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Violence/Abuse

Domestic Violence

Domestic violence cuts across all income brackets, races and cultures, and is the leading cause of injury to women ages 15 to 44. It encompasses all acts of violence against women within family or intimate relationships. It is an issue of increasing concern because it has such a negative effect on all family members, especially children. Domestic violence is not confined to any one socioeconomic, ethnic, religious, racial, or age group – and it may be physical abuse or psychological abuse – or both. Physical abuse usually happens repeatedly and increases in both frequency and severity over time. Although most assaults on women do not result in death, they do result in physical injury and severe emotional distress. Frequently, women do not report physical injuries and many remain unrecognized or unacknowledged by professionals. Please tell your physician. He or she can help.

Psychological abuse of women is underestimated, trivialized, and at times difficult to define. Psychological abuse has been reported by abused women to be as damaging as physical abuse because of its impact on the self-image of the victim. It often happens before or at the same time as physical abuse, but it may happen by itself.

Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women in the United States, where they are more likely to be assaulted, injured, raped or killed by a male partner than by any other type of assailant. About 20% of women in this country have been involved with abusive partners at some point in their lives. It is a very common problem and should be taken very seriously. Even with these estimates, accurate information on the extent of domestic violence is difficult to obtain because many women do not report it. However, it is estimated that as many as four million instances of domestic abuse against women occur every year in the U.S. About one-fourth of women seeking care in an emergency room have injuries from domestic assaults.

Some of the identified causes of domestic violence include the desire for power and control on the part of the attacker, the attacker having grown up in a cycle of violence and abuse, and the attacker having a distorted concept of manhood. Whatever the cause, it is critical to know that abuse is not the woman’s fault. Causes for violence are many, but the blame certainly does not lie on the shoulders of the woman being abused. Often, substance abuse is involved in domestic violence. Over half of the people accused of murdering their spouses and almost half of the victims of spousal murders were drinking alcohol at the time of the offense.