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__ Domestic Violence: The Real Problem behind It and How It Is Affecting Women’s Health __ Avatar Name: Amelia12 Enchanted Domestic Violence is a rising problem in society today. “Domestic violence impacts families, children, the legal system, schools, neighborhoods, businesses and the fabric of our community” (“Agencies Focus on Domestic Violence”, 2009, 2). Financial problems are a painstaking problem in our country today which is leading to increased tension between couples. This tension quickly turns into violence between many couples causing a rise in domestic violence cases reported. The real question to be asked is what affect does domestic violence have on women’s health? Women’s health encompasses physical, emotional and psychological aspects of health. Domestic violence affects a woman as whole and health care needs to be adapted to treating all aspects of their health.  While domestic violence can be a woman abusing a man, almost every case involves a male abusing his female partner. An argument can be considered domestic violence as soon as the abusive partner puts his or her hands on their significant other. Some may not consider domestic violence to be a serious issue but a study done in the year 2000 found that 20-50% of the female population in the entire world would be a victim of domestic violence at some point in their lives. There are 18 students in Women’s Studies 110 at The Ohio State University. Applying the study’s findings and hypothetically stating that all 18 enrolled students are females, about 4 to 9 students in this class will be a victim of domestic violence at some points in their lives. It was found in Pinellas County, located in southern central Florida, in the year 2007, “29,000+ phone calls were made to Pinellas County hotlines, 11 deaths and 6,090 cases were presented to the State Attorney office regarding Domestic Violence” (Abel, 2008, p. 1). These figures, sadly, continue to increase over the years. Who are the real victims of domestic violence? In almost every case reported to police, the violence is men against women. Men can also be victims but usually in these cases, it tends to be in single sex partnerships where the male partner abuses the other male. In general though, women are 5-8 times more likely to be abused then men. The highest incidence rates of domestic violence occur in the age groups of 16-24 year olds. In these cases, it is always by an intimate partner. Separating incidence rates by race, African American females are more likely than any other race to be found victims of domestic violence. This may be attributed to the lower economic status of many African Americans but there is no scientific evidence to prove this. The real danger of domestic violence lies in the physical injury caused by domestic violence. Only 1 in 5 women will seek medical attention in a hospital after a domestic violence incident. The other danger lies in the recurring incidents because of lack of reporting. It has been found that only ½ of all domestic violence cases are reported to police. This means that the issue of domestic violence never leaves the home and continues until severe injury or death occurs. Lack of reporting and lack of treatment can often lead to murder in domestic violence cases. Murder is a common finding with domestic violence cases. Over the years, the number of murder cases has sharply decreased. This decrease in murder can be attributed to the multiple shelters that have been created for victims of domestic violence. It can also be attributed to the creation of help lines for victims to receive advice on how to get away from their situation. Many first arrivers at the scenes of domestic violence are paramedics who are sent out with the 911 call. “Paramedics are frequent the first point of contacts for victims. Due to their unique viewpoint, paramedics have the advantage of potentially identifying and reporting, which can then result in early intervention” (Eldon and Williams, 2010, 359). The main issue with domestic violence is the danger that it presents on women’s health. When medical personnel consider health status, they look at a person’s wellness, fitness and any underlying diseases or injuries. Mainly, a person’s health status is affected by their lifestyle choices such as nutrition, compliance with diets and activities and any substance abuse or smoking habits. Using health status indicators, a communities overall health status can be assessed. This community health indicator can also predict any issues that a community is at risk for. For example, if a community has high rates of tobacco use, they will be at an increased risk for heart disease, cancers (especially lung and esophageal cancer), respiratory diseases and infant deaths. Therefore, it can be found in communities with high rates of alcohol and substance abuse combined with lower socioeconomic status there will be an increased risk for domestic violence. The number one injury that most people will associate with domestic violence is physical injury. This seems like a common sense injury that will affect women. These injuries can range from bumps and bruises to coma and death. In the first few cases of domestic violence, many women will not report their cases for both hope that their partner will get better if they stay with them and also out of fear that they will kill them. Whatever victim’s reason for not reporting, the longer the domestic violence goes on, the worse the injuries will get with each incident. In most cases, the beginning of the domestic violence issues will be small attacks with injuries that will heal themselves (i.e. cuts and bruises). As the relationship continues and the abusive partner begins to feel “power in his punches”, the injuries