Category: Domestic violence

Abstract

Domestic violence is an issue that has raised concern in the society because of its impact on the affected people. Domestic violence has serious impacts on children. When they grow up in a violent environment, they get affected psychologically and sometimes physically. Men and women also get affected in varying degrees based on the nature of the violence. Ethical behavior is one of the best ways of solving domestic violence in the society. The nurses also need to be ethical when addressing cases of domestic violence. They should know how to handle victims of domestic violence so that the impact of such actions may have less impact on them.

Introduction

Domestic violence is a public health issue that has raised a lot of concern in many health care providing institutions. The need to find a lasting solution to domestic violence is one of the major concerns globally. The impacts of domestic violence have been severely felt across all nations. This issue affects both men and women largely. However, women are at a higher risk of getting affected. According to the World Health Organization, more than a third of the women globally get affected. Domestic violence issue needs to be handled with a lot of concern. When domestic violence occurs, care should be taken when addressing it to avoid any negative impacts. This calls for an understanding of the personal feelings of the nursing by confronting them on their social beliefs, which play a very crucial role in defining how they relate with the patients and other community members. Although the issue has remained unaddressed for long, societies are now putting many efforts towards addressing the matter. Several guidelines have been set to address domestic violence. One of the major initiatives towards addressing this issue is awareness creation. Societies have teamed up in creating awareness on domestic violence and providing some clinical guidelines to improve the institutional response to domestic violence. Despite these efforts, domestic violence has remained a Public health issue that many clinicians have to cope with in their daily routine. However, understanding and solving the problem effectively well does not only improve the health performance but also helps the clinicians develop some prevention strategies.

Health Ethical Issues

According to a report by the International Council of Nurses, violence has been viewed as an issue that is not within the domain of the sector of health (Monagle & Thomasma, 2005). However, the nurses can get the guidelines on how to fight domestic violence and their responsibilities in handling such related cases from the code of ethics. It is an ethical responsibility for the nurses to respect the rights and dignity of other persons. The nurses are expected to be compassionate of their situation irrespective of the condition of their health. This duty must always be fulfilled regardless of whether the nurse or patient is battling with domestic violence. According to Chinn (2009), failure to observe the respect for human rights and dignity is one of the main causes of the problem of domestic violence. Many of these nurses may not be adequately trained on domestic violence. This may limit their ability to handle clients facing domestic violence effectively. To improve the situation, comprehensive training on handling and dealing with domestic violence should be given to the nurses alongside other trainings. This will help them be effective in handling the victims of domestic violence and apply the knowledge when dealing with such issues in their personal lives.

It is ethical that nurses caring for patients facing domestic violence not to withdraw from doing so when the situation is difficult or complex. Johnson (2008) argues that the nurse should always protect the patients life, health, and rights. The nurses are guided by some common guidelines that strictly state on what should be followed by the nurse when handling a patient. He or she should strive to promote health, prevent diseases, and reduce the level of suffering. Based on their limited training they have to depend on their capacities to address the painful issues.

Thirdly, both the ANA and ICN call for the nurses to promote activism and work together with the health professions in enhancing peoples health. All these issues combined with unemployment and racism creates an environment for domestic violence, and the nurses cannot ignore them. The nurses also listen to various societal views and opinions regarding power and gender, which they themselves are formed of. This in one way or the other is a contributor to family violence.

Environmental issues

According to Morrison and Monagle (2009), environmental factors contribute to domestic violence largely. These environmental factors may be those that one experience as he or she grows up or those faced at ones workplace. One such factor is poor housing, which brings issues in the family leading to domestic violence. This factor is always combined with unemployment and poor health care, which may forces one to abandon an intolerant partner. Economic stability as stated by Chinn (2009), reduces domestic violence to certain levels as it includes the improvement in the health care, reduce unemployment and other factors that trigger domestic violence.

Discrimination at work place or in the society in whichever manner attributes to domestic violence. Women may be discriminated on various grounds in the society making them victims of domestic violence. Workplaces and societies should define guidelines that support coexistence and integration of different cultures and gender harmoniously without any form of discrimination. Doing this will not only improve the morale of the employees but also increase the production in the workplace and promote peace in the society.

Legal actions may help when dealing with the issue of domestic violence. This may be in the form of arrest, prosecution, or giving restriction orders to the culprits of domestic violence. This will help those affected get justice from the court of law and give the culprits a chance to reevaluate their actions and reform for the better. This will reduce the cases of domestic violence largely. The laws enforced to address domestic violence should be implemented fully. Those that break these laws should be severely punished to avoid and reduce domestic violence cases.

Chinn (2009) points out that some environmental conditions like lack of resources trigger domestic violence. Providing the resources like shelter, good health care and some spiritual guidance or counseling can be a very effective way of helping the victims resolve their domestic violence issues. The institution of marriage should be observed carefully and any traces of domestic violence should be addressed as soon as possible to avoid its devastating impacts. Davis (1998) argues that men can be the best agents towards addressing the issue of domestic violence. They should be made realize that women are there not to be abused but respected. Men should come out strongly to defend women when they find them being abused in the workplace, markets or parties as a way of reducing chances of domestic violence.

Ethical Decision Model

It is ethically true that issues of domestic violence may not be solved by using the nursing code of ethics. There is a need to come up with a model of framework that helps one analyze the process of decision making to enhance ethical decisions. The model given below may provide a framework upon which ethical decisions are made.

The model showed above shows specific steps that should be taken in order to come up with an ethical model.

