A Preliminary Understanding: Domestic Violence

A Preliminary Understanding: Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is one of the global issues in this century. Public awareness towards this particular issue has to be made and yet to create a brief and concise understanding for a better future. Hence, this article are specially made to nurture and instil sense of awareness towards the domestic violence issue and role as an individual, community and helping practitioner in dealing with it. 

Domestic Violence: What and Who?

            Domestic violence is a vulnerable threat and act causes harm to others in a growing relationship (Amundsen, 2009). Same studies also clarify that domestic violence often occurs in the institution of family and other private circle of relationship. Moreover, it also shows that perpetrators are among their partner, ex-partner, spouse, ex-spouse or family member, which makes domestic violence different from any other violence. Domestic violence mostly affects the abused person in terms of physical, psychological, financial and sexual (Isdal as cited in Amundsen, 2009; Trevillion, Agnew-Davies, & Howard, 2013).

            Nowadays, domestic violence is simply known as social and health issues that emphasizes on the violent relationship (Etheridge, Gill, & McDonald, 2014). Violent relationship indicates any behaviour that affects physically, psychologically, financially and sexually of abused person. Boyle and Yong (2010) emphasizes domestic violence can negatively affects any women or men from any demographic background (as cited in Allard, 2013). In fact, children can also simply being affected by these unhealthy behaviours, even they are not personally abused or witness such violent. Direct or indirect exposure towards the violence leaves harms towards particular child’s health and developmental process. Children are very sensitive towards their environment and they can socially observed and learned any of the behaviour they seen (Geldard & Geldard, 2010). Therefore, it is the utmost necessity that every people around the globe to be aware about the domestic violence and take the further step to explore the prevention towards creating  peaceful and harmony works of life.

            Prevalence of Domestic Violence

            Domestic violence is seldom discussed and reported into which makes it difficult to entirely understand the enormity of this foremost problem. World Health Organization [WHO] (2014) reports that globally signify 35% of women worldwide have experienced intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime. On the other hand, one out of every four women will experience domestic violence once in their lifetime (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence [NCADV], 2011). On the same reports, domestic violence seen to be the major cause of injury to women which more than the combination of car accidents, muggings and rapes. In fact, in Malaysia, study has shown about 39% of women experience domestic violence and abuse from their spouse or partner (Norasikin, 2002). From the statistics shown, it has to be the public concern on helping the abused person arises above the abusive relationship. The communities should be provided with clear information and nurtured with the understanding as well as the awareness towards this vulnerable matter.

Domestic Violence: Four Broad Types of Abuse

Domestic violence may occur on several reasons and among them are extreme jealous on partner, mental health problem, lack of religious education, economic problem and misunderstanding in marriage relationship (Nor Shafiza Shoaib, 2011). Therefore, four broad types of abuse in domestic violence will focus on the physical, psychological, financial and sexual abuse.

Physical Abuse in Domestic Violence

Constantly hitting, kicking, punching, slapping and hurting other physical parts of human are consider as physical abuse (Trevillion et al., 2013). Moreover, obstructing human physical and important needs such as eating, drinking and sleeping are also one of the physical abuses (Abu Bakar, Mohd Haniff, Madanian, & Abd Ghani, 2008). Same study also claims pressure undergone by the abused person will cause them to have depression as well as attempting to suicide and wounding themselves. Turnage, Jacinto, and Kirven (2003) study shows people that lives in abusive relationship may traumatized for a very long time even they have survive from it. It is so hard for them to face the reality life and creating a new and healthy relationship in the future if they are not cure very well. Hence, helping practitioner should come up with appropriate intervention and treatment plan in order to deal with this matter.

Psychological Abuse in Domestic Violence

Emotionally threatened and bringing down women’s dignity also leave same adverse impact like physical abuse because it highly influence women’s self-value, feeling as well as the capacity to control their own life (Abu Bakar et al., 2008). Self-value is important in finding individual true self-worth that balancing love and power because both are important needs in human life (Aron, 2010). Apart from that, psychological abuse can cause depression, anxiety and stress to the abused person. Aron (2010) states abused person need to identify their own self-protections and learn new and healthy ways of coping in order to uncover the trauma and shift it to a new and positive perspective.

Financial Abuse in Domestic Violence

            Refusal to contribute to family financial, taking absolute control over family financial decisions and depriving spouse bank account or credits are all related to the financial or economic abuse (Trevillion et al., 2013). Financial needs is highly known as one of the basic needs in human life, hence, it would leave certain negative impact towards someone who had been experience this matter. In addition, some individual who has been restricted from obtaining a job also consider as financial abuse (Abu Bakar et al., 2008). Impacts on this matter can cause someone to live in depressed and stressed. Depression and stress can cause several psychology issues which need to be concern and cure as possible. Attending financial and stress management programme can bring positive impact towards this matter. Moreover, having a complimentary decision between spouse or partner also can be used as a tool to achieve a healthy relationship (Goldenberg & Goldenberg, 2013).

