Domestic Violence and Legal Implication - Report Example

Domestic Violence and Legal Implication Introduction: Domestic violence and abuse is one of the most common and fast developing problem of the modernsociety and it can happen to anyone. Although the society is moving very fast with the help of economic, social and technological development but still domestic violence is an increasing threat for the people across the globe and the problem is often unheeded, excused, or denied. This is particularly factual when the mistreatment is psychosomatic, rather than corporeal. All over the world, domestic violence is one of the major point of concern for all sociologist, activist as well as for different government. In every country, there are strict laws in place to protect the individuals from domestic violence. But still the number of incident is continuously increasing all over the world. This paper is focusing on the cause of domestic violence, various types of it and also discuss about the laws and justice system which are in place in countries like UK, USA to prevent the same and give punishment to the offenders. What is Domestic Violence? “Domestic abuse, also known as spousal abuse, occurs when one person in an intimate relationship or marriage tries to dominate and control the other person. Domestic abuse that includes physical violence is called domestic violence”. (Smith & Segal, 2014) Domestic violence and abuse are used for one purpose and one purpose only: to gain and maintain total control over you. An abuser does not “play fair.” Abusers use fear, guilt, shame, and intimidation to wear one down and keep him of her under the other person’s control. It happens among heterosexual couples and in same-sex partnerships. It occurs within all age ranges, ethnic backgrounds, and economic levels. And while women are more commonly victimized, men are also abused—especially verbally and emotionally, although sometimes even physically as well. The bottom line is that abusive behavior is never acceptable, whether it’s coming from a man, a woman, a teenager, or an older adult. You deserve to feel valued, respected, and safe (Smith & Segal, 2014). The Unites States Department of Justice (2013) defines the domestic violence as “a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner” (Unites States Department of Justice, 2013). They also have mentioned various form of acts associated with the domestic violence such as physical, sexual, emotional, economic, or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person. This includes any behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wound someone. Types of Domestic Violence and Their Characteristics: In modern times, we used to get news like a man or woman is suspected of murdering their wife or husband, with or without a previous history of domestic abuse or an old person is being physically and mentally molested by his or her son, or more shockingly a young children is being physically and mentally harassed by his or her parents, or relatives. All these are common example of domestic violence. Benedictis, Jaffe & Segal (2006) in their review mentioned the fact that domestic violence or abuse is most often one of the following 3 types namely: child abuse; abuse of a spouse or domestic intimate partner and elder abuse. The important elements associated with domestic abuse are: intimidation; humiliating the other person and physical injury. In their review they have also mentioned that “Domestic abuse is not a result of losing control; domestic abuse is intentionally trying to control another person. The abuser is purposefully using verbal, nonverbal, or physical means to gain control over the other person” (Benedictis, Jaffe & Segal, 2006). Domestic violence is a type of domestic abuse where one individual is being held responsible for physically harassing the other by means of using physical force. Physical abuse involves pushing, throwing, kicking; slapping, grabbing, hitting, punching the other person; breaking his or her bones by using physical strength; assaulting the other person with a weapon such as a knife or gun; burning him or her and finally murder (Benedictis, Jaffe & Segal, 2006). Cause of Domestic Violence: Most domestic violence is triggered by culture, learning pattern and underpinning rather than by biology or genetics. It is a proven fact that domestic violence is not any kind of genetical or biological problem and it is never transferred to the future generation as well. Various kinds of research regarding the same have proven the fact that domestic violence activities are cultured through continuous observation of certain family conditions. Studies have found that “nearly one half of abusive men grew up in homes where their father or step father was an abuser. Domestic violence behaviors are learned and reinforced in the family as well as in all of societys major institutions - legal, social, religious, educational, medical and mental health.” (McHenry County, nd) The violent activities of any male against women in any kind of intimate relationships is nothing but a social problem which is overlooked and in some cases supported by the ritual gestures, custom and ethnicities of a particular society as well. Apart from that, pornographic videos, various kinds of magazines and websites are also the learning grounds for the young generation regarding concept of domestic violence as all these entertainment medium used to project women as an entertaining object and develop some shocking concepts such as “women are unworthy of respect and valuable only as sex objects for men.”