Conclusion

Domestic violence is an issue that has been raising concern in the society today. Men, women, and children all suffer from different forms of domestic violence. Domestic violence ranges from simple verbal abuses, to serious physical fights that may result into serious injuries. The problem with this issue is that the society has been ignoring it for a lot time that others consider it normal. From the discussion above, it is clear that domestic violence is an issue that is related to ethical behavior of the perpetrators. It is important to appreciate that when one reasons ethically in every decision he or she is making, then cases of domestic violence will be uncommon in the society. It is important to be rational in order to eliminate cases of domestic violence.

References

Chinn, P. L. (2009). Ethical issues in nursing. Rockville, Md: Aspen Systems Corp.

Davis, R. L. (1998). Domestic violence: Facts and fallacies. Westport, CT: Praeger.

Johnson, M. P. (2008). A typology of domestic violence: Intimate terrorism, violent resistance, and situational couple violence. Boston: Northeastern University Press.

Monagle, J. F., & Thomasma, D. C. (2005). Health care ethics: Critical issues for the 21st century. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Morrison, E. E., & Monagle, J. F. (2009). Health care ethics: Critical issues for the 21st century. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Florida Department of Children and Families: Domestic Violence

The mission of the Florida Departments Domestic Violence Program is to contribute to creating the safe environments for the victims of domestic violence while focusing on building the partnership relations with different communitys organizations in order to guarantee the provision of the services as a system (Florida Department of Children and Families, 2014).

The program works to provide a range of services for the adult victims of domestic violence. The proposed services also include assistance for children. The program offers such services as the day-and-night support and hotline for the victims of domestic violence and different types of crisis intervention services.

Those persons who need the emergency shelter, as well as daycare, can receive support in the crisis centers. The next stage is counseling and case management. The programs professionals also work in the field of education, life skills training, and provision of legal assistance (Florida Department of Children and Families, 2014).

The provided information is significant for health care workers because they can cooperate with the centers and receive updated information about the issue and rates of domestic violence within the definite community.

Florida Department of Children and Families works with many centers and organizations to overcome the problem of domestic violence, and health care workers should orient in the sphere of assistance provided for victims of domestic violence while basing on the facts presented by the centers (Florida Department of Children and Families, 2014).

Health care workers should improve their approaches to working with victims of domestic violence while proposing the medical and psychological care with references to the information received in the discussed centers.

CDC- Preventing Violence: Intimate Partner Violence: Definitions

The intimate partner violence can be discussed as the situation of doing harm by one of the partners in relation to the other one. The definitions which are important to be mentioned in relation to intimate partner violence describe the violence types, and they are physical violence, sexual violence, threats of physical and sexual violence, and psychological violence.

Referring to the definition of physical violence, it is important to note that this type of violence is associated with causing harm and physical injury of different intensity. That is why, all the situations of using the physical force against the other partner can be discussed as the physical violence (CDC- Preventing Violence, 2013).

Sexual violence is observed when the partner uses physical force to realize the intention without paying attention to the persons will; when the partner involves the other person in the sexual act without his or her understanding of the situation; when the sexual contact is abusive for the partner.

Threats of violence include words and violent activities to demonstrate the desire to cause them physical harm. Psychological violence is observed when the victim is abused emotionally, prevented from doing something or from satisfying basic needs. The victim can be humiliated and embarrassed, and the signs of the psychological trauma are observed (CDC- Preventing Violence, 2013).

The discussed definitions are significant because they provide the formulation of the behaviors and activities which can be considered as the types of intimate partner violence. The proposed definitions can be used to monitor the change of the situation within the sphere and to control the development of the trends associated with the issue of intimate partner violence.

These definitions are also important to affect the development of the prevention and intervention strategies to cope with the cases of domestic violence (CDC- Preventing Violence, 2013).

Floridas Statute for Reporting Abuse

Florida Statute 39.201 can be discussed as relevant in relation to health care workers because they can play a significant role in reporting the situations of abusing, neglecting, and abandoning children. The statute provides the guidelines on how to report on the situations when the fact of abusing the child is known or suspected.

While reporting on the problem, health care workers should state their names in the conversation with the hotline staff representatives. This fact allows discussing the credibility of the received information in spite of the fact that all the reports should be checked by the department, and the concrete guidelines should be sent to the countys sheriffs in the cases determined in the statute (Floridas Statute for Reporting Abuse, 2014).

The discussed statute is closely associated with the activities of the health care workers because the procedures described in it can be effectively used to decrease the future potential risks of abusing and neglecting children. Much attention should be paid to the fact that all the categories of children, as well as offenders, are discussed in the statute, and health care workers should report on the age of the victim and offender while providing the information to the hotline staff (Floridas Statute for Reporting Abuse, 2014).

All the information provided by qualified health care workers is necessary to conduct the effective investigations with references to the facts and data provided in the reports.

References

CDC- Preventing Violence: Intimate Partner Violence: Definitions. (2013). Web.

Florida Department of Children and Families: Domestic Violence. (2014). Web.

Floridas Statute for Reporting Abuse. (2014). Web.

Definition of the Problem

Domestic violence often occurs among partners who are in an intimate relationship. Governmental and non-governmental agencies have often argued that domestic violence as a serious social problem in America (Lockhart & Danis, 2010). Although men and women may be victims of domestic violence, many cases often involve violence against women. Victimization is also a common product of domestic violence cases in America with national statistics reporting that 1.9 million women are assaulted annually (United States Census Bureau, 2015). It transcends the boundaries of sexual orientation or gender, but as Lockhart & Danis (2010) report, LGBT communities report the highest cases of domestic violence. The rates of domestic violence among racial minorities and other disadvantaged groups in America are also high. For example, data from the United States Census Bureau (2015) shows that 60% of Native Americans are likely to be assaulted at least once in their lives. Other statistics reveal that more than 22% of American women have been victims of assault, at least once, in their current or past relationships.

