Paper+on+Domestic+Abuse

Domestic Violence Paper Ben and Reed December 14th, 2010 Domestic Violence (//Noun): // Acts of violence or abuse against a person living in one’s household, especially a member of one’s immediate family.

In the study of domestic violence that we did we learned a lot about why and how people abuse their spouses. One of the main reasons that people domestically abuse their spouses is for power in the relationship. For instance, if a man feels like he does not have power over the woman he might hit her so that he feels more powerful. Also another reason for someone to abuse their spouse is if they feel like the other person doesn’t want to have sexual intercourse. In this instance one person may hurt the other and force them to have sex. Normally, the victim of sexual abuse is a woman; therefore the man is most often the abuser. First, a very scary, but important fact to know about is that 1 in 5 women have been abused by their partners. Second, a very good resource for women and children in Atlanta to go to when they feel endangered is Shalom Bayit, which provides safe houses for women and children who can’t live at home. Lastly, a good idea for when you are going on a date, make sure you know who you are going with, so you know you are safe. It is crazy to think that 1 in every 5 women have had some sort of domestic abuse in their lives. Also, in 2001 there were 1,300 murders committed by one person in the relationship on the other. More women in the U.S are hurt by their partners than by rape, auto-accidents and being mugged combined. That’s crazy that means that about 20% of women in the U.S are in an abusive relationship right now. Another crazy fact is that the annual cost to victims of domestic abuse is over 8 billion dollars and 67 billion dollars when pain, suffering, and lost quality of life are included. One study figured out that 74% of working women have reported being harassed sexually and physically while at work by their partners in person and/or through the phone. Another study about battered women showed that 50% to 85% of abused women missed work because of abuse, and 60% were reported to have arrived late due to abuse in their relationship. Domestic violence usually comes from a lot of different things; the main thing it comes from wants power in the relationship. When one person (usually the man) wants power in the relationship the easiest result is violence. Another reason is if one thinks the other does not want to have sex with them. In this case the easiest result is again to abuse your partner. Domestic abuse shouldn’t have to happen to anyone, but if it does it is a really bad reason to say, “I just wanted to have sex.” Abusing someone because they don’t want to have sex with you is rape, and that may be considered worse than domestic abuse. Lastly, domestic abuse happens when a person (usually a man) when he feels like he is doing work around the house that is considered female work. This includes cleaning, laundry, cooking, etc. There are many details about what constitutes abuse. Many of them are very gruesome, but there was one story I read that really stood out to me. It was about how this ladies’ husband abuses her and she knows that. The only issue is that her sister is telling her he doesn’t and she is putting a big doubt in her mind that she is being abused by her partner. She also talks about how in public her husband is very nice to her and to other people. So, she is worried if she takes him to court the judge won’t believe her and take her kids away from her. That is why she is too scared to do anything. That is another form of abuse, the fact that her husband code switches so much that she feels like she won’t be believed if she takes him to court. So, she can’t do anything about it.

Thankfully, there are many resources available to abuse victims who are forced to leave their homes because of abusive partners. These people, usually women sometimes with children, are left nothing but literally the clothes on their backs. Being forced to leave their homes, they probably didn’t bring any money or food. The seemingly only place to go is the streets. These women (mothers) are stuck. They might have to take care of children in addition to themselves. There is always the threat of rape, being mugged, or kidnap. These women cannot go home to their husbands, but there is an alternative to this predicament, safe houses. Safe houses are places for women and women with kids to go after being abused. At these safe houses they can get three healthy, square meals a day. They can also get adequate clothing and a place to sleep. These safe houses are only for women and children. Many have bars on the windows to keep angered husbands out if the threat ever comes. The staffs of these safe houses are trained to help abuse survivors. Many even have therapists come in to talk to women after shaken encounters with partners. These safe houses are truly wonderful places for the abuse victims. These are really good places to have service projects. One such safe house, Partnership Against Domestic Violence inc. is an Atlanta based non-profit that sets up safe houses and call centers for abuse victims. The Partnership Against Domestic Violence inc. currently has two operating safe houses in Georgia. It also has a twenty four hour emergency hotline that runs non-stop for abused women. All the victims have to do is pick up the phone, call, and will be in contact with emergency correspondents in mere minutes. The Partnership Against Domestic Violence inc. also has many programs set up to deal with problems from battered women and their possible children. It holds counseling sessions for the abused to help them work past the hurt. It also has counseling sessions for the kids of these women. They have one on one therapy for these juvenile abuse victims. Another helpful service that many of these non-profit corporations such as Partnership Against Domestic Violence Inc, have is the ability to share a lot of this information with the public. One of the best ways to stop the spread of domestic violence is to simply talk to your friends, family, and acquaintances. The more people know about Domestic Violence the less of a problem it becomes. When people see how much it hurts families and that women can stand up to the abusive men, changes will take place. People will recognize signs of domestic violence, women will stand up for their rights, and people will donate to help non-profit organizations such as Partnership Against Domestic Violence Inc. That is why our idea of a good action plan is to do all of those things. We have talked to different sources like Partnership Against Domestic Violence Inc, and all of them agree that the best way to stop domestic violence is to talk to people you know and to donate to safe houses. The best things to donate are coats and non-perishable food. The coats are pretty self explanatory. They help to keep the abuse victims warm during this cold season. The non-perishable food is also pretty self explanatory. Feeding all of the women in these safe houses is a challenging task. The non-perishable food lets the safe houses put it in a pantry and pull it out whenever needed. These things can both be donated to Partnership Against Domestic Violence Inc and other non-profit corporations by mail or by self delivery. The phone number to Partnership Against Domestic Violence Inc is as follows, 404-870-9600. They can also be reached at the following address, P.O. Box 170225 Atlanta, GA 30317. These women need our help and we all have extra clothing and food we can donate. Together we can help get these women back on their feet. We have to work side by side to make a difference. That’s why we chose domestic violence as our subject.