(McHenry County, nd) In modern age, music videos and computer games have become an integral part of enjoyment and time pass for children and teens. Many of the sex-role communications (such as various posts in the music videos, e mails, online posts and comments)represent men as antagonistic, and dominating and powerful individual who can do anything in the family and can control the women in every parts of their life. From these videos, boys often learn theyre not accountable for their movements. Aggression is a normal characteristic among male and often this can become a medical problem as well. “Boys are being diagnosed and treated with medications instead of identifying that they have been possibly traumatized and exposed to violence and abuse at home.” (McHenry County, nd)Apart from the above mentioned reasons, very often religious beliefs also have a key role to play as various forms of religious beliefs have often ignored the abuse of women. Religious scriptures from the Bible, the Torah, the Koran, and major Buddhist and Hindu writings instruct women to submit to male domination. Domestic Violence: Facts and Figures Domestic violence is a severeproblematicfeature around the world. It disrupts the basic human rights of mainly women and in some cases of the young children as well. The Domestic violence often results in serious injury or death of women and children in various countries. All over the globe, 40%-70% of female murder victims are mainly killed by their own partners and which is a clear example of domestic violence. Studies indicate that almost 25% and 50% of all females in the world have been ill-treated and abused by close partners. The survey reveals the fact that one in every three women in the globe is being exposed to sexual, physical, emotional or other abuse in her lifetime (Alternative Horizons, 2010). The recent survey has brought out a shocking fact that in Florida, one in every four women is subjected to domestic violence in her lifetime. It has been projected that almost 1.3 million women are sufferers of physical assault by their intimate partner each year, and as high as 85% of the victims of domestic violence are women. Females who are 20-24 years of age are at the highest risk of nonfatal close partner violence which can cause physical hamper and in some extreme cases death also. In the year 2013, over 1.1 million or 7% of women and 720,000 or 4% of men have been victims various form of domestic violence in the England and Wales. Another shocking fact associated with this is “10% of the public think that it is "mostly or sometimes" acceptable to hit or slap their partner in response to them having an affair. This rises to 16% of older teenagers, with little difference in attitude between men and women” (Travis, 2014). In the USA, women used get assaulted or beaten by her partner in every 9seconds and for developed nations like USA it is a shocking fact. Analysis also has proved the fact that in the USA, domestic violence is the main reason behind the injury and death of women –more than normal incidents like car accidents, health issues, muggings, and rapes combined. Studies recommend that up to 10 million children eyewitness various kinds of domestic violence activities annually in their family which influence their action as well. Among teenage girls who are in a relationship with boys also face this kind of incident in their life as one out of every five girls who are in relation mentioned that their “boyfriend threatened violence or self-harm if presented with a breakup” (Domestic Violence Statistics, 2014). The activity of the mature men regarding domestic violence used to leave a long lasting impact on their children as children who have seen domestic violence incident in their own family at childhood days are two times more likely to repeat the same on their own partners as compared to those who never experienced this. Domestic violence not only hampers the physical and mental state of the women and the structure of their family, it also hampers the financial condition as well. Generally, victims of various kind of domestic violence incidents in the USA used to lose approximately 8 million days of paid work per year in the US only- which is equivalent to almost 32.000 permanent job loss. The costs associated with the domestic violence and the treatment is also very high. “The costs of intimate partner violence in the US alone exceed $5.8 billion per year: $4.1 billion are for direct medical and health care services, while productivity losses account for nearly $1.8 billion”(Domestic Violence Statistics, 2014). As the incident of domestic violence is continuously increasing, 92% of women put preventive