Justification of the Problem

It is difficult to ignore domestic violence in todays society because of its socioeconomic impact on families. For example, its effects on the wellbeing of children are vivid, with many researchers suggesting that most children who grow up in violent homes are likely to perpetrate the same vice in their future relationships (Lockhart & Danis, 2010). According to McGee (2000), up to 20% of children in America have witnessed domestic violence among their parents or guardians. This exposure has negative outcomes on their social and psychological development. For example, poor academic performance stems from this exposure (McGee, 2000). Experts have also drawn a close relationship between neglect, abuse, poor problem-solving skills, emotional problems, and behavioral problems to this exposure. Compounding this problem is the complexity of parental psychopathology, which increases the tolerance of victims of domestic violence to abuse. It may also compromise their quality of parenting and lead to the development of emotional and behavioral complications. Homelessness also shares a close relationship with domestic violence because experts suggest that 38% of victims of domestic violence are likely to be homeless in their lifetime (Lockhart & Danis, 2010). In line with this observation, experts say that domestic violence is among the leading causes of homelessness among women in America. Based on an understanding of the effects of domestic violence, it is important to come up with creative ways of stopping this problem.

Resolving the Issue

Experts who have investigated cases of domestic violence suggest that they involve the dynamics of control and oppression (Davis, 2008). These dynamics may result in physical and non-physical abuse. Since domestic violence is a function of control and oppression, tackling the problem involves a three-pronged strategy that would require the input of law enforcement officers, community organizations, and activists. Activists should take a predominant role in this strategy by targeting men and educating them about the negative effects of domestic violence (Lockhart & Danis, 2010). They should also participate in the formulation of reduction programs for encouraging people to refrain from such a vice. Law enforcement officers should complement their efforts by arresting and prosecuting offenders who do not want to heed to such initiatives. Community organizations should also complement such initiatives by creating domestic violence shelters for victims. They should also help to create a culture that does not condone domestic violence. Collectively, these efforts should reduce the incidences of domestic violence in America.

References

Davis, R. (2008). Domestic Violence: Intervention, Prevention, Policies, and Solutions. New York, NY: CRC Press.

Lockhart, L., & Danis, F. (2010). Domestic Violence: Intersectionality and Culturally Competent Practice. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.

McGee, C. (2000). Childhood Experiences of Domestic Violence. New York, NY: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

United States Census Bureau. (2015). Domestic Violence in America. Web.

Introduction

Domestic violence refers to the frequent harassments of a family by one of their members resulting into serious quarrels among the parties involved; which may result into a fight. Order protection on the other hand refers to the order from the court of law that provides protection for an abuse; especially among families. Meanwhile, aggressive behavior refers to act of getting violent very fast when one is wronged while stalking refers to the kind of harassment where an individual is repeatedly abused without a legitimate cause. More so, consequences refer to the outcomes of an evil act while intimidation and violence refers to the act of threatening another person without a genuine reason as well as offering some kind of torture to him or her (Wilson 200-211).

Perhaps, the ability to get angry fast and being unable to control the anger has been revealed to be one of the main causes of domestic violence. In this case, many men find it impossible to control their anger and as a result end up beating their wives and children in which such practices leads to the stir-ups in the families thereafter. More specifically, when the couples fail to control their anger ending up in a fight; this may in a way present the family with subsequent quarrels which disturb peace and harmony in the family for a long time. More so, when interment partners abuse each other, their level of trust and love that had previously existed is evaded leading to a consequent family break-up (Wilson 209-224).

Family violence has been revealed to cause a lot of problems in which; family issues remain unsolved for long, once spouses get into frequent domestic violence. As a result, financial support from each of the spouses is restrained leading to subsequent lack poor child support and even lack of basic needs. However, the government in this case has provided for spouses which are being harassed to report the case to the court of law for order protection. In this case, the court establishes a network of protective devices to the harassed party by punishing the particular members who cause the domestic violence. More specifically, the order of protection would be meant to establish rapport among couples and cherish peace and harmony among families (Wilson 265-288).

Further, spouses should be committed to each other in running family affairs in which all the members of the family ought to play a role in ensuring the well being of the family. By being mindful of other peoples rights spouses should develop the tendency to care for each other and correct each other in peace but not to be violent. On this base therefore, interment partners ought to cherish the values of a healing mind, body and the soul in which they ought to understand their need for co-existence. More specifically, the partners should develop passion for correcting each other in peace and promoting the good fruits of self control, tolerance and patience (Wilson 257-289).

Generally, the members in families should be accountable of their own actions in which; every member of the family should learn to play his/her role satisfactorily enhancing coherence and harmony in the family. By so doing the partners would be cherishing better life in which jealousy would not have place to dominate; leading to well coordinated family with its members having high self esteem.

Conclusion

As revealed in various researches, many family violence cases are as a result of failure to control anger, being not ready to accept responsibilities and lacking healing values of the mind, the body and the soul. Generally, violence in most families has been gender based where the government has issued the order protection for various harassed parties.

Works cited

Wilson, Lambert. When Violence Begins at Home: A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding and Ending Domestic Abuse. New York: Hunter House Publishers. (1997): 200-289.

Introduction

Domestic violence remains one of the most urgent problems of modern society. Worse still, in some communities maintaining the hierarchy using physical and emotional violence is still regarded as a tradition that should be treated with respect (Grose & Grabe, 2014, p.972). The purpose of the present research is to reveal the primary cause of domestic violence and define which methods would be effective for decreasing the number of cases of domestic violence in society. The complexity of the problem that the research is supposed to solve lies in a great number of reasons that contribute to its contagion.

The present research is to define the origin of domestic violence and the measures that can be taken in order to lessen the influence of the discovered reason.

