PREVENTING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 5
PreventingDomestic Violence
PreventingDomestic Violence
Onemorning, I was happy that the Jacaranda seeds my friend Nick and Isowedin our seedbeds had germinated and almost two inches above theground. I run to his home to break the good news to him, only to beheartbroken when I reached their home. Nick’s family was not livingthere anymore, and the house was empty. I asked Mrs. Parker, theirneighbor who told me that Nick’s father came home late two days agoand started a fight, breaking his wife’s legs and spilling hotcoffee on his little daughter. The wife and young girl weretakento the hospital, and he wasarrestedwhile Nick and his other siblings ended up in their grandparent’shome in Texas. I never saw Nick again. Thisisnot the first time the father behaved violently, and neither is thisthe first home in America to be torn apart by domestic violence. TheNational Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) records morethan ten million victims of violence every year (“NationalStatistics for Domestic Violence,” 2016). Consequently, thesevictims suffer psychological disorders, medical complications, andlack of food and shelter. Preventionof domestic violence is important not only to reduce increasingnumber of cases but also to protect the most vulnerable gender andthe rights of children.
Onereason for addressing domestic violence is to reduce the increasingcases of violence in American society today. In my community, manyhomes have been experiencing the effect of domestic violenceincluding my Uncle John’s family. There are several times his wifeSandra and children have come home crying late at night. At one timeI overheard her telling my mother that “he came home drunk andstarted abusing before hitting me in front of the children.” I hateviolent people, and that is the reason Uncle John and I do not getalong together. Moreover, a survey by National Crime Victimizationlooked into the statistics between 2003 and 2012 and discovered thatdomestic violence has increased by more than 56 percent (Leins,2015). Also in this study, the cases of violence between spouses or agirlfriend and boyfriend were higher than those between siblings orparents and children. Such increase interprets into increasedconsequences leading to declined living standard, health, andeducation progress.
Anotherreason for preventing domestic violence is to elevate the status ofthe most vulnerable gender and age groups in the community. Women andyoung girls are the most vulnerable when violence occur in thefamily. Evidently, NCADV report in 2016 established that one in everythree women is a current victim of domestic violence, unlike one in agroup of six men (“National Statistics for Domestic Violence,”2016). In line with this, Leins (2015) establishes that young girlssuffer violence from parents, brothers and also male relatives suchas uncles. In this case, females are more vulnerable than the males,thereby necessitating special focus to elevate and empower them.
Finally,gender violence leads to violation of children`s right to shelter,education, parental care and medical attention. Also, a significantnumber of children become orphans when one or both parents die inevents of violence. For instance, in most fatal incidences, theperpetrator murders the whole family before killing themselves(“National Statistics for Domestic Violence,” 2016). Such natureand impacts of domestic violence require implementation of policiesin government sectors such as education, health, crime, and justiceto ensure human rights aresafeguarded.
Inconclusion, prevention of domestic violence is important to reducethe high rate of cases of violent crimes, protect the women andgirls, and ensure that important rights of children areprotected.The reason for this is that domestic violence has left many people inAmerica in compromised situations of lack, disabilities, and death.Moreover, children’s education and medical needs are at risk sinceone parent may not adequately finance them once domestic violencecause separation or divorce. Personally, I have lost best friends andsaddened by the news of a physically abused relative. I would noteven imagine how my life would be if parents become violent, leadingto a familybreakup. However, these implications canbe preventable through design and development of policies that areeffective in addressing issues within the family contexts. In myopinion, the government, schools, and hospitals should enforcepolicies that can even help detect and reports events of violence inthe community to help reduce future incidences, protect both womenand girls, and restore the rights of children.
References
Leins,C. (2015). SoberingStats for Domestic Violence Awareness Month.U.S.News.Retrieved 10 January 2017, fromhttp://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2015/10/09/sobering-stats-for-domestic-violence-awareness-month
NationalStatistics for Domestic Violence.(2016). Ncadv.org.Retrieved 10 January 2017, fromhttp://ncadv.org/learn-more/statistics
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