measures against domestic violence and sexual assault as their top priority. Almost, 55%-95% women across 10 countries never contacted to non-governmental organizations for shelter or protection, never visited police station to launch a complain even after they have been subjected to domestic violence by their partners or soul mates (Domestic Violence Statistics, 2014). Domestic Violence and News Media Coverage: All over the globe, whenever an incident of domestic violence is considered and blamed for the demise of one or both of the people in a correlation, the media used to focus on the incident only, but the journalism and reporting style generally discloses very little about the agonizing history that preceded the violence. Unfortunately, the reality associated with any kind of domesticviolence incident is far from what is represented by the news and digital media. For many years, various kinds of domestic violence incidents, which are not carried out by any individual against their female partners – never attract any media houses in any part of the globe. To analyze how the media houses report the domestic violence incident a research survey was conducted in the USA. The basic finding of that research was mentioned by Simpson (2003) in his report. He suggested that “broad conclusions tell journalists and police agencies that more is needed if the public is to gain a realistic view of domestic violence. The coverage seldom labeled the killings as domestic violence, seldom placed the killing in the context of a history of psychological or physical abuse, and too often found excuses for the death that clouded the history of interpersonal violence”(Simpson, 2003). Apart from this official conclusion Simpson in his report mentioned few other basic observations regarding that analysis. Apart from the above point, he in his review also mentioned that the media coverage of domestic violence is very rarely point out the actual reason, or true story behind the scene. To make the report more realistic and more interesting news agencies used to quote or opinion of the legal departments, police authorities, coroners and prosecutors, medical team etc. But surprisingly, people who know the incidents like domestic violence more such as therapists or different social activist or the organizations- there quotes are not promoted by the media people (Simpson, 2003). The research also reveals the fact that people who get directly or indirectly affected by the domestic violence one way or another there opinion also never get highlighted by the media agencies. Ignoring the continuum of violence: If one analyzed the reports published in various print and electronic media, then it is very prominent that for definite types of cases, headings frequently demonize perpetrators, portraying them as ‘evil’ and unlike normal people. This discrimination often downplays the scale of ferocity experienced by women from their partners. BY Characterizing perpetrators as monsters, the print and digital/electronic media frequently is representing such violence as a unique and different from ‘run-of-the-mill’ domestic violence. “This type of coverage tends to side-step the role of gender and discussion of the systemic problem of men’s violence against women” (Politoff, 2013). For example, in case of Ariel Castro in Australia in 2013, The Australian reports the story under the headline of Jekyll and Hyde. Thisheadline though catches the eyes of the people but the actual problem of violence against women is not being highlighted properly (Politoff, 2013). Relationship Context: While covering the story of domestic violence often the media used to overlook the relationship angle associated with it. In Australia, during 2011, almost 75% of domestic violence cases reported to police are committed by someone known to the victim, but surprisingly only 41% of news article give emphasis to the relationship aspects while covering the story. “These articles are likely to appear to be reporting stranger violence – it’s an easy assumption when no relationship is mentioned. This misrepresents the relationship contexts within which women are most likely to experience violence” (Politoff, 2013). Missing the Context: While reporting domestic violence stories, print media generally overlooked some important aspects such as specifying what the violence is all about (reason), incorporating facts such as statics, commonness, outlines and dynamics, as well as information about whether support services are available for the victim or not, what are the relevance of the incident and most importantly how the gender inequality plays a role in the occurrence of the same. Wallace (1986) in his review also pointed out the importance of history to be incorporated while reporting such kind of incidents (Wallace, 1986, p.97). As a matter of fact, one out of every three women in countries like Australia are subjected to domestic violence but very rarely proper coverage are there in the news channel or print media (Naylor, 2001, p.180). Domestic Violence and Legal Consequences: Identifying domestic violence as a crime has become ever more important part of