Main Body

Due to the enormous number of victims of domestic violence, it is absolutely impossible to postpone solving this problem. In order to reveal the primary cause of domestic violence, I conducted a thorough analysis of the theories on its roots. As it follows from the analysis, the primary cause of domestic violence is likely to be connected to specific gender roles that are supposed to define the appropriate behavior (Sinno, Schuette, & Killen, 2014, p.133). As almost all the cultures proclaim the superiority of men over women, husbands are believed to have the ultimate right to take all the important decisions concerning the family. Such a situation causes overindulgence in men, and they start gaining authority over women using their physical fortitude. Instead of feeling guilty, many abusers claim that they just live in accordance with the rules of their culture or religion (Taylor, 2013, p.420).

Taking the discovered reason into account, I developed a new way to decrease the domestic violence rates in our society. I suggest that nobody can be blamed for being a victim, and this is why it is the abuser who has to reconsider his behavior and look at himself from the outside. Thus, I believe that developing a new method of correctional rehabilitation would be the best solution to the problem. To be more precise, I am convinced that only traumatic experience simulation can make abusers understand the cruelty of their behavior. The method that I suppose to be effective for domestic violence prevention involves creating a situation where the abuser and his victim reverse the roles.

The experiments should be conducted with the help of the specialist who will ensure that everything is going according to the plan. The couples have to act out episodes of their life that are the most traumatic for the victim. The abuser is supposed to see himself in his victim, and he has no permission to resist the violence. The method should be applied only after conducting a test that shows that participants have no mental disorders. After the experiment, the couple has to live separate from each other for a week. Then, the abuser is supposed to have a conversation with the psychologist. I consider the method of traumatic experience simulation to be the most effective as it is aimed at making the abuser sober. It will be cheaper to develop and implement this method than the other ones, and it will not require any expensive equipment.

Major steps of implementing the method include conducting a series of experiments to prove its effectiveness, developing the guideline helping to use the method, and creating a training program for the psychologists who would like to use it in their work.

The method of traumatic experience simulation is supposed to show good results, but in order to start its implementation I need to conduct more experiments. I suppose that my solution is going to bring benefit to the society as it involves active work with the abuser and his attitudes towards violence. Companies interested in this method can invest in its development, and it is going to be the best value for money. It is supposed to be relatively cheap but their investments are likely to pay off in spades. The things that I need to start are the assistance of prominent researchers to conduct an additional series of experiments, the housing supplied with the video facilities, and an access to the latest psychodiagnosis programs.

Thus, traumatic experience simulation is a method that should be implemented in order to contribute in domestic violence awareness and significantly decrease the number of its victims through active and fruitful work with abusers.

Domestic violence should not become more common, and it is our duty to make the efforts in order to prevent its spread. I strongly believe that this method will show the results once it is tested thoroughly. If you are interested in the further details of the method, you can contact me.

References

Grose, R. G., & Grabe, S. (2014). The explanatory role of relationship power and control in domestic violence against women in Nicaragua: A feminist psychology analysis. Violence against women, 20(8), 972-993.

Sinno, S., Schuette, C., & Killen, M. (2014). Developmental social cognition about gender roles in the family and societal context. Gender and development, 9(2), 133-154.

Taylor, C. (2013). Infamous men, dangerous individuals, and violence against women. A Companion to Foucault, 1(1), 419-435.

Abstract

The current paper investigates the issue of domestic violence in the United States and several other cultures, namely, in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Peru, and Brazil. To conduct the study, a review of the materials about the topic has been carried out; the materials included scholarly articles, as well as reports of various national U.S. organizations and initiatives, and a report of the World Health Organization.

Such types of domestic violence as the sexual abuse by a partner, physical abuse by a partner, child sexual abuse, and psychological abuse by a partner, were chosen, and their prevalence rates were estimated across the named countries. It has been found that the prevalence rates of domestic violence are extremely high across the discussed countries and that the domestic violence in the U.S. is less widespread than in those countries. However, it is concluded that this problem remains an issue that needs to be further studied and addressed.

State of the problem

In the U.S., domestic violence is one of the problems which plague society. It is more common among the unprotected categories of the population (Gosselin, 2009).

Sexual abuse by a partner

One of the major domestic violence problems is the sexual abuse committed by a partner; this includes marital rape. Nearly 1/6 of women and 1/3 of men in the U.S. have experienced an attempted or completed rape (National Network to End Domestic Violence, n.d., p. 1); approximately 2 million women have raped annually (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2015).

Physical abuse by a partner

Physical abuse is also an alarming problem in the U.S. More than 10 million people suffer from physical violence committed by a partner each year (CDC, 2015).

Child sexual abuse

It is stated that 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys are victims of sexual abuse, and that 20% of adult women and 5-10% of adult men report remembering a childhood situation in which they were sexually assaulted or abused (The National Center for Victims of Crime, n.d.).

Psychological abuse by a partner

Psychological abuse (verbal abuse, as well as abuse of power and control) is common in the U.S.; in a study, 12.1% of women and 17.3% of men reported psychological abuse alone, whereas 29% of women and 23% of men reported emotional, sexual, or physical violence from an intimate partner throughout their life (as cited in Karakurt & Silver, 2013).

Summary

In the U.S., the rates of occurrence of domestic violence are high and should be addressed; however, as it will be seen, the situation in America is better than in many other countries.

Bangladesh

The State of the Domestic Violence Problem in Bangladesh

State of the problem

Bangladeshi citizens often suffer from domestic violence; the reported rates of such violence are high.

Sexual abuse by a partner

Nearly 37.4% and 49.7% of women in the city and province, respectively, report experiencing sexual violence in their life, whereas 20.2% and 24.2% of respondents in the city and province, respectively, suffered from it during one year prior to the survey conducted by García-Moreno, Jansen, Ellsberg, Heise, and Watts (2005).

