Essay Example on Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse

When one hears of the words domestic violence and sexual abuse, one can first perceive them as negative actions against some group of individuals. Ideally, this words are negative and involve actions that should be eliminated in the society today, and the victims of such actions are convicted perhaps in a court of law (Healey, 1996, p. 400). Everyone in the society who has been a victim of this acts always seek for nothing else than justice, and this, therefore, calls for a need for the justice department to be firm and impose strict penalties on the offenders of this actions (Healey, 1996, p.444).

Domestic Violence

Domestic violence can be equated to family abuse. It is a situation that involves a code of behaviour that is accompanied by violence by one individual against the other in the society or a domestic setup. One of the main reasons for domestic violence is for superiority reasons. One group of people feel like they should be controlling the other people in the society. We should note that, in case of resistance of the group perceived to be inferior or the set of people to be controlled, the individuals that feel like they should be exercising power against the other resort to some of the unlawful actions. These actions may include use of threats, physical and sexual abuse among other unfair means of acquisition of power (Floric, 2012, p. 56).

After instilling fear and threat to this section of individuals in the society, the threatened group then surrender and give in to be controlled. Ideally, domestic violence affects most of the societies today if not all, moreover, domestic violence does not discriminate, and it affects everyone regardless of the social status, age, gender, religion and nationality that one belongs to (Floric, 2012, p. 77). Notably, some of the effects of domestic violence which can be both long term and short term include physical injuries, trauma and even death. It is worth noting that there exists a variation on how domestic violence exists in a relationship but some of the control acts that can be abusive involve: exercising full control of all resources especially finances used by different families and demanding accountability for the finances used as wee. Moreover, abuses that are attributed to emotional feeling like name calling and shamming is also an example of control actions (Floric, 2012, p. 101).

Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse is also referred to sexual assault, and these words are being used interchangeably. It refers to a forced sexual involvement or contact without consent of one of the partners. Sexual abuse is unlawful because it arises because a victim was subjected to some threats, was performed through application of some physical force. Mutual consent of both the partners to sexual contact is important and to define consent; it is to agree to the act that is yet to be done by giving a clear yes. Notably, a victim consenting to the act of unwanted sex just for the sake to rescue his or her life should not be treated as consent, and the wrongdoer should be arraigned in a court of law and charged with sexual assault (Healey, 2005, p. 45)

Perpetrators that are involved in sexual abuse are not seeking sexual satisfaction and pleasure, but instead, their primary goal is to cause humiliation, harm, control and intimidation of the minority. Just like domestic violence, everyone can be a victim of sexual abuse regardless of social class, age, gender and economic status that one may have in the society. Sexual abuse includes harassment, incest, rape, molestation, forced sex and oral sex.we should work together and be our brother's keeper and be aware of the dangers and threats that we are exposed to in the society, and appropriate preventive measures are undertaken. Appropriate policies and services need to be put in place so that these two practices can be abolished across the globe today.

How Marginalised Groups are Affected by Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse

The extent of which the minorities and marginalised groups are being affected by these unwanted actions is agonizing because it includes both short and long-term effects. Victims of domestic violence and have successfully survived the act are exposed to many challenges in life (Hoyle, 2000, p. 200).These challenges come as a result of the endurance they have undergone during the process and not forgetting emotional and mental molestation. Similarly, it can take a substantial time for the survivor of domestic violence to change and live in a safe environment. In addition to this, the pain the survivor underwent can be so severe and the healing period can as well be long and hence hindering the victim from performing some of the regular domestic chores.

Just to mention, some of the consequences of domestic violence include fatigue that occurs in the chronic of the victim, muscle tension, the victim may experience changes in sleeping and eating habit. Moreover, the victim experiences sexual dysfunction, and in women, it affects the menstrual cycle and fertility issues.These consequences can be categorised based on some groups on how they affect the victim. First, we will have a look at the most frequent emotional and spiritual effect of domestic violence (Hoyle, 2000, p. 221).These effects are hopelessness in that the victim is feeling like there is no value in life or he is not worth living, the inability of the survivor to trust anybody and handling unmotivated.