administration policy on crime control (Radford, 2004). Young (1999) identifies this attitude towards domestic violence policy as a proscription of social issues. The legal explanations approved in various countries have proven the fact that domestic violence is now a substantial social problem. Domestic Violence Prevention policies in USA With the increasing number of domestic violence cases all over the globe, various countries are now implementing stringent laws to protect the women against domestic violence and also to ensure strict punishment for the offenders. In order to protect women in the USA, the US government has passed two main laws related to violence against women, the Violence against Women Act and the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act. Out of these 2 acts, the Violence against Women Act (VAWA) was the first major law implemented by the USA government to protect women. This law created more strict penalties for certain crimes especially domestic violence and introduced various programs to prevent violence and help victims. Some key features of this law are as follows: Violence avoidance programs in different communities; ensuring securities for sufferers who are homeless due to domestic violence; monetary helps for victims; starting various programs to encounter the requirements of immigrant women and victims with disabilities; ensuring legal aid for survivors of violence etc. (Womenshealth, 2012). Doward (2013) in his review mentioned that, after implementation of these 2 laws the “reporting of domestic abuse has increased by nearly 50%. Incidents of violence have decreased by more than a third” (Doward, 2013), Domestic Violence Prevention policies in England: From the start of the 1990s the attitude taken by consecutive English administrations towards domestic violence has been to endorse an inter-ministerial technique to strategy development at a national level and multi-agency co-ordination at local level to implement rule and to provide services. Many people in UK hoped that this would set out a complete national policy on domestic violence (Hague & Malos, 2005). However the government at that point of time chose to represent itself as a supporting hand towards non-governmental sector multi-agency inventiveness, adding value and helping these organizations rather than playing a key role in battling domestic violence. The National Report in 2005 made seventeen commitments to develop public services in order to respond strictly to domestic abuse and involved support of new actions including Specialist Domestic Violence Courts and Independent Domestic Violence Advisers. The National Domestic Violence Delivery Plan (2005) set out intentions focusing on the decrease of the frequency of domestic violence and domestic violence related killings; increasing the rate domestic violence complains, and the providing support and protection to victims. After the change in the administration in 2010, the English government introduced a series of discussionto prevent domestic violence along with other aspects such as give emphasis to prevention, offering support to victims, partnership working and risk reduction.During 1970s the UK government executed some civil remedies to reduce domestic abuse such as the Domestic Violence and Matrimonial Proceedings Act (1976) and the Domestic Proceedings and Magistrates Courts Act (1978)(Harne & Radford, 2008). These legislations wereacquainted with equal defense for victims irrespective of whether they were married or unmarried (Hague, 2005; Harwin & Brown, 2000) and comprisedof non-molestation and ouster orders but were restricted in their scope. Moreover, magistrates inclined to understand orders restrictively, and judges were hesitant to apply upheaval orders, viewing this resolution as extreme (Edwards, 2000). Domestic violence was also encompassed in the Housing Act of 1977. Victims of domestic violence were classified as in priority need, and local authorities were bound to provide them shelter (Harwin & Brown, 2000). From 1990 onwards more stringent laws are being introduced in the system to prevent domestic violence. The Family Law Act (1996): This law comprises of solution about the human rights of jobof a non-owning spouse; giving authority to court to impose non-molestation orders etc. The above mentioned law can be applied in order to stop further violence to the applicant or children. Violation of this law can lead to arrest also. Under the earlierlaw the power of arrest was more optional (Harne & Radford, 2008). Whereas Harne & Radford (2008) and Burton (2009, p.109) argue that the principles for occupation instructions are more limiting than the former law. Overall, this Act provides guard to a wider range of women, under various circumstances and for longer time than earlier legislation (Hague, 2005; Burton, 2009, p.109). The Harassment Act (1997):The Protection from Harassment Act (1997), which is a part of both civil and criminal law, deals with forcefulness from exterior environment. The Harassment Act 1997 was initiallyplanned to fight the problem of stalking and was used by those who could not launch any complain