Physical violence by a partner

In Bangladeshi cities, 39.7% of women reported physical violence from their partners in their life, while 19.0% experienced it during a year prior to the interview. The corresponding rates in the province are 41.7% and 15.8%, respectively (García-Moreno et al., 2005).

Child sexual abuse

Approximately 7.4% of the sample experienced sexual abuse before the age of 15 in the urban areas, and nearly 1.0% of the sample suffered from it in the rural areas, according to the best estimate of the study by García-Moreno et al. (2005).

Psychological abuse by a partner

44.4% of women experienced emotional assault in their life in Bangladeshi urban areas, and, surprisingly, only 30.9% reported it in the province; 36.1% (21.3%) were insulted, 20.6% (17.4%) were humiliated, 5.1% (3.5%) were threatened, and 21.4% (17.3%) were intimidated in the city (province) (García-Moreno et al., 2005).

Summary

Abuse by partner prevails in Bangladesh; rates of certain types of violence reach 50%. However, it is estimated that children are abused relatively infrequently.

Ethiopia

The State of the Domestic Violence Problem in Ethiopia

State of the problem

The problem of abuse in Ethiopia is worse than in Bangladesh. Many women report being abused, and children suffer often as well.

Sexual abuse by a partner

In Ethiopian province, 58.6% of women reported experiencing sexual violence, and 44.4% stated to have suffered from it for 12 months prior to the survey (García-Moreno et al., 2005).

Physical violence by a partner

In Ethiopian province, 48.7% of women experienced physical abuse committed by their partner in their lifetime; 29.0% suffered from it during the 12 months preceding the interview (García-Moreno et al., 2005).

Child sexual abuse

It is estimated that in Ethiopian province, no less than 7.0% of kids suffered from sexual abuse before the age of 15 (García-Moreno et al., 2005).

Psychological abuse by a partner

75.1% of women in the Ethiopian rural areas were emotionally assaulted by their partners during their lives; 73.8% were insulted, 12.7% suffered from humiliation, 23.0% were intimidated, and 3.5% were threatened (García-Moreno et al., 2005).

Summary

The rates of abuse in Ethiopia are extremely high, and victims are rarely able to protect themselves from domestic violence.

Peru

The State of the Domestic Violence Problem in Peru

State of the problem

Peruvians most often face physical and psychological abuse, but sexual abuse is also common. Many children become victims of sexual abuse.

Sexual abuse by a partner

In Peruvian city (province), 22.5% (46.7%) of women reported to have suffered from sexual violence from their intimate partners during their lives; during a year prior to the survey, the percentage was 7.1% (23.0%) in the city (province) (García-Moreno et al., 2005).

Physical violence by a partner

48.6% (61.0%) of women in the city (province) reported physical abuse in their lifetime, whereas 16.9% (24.8%) stated they had it during the year preceding the research (García-Moreno et al., 2005).

Child sexual abuse

Peruvian respondents reported sexual abuse prior to the age of 15 in 19.5% (18.1%) of cases in the urban (rural) areas of the country (García-Moreno et al., 2005).

Psychological abuse by a partner

Peruvian women in the city (province) reported psychological abuse during their lifetimes in 57.8% (68.5%) of interviews; 52.7% (62.7%) were insulted, 20.5% (31.3%)humiliated, 24.7% (32.6%)intimidated, and 14.2% (24.2%)threatened in urban (rural) areas (García-Moreno et al., 2005).

Summary

The rates of domestic violence in Peru are disturbing indeed, and the quality of life of its citizens suffers greatly due to the common occurrence of this phenomenon.

Brazil

The State of the Domestic Violence Problem in Brazil

State of the problem

Relatively few women suffer from sexual or physical violence by their partner once compared to the previous countries; however, psychological abuse remains prevalent.

Sexual abuse by a partner

In Brazil, women have suffered from sexual abuse during their lifetimes in 10.1% of cases in the city, and 14.3% of cases in the province; 2.8% of city-dwelling women reported being abused over the last year prior to the interview, whereas in the country this percentage is 5.6% (García-Moreno et al., 2005).

Physical violence by a partner

27.2% (33.8%) of the citys (provinces) women experienced physical violence in their life, and 8.3% (12.9%) of them had it in a year prior to the study by García-Moreno et al. (2005).

Child sexual abuse

Approximately 11.6% (8.7%) of the research sample in the study by García-Moreno et al. (2005) are estimated to have suffered from sexual abuse before they were 15 in the Brazilian city (province).

Psychological abuse by a partner

41.9% (48.8%) of Brazilian urban (rural) female samples reported psychological abuse taking place in their lives; 32.9% (35.5%) were insulted, 19.4% (25.9%) were humiliated, 21.9% (27.9%) experienced intimidation, and 16.6% (23.4%) were threatened in the city (the countryside) (García-Moreno et al., 2005).

Summary

Psychological abuse is common in Brazil, and the problem of child sexual abuse also needs to be addressed. However, the rest of the figures are better than most of those in the other discussed countries.

Conclusion

Therefore, it should be stressed that domestic violence often takes place in a large number of countries; the provided examples show how common and widespread the problem is. It can also be seen that the rates of domestic violence, including sexual, physical, and psychological abuse committed by ones partner (especially by a male partner), remain high in all of the discussed countries. However, these rates appear to be better in the U.S. And still, it is important to further research the problem of domestic violence in order to be able to properly address it to improve the quality of life of individuals and prevent the humiliation, suffering, and misery.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015). The national intimate partner and sexual violence survey. Web.

