Domestic violence has become a very common term now for Americans. Domestic abuse, Spousal Abuse, or Battery are some of the common synonyms for domestic violence; which happens as the spouse attempts to abuse the other either physically or psychologically in order to dominate the other.
Domestic violence isn’t just restricted to the wedded couple but can also be applicable for children and other members of the family who have been abused by someone.
Irrespective of cultures, people, races, religions, ethnicities, classes, and sexes; domestic violence has its perpetrators everywhere. In this case, the perpetrator need not necessarily be men; women can also be one.
There are various forms of domestic violence – sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, economic deprivation, intimidation, and warnings of violence.
Violence is a criminal offense and entails physical assaults such as, pushing or hitting or shoving; sexual abuse includes forced sexual intercourse as well as stalking.
Though other aspects, such as the emotional, financial, and psychological abuse does not fall under the category of a criminal offense but are definitely typical forms of being abusive and can aggravate situations thus leading it to criminal violence.
Apart from these, there is another crucial component of domestic abuse which has often been ignored but can be a criminal offense’ passive abuse.
Passive abuse tends to be very veiled, subtle, and covert and is often overlooked. Some of the common signs of passive abuse are victimization, forgetfulness, procrastination, neglect, and ambiguity, intellectual and spiritual abuse.
‘Intimate Partner Violence’ or IPV is synonymously used to indicate domestic violence, but a broader view suggests that any form of violence occurring in the family towards the child or children or elders or other members can also be categorized as domestic violence.
Wife beating, battering, and wife abuse are very prevalent terms to describe dominance; but in some of these cases, you might acknowledge that most of the alleged victims are often not into a marital relationship with the abuser; either they have been co-habiting or they have some other arrangements.
In present times, the terms like ‘battered wife’ or ‘battering’ have lost its importance as there might be several other forms of abuse other than just being abused physically.
Also, men are often found to be victims of such violence and any other violence forms might be prevailing in the family with the occasional episodes of physical violence.
The emotional aspects of domestic violence involve negligence, abidance, little or minimum talking, etc. If this prevails within a couple, the relationship is unlikely to improve until both the partner’s try-hard.
These emotionally abusive behaviors can lead to psychological problems as well. Concurrent episodes of such disturbing behaviors can also lead to physical disorders. If domestic violence occurs to elderly people, it might lead to severe mental diseases as well.
Domestic violence can have severe effects on the family and even worse if there’s a child present in the family.
Though physical violence might not be occurring very often, emotional discomfort can hamper the essence of a relationship, and that in turn might create a feeling of disgust and hatred in the victims and the child as well who empathizes with the victim. It can have the worst effects on a woman who is pregnant; it can lead to abortion as well.
There are many legal procedures to assist the mass in America and you can always seek help if you have been experiencing domestic violence of-late.
