The Impact of Domestic Violence on Society

Colleen Peace, West Texas A&M University

abstract: Domestic violence is broadly defined as a form of physical, emotional, sexual, psychological, and economic abuse of
another person. Regardless of one’s race, gender, or economic status, domestic violence between partners, parents, etc., the author
hypothesizes that only through educational programs can one reduce the impact this social issue has on victims, their families, friends,
co-workers and health care providers.

By definition, domestic violence is a pattern of abusive Generally, when the subject of domestic violence
behavior in any intimate relationship that is used by one is discussed, one thinks about physical abuse. However,
partner to maintain a sense of control over the other. Do- there are many types of abuse that fall under the umbrella
mestic violence is further defined as physical or sexual of domestic violence. The major areas of concern with
violence within the family. This includes sexual abuse of respect to domestic violence are physical abuse, sexual
children and physical abuse of elderly parents (Etter & abuse, emotional abuse, economic abuse, and psycho-
Birzer, 2007). Domestic violence occurs without regard logical abuse.
to race, age, sexual orientation, religion, or gender. It mat-
ters not if one comes from upper-, middle-, or lower-class Physical Abuse
families. Domestic violence occurs in both same-sex rela- Physical abuse includes anything that causes phys­ical
tionships as well as opposite-sex relationships. It should pain such as hitting, biting, or slapping. It also in­cludes
also be noted that domestic violence affects other family denying a partner medical care or forcing a partner to use
members, friends, and co-workers (Office on Violence drugs or alcohol (OVW, n.d.). Women who are victims of
Against Women [OVW], n.d.). If a child grows up with physical abuse often go to their local hospital emergency
domestic violence, he is, in effect, taught that violence is
room for treatment. Some main areas of concern these
a normal way of life. A behavior inculcated by the very
women report are they do not have an opportunity to
people who are supposed to provide him with love and
talk to the healthcare provider about the abuse due to the
comfort. This sets in motion a vicious cycle where chil-
presence of a third party. There is a lack of assessing the
dren of abusers become abusers themselves.
safety of the patient by medical professionals and the risk
Unfortunately, domestic violence is very prevalent in
for further abuse by the perpetrator who is present during
our society. In the United States, it is estimated that be-
tween two to four million women are victims of domestic the examination, and a failure to provide the patient with
violence every year. It is probable that every 18 seconds avenues of available resources. There is currently ongo-
someone is a victim of domestic violence. In one research ing education and training for healthcare providers in an
study it was determined that approximately 80.8% of ac- effort to help the patient at a time when she is the most
cused abusers were male as compared to 19.2% of female vulnerable. Many survivors feel that if the healthcare pro-
offenders. While females do abuse, most reported of- vider had substantiated that abuse had taken place during
fenders are male (Etter & Birzer, 2007). the medical examination, along with reassuring condo-
There seems to be three main characteristics of men lence, there would be a life-changing alteration in the way
who batter their partners; frustration or stress, gender the victim feels about herself (Rhodes, Frankel, & Levin-
roles or learned behavior, and alcohol (Etter & Birzer, thal, 2007).
2007). The excessive consumption of alcohol is a major The state of Kansas has adopted a forward-thinking
contributor to domestic violence. Approximately 43.5% law. It is known as the Protection from Abuse Act (PFA).
of State prisoners victimizing a family member and A Protection of Abuse Order is an order of the court that
53.8% victimizing nonfamily members were using drugs legally restrains the conduct of the abuser and prohibits
or alcohol when they committed the offense of domestic the abuser from any contact with the victim. Initially, a
violence (U.S. Department of Justice [DOJ], 2005). temporary order is issued by the court against the alleged