García-Moreno, C., Jansen, H. A. F. M., Ellsberg, M., Heise, L., & Watts, C. (2005). WHO multi-country study on womens health and domestic violence against women: Initial results on prevalence, health outcomes, and womens responses. Web.

Gosselin, D. K. (2009). Heavy hands: An introduction to the crimes of family violence (4th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.

Karakurt, G., & Silver, K. E. (2013). Emotional abuse in intimate relationships: The role of gender and age. Violence and Victims, 28(5), 804-821. Web.

National Network to End Domestic Violence. (n.d.). The Violence against Women Act of 2005: Summary of provisions. Web.

The National Center for Victims of Crime. (n.d.). Child sexual abuse statistics. Web.

Netto, Moura, Queiroz, Tyrrell, and Bravo (2014) provide credible information regarding womens experiences of domestic violence in the context of the conservation model. The major strength of the study is the collection and analysis of personal views of the females about the issue. The researchers managed to obtain vivid examples of psychological challenges and health problems that women exposed to violence by intimate partners encounter in their lives. It is possible to say that the selection of qualitative and exploratory methodology is well justified in the given research and perfectly fits the overall study purposes and goals.

The analysis of the findings within the framework of the conservation theory given by Netto et al. (2014) is consistent, and its outcomes seem to be logically correct. In agreement with the conservation model, every human being is a dynamic whole, and every change in the behavior is regarded as a reaction to the changes in any life subsystem: physical or psychological state, and personal or social realms. The analysis reveals that domestic violence provokes a chain of negative reaction in females structural, social, and personal integrity, and energy. For instance, they may have insomnia which results in psychological stress and substance abuse which adversely affects their self-esteem and ultimately results in social isolation.

Nurses may use this knowledge to approach different patient groups. For instance, by using this model to analyze patients with dementia and identifying the challenges and problems they face in every realm of their life, care providers may succeed in developing an individualized approach to every patient and, in this way, improve the treatment outcomes and increase patient satisfaction.

According to the conservation theory principles, along with the physical conditions, nurses should evaluate the psychological, and social-emotional integrity of patients. Based on this, the model meets the present-day standards of holistic care.

References

Netto, L., Moura, M., Queiroz, A., Tyrrell, M., Bravo, M. (2014). Violence against women and its consequences. Acta Paulista de Enfermagem, 27(5), 458-64.

Choosing a way to apply ones legal knowledge is a significant challenge for a student as there are many doubts. One may wonder what experience would be the most valuable and could look better in ones CV. I chose to engage in a social project assisting the victims of domestic violence in my community as I understand that legal advice is not the last matter these people need.

To begin with, the activity chosen seems meaningful for the community. Although the U.S. is a progressive country, one in four its women experiences severe partner physical violence (NCADV, 2020). Hence, domestic violence stays the burning issue in the society that, noteworthy, bothers children, and the male population as well. In a word, an internship in a social project that provides legal support to the victims of this phenomenon seems to be the way to apply my knowledge and skills to make a difference. The latter is the primary goal of my legal education.

As for my expectations from this experience, they are closely related to the skills critical in the profession of a lawyer (Schultz & Zedeck, 2015). First, influencing and advocating seem to an outsider as the primary items learned in such circumstances. Activists usually encourage victims to stop the violence by escaping the environment and provide them with legal advice and moral support. Secondly, problem-solving seems to be a vital skill as well as this practice may have many unpredictable scenarios considering the possible actions of an abuser. Thirdly, I believed I would become better in stress management as this sensitive sphere of work requires such an ability. Therefore, starting the internship, I expected to acquire the skills highly valued in the profession of a lawyer.

Speaking of the experience itself, I practiced in providing legal advice to the ones in need. For instance, a victim could call a legal helpline in order to understand their rights, how to access the relevant services. My job also included developing a safety plan with the victims, advocating the referrals to community providers, and, broadly speaking, crisis intervention. In a word, it was an outstanding experience that was quire dissimilar with the ordinary projects that involve law students. Nevertheless, it provided me with an opportunity to apply my legal expertise to real-life cases and help people.

Furthermore, it is vital to discuss the actual lessons learned from this practice. First, my practice met the expectations of the skills I would develop during this time. Indeed, I believe I managed to improve stress management in the first place, as well as influencing, advocating, and problem-solving abilities. However, I had not explicitly expected brushing up my communication skills, specifically speaking and listening (Schultz & Zedeck, 2015). As a result, I feel much more confident on any occasion when I need to convince or inspire a person. Hence, this experience could be said to be one of the most meaningful in my professional life.

Finally, one may pose a question of how this experience would influence my future career. On the one hand, it improved my knowledge on the issue of domestic violence and the possible volunteer help that can be provided by anyone. This might even affect the direction of my professional development. On the other hand, I once again reassured that the path of legal education I had chosen some time ago was the right one for me as I can feel passionate about my work. In other words, it was not a life-changing experience, but definitely made me a better specialist and a better person.

To conclude, the valuable practice I went through dealt with the social issue of domestic violence, which is still a significant challenge in U.S. society. Though what I expected from this experience  improvement of my skills in stress management and advocating  was correct, it was not comprehensive at all. Therefore, I managed to learn a more important lesson that will definitely affect my professional and personal life.

References

NCADV. (2020). National statistics domestic violence factsheet. NCADV: Web.

Schultz, M., & Zedeck, S. (2015). 26 lawyering effectiveness factors. Alumni GGU: Web.

