lead to improved outcomes for women identified as abused " (p.12). Convention has seemed to fail us in this instance.

My action plan consists of two simple steps that can be implemented at every level of the human services professional operations. The generality of this plan makes it flexible and applicable regardless of regional and local variables. The status quo does not allow for self-reliance to arise easily. It appears that self-reliance needs to be inspired from within and the material circumstances of the particular environment merely provide a background for human emotion to play out in terms of behavior. Managing this behavior requires a simple approach that can be applied across the board.

STEP 1 Acknowledge violence is a relative term and apply it to your own personal experiences.

STEP2 Promote the neutrality of violence through self-expression and peaceful demonstration.

This action plan, which appears to be very simple, allows a great deal of flexibility for its user. It could be used at individual and group levels. Getting to the heart of violence is the only way to prevent it from causing destructive behavior patterns within society. Understanding the role of violence within nature and how it relates to the human side of the environment will also assist in promoting this plan. Peaceful demonstration can be performed at every level and needs to be relatively understood at the local and regional levels. Domestic abuse in urban areas have different circumstances than suburban or rural areas. Only when the appropriate human services professional is assigned to the appropriate cases can the relative use of this plan be brought into its fullest potential.

EVALUATION

Evaluating this action plan requires both inductive and deductive reasoning skills. Experience and experiment are the most useful reflection of prior attempts to fixing problems. Struggling for results may be necessary, but this struggle is only useful when these failures are used in positive ways. Mistakes and regret often distort good work being done on the streets. Small steps taken day by day will help guide this profession into a more useful and practical societal benefit. Quantitative and qualitative analysis needs to be conductied in order for both sides of reasoning to synergize into a powerful entity capable of great change.

Qualitatively, evaluating this action plan should be done at the small micro levels and the large macro levels as well. The statistics dictate that whatever is happening now in the social services profession is in dire need of overhaul. These statistics should still be monitored in order to quantitatively monitor this strategy. Self-sufficiency, unfortunately, can be evaluated by the need for social services. Ironically, human services professionals are doing their best work when they are not needed. An indicator of success would mean that the social services profession would not be as prolific as it is now. This is a difficult situation for professionals to deal with. Eliminating one's own job in support of society marks the true dedication of human services. Sacrifice entails giving oneself to another, and consciously addressing this issue will no doubt serve to clear the distorted picture of domestic abuse and domestic violence.

Localizing and relatively analyzing each particular instance of domestic abuse with the aforementioned strategic plan allows the leadership and advocacy groups to qualify this approach. Qualifying success is relative as well making the immediate environment and local strategy that much more pertinent. Breaking the cycle manifests itself within this evaluation stage. Understanding when one is being abused does little benefit until the abuser takes action and invests within himself or herself the ability to become self-sufficient and less reliant on the abuse thereby escaping violent behavior.