            Sexual Abuse in Domestic Violence

            Forced prostitution and pornography, refusal to have safe sex, rape and forced to have hardcore sex life that hurts spouse or partner are all related to sexual abuse (Trevillion et al., 2013; Abu Bakar et al., 2008). Once again, sex is known as one of the basic needs in human life. People are seeking for pleasure, but for some reason sex can be very abusive to someone when the individual felt hurt by the particular sexual activities. In some countries, talking about the sexual life is a taboo and against the cultural and social norms (WHO, 2010, 2012). In addition, any individual that had been sexually abused usually refuse to disclose about the matter as it is a shameful topic to discuss or disclose in public. Hence, helping professional need to concern and learn how to deal with this major broad of abuse in domestic violence.     

            Family System: Domestic Violence and Children Developmental Process

            Domestic violence directly portrayed negative impact towards the family system. Kitzmann, Gaylord, Holt, and Kenny (2003) study shows that children learned negative behaviour from observing the violence that happen in their particular family system. Parental behaviour highly influences children developmental process. Children are very flexible and easy to shape in terms of behaviour (Geldard & Geldard, 2010). Children that live in a family system show dysregulated aggression from an early age that later contribute to continuing the legacy of abuse when they reach adulthood (Kitzmann et al., 2003; Schecter al., 2007). Moreover, children that directly exposed to domestic violence and other forms of abuse significantly had higher risk of developing mental and physical health problems. In fact, it will increase the chances of the children having behavioural and psychological problems such as aroused aggressiveness, anxiety and altering the way children socializes with friends and family (Dodd, 2009). Same study also highlighted that the children might have problems with attitude and cognition in schools such as lack of problem solving and decision making skills. Hence, it highly impacts on children developmental process in terms of psychological, social, behavioural and cognitive. 

Helping Culturally Diverse of Abused Person Arises from the Abusive Relationship

            As mentioned before, domestic violence is the major global issues happen in the world, so the abused person or individual can varies from different countries or places around the world. Different countries and places around the world will obviously concern towards the diversity of culture. The diversity of culture will have to be explored by highly understanding their cultural and social norms context. Cultural and social norms context may manipulate particular individual behaviour such as what triggers violence and what are considered “suitable” responses towards violence (Vandello & Cohen, 2003). For examples, some cultural norms emphasizes that it has to be the men right to discipline a woman’s behaviour and it has to be the women responsibility to tolerate violence in order to keep a marriage together (WHO, 2010, 2012). Importantly, many of the cultural norms indicate about discussing domestic violence to strangers or other person specifically to the helping practitioner is a taboo. Therefore, the helping practitioner must understand the cultural and social norms context of culturally diverse individual very well. Moreover, the differences and diversities of culture have to be seen in the positive perspective as the uniqueness of every individual in perceiving within their social and cultural norms. In fact, the helping practitioner may professionally develop good skills of multicultural counselling competency (MCCs) in dealing with this matter (Aga Mohd Jaladin, 2013).

             Sue’s et al. study (as cited in Aga Mohd Jaladin, 2013) asserted that MCCs as beliefs and attitudes of the counsellor in handling the culturally diverse group of client. Moreover, knowledge of with regards to the cultural background of the particular group of client and skills of the helping practitioner in constructing his or her treatment plan while facing them must be professionally possess theoretically and practically.

Belief and attitude of the practitioner is important in developing the MCCs as it happens to increase the way of perceiving the issues arouse by the culturally diverse group of client. Besides, practitioner must possess better understanding regarding some cultures by instilling proper knowledge towards reading and researching proper cultural background, so that, they can prepare themselves to face reality. Moreover, they must also have proper skills in handling the culturally diverse group of client. The skills can be sharpen through lifelong learning by doing research towards some cultures, doing proper reading with regards to the multicultural counselling issues and going through other researchers written journal or research on multicultural issues.

Hence, helping practitioner are said to be one step further in handling the culturally diverse group of client or specifically helping the abused individual arises from the abusive relationship by integrating the MCCs in their respective session and treatment plan (Aga Mohd Jaladin, 2013).

Domestic Violence: Past, Present and Future

            In a nutshell, domestic violence is seen to be the vulnerable issues from the past until present. In fact, not only women are meant to be abused but men as well (WHO, 2010, 2012). Abusive relationship can be harmful towards individual way of perceiving their comfort life. Some individual who had experienced abusive relationship in the past are seen to be very depressed and afraid of creating a new relationship in their present life (Turnage et al., 2003). Same studies also explain that these particular individuals are traumatized by the past violence. In addition, the intervention of self-forgiveness has been used to shift their self-definition by forgiving and eliminating harsh judgments towards themselves. Hence, from the intervention programme, they can really understand themselves and comfort their own feelings and able to equipped them to accept and create another future of healthy relationship.

References

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Prepared by:

1. Mohd Saizam Bin Said (31254)

2. Nurul Syafiqa Babah (38307)

3. Norsyuhadah Abd Aziz (39578)