Effects of Domestic Violence On Children

Children are witnessing domestic violence, especially in their families. For instance when one of the parents is abusing the other in the presence of the child.Most of the children who experience domestic violence at home in many cases feel that they are the ones responsible for such acts and therefore are the ones to blame. What comes to one mind when we see the phrase domestic violence on children? We saw pictures of bruises, injuries and burned body parts of a child. The physical injuries are the immediate consequences of domestic abuse, but a clear line should be drawn between the children who experience domestic violence and children who witness domestic violence (Hoyle, 2000, p. 234).

The effects of domestic violence can be further extended to those who have witnessed these acts especially the children. It is worth to note that it does not matter whether the children have undergone this abuse or they have just witnessed, what matters is that it will take a great toll as they grow and develop. The children will think of this scenario as they grow and this may not impact positively on the part of the childs growth and development. Domestic violence survivors are not secluded to their close partners. Many children are at a greater risk of emotional and mental behavioural issues notwithstanding whether they were directly molested or not. The effects on children include too much anxiety, depression, fear and academic problems.

Effects of Domestic Violence on Women

Most of the effects of domestic violence are experienced by women. Women, who live in the ecosystem where domestic violence is the order of the day, are exposed to an increased risk due to the tumultuous environment in which they live (Floric, 2012, p. 412). Women who have survived domestic violence may, in the long run, have a reduced ability to take care of their children and their actual existence. Consequences of domestic violence on women are beyond the physical injuries they have undergone in the hands of the wrongdoer or the abusers. Women mostly suffer from psychosomatic illness, disorders in consuming food, generalised chronic pain and serious mental issues such as post-traumatic stress disorders. Many of the women who have survived domestic violence may experience difficulty in functioning as before the incident occurred. They will eventually lose their employment since they cant perform similarly; they feel not worth living and feeling of low self-worthiness in the society. In the end, these women become secluded from their loved friends and close families.

Consequences of Sexual Abuse on Women

The effects of sexual abuse on women can take different forms in that some will last only for a shorter period while some may take many years after the occurrence of the incident. The most common physical and mental effects of sexual abuse on women include women consuming drinks such as alcohol and drugs to ease their emotional pain and suffering. Moreover, women that have survived sexual abuse resort to some means of harming themselves by cutting themselves and may end up committing suicide. In addition to this, the victim will be fond of sitting lonely and flashbacking on the incident every time and then. Other effects include eating disorders, sleeping difficulties and bad memories (Floric, 2012, p. 414).

Response to Marginalised Communities with the Relevant Policies and Practices

Different policies and practices have been put in place to curb the incidences of sexual abuse and domestic violence. The government, associations and different groups that are non-governmental have placed strict laws to those who have been found to be the fault of abusing the marginalised groups. The policies and practices are in place, but the big question is that, how do we respond to this policies? It becomes the responsibility of every person to be his or her brother keeper, and we should report to the relevant justice authority in case we witness situations of sexual abuse and domestic violence in our neighbours sphere. Response of different groups will be analysed separately (Hoyle, 2000, p. 441)

Response to Policy toward Domestic Violence

The police department has been entrusted as the first group that most of the individual expects to respond to the cases of domestic violence. Police are often seen as the next department that should respond to domestic violence. There exist several ways in which the police can respond to domestic violence and sexual abuse. The first way of response is arresting the abuser of domestic violence and sexual abuse, they can resort to referrals, separation, medication and they may take no actions at all. However, the police have much resorted to arresting as a way of the response as compared to other ways as they see as the most effective ways of handling the wrongdoers. Many of the police department all over the globe have greatly resorted to a must arrest policy as a result of increased incidences of domestic violence (Hoyle, 2000, p. 452).

There are theoretical approaches that exist between police relationship to arrest the offenders of domestic abuse. One of the theoretical approaches is the interactionism theory. This approach involves police officers decision to apprehend suspects of sexual abuse and domestic violence. Before a police officer can arrest the suspect, some of the considerations have to be taken into account like the situational variables that may exist at the time of an event. Such review includes the extent of the injury that the victim has sustained and the police officers policing ideals (Hoyle, 2000, p. 541). Also, an officers decision to arrest a wrongdoer also depends on certain factors as the attitude of the police officer at the time of the incidence. The police officer should apprehend the offender and not cause any further injury to the offender and instead direct the victim to the police station.

Domestic violence and sexual abuse have been found to be contributing to the largest group of police officers call in many countries today. It is important to know that when police officers respond to domestic violence and sexual abuse, they are aware that the situation can be both worse for them as the victim that has been abused. This is because many police officers have encountered attacks from the offenders that have ev...