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 Colleen Peace

abuser. An evidentiary hearing is scheduled and the order If a male is the victim of physical abuse it is often ig-
is then served to the abuser. Depending on the outcome of nored because it is too embarrassing for both the male
the evidentiary hearing, a PFA order may be made perma- and female. Husbands may not leave their abusive part-
nent by the court. If the alleged abuser violates the terms ners since their financial responsibility will continue, the
of the PFA, they may be arrested. Conditions specified by wife could quite possibly still be allowed custody of the
the PFA usually state there is to be no contact with the children, and the husband would lose the comforts of his
victim, but it may also dictate that the abuser be evicted home. Most men of abuse will not retaliate physically to
from the residence. Temporary custody of minor chil- a beating because of the social stigma that is attached to
dren may also be specified by the court. According to the “wife beaters.” Instead, they will try to make their wife feel
Kansas Attorney General’s Office, from 1992 to 2001, the guilty about the physical abuse (Etter & Birzer, 2007).
number of PFA filings has almost doubled. In Kansas, the One area that women confess as a catapult for aggressive
PFA has proved to be a useful tool in the state’s efforts to behavior is jealousy, coupled with poor anger manage-
prevent domestic violence. Abusers may be arrested, con- ment skills. They believe that their spouse or partner is not
victed, and incarcerated for violating the protection order. committed to the relationship. A common scenario is that
This can occur through a situation involving various acts the male spouse returns home late at night and the woman
ranging from visiting the person’s house to committing a then confronts him at the door. All too often the verbal
new assault. A beneficial change with this law is the police confrontation ends up turning into a physical dispute,
no longer have to tell a battered woman that there is noth- and one or both partners may be arrested. When asked,
women are likely to say that their aggression was a way to
ing they can do until the abuser beats her up again. This
protect themselves (Henning, Jones, & Holdford, 2008).
law gives the police the leverage they need to arrest the
It is the opinion of some that a vast majority of the
abuser for any violation of the PFA order. The PFA law is
women who have been arrested for domestic violence
a step in the right direction, although there are some do-
turned out to be victims of abuse who had decided to
mestic violence offenders that continue to violate orders
defend themselves when their partner attacked them.
from protection even after their marriage or relationship
“Treatment for these women should focus on prior vic-
with the victim has ended.
timization, safety planning, anger management, asser-
One important piece of federal legislation has been tiveness, and other issues related to the suppression of
passed over the course of the last two decades is known women” (Henning et al., 2008).
as the Violence Against Women Act of 1994. This legisla-
tion was designed to improve interstate criminal justice Sexual Abuse
enforcement and provide adequate funding for criminal Sexual abuse includes marital rape, forcing sex after
justice interventions and social services for the victims physical violence has occurred, or something such as one
of abuse. The VAWA focuses primarily on six areas: safe partner treating the other partner in a sexually demean-
streets for women, safe homes for women, equal justice ing manner (OVW, n.d.). Incest is also considered a form
for women in the courts, stalker and domestic violence of sexual abuse.
reductions, protection for battered immigrant women
and children, and provisions for strengthening existing Emotional Abuse
laws. These goals are accomplished through the use of Emotional abuse consists of undermining the self-
grants, education and training programs, and pro-arrest esteem of one’s partner, or upsetting the balance of one’s
policies (Cho & Wilke, 2005). relationship with their children (OVW, n.d.). It may in-
Not everyone agrees that aggressive law enforce- clude constant criticism, threats, and jealous control, such
ment, such as mandatory arrest policies, have the best as isolating the woman from friends and family. Emo-
long-term outcome. Although it is generally agreed that tional abuse, also known as emotional battering, may be
arrest may assist the victim in the short term, a fear may taken less seriously than physical abuse. However, emo-
exist that the end result will leave the victim even more tional abuse may leave long-term emotional scars, which
vulnerable to violent abuse. On the other hand, many could be more damaging than scars caused by physical
people think that the problem of domestic violence lies attacks (Braden-Maguire, 2005). It is widely recognized
with lenient law enforcement and sentencing; they feel that emotional abuse contributes to both depression and
that our laws should be enforced more strictly (Cho & low self-esteem in battered women.
Wilke, 2005). Interestingly enough, research has shown that

