Domestic Violence and Violence

¶ … Domestic Abuse Affects Children

Children are exposed to violence in several ways. In some cases, it could be the surroundings, at school, at home or even within his/her family. There has been a recent study, using the ecological-transactional model, which aims to establish a link between these different types of violence and their effect on a child's development. Though it has been proved that exposing a child to general violent acts could affect the child's growth adversely, there is an even stronger indication that domestic violence has the highest negative effect on children and thus, we need to pay close attention to this (Manetaa, White and Mezzacappa, 2017).

The effects of domestic violence on children could be immediate or long-term. From research, children who were exposed to domestic violence have higher tendencies of being exposed to disturbing events, neglected, physically abused or in severe cases, getting bereaved. It is a widely known fact that the family is the space where the children are kept safe, nursed and where their journey to social acceptance begins. Thus, when this same space is filled with acts of domestic violence and a dearth of parental care, there is a greater tendency that the children would suffer cruel and inhumane treatment. Any form of abuse on children within a family is a tell-tale sign of deep problems within such family. There is equally proof that physical and sexual assaults of the young ones are prevalent across family generations. Current research has established a tendency of abused children to become future victimizers of other children. Furthermore, having mothers on the receiving end of domestic violence causes the children not to be cared for as expected and this might cause adverse effect on their well-being, eating, self-esteem and studies (Jeevasuthan and Hatta, 2013).

Most of the time, the children have emotional problems due to the violence they constantly witness and they always react by either suppressing or frequently expressing their hurt and annoyance at their friends. In several cases, the children have direct contact with this violence as they are in the same room where it's happening or they can hear it happen clearly. Pain at the situation becomes prevalent and most times, the children blame themselves for their inability to stand up in defense of the parent at the receiving end of the violence. The problems which develop in the child as a result of this are categorized into social, behavioral and emotional problems and these are often expressed by aggressiveness, anger, disobedience, hostility, constant sadness, low self-esteem, unhealthy relations with friends and siblings as well as constant fear and social anxiety. Problems with mental and social abilities prevalent are difficulty in earning, poor problem solving abilities, poor academic performance, dearth of leadership and solution providing skills, favoritism towards violent methods and a strong support of gender inequality. Equally, there could be lasting problems like constant emotional pain and depression as well as a high tendency to resort to violent methods in mature relationships. Problems with self-esteem and behavior in these children could be bed-wetting, mental problems, suicidal thoughts or depression. As they progress in life, these children have much higher tendencies to indulge in criminal acts and substance use as well as experience teenage pregnancies when compared to those who never experienced domestic violence. In some cases, a number of these children do not feel pity for others. Another group might find it very difficult to create social relationships as a result of poor social education from their parents (Jeevasuthan and Hatta, 2013).

Response of Nurse

Due to their learned status and experience in this subject matter, a nurse should be empathetic, kind, respectful in order to develop a mutual understanding with the patient. Thus, the nurse is best placed to reestablish the safety and emotional peace the patient had not experienced for a long time due to the domestic violence and other succeeding problems they have suffered. It could be unsettling and very difficult to listen to the accounts of the patients about the abuse they have experienced and suffered, nonetheless, you will be doing the patient a whole lot of good by going through this pain as it would help him/her let go of the sense of withdrawal. The joy and peace a patient experiences after letting go of pain can be clearly seen. The nurse has a big part to play in reassuring the patient that their experiences are common, the abuse they have suffered is the cause of some of the problems they are facing and abuse victims are not responsible for the violence they suffer in their lives. There are common signs of relief from the patient as a result of these reassurances from the nurse and this could be in the form of eye contact or a gentle lifting of the shoulders. Reassurance, inspiration and tips on how to live a healthier and secure life are the direct responsibilities of the nurse. (Peate, 2013).

Solutions are, however, not the nurse's direct responsibilities and most times, the patients themselves are well aware of the steps they need to take to be at peace with themselves. All the nurse needs to be is an ever-present rock for the patient to rely on at all times. How the patient's experiences could affect his/her children adversely is a major area in which the nurse could give helpful tips. Normally, this should be a piece of cake for a nurse but it could be quite difficult at the beginning of the interrogation. Take for instance, a nurse could easily give a patient the mobile address to a domestic abuse emergency service and also make a personal phone and space to make calls available to him/her. In case the nurse isn't aware of any local domestic abuse service, then he/she should contact the community police, district attorney and any available related women group so as to get the information needed (McGarry, 2016).

Public health approach towards domestic abuse

Ideally, public health should channel their energy towards identifying and putting a definite stop to domestic violence early in order to keep the potential damage at a reasonable level and prevent it from growing. Even though most of the world's public health strategies do not follow this nip-it-in-the-bud model to the letter, they address this issue one way or the other. It is suggested that public health actions should be scaled up within the regions and also, people with higher tendencies of fallouts from domestic abuse and in need of a more intensive therapy should be well taken care of (Herrenkohl et al., 2015).