under the Family Law Act 1996 (Smartt & Kurry, 2006, p. 382). Hague & Malos (2005) mentioned that limitations of this Act are that it does not comprise of occupation orders, or consider children; or the possibility of attacker being a close relative. The Housing Act (1996): The Housing Act (1996) widened the definition of homelessness for those who are entitled for accommodation, comprising of victims of domestic violence. This act provides housing support to victims by associating with their landowners who by special measures can reassure the accommodation (Smartt, & Kurry, 2006, p. 382). The Homelessness Act (2002) widened the meaning of violence to include all forms of violence (Smith, 2003). Moreover, the facility of safe housing for victims of domestic violence has turn out to be main concern for local authorities who have been indulged to implement the homeless prevention policies for victims of domestic abuse (Netto et al. 2009, p. 719). Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act (2004): This act is being addressed as the “biggest piece of legislation on domestic violence in over 30 years in UK” (Home Office, 2005, p.3). It prolongs the safety offered by civil law to sufferers of domestic violence by making the breach of non-molestation order made under Part IV of the Family Law Act 1996 a criminal offence with a consequence of 5 years imprisonment. Although the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act (2004) set out very significant actions, some of the applications announced in the Safety and Justice, 2003 are not incorporated in this Act (Hague& Malos, 2005). The Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act (2004) did not consist of illegalization of the break of an occupation order and or abolish the time limits sited on such an order (Harne & Radford, 2008). Although the above Act did not satisfy the hopes of all parties (mainly non-governmental organizations), it was complemented by a subsidypromise to national domestic violence helplines, various internet services and refuge services (Hague & Malos, 2005). Recently, in order to reduce the frequency of domestic violence a new law is being introduced by the UK government to give the power to the women to more about their partners from police as well. The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme - known as Clares Law - is proposed to provide past information about an individual which can protect someone from being a victim of attack. “The initiative is named after 36-year-old Clare Wood who was killed by her ex-boyfriend in 2009.” (BBC, 2014) Although the law is in place, but various organizations are doubtful about the implication of the same as most culprits of domestic violence are unknown to police, social care agencies – therefore if a woman asks the police the probable thing, even if her partner is a perpetrator, it is very unlikely that they will get some useful information from the police. Conclusion: Overall, domestic violence needs the assignation of many agencies at national and local level.Inmany countries, several initiatives have been taken by the administrations to stop the happening of the same, but the quality of those steps ishard to measure. Further, it looks like domestic violence policy is not only segregated between national and local parties but is also varies geographically. Scrappy and irregularfacilities, regional differences result in changing levels and feature of the provisions for domestic violence victims (Radford & Gill, 2006, p. 369). It is worth mentioning that future policies dedicated to combat domestic violence might be associated with cost to society resultant directly or indirectly from suffering this mistreatment (Walby, 2009). The immigration policyis also a key factor in domestic violence as the migration status of women sometimesreliant on their spouses and the power inequities within a wedding are additionalweigh up against women by law (Sundari, 2008, p. 189). Policy modification means that not all clusters are adequatelysecure and not appropriatelyexamined as far as domestic violence is concerned. More responsiveness is required for groups such as detainees, people with mental disorder and learning disabilities, and migrant groups. All these issues must be taken into contemplation while reviewing the laws associated with the domestic violence and making it stronger over the course of time. References Alternative Horizons, (2010). Alternative Horizons Statistics, March 26, 2014 from: http://alternativehorizons.org/index.cfm/domestic-violence-statistics/ BBC News, (2014), Clares Law introduced to tackle domestic violence, March 26, 2014 from: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-26488011 Benedicts, D.T. Jaelline, J. & S. Jeanne (n.d.), Domestic Violence and Abuse: Types, Signs, Symptoms, Causes, and Effects, AAETS, March 26, 2014 from: http://www.aaets.org/article144.htm Burton, M. (2009), Civil law remedies for domestic violence: why are applications for non-molestation orders declining? Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, Vol.31, No.2, 109-120. 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