Poverty and Domestic Violence

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Perspective

This particular paper delves into my point of view regarding poverty and domestic violence. Initially, I did not correlate poverty and domestic violence as a single issue. I thought that it was either one or the other when it comes to social work cases.

Unfortunately, this was not the case as I observed from both firsthand experience and from relevant literature on the issue that poverty is often one of the factors behind domestic violence at home.

It is based on this that this paper will delve into the issue of poverty and domestic violence wherein I will incorporate my views on both issues with the information found in various academic literature.

It is expected that at the end of this paper, I will be able to showcase the implications of how this topic has changed by views regarding social work and what must be done in order to adjust to this “new landscape” that has been revealed to me.

Learning about the Connection between Violent Crime and Poverty

Initially, I knew about the connection between crime and poverty wherein the latter was often the result of the former due to some people being pushed to the brink and doing all that they could to survive.

To ensure that such a point was valid, I delved into various studies investigating the reasons and origins of violent crime and learned that areas with low income thresholds actually are more prone to cases of violent crime, robberies and property theft as compared to higher income neighborhoods (Costello, Chung & Carson 2005).

The reason behind such instances was simple, as incomes continue to decrease people become increasingly desperate leading to a situation that encourages the propensity for crime.

So as to better understand crime from a “small town perspective” which will most likely be the areas that I will operate in within the immediate future, I delved in the criminal history surrounding Johnstown, PA which is noted for its growing crime rates and repeated instances of domestic violence.

An examination of the data from the Johnstown area, specifically from the 15901 area code reveals that 42.6% of the residents live below the poverty line in this particular neighborhood with 19.8% of that population achieving incomes 50% below the poverty line.

In conjunction with data I uncovered, statistics of the crime rate in the Johnstown area showed that as of 2008 there were 42 instances of robberies, 212 burglaries, 501 thefts and 43 cases of auto thefts (Costello, Chung & Carson 2005).

While such numbers are largely insignificant compared to a major metropolitan city such as Chicago, L.A., Austin or Las Vegas where there are millions of residents, I noted that the population of Johnstown, PA is composed of 5,539 individuals.

The current U.S. crime index average is set at 319.2; a comparison to the crime index of Johnstown shows the following crime index averages from 2004 to 2008:

2004	406.8
2005	366.6
2006	363.8
2007	351.4
2008	305.2

Crime Index Stats

While the data reveals a continuous drop in the overall crime rate in Johnstown over the past four years, what it does show is that the crime index attributed to the city only just recently fell below the average crime index of 319.2 with its highest point reaching 406.8.

Not only that, the U.S. crime index average is set for populations exceeding 100,000; in the case of zip code 15901 in Johnstown the population barely exceeds 5,000 with the total Johnstown population just slight going beyond 20,000 as such this shows that the crime rate in Johnstown is far higher than the national norm.

As I mentioned earlier, one of my points of view is that there is a distinct connection between income rate and the propensity for crime, however, in this paper what I am trying to delve into is that from the perspective of a social worker, crime is not limited to robberies or murders, rather, it extends to instances of domestic abuse which Johnstown, PA has been noted as having the highest in the country.

From this perspective, I assume that since economic conditions often lead to criminal behavior, this can also be true wherein such factors could also lead to domestic violence (Harrison and Melville 2010).

Domestic Violence

As I discovered, one of the primary reasons behind issues related to domestic violence cases comes in the form of job loss for men.

In the case of Johnstown, several cases of domestic violence can actually be related to the prevalence of the healthcare industry in the city itself wherein 33% of the women within the city are employed by that particular industry (Lindhorst, Casey & Meyers 2010).

As a result of the recent financial crisis, various men lost their manufacturing and retail jobs due to a distinct lack of consumer buying behavior. On the other hand, various women within the city itself were able to retain most of their healthcare jobs due to the need for well trained healthcare professionals.

While most individuals may think that this particular state of affairs is perfectly fine since at least one spouse has a job, the fact remains that it is in situations such as this that the prevalence of domestic violence cases increases.

As I learned investigating issues directly related to domestic violence, I noticed that in various studies it was mentioned that men often create a sense of identity around the role of the “provider”, it becomes an indelible part of their psychological profile and an actual part of how they perceive their identities to be (Patrick, Cook & McKenzie 2008).