My deep interest in health care and decision to devote my career to nursing brought me to the exploration of one of the most problematic issues in this field, namely domestic violence. It has been within the scope of my scientific and professional interests for a substantial amount of time. Gaining my practical experience at the emergency aid service, I encountered cases of domestic violence relatively often. The most compelling cases were those where pregnant women were involved. Moreover, it was quite a shock for me to witness injured pregnant women delivered to the maternity hospital where I had a chance to work. Having conducted some brief research among the personnel of the hospital, I found out that recently the cases of pregnant women suffering from domestic violence have grown significantly. This fact incited me to do more precise and thorough qualitative research. In the nearest future, I plan to conduct more extensive research, applying statistical methods to study my samples of victims gathered in the hospitals of the city.

My analysis of the literature in the field made me even more concerned with the problem of pregnant women domestic violence. According to the World Health Organization, more than 35% of women at least once in a lifetime experienced physical violence from their partner (2014, par. 2). It is common knowledge that pregnancy is the most critical period of a womans life as her vulnerability to various harmful influences increases. Pregnancy becomes the most dangerous time to fall victim to violence both physical and psychological, as any damage to the mothers body affects the state of the fetus (Ellsberg, Arango, Morton, Gennari, & Sveinung, 2015). Among the key adverse health outcomes are injuries of internal organs, increased susceptibility to infectious diseases, preterm birth, low birth weight, miscarriage and neonatal death (Leneghan, Gillen, & Sinclair, 2012). Researchers have found out that cases of individual partner violence connected with pregnancy can also cause health damages one year before conceiving and one year after the birth of a child (Parys, Verhamme, Temmerman, & Verstraelen, 2014). It is also considered that pregnant women are exposed to a greater risk of domestic violence, with prevalence rates of 5% to 21% during pregnancy and 13% to 21% postnatally (Legenhan, Gillen, & Sinclair, 2012, p. 137).

Looking for some practical examples of how even a relatively mild physical influence can lead to the death of a pregnant woman, I came across the case of a 22-year-old Pakistani woman. Her husband kicked a shoe at her lumbosacral area. The woman fell, lost consciousness at the hospital and died in 10 hours. No signs of physical violence were found after external and internal examinations. The cause of her death was revealed only after the abdomen incision. The fetal death occurred due to hypoxemia developing secondary to maternal shock and the mothers death was caused by successive cardiorespiratory failure (Qamar, Khan, & Memon, 2014).

Such figures and facts made me arrive at the thought that some effective intervention mechanisms should be established to reduce cases of domestic violence at all stages of pregnancy. Healthcare providers and family planning services should conduct regular screening of pregnant women, especially those from the high-risk layers of society, provide them with consultations and motivate the abused women to defend their rights. No cases of domestic violence should be hushed up, and women must be free and not afraid, to tell the truth before it becomes too late.

References

Ellsberg, M., Arango, D., Morton, M., Gennari, F., & Kiplesund, S. (2015). Prevention of violence against women and girls: What does the evidence say? The Lancet, 385(9977), 1555-1566.

Leneghan, L., Gillen, P., & Sinclair, M. (2012). Interventions to reduce domestic abuse in pregnancy: A qualitative systematic review. Evidence Based Midwifery, 10(4), 137-142.

Parys, A., Verhamme, A., Temmerman, M., & Verstraelen, H. (2014). Intimate partner violence and pregnancy: A systematic review of interventions. PLoS One, 9(1).

Qamar, N., Khan, M., & Memon, J. (2014). Domestic violence causing abruptio placenta and feto-maternal death: Case report on autopsy. ASH & KMDC, 19(2), 106-108.

World Health Organization. (2014). Violence against women. Web.

Type of Legislation

Domestic violence is a concept that can be described as emotional, verbal, sexual or any other existing kind of abuse that may scare the victim or lead to a situation where one of the participating parties will be keen on retaining supremacy over another. This issue has to be approached multidisciplinarily because it involves numerous organizations that have to deal with the premises and outcomes of domestic violence. This policy proposal is intended to turn into a local legislation that will be evaluated on the basis of its effectiveness within the framework of a single location.

Literature Review

The results of the research conducted by Husso et al. (2012) show that a number of successful practices can be applied to identify the victims of domestic violence and prevent the future occurrence of such cases. Nonetheless, they realized that there is a need for the re-evaluation of the challenges that are inextricably linked to the concept of domestic violence victimization. In other words, they advocated for the new insights into the issues of

1. providing help to those in need
2. broadening the knowledge base of professionals working in the area (Cibulka, 2017).

It is safe to say that there is a necessity to establish new organizational practices that will support social care and become a way to approach domestic violence more responsibly (Asay, DeFrain, Metzger, & Moyer, 2015). At the same time, Beccaria et al.s (2013) study gives us the idea that students also have a rather delicate point of view when it comes to domestic violence. Their survey answers supported the hypothesis that inexperienced health care providers are not prepared to take on the challenge of domestic violence.

Nonetheless, the main idea that prevailed was that communication is the key to successfully dealing with domestic violence (Feder, 2013). It may be concluded here that the main issue may consist in the fact that healthcare providers may not be able to realize the social and economic background of domestic violence (Baillie & Black, 2015). This will lead to a situation where they will miss out specific details that are critical for the patients.

Further review of the literature on the topic showed that there are even more limitations that may adversely impact the quality of healthcare in terms of domestic violence. Natan, Ari, Bader, and Hallaks (2011) findings displayed a rather high level of reluctance to screening when it came to nursing staff working with the victims of domestic violence. On the other hand, it is a well-known fact that the majority of patients require screening as they believe it to be one of the crucial aspects of healthcare that are interconnected with domestic violence (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2015). Screening behavior was found to be associated with violence.