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The Impact of Domestic Violence on Society

a battered woman who has killed her spouse will be judged that culture. The abuser of Korean domestic violence vic-
guilty more often when the abuse she has suffered is emo- tim is all too aware of such beliefs.
tional rather than physical. These results indicate that the It has been noted that the most emphasized goal of
use of physical violence by a battered woman is perceived arrest policies is to punish the batterer and to treat domes-
as more justifiable when she has experienced physical tic violence as a crime. While the judicial system may very
abuse  (Braden-Maguire, 2005, p. 407). well focus on punishing the abuser, the victim may wish
to be protected in ways other than having their spouse
Economic abuse means to make one partner finan-
arrested. Through a Mandatory Arrest Policy, an abused
cially dependent on the other by maintaining complete
woman loses her autonomy first by her abuser and then
control over the finances. This is often seen both in mari-
again by the police because she has no control over the
tal relationships as well as older children-aging parent situation. In Korean culture, there is concern that once
relationships. Another way to abuse someone financially an arrest is made, the victim has no other choice but to
would be to deny them the freedom to be gainfully em- leave her spouse. This would almost be equal to ending
ployed (OVW, n.d.). This type of abuse is readily seen in the marriage, and may be against the victim’s will at that
instances where the victim has immigrated to the United moment (Shim & Hwang, 2005). This is a perfect exam-
States. The victim is generally solely dependent on his ple of why we must be ever mindful of the many cultures
or her abuser, who is their legal sponsor as well as their within the United States as we push for further legislation
financial support. A research study was done to explore against abusers.
the barriers faced by victims of domestic violence who Although it is widely recognized that family and inti-
are Korean immigrants in the United States. Oftentimes, mate partner abuse occurs across all economic groups, it
barriers are grounded in the very nature of the Korean seems to be most prevalent in low economic groups. Se-
culture. The main barrier is the Korean community itself, vere violence against both women and children is highest
which tends to find fault with the victims of domestic vio- among families with low incomes or with male partners
lence and therefore the victim has no place to turn to and that are either unemployed or have a low paying job. It
no one to rely on within their community. There is a very has been determined that poverty increases a poor wom-
strong fear among Korean immigrant women that their an’s vulnerability to partner abuse (Bassuk, Dawsom, &
in-laws will retaliate if they report such abuse to authori- Huntington, 2006). The woman sees no way out of her
ties. There is also a lack of education in that for the most poverty and feels that she must stay with her partner.
part, Korean women immigrants are not aware about the Psychological abuse means to cause fear by intimida-
Violence Against Women Act or the Immigration Act of tion. It means to threaten physical charm to self, partner,
1990. These Acts allow battered immigrant women and children, pets, or property. This is a very powerful way to
children to self-petition for permanent residency. This manipulate one’s partner (OVW, n.d.). Often psychologi-
would free battered women from some of the control that cal abuse is used in conjunction with physical or sexual
abusers often have over them (Shim & Hwang, 2005). abuse. Recent data suggest that a growing number of
Research has demonstrated that women of color and women are being arrested for assaulting their partners. It
women from refugee communities typically avoid seek- has been found that women were more likely than men
ing help from the police for fear that it would bring shame to have been prescribed psychotropic medications, to
or dishonor to the family. The main reason that Korean have attempted suicide, and to show evidence of some
victims of domestic violence refuse to seek counseling sort of personality disorder. On the other hand, men
or outside help is described as saving face, or chae-myun were more likely to have problems with substance abuse,
(Shim & Hwang, 2005, p. 323). It has been further dis- either drugs or alcohol, and show signs of early conduct
covered that Korean victims of domestic violence avoid disorder. A female domestic violence offender most
police intervention due to their lack of trust and a fear probably has dealt with years of psychiatric problems
of authority figures. Even with this fear, Korean victims (Henning et al., 2005). It is unclear to me if the reason
have said they prefer police intervention rather than help for such emotional problems lie within a dysfunctional
from the Korean community. This is because they fear or abusive relationship, or if she entered the relationship
that involvement by their own community would bring with emotional baggage. It is generally agreed that a fe-
even more shame and dishonor to their family (Shim male offender needs individual treatment, rather that the
& Hwang, 2005). The Korean culture is very strongly group counseling that is most often used for male offend-
rooted in family, and it is often difficult to break through ers (Henning et al., 2005).

