Domestic Violence: Real Problem or Overstated Issue?

Introduction

Domestic violence refers to physical abuse or violence directed at a domestic partner or spouse. It is a pattern of behavior in a close relationship employed to maintain or gain control and power over an intimate partner. Domestic violence carries several severe impacts on society. The establishment of social service agencies and domestic violence courts has triggered increased awareness of the problem. Victims of domestic violence, more than ever before, increasingly report cases in order to obtain social services and support from agencies dealing with this type of social problem. The increased number of reported cases has made it appear as though the statistics are overly exaggerated — but they are not. Domestic violence is a real social issue, not an exaggerated one. This paper argues that domestic violence is a real problem that can be addressed through several approaches, with a solution-focused counseling approach being the most feasible.

Domestic violence is a serious social problem that affects offenders, victims, witnesses, and the entire society. It carries health, social, and economic consequences for victims and their communities. It entails violent confrontation among household or family members. Abuse encompasses emotional, physical, psychological, or economic actions — or the threat of such actions — that affect another person. This includes any conduct that intimidates, manipulates, humiliates, injures, blames, wounds, terrorizes, hurts, or frightens someone. Domestic violence can occur to anyone regardless of age, race, religion, or sexual orientation, and it affects married couples, dating couples, and couples who live together.

Domestic violence is one of the most complex social problems in the contemporary world. There is constant, intense, and emotional debate about how to put an end to it. Endless subsidiary debates have also been held regarding the substance and scale of domestic violence. Some commentators maintain that domestic violence is not as significant as feminists contend, and that women's advocates intentionally manipulate and exaggerate data to advance their own agenda. Others assert that domestic violence is real and serious, capable of leading to permanent injuries and even death (Harne and Radford 3). This contention leaves many people asking whether domestic violence is a genuine issue or one that is overly exaggerated.

Evaluation: Awareness, Reporting, and the Reality of Domestic Violence

Organized community responses to domestic violence have continued to develop since the 1990s. Many communities have moved beyond working with individual agencies to address domestic violence in a more comprehensive and coordinated manner. These efforts involve coordination among criminal justice agencies, health care providers, domestic violence service providers, substance abuse services, businesses, clergy, and child welfare agencies. Education and prevention efforts in the community also form part of the response to domestic violence (Wies and Haldane 108). The establishment of social services for domestic violence victims has prompted greater awareness of the problem. Training and screening programs in organizations handling domestic violence issues have increased, particularly in health facilities and welfare offices, which have been identified as important potential referral sources.

Some organizations train their frontline employees on the dynamics of domestic violence, the obstacles that victims face, and available services. These organizations also teach staff how to identify victims and provide appropriate services when victims come into conventional social service agencies for help (Wies and Haldane 108). Domestic violence victims receive referrals to available services through the mainstream social service systems they contact. Pollock asserts that, in much the same way that drug courts divert drug offenders for specialized prosecution and seek to break the cycle of drug dependence, domestic violence courts serve the same function with perpetrators of domestic violence (Pollock 181).

Pollock also confirms that domestic violence encompasses assaults occurring between intimates — familial, parent-child, spousal, or between romantic partners of any gender combination (Pollock 181). The establishment of domestic violence courts and other agencies has grown because of increasing awareness of the problem and the courts' evolving response to it. Mandatory arrest policies, for instance, have triggered a rise in prosecutions of domestic offenders.

The momentum behind domestic violence courts and other coordinating agencies stems in large part from the Violence Against Women Act. The growth of these courts and social agencies has expanded awareness of domestic violence. Increased awareness programs have educated domestic violence victims about their options. As a result, greater accessibility of social services, increased awareness of domestic violence and its effects, and the growing willingness of victims — particularly women — to use available services have led to a rise in reported statistics. This rise reflects increased reporting, not an increase in the underlying incidence of violence. Domestic violence is therefore a real social problem, and the statistics surrounding it are not overly exaggerated.

Background: Scope, Statistics, and Social Impact

More than any other modern social problem, domestic violence challenges the conscience of the public, and there are no easy solutions. Many families continue to live in the shadow of domestic violence, while children replicate the behaviors of abusive adults. According to Davis, domestic violence is more prevalent than all other types of violence combined (28). Reports from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Justice Statistics indicate that homes have become dangerous places. Perpetrators of domestic violence — people with the potential to kill — are not strangers. Those who claim love, even as they murder and abuse, are girlfriends, lovers, husbands, fathers, mothers, wives, and boyfriends.

Stark examples of domestic violence perpetrated by those who claim to love include the appalling case of Amy Emily Annamunthodo, a four-year-old girl from Trinidad and Tobago who was raped, sodomized, and beaten to death by her alleged father, Marlon King, with the knowledge of her mother. She died in May 2006. Similarly, Laci Peterson, an American woman, was murdered in December 2002 by her husband, Scott Peterson, while she was pregnant with their first child. The killers of Amy and Laci were not strangers, but people who claimed to love them. These tragic stories of abuse and violence do not unfold on television screens or in the streets — they happen in homes, between partners, and between parents and their children. Police officers and other legal agencies are expected to resolve family disputes given the prevalence of domestic violence. Given the shifts in statutes and policies driven by increased domestic violence cases, more arrests linked to domestic violence are made today than ever before.

Some commentators assume that domestic violence advocates exaggerate statistics to portray society as a violent patriarchy in which men continuously assault women, and that the primary risk to women comes from the men in their own lives (Davis 28). They also believe that numbers are inflated to serve an ideological agenda and to promote strategies that presuppose guilt in cases of domestic abuse (Forum 93). However, domestic violence — including violence involving both genders, since men are also victims — must be addressed. Domestic violence is a critical problem affecting not only individuals but the entire society. It does not only cause physical injuries; it also causes psychological and emotional harm. Failure to address it will lead to greater problems and more deaths. Domestic violence is not exaggerated; it is a critical social problem that affects individuals, children, and entire communities.

Domestic violence affects every aspect of society. While system responses are principally directed at victims, growing attention is also directed at child witnesses of domestic abuse. It is estimated that between ten and twenty percent of children are at risk of significant exposure to domestic violence. Children exposed to domestic hostility are also at risk of neglect and abuse (Day 116). Adults and children who experience domestic violence face elevated risks of traumatic exposure, neglect, health problems, and even death. These outcomes generate negative effects on children and may compromise their stability, safety, and well-being. People exposed to domestic violence commonly suffer from social, emotional, behavioral, cognitive, attitudinal, and long-term developmental problems.

Despite the progress made in the contemporary world, domestic violence remains the leading cause of injury to women. Over five million incidents occur each year. In America, sexual or domestic violence consistently generates serious economic consequences, costing businesses between three and five billion dollars annually in lost productivity. According to Congress, the SAFE Act supports victims in escaping dangerous situations and works to prevent abuse from occurring (Congress 528). The SAFE Act not only protects victims of domestic violence but also helps them become productive members of the economy. Domestic violence accounts for approximately fifteen percent of total crimes committed in the United States. Reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Health indicate that each year, 5,300,000 non-fatal violent victimizations committed by intimate partners against women are recorded.

Female murder victims are more likely than male murder victims to have been killed by intimate partners (Congress 528). Half of female murder victims and four percent of male murder victims highlighted in CDC and NIH reports were killed by intimate partners. With respect to government statistics, approximately 987,400 rapes occur in the United States each year, with 89% perpetrated against female victims. Since 2001, reported rapes have increased by four percent (Congress 528).

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