In cases where the husband in the family loses his job yet the woman retains hers the result has been described as a “loss of identity” wherein an integral part of their character profile no longer exists.

While there are various mechanisms behind this behavior and their inherent result the most common are sudden bouts of depression brought on by the shame of being jobless and the fact that the wife is now the primary provider of the family (Engels, Nissim & Landvogt 2012).

Based on the various lessons I have learned in this course, I can say with certainty that without intervention this behavior will definitely continue to escalate till it reaches a point where the depression becomes resentment and this in turn causes cases of domestic violence wherein the husband lashes out as a result of a combination of pride, anger and resentment (Porter and Trezise 2006).

Such cases have actually become quite common in various states throughout the U.S and continue to grow as a result of the global economic recession which has yet to fully abate (Allen & Raghallaigh 2013).

Another factor that I have come to consider when it comes to social work interventions and domestic violence is the fact that income, as mentioned earlier, plays a vital role in interactions within various households.

Through various sources, I learned that even in cases where the husband is the primary breadwinner and his wife does not have a job there are still instances of domestic violence due to the lack of income acting as a trigger to the violence.

It must be noted that not all cases of domestic violence are isolated to being caused by men, nearly 40% of all domestic violence cases actually have the man as the victim with the woman lashing out with physical force often seriously injuring their spouse in the process (Aizer 2011).

After investigating the relation of income to case of domestic violence within households, I was able to see that one of the primary stresses placed on most families are cost of living expenses such as utilities, food, clothing etc., and how the family is to pay for them (Hetling & Zhang 2010).

What is indicated in such cases is that the direct amount of domestic violence to be expected from a certain household is in direct relation to the stability of finances.

While there are various other reasons behind cases of domestic violence and battery the situation at Johnstown clearly shows a higher propensity towards this type of behavior when taking into account the low income level of various individuals and households within the area and the fact that the economic recession has yet to truly abate.

Another factor that I took into consideration is the fact that domestic violence is not isolated to adults but extends to children as well with various cases showing a distinct amount of physical violence direct against children by their parents (Lavalette & Mooney 2000).

The inherent problem with domestic abuse cases is at times they do not stop merely at physical abuse but actually go so far as to actually cause the death of the victim (Evans 2005).

In 2008 alone nearly 125 people died within Pennsylvania as a result of domestic violence with nearly 2,300 victims served in a single day on September by the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (Acevedo, Lowe, Griffin & Botvin 2013).

Based on this data it can be seen that the problem of domestic violence is a growing public health problem that needs to be resolved or reduced in order to protect society from its prevalence.

Changes to Values

Based on my examination on poverty and its connection to domestic violence, I have to say that my initial perspectives were definitely challenged.

I originally thought that domestic violence came about as a result of a behavioral issue, from this investigation I have come to realize that it is often the result of external linkages to poverty that cause it to manifest in certain families.

It is based on this that in the next section, I have utilized my educational experience in order to create a method to address the issue of domestic violence from the perspective of a social worker.

Addressing the Issue of Domestic Violence from the Perspective of a Social Worker

One of the methods I thought of to address the problem is the creation of various advocacy groups that aim to assist people experiencing cases of domestic abuse such as the Pennsylvania Coalition against Domestic Violence.

What these groups do is help victims of domestic violence escape their spouses or families and give them a form of half way house in order to help them stay away from their family member or spouse.

They would also provide various forms of psychiatric services from social workers so as to help mitigate the emotional damage done by a case of domestic abuse.

What this does for women is that it gives them the ability to “breath” so to speak, to understand that they are being abused and to give them the necessary mental strength to do what needs to be done (Sheppard 2008).

The aim of such coalitions is to help enhance the safety for various families and communities by helping to enact sufficient laws and systems of social change in order to prevent the occurrence of domestic violence.

Such methods have actually resulted in enabling thousands of victims throughout the years deal with problems in relation to battery from domestic violence cases.

Unfortunately, after going over the solution and comparing it to the various lessons I learned from this course is that the inherent problem advocacy solutions such as these is that unlike other cases of violent crimes a majority of domestic abuse cases often go unreported for years or even for a lifetime.