Even though the process of screening is legally authorized, numerous members of the nursing staff tend to overlook it. One of the reasons for this may be the fact that such interventions are not commonly practiced by nurses and physicians (Wheeler, 2012). Nonetheless, there is still need to understand what kind of barriers have to be overcome in order to help the victims of domestic violence properly. This hypothesis is also supported by Ramsay et al.s (2012) study. They found that the majority of nurses possess a mere knowledge of domestic violence experiences. Therefore, it may be concluded that nurses and general practitioners have to go through training courses so as to be able to provide high-quality services in terms of assessing and treating the patients that were exposed to domestic violence.

The Impact of Issue

The impact of the proposed policy would include improved nursing practices and patient outcomes. It is expected that both nursing staff and the patients will receive advantageous knowledge that will either predict or facilitate the process of dealing with the outcomes of domestic violence. In perspective, the proposed policy is also projected to reduce the occurrence of domestic violence cases and create a stronger bond between nurses and their patients.

Specific Aspects of the Proposed Policy

Stakeholders

The stakeholders that will be involved in the implementation of the proposed policy include the managers of healthcare facilities of interest, the nurses that will take care of the patients that were exposed to domestic violence, and the sponsoring organization (this may be the healthcare facility where the implementation of the policy will take place).

Issue Statement

In the case of the current policy proposal, the issue consists in the fact that both nurses (here, we can also consider any other healthcare experts involved in the current state of affairs) and patients may not be ready for the implementation of the community-based empowering approach to eliminating the adverse consequences (psychological, social, and other health-related issues) of domestic violence.

Possible Methods of Addressing the Issue

The first method of addressing the issue is discussing the topic of domestic violence with all the parties that are involved. This will be helpful in terms of identifying women that need confidential assistance (such as private consultations, for example). Another idea that can be helpful is to apply a holistic approach to care when treating the victims of domestic violence. In this case, this will give other organizations the possibility to help nurses and guarantee the safety of those in need.

The third method is to provide support services in more locations. In perspective, this will extend the reach of the proposed policy. All the discussions with the patients will have to be documented (informed consent is a must). The third method of addressing the issue is to ask for support from other organizations and experts that have experience in dealing with domestic violence.

Policy Goals

There are two main goals that can be associated with the implementation of the proposed policy. First, it is critical to reduce the number of individuals suffering from domestic violence by means of empowerment and knowledge transmission. Second, the policy is intended to educate the patients with the intention of either preventing the future cases of domestic violence or not allowing this to happen to other families that were not exposed to domestic violence yet. In other words, nurses will have to convey the premises of domestic violence and provide necessary emotional support to their patients.

The Benefits of Implementing the Policy

There are several benefits that can be associated with the process of implementing the policy. First of all, nurses and other healthcare professionals will pay closer attention to the concept of empowerment. This will impact the society at several different levels  communal, domestic, and individual. The majority of healthcare facilities will be able to help the victims of domestic violence by altering their state of mind and providing necessary psychologic help in addition to evidence-based pharmacological treatments.

By doing this, healthcare professionals will gain more knowledge about their patients and will have the possibility to allocate the available resources correctly and grant access to domestic violence knowledge so that their patients would enlighten as well. Hypothetically, all these benefits will help the victims to cope with the issues that are recurrently associated with domestic violence and promote their well-being.

The most important risk revolves around the idea that a cohort of nurses that suffered from domestic violence will not be able to address their patients correctly and have the requisite level of compassion. In perspective, such attitude may adversely impact the quality of care and patients mental health.

Analysis of the Policy and Its Influence on Personal Nursing Practice

The influence of the proposed policy will be measured by means of two types of questionnaires  for nurses and their patients respectively. Both of them will be able to assess the quality of care and share their thoughts on the effectiveness of the treatment program offered by the policy. It is recommended to pay close attention to the data collection process as it may limit the validity of the policy in terms of bias.

Nonetheless, the proposed policy is expected to introduce a necessary change in the understanding of domestic violence in terms of nursing. Healthcare professionals will be able to come up with relevant solutions and create a patient-friendly environment that will positively contribute to the treatment process. Overall, it may be claimed that a new policy on domestic violence is necessary and the current policy proposal contains a robust array of data that would be useful throughout the process of implementing the new domestic violence policy.

References

Asay, S. M., DeFrain, J. D., Metzger, M. L., & Moyer, R. (2015). Family violence from a global perspective: A strengths-based approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Baillie, L., & Black, S. (2015). Professional values in nursing. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Beccaria, G., Beccaria, L., Dawson, R., Gorman, D., Harris, J. A., & Hossain, D. (2013). Nursing students perceptions and understanding of intimate partner violence. Nurse Education Today, 33(8), 907-911. Web.

Capuzzi, D., & Stauffer, M. D. (2015). Foundations of couples, marriage, and family counseling. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Cibulka, N. (2017). Guidelines for nurse practitioners in ambulatory obstetric settings. New York, NY: Springer.

Feder, L. (2013). Women and domestic violence: An interdisciplinary approach. New York, NY: Haworth Press.

Husso, M., Virkki, T., Notko, M., Holma, J., Laitila, A., & Mantysaari, M. (2012). Making sense of domestic violence intervention in professional health care. Health and Social Care in the Community, 20(4), 347-355. Web.

Natan, M., Ari, G., Bader, T., & Hallak, M. (2011). Universal screening for domestic violence in a department of obstetrics and gynaecology: A patient and carer perspective. International Nursing Review, 59(1), 108-114. Web.

Ramsay, J., Rutterford, C., Gregory, A., Dunne, D., Eldridge, S., Sharp, D., & Feder, G. (2012). Domestic violence: Knowledge, attitudes, and clinical practice of selected UK primary healthcare clinicians. British Journal of General Practice, 62(602), 647-655. Web.

Wheeler, H. (2012). Law, ethics and professional issues for nursing: A reflective and portfolio-building approach. Milton Park, UK: Routledge.