Domestic violence is a serious issue in today’s society that is often overlooked. It affects people of all ages, races, and sexes, yet still not many people know anything about it. There are many different types of Domestic violence in families. They include: child abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and physical abuse. All of which are very traumatic for the victims involved.

Child abuse is one of the top types of violence that is often left unknown. The reason it is never reported is because often, the child being abused is scared to tell an authority. In many cases the abuser would threaten the child. In other cases the abuser would tell the child that it was their fault they were being beaten. After being told something like this the child is scared for their own safety if anyone were to find out their secret, so they do not tell anyone about what is going on in their lives. Some cases of child abuse are taken to the extreme and a young person ends up dead. Of all the child murder cases 61% of the time the mother is the murderer. The statistics are scary, but until the kids who are being abused are brave enough to tell someone about their problem it will never change.

Sexual abuse is the second highest type of violence that is left untold. In this case the victim is often too embarrassed to tell someone, or in many cases they feel that they may have somehow lead the person on and that is why the incident or incidents occurred. Sexual abuse is described as any kind of sexual contact or communication that leaves the person feeling violated, hurt, or violated. You may ask what provokes violator to do such a thing? Many studies show that 33% of the offenders had been sexually abused as a child. This means that they learned of the abuse when they were younger and maybe thought that was the only way to do it. This can be a real problem and lead to very dangerous outcomes.

The third type of domestic violence in families is emotional abuse. This is where one person in the family verbally abuses someone else. They would say things that would lead the person to believe they are worthless or are not good enough for anyone. This type of abuse causes no physical harm but is very damaging to the victim’s self-conscience. There are not a lot of people that report these types of abuse cases, but there are more reported than with the child abuse cases and the sexual abuse cases. When people do not report in this case they are usually not for sure that what they are receiving is an actual form of violence or abuse.

The forth and final type of domestic violence is physical abuse in the family. It is where one person, usually a spouse, is physically beating their partner. Child abuse also falls into this category. It is important to remember in these cases that women are not the only victims of physical abuse. Men are also often victims. This may seem unlikely because men are usually the taller and stronger of the spouses. In one survey 18.6% of the men interviewed reported being abused by their spouse, while only 12% of the women interviewed reported being abused by their spouse. This proves the statement that it does not matter what sex, age, or race you are to be a victim of domestic violence.

In conclusion, there are different kinds of domestic violence, but all kinds are very hurtful and damaging to a family and it’s members. To stop the violence you must make sure facts and information about violence in homes are well publicized. If they are not the statistics will never change and the amount of domestic violence cases we are seeing today will never drop. There are, however, several ways to get help if you are a victim of domestic violence or know someone who is. You can either tell a school authority, police, or call a hotline specially made to help people in distress. Hopefully soon we can decrease or eliminate the domestic violence occurring in families all around the world.

Bibliography

Bringar, Jerry L. Breaking Free from Domestic Violence. Atlanta: Hazelden

Information Education, July 1992.

Cook, Philip W. Abused Men. Boston: Praeger Publishing Trade, October 1997.

Pryke, Julie and Thomas, Martin. Domestic Violence and Social Work. USA: Ashgate

Publishing company, September 1998.

http://mypage.goplay.com/TADV/

http://www.famvi.com/factstat.htm

http://www.vix.com/pub/men/battery/stats/smiller-collex.html

Word Count: 707