User:Raymondt4/Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is not a pleasant topic to discuss; however it is important to know the definition of it and who may experience it. Domestic violence does not only affect a certain type of person in a certain type of situation. It may take place in an ordinary home in an ordinary neighbourhood among an ordinary family. The result of such abuse can physically, emotionally and mentally affect a person. In a severe situation it may also lead to serious injury or death. Lynda Gibbons noted the definition of domestic violence as per Kearns, Coen and Canavan that “Domestic violence refers to the use or threat of physical, sexual or emotional force by spouses, partners, relatives or anyone else with a close relationship with their victims”. Kathleen Baird further references that as per the World Health Organization in 2002 “International research carried out since the early 1970s has shown that in every country where large-scale reliable studies have been conducted, 10 to 50 per cent of women have reported suffering physical violence from an intimate partner at some time in their lifetime”. In further defining domestic violence Gibbons outlines physical abuse as per Boursnell and Prosser to “ involve slapping, kicking, hitting, punching, burning or scalding, use of weapons or destruction of property; it often results in injury and can lead to death”. Through effective research Baird has noted that according to the World Health Organization in 2004, “Each year, 520,000 people (1,400 per day) die around the world as a result of interpersonal violence”. Gibbons states that sexual abuse as described by Boursnell and Prosser is “forcing people to watch or act out pornography, the denial of contraception, non-consensual sexual contact or rape”. According to Mellor and Deering “Until relatively recently female-perpetrated child sexual abuse has been largely disregarded within both academic and public arenas” however; Mellor and Deering further elaborate that according to Allen, 1991; Denov, 2001 “Prevalence rates vary according to source (e.g. child protection agencies, community samples, mental health service users, case studies),but it has been revealed that female-perpetrated child sexual abuse occurs at significantly higher rates than was previously believed”. Gibbons discusses emotional abuse as defined by Boursnell and Prosser to “ involve name-calling, humiliation, threats, intimidation, isolation from friends or families, denial of basic needs or financial access, or passive control involving, for example, threats to self-harm or commit suicide”. In taking note of who may experience domestic violence Gibbons cites that, Kearns et al. state that domestic violence “occurs among people of all social classes, age groups, ethnic groups and cultures; among disabled and able-bodied people; and in homosexual and heterosexual relationships”.