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 Colleen Peace

If a woman experiences either physical or sexual we have in place not addressing the problem of domestic
abuse as a child, there is a much higher degree of likeli- violence?
hood that she will be victimized by an abusive partner I feel that the answer lies in education. We must edu-
later in life. “Women may learn the victim role when they cate the abuser, so they will fully understand the dramatic
watch parents engaged in physical fighting” (Bassuk et al., negative impact their actions have on themselves as well
2006, p. 388). Several studies have also documented high as family, friends, and co-workers. We must educate the
incidences of child sexual abuse among women who have victims so they will understand the abuse is not because
been abused. One study of very poor women found that of anything they have or have not done. It is not the fault
if there is a childhood history of physical or sexual abuse, of the victim, they must also realize that they don’t have
there was a four times greater risk that she would be vic- to stay in an abusive relationship. We must educate our
timized by her partner as an adult (Bassuk et al., 2006). children so they will grow up to realize that violence is
This demonstrates a need to educate these women so this not the answer to how one should handle life’s stressors.
cycle can be broken. If this is the way they have learned We must also continue to educate our healthcare provid-
life is supposed to be, then they won’t realize there is ers so they will be better equipped to handle the issues
something very wrong with their partner’s behavior. I of domestic violence when they are faced with caring for
feel this is very much a psychological issue; dysfunction victims of abuse. I truly believe that knowledge is power.
breeds dysfunction.
Knowledge feeds the human spirit, allowing us to over-
In light of our current military activities, I wondered
come the adversities that we are faced with. Even the
if people who had gone to war had any lasting emotional
population that does not have much formal education
problems that would make them more apt to commit an
is capable of learning how to deal with the problems of
act of domestic violence. One study revealed that people
domestic violence.
in the military, albeit a veteran or current military soldier,
that experience in military service did not yield itself to I do believe there are people who abuse that are pure
manifest aggressive behavior towards their partners or evil. And I agree that these people should be put in prison
their children. In fact, the study showed that “male vet- so their victims will be safe. After reading these research
eran status appears to lower the odds of an occurrence articles, I have come to believe that the majority of abus-
of common couple violence” (Bradley, 2007, p. 205). An ers lack the coping skills necessary to deal with life’s frus-
explanation for this may be because “the military teaches trations. Research has shown that all too often they turn
its recruits that the use of violence must be controlled to alcohol as a means to deal with their stressors and then
and carefully channeled” (Bradley, 2007, p. 205). Like the situation escalates until they physically harm some-
many of the research articles have pointed out, this too, one they probably deeply love. I find that to be the most
is a learned behavior. disturbing and confusing element of domestic violence.
Although it is widely recognized that domestic vio- In almost all cases, the offender abuses those who look
lence is a widespread problem affecting both genders, to them for love and support. While domestic violence is
all races, and all social classes, we seem to be light years prevalent in society there are ways in which we can help
away from finding a solution. The answer is not found in alleviate the problem and try to put a stop to it before we
a “one-size fits all” mentality. Our current laws work to those we love are hurt.
enforce the safety of the victim of the abuser, yet we still
hear of many instances where the victim was later killed
by her abuser. At what point do we forgive the victim,
who, acting out of raw, primal fear for her life, takes the
life of her abuser? Why aren’t the many social programs collen peace is a junior in criminal justice.

vol. 1 no. 1  PB&J  •  25

The Impact of Domestic Violence on Society

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