Socio-economic factors related to domestic violence
Domestic violence can be termed as an abuse of a person by another person in a domestic setup. This domestic setup can be relevant to marriage and events in case of any form of cohabitation. This heinous crime that is committed by people around the world and predominantly on women and children or infants is around the globe affair. An act of domestic violence may be found to be predominant in case of Australia and that around a large section of women and children are experiencing domestic violence. As a fact, this essay will throw light or severe aspects of this issue in order to provide insights of factors owing socio-economic and psychology that affects every sufferer who may be an adult woman or a child.
Domestic violence has almost become an alarming epidemic. It is this kind of violence that affects social structure and largely affects the economy of a family. This economic issue related to such violence vehemently affects a child and women in a family as well as society at large. Present advancement and uplifted thought process or outlook of people in this world, such acts are shockingly unbelievable and does not befit any logic. About time, women have become educated not only academically but in comparison to prior times, more socially and economically aware. Regardless of these factors, women are still subjected to inhuman treatments and forced onto something without their consent by the opposite gender. This or the whole largely affects a mental set up of women that inherently affect their financial status. Thus it can be said that domestic violence affects financial security of women which are both long as well as short term.
This directs impacts their activities related to paying health bills, support and care to children, payment related to debts and employment. As per recent studies, it is found that women who earn money that is below average and likely to suffer more issues regarding domestic violence than women who earn more or equal earning of women in Australia. Thus, this observation may be related to an underlying reason that women with less financial security or suffering from poverty or unemployment are more prone to attacks. It can also be concluded from this fact that perpetrators are able to slyly take advantage of their ailing condition of life like that of homelessness or unemployment. Thus, lower level of socio-economic status of women is or of the chief reasons for predicament of domestic violence.
Events though it is a proven fact, however, it can be considered to be highly debatable (Alcorn, 2016). Owing to the fact that poorer socioeconomic status of women subjects them to more of domestic violence, it is a make belief of a fact to make this crime stand parallel to burglary or slavery. In case, burglars find their targets to be meek they try to steal their stuff by threatening them so does in the case of slavery where the financially weak were made to forcefully work under wealthy people. However, domestic violence is an altogether a different issue which claims for reprisal from victims and rightfully questions perpetrators of their upbringing, motives and general psyche.
Discussion on domestic violence that affects psychological development in childhood or infancy
Domestic violence is defined as a violent act that occurs between people who coexist in a similar habitation or in case of intimate relationships by a National plan for reduction of violence against children as well as women (2010-2022) (Aifs.gov.au, 2018). It includes acts of physical, psychological, sexual, emotional as well as financial abuse. As per reports published, it is found that children who live along with family or domestic violence have increased chances of domestic violence. This form of domestic violence is related to sexual, emotional as well as physical abuse. In this case, such children are sure to suffer from issues with development of social, emotional, behavioural and cognitive factors which can affect their outcomes of education as well as employment. In case real figures are considered then sources reveal that people who are aged between 12 to 20 years are witnesses with suffering of violence which mark their percentage to up to 23 percent (Aph.gov.au, 2018). Around 42 percent of people have witnessed that their mothers and stepmothers have succumbed to domestic violence (Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, 2018).
Specifically considering the status quo of children it is found that around 1 million Australian children are suffering domestic violence (Woodlock, 2017). It is found that infants and children are at highest risks of facing serious consequences of witnessing family or domestic violence. Moreover, if they are personally affected by domestic violence the aftermath of such acts are related to disrupted mental and psychological health of infants and children. As per Coles et al. (2015), children are specifically found to undergo traumatic experiences which leads to a changes mental setup and creating negative impact or mental health and often leads to adopting means that is unsocial (Alcorn, 2016). In most cases, it is found that it is a violent and inhuman act of a father or a partner on another partner that affects the child and creates fear and intimidation that is hard to be removed. As per Braithwaite (2018), research suggests that specialised services, can however, help children to cope up as well, as recover from this situation. These specialized programs are intended at fostering a sound and stable relationship of the mother with their children to handle this sensitive issue.
As per Field (2017), it is to serve this purpose that Commonwealth Government has been over-arching such programs which would help to reduce or mitigate domestic violence occurring nationally. However, in most cases, all issues and programs that are managed for reducing domestic violence are administered by community services of both states as well as territory along with enforcement agencies of health as well as law.