This is due to the fact that most women in such cases often think of what might happen to them financially should their husband all of a sudden wind up in jail.

Other cases involving domestic violence where it is the wife that is working often show that the wife is often unwilling or will not report cases in relation to battery due to a sense of obligation to their spouse.

The problem with these unreported cases is that they have the propensity to increase over time resulting in possibly serious injury or even death in some cases.

After checking various public records, I learned that in 2009 nearly 126 cases of deaths associated with domestic assault were recorded with many of them happening to women.

Based on this it can be stated that another solution needs to be undertaken where women are encouraged to report cases of domestic violence in order to prevent them from getting worse in the future.

Another method I thought of that would help to address the issue would be the use of various information and marketing campaigns through television programs and the internet which specifically target women as victims of sexual assault.

Such programs aim to encourage various women to come forward and report such cases in order to prevent their spouses from causing more problems in relation to domestic violence in the future.

Conclusion

Overall, this investigation has been an eye opener for me when it comes to the issue of poverty and its connection to domestic violence.

The apparent reluctance stemming from social shame is due to the fact that the women in such cases feel that being physically abused by their husbands constitutes a certain degree of shame that they do not want to reveal to the general public (Taket, Foster & Cook 2009).

Apparently being a victim in this case, in their words, makes a person seem weak willed and pathetic as such they would be willing to let the abuse continue rather than have outsiders know about what is going on (Taket, Foster & Cook 2009).

Based on this it can be seen that drastic improvements need to be put into place in order to find a better way to prevent cases of domestic assault.

Reference List

Acevedo, B, Lowe, S, Griffin, K, & Botvin, G 2013, ‘Predictors of Intimate Partner Violence in a Sample of Multiethnic Urban Young Adults’, Journal Of Interpersonal Violence, vol. 28, no. 15, pp. 3004-3022

Aizer, A 2011, ‘Poverty, Violence, and Health’, Journal Of Human Resources, vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 518-538

Allen, M, & Raghallaigh, M 2013, ‘Domestic Violence in a Developing Context: The Perspectives of Women in Northern Ethiopia’, Affilia: Journal Of Women & Social Work, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 256-272

Costello, M, Chung, D, & Carson, E 2005, ‘Exploring alternative pathways out of poverty: making connections between domestic violence and employment practices’, Australian Journal Of Social Issues (Australian Council Of Social Service), vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 253-267

Engels, B, Nissim, R and Landvogt, K 2012, ‘Financial hardship and emergency relief in Victoria’, Australian Social Work, vol. 65, pp. 54-72

Evans, S 2005, ‘Beyond gender: Class, poverty and domestic violence’, Australian Social Work, vol. 58, no. 1, pp. 36-43

Harrison, G and Melville, R 2010, The global economy, poverty and social work: Rethinking social work in a global world 2010, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, pp. 33-50

Hetling, A, & Zhang, H 2010, ‘Domestic Violence, Poverty, and Social Services: Does Location Matter?’, Social Science Quarterly (Wiley-Blackwell), vol. 91, no. 5, pp. 1144-1163

Lavalette, M & Mooney, G 2000, Class struggle and social welfare, Routledge, London.

Lindhorst, T, Casey, E, & Meyers, M 2010, ‘Frontline Worker Responses to Domestic Violence Disclosure in Public Welfare Offices’, Social Work, vol. 55, no. 3, pp. 235-243

Patrick, R, Cook, K, & McKenzie, H 2008, ‘Domestic Violence and the Exemption from Seeking Child Support: Providing Safety or Legitimizing Ongoing Poverty and Fear’, Social Policy & Administration, vol. 42, no. 7, pp. 749-767

Porter, E &Trezise, J 2006, ‘Understanding poverty’, in K Serr (ed.), Thinking about poverty, 3rd edn, The Federation Press, Annandale, pp. 35–48

Sheppard, M 2008, ‘Social work and social exclusion’, Social work and social exclusion: the idea of practice, Ashgate, Aldershot, pp. 27–37.

Taket, A, Foster, N & Cook, K 2009, ‘Understanding processes of social exclusion: silence, silencing and shame’, in A Taket, BR Crisp, A Nevill, G Lamaro, M Graham & S Barter-Godfrey (eds), Theorising social exclusion, Routledge, London, pp. 173–83

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