Impact of Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is a major problem in today's society that has significant effects in the well-being and proper functioning of the family and society. Generally, domestic violence and threat of violence contributes to the emergence of fear that basically destroys the normal functioning of the family and eventually affects the society. Women, children, and young people are the most commonly targeted and affected by violence or the threat of violence at home. The effect of domestic violence on individuals is attributed to the fact that exposure to violence in the immediate social environment generates considerable challenges and difficulties for the individual. The home or family environment acts as the immediate social environment for the growth and development of a person.

Brief Description of Domestic Violence:

Domestic violence has traditionally been regarded as a personal problem rather than a social problem. However, violence or the threat of violence has increased significantly in the recent times. This conventional consideration of domestic violence or the threat of it as a personal problem is wrong because the home or family setting acts as the immediate social environment for the growth and development of an individual. Therefore, negative effects such as violence in this immediate social environment or setting has significant effects on the proper functioning of the family or the society. Due to the extent with which domestic violence is spread in today's society, it has developed to become a social issue since it is a social attitude. This social issue is not an attribute of a particular relationship but a social evil that requires concerted efforts to address it.

Some of the most common ways in which domestic violence occurs include situational couple violence, intimate terrorism, and violent resistance (Ooms, p.3). Situational couple violence refers to violence that takes place when disagreement that becomes and angry argument turns into violence while intimate terrorism involves taking complete control of a partner through violence. On the contrary, violent resistance is the kind of violence where a victim of intimate terrorism fights back or uses violence to resist violence.

Effects of Domestic Violence on the Person:

Since it occurs in a person's immediate social environment, domestic violence creates temporary or permanent changes in the health and emotional state of an individual. One of the major effects of domestic violence on a person is that it can severely damage the ability of a parent to nurture the development of their children. The seeming inability to nurture a child's development is attributed to the tendency of victims of the violence to emotionally withdraw and develop feelings of hopelessness. The emotional withdrawal occurs on both partners regardless of whether they are the batterers or victims of the violence. For batterers, the effect of the violence is that they become less available, less logical, and less affectionate in playing their role in the social fabric ("Sociological Effects," par, 2). In contrast, the victims of the violence tend to use punitive measures or aggression when playing their respective role in the social fabric such as child-rearing. Therefore, the effect of domestic violence on the person is that it leads to the inability of the individual to play his role in the social fabric effectively.

Secondly, domestic violence makes the batterer and victim to withdraw from social activities, the family, and friends. In most cases, these individuals prefer to no longer engage in community, ethnic, racial or religious activities. Withdrawal from social activities is carried out in attempts to any manipulation or threat by the abuser or in order to keep the violence a secret or because of shame. This withdrawal makes it difficult for the individual to receive the necessary support and eventually affects the growth of the society.

Third, domestic violence is not confined to the home since it intrudes into an individual's work environment through attempts to threaten, injure, harass, or stalk a colleague. Such behaviors have tremendous effects on the society because put colleagues, customers, and the public at risk. In essence, the effects of exposure to the violence are not only constrained in the family but extend to other areas in the society.

Effects on Domestic Violence on Children:

In addition to being targets of domestic violence, children are also affected by violence between their parents. One of the effects of violence on children is that it affects their growth and development to become important members of the society. Children's ability to grow into significant members of the society is dependent on the kind of nurture they receive from their primary caregivers. In cases where violence occurs between parents or they become victims of domestic violence, children's growth and development is affected as well as their ability to grow into meaningful members of the society. Secondly, children tend to inherit violent behaviors when exposed to domestic violence since this social evil is usually passed down from one generation to another. Children who are victims or those exposed to domestic violence become abusers themselves later in life and consider such violence as acceptable. This in turn affects the society since these children demonstrate reduced social competence skills and less empathy.