Domestic violence does not only affect women but also children. There are different factors that suggest influencing perpetrators attempt for domestic violence. This may be relevant to temperamental attitude, witnessing violence in family from childhood as well as substance abuse. Elaborating on stated factors it can be said that in most cases, root cause of such an act is temperament. As opined by Parkinson et al. (2017), researcher is of the belief that is an attempt of prolonged thinking about a single issue or event that induces anger and suppressing anger for a long time ruminates into such an act. This period of rumination is due to sudden flush of emotions which is uncontrollable and hence leads to shameful deeds. Another prominent factor is regarding substance abuse that is alcoholism and addiction to drugs which temporarily impairs the psyche of a person. This can be a form of psychological disorder in some cases which affects the victims in a way that leads to creating a greater impact on mental health of children and women.
Factors affecting perpetrators and victims regarding domestic violence
As opined by Wilson et al. (2017), violent behaviour of people that leads to domestic violence at times is due to past experiences of people and finds direct connotation with experiences of domestic violence at a tender age of infancy or childhood. This often reflects or a feeling of repeating a similar act while they are adult. This is because it is often considered by such perpetrators to be a mandate and normalises this to be a matter of fact. Henceforth, it can be inferred it is a probable experience of childhood that have led to developing an outlook that normalises domestic violence and considers it to be a mandate of every household. It is not only a familiar issue that has been witnesses in childhood that leads to developing such a demeanour but also exposure to nearby or neighbouring people. Such p[eop0le are found to induce such aggressive feeling due to they been practicing similar acts of violence as well as oppression.
Factors related to victims may be regarding possession of certain resources or events positive feeling towards wife-beating also victimises more intensely. That is to say that, availability of lesser amount of resources related to money and lack of education affects such women to suffer, however in oftentimes it is lack of awareness that makes such women develop an attitude of accepting it as a normal fact. This leads to occurrence of such issues in most cases. Apart from this, woman who readily accepts patriotism into its veins is found to suffer more. That is such women are made to suffer from such acts as they believe it to be a rightful act for any man to beat a woman.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be said that events though times have even brought in advancement in technology, there are specific things which show primitiveness of outlook of people and to which domestic violence stands out as an exemplary. In Australia, there is the serious dominance of such issued and the government is trying to regulate such acts by plans and laws to mitigate risks of mental health and psychology of both women and children who suffer from domestic violence.
Reference List
Aifs.gov.au(2018) Report—Family, domestic and sexual violence in Australia, 2018 https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/2018/02/28/report-family-domestic-and-sexual-violence-australia-2018
Aifs.gov.au(2018) Risk and protective factors for child abuse and neglect Retrieved from https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/risk-and-protective-factors-child-abuse-and-neglect Retrieved on 15 August 2018
Alcorn, G. (2016) Australians are being told that gender inequality is the root cause of domestic violence. But is it? Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/feb/19/australians-are-being-told-that-gender-inequality-is-the-root-cause-of-domestic-violence-but-is-it Retrieved on 12 August 2018
Aph.gov.au (2018) Domestic Violence in Australia – an Overview of the Issues Retrieved from https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/Publications_Archive/archive/Domviolence Retrieved on 14 August 2018
Braithwaite, J. (2018). Regulation, crime and freedom. Abingdon: Routledge. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=GlJHDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT10&dq=australian+regulation+for+domestic+violence&ots=5W5tt5HmmR&sig=Qv_Cd6v7guAl8-YhPG6YVv0y2sI Retrieved on 15 August 2018
Coles, J., Lee, A., Taft, A., Mazza, D., & Loxton, D. (2015). Childhood sexual abuse and its association with adult physical and mental health: results from a national cohort of young Australian women. Journal of interpersonal violence, 30(11), 1929-1944. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0886260514555270 Retrieved on 16 August 2018
Field, C. (2017, July). The role of the ombudsman in reviewing child deaths and family and domestic violence fatalities. In AIAL Forum (No. 88, p. 48). Australian Institute of Administrative Law. Retrieved from https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=802719792344315;res=IELAPA Retrieved on 12 August 2018
Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov(2018) Changes and socioeconomic factors associated with attitudes towards domestic violence among Vietnamese women aged 15–49: findings from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, 2006–2011 Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4780074/ Retrieved on 12 August 2018
Parkinson, S., Bromfield, L., McDougall, S., & Salveron, M. (2017). Child neglect: Key concepts and risk factors.
Wilson, M., Jones, J., Butler, T., Simpson, P., Gilles, M., Baldry, E., … & Sullivan, E. (2017). Violence in the lives of incarcerated aboriginal mothers in Western Australia. Sage open, 7(1), 2158244016686814.
Woodlock, D. (2017). The abuse of technology in domestic violence and stalking. Violence against women, 23(5), 584-602. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1077801216646277 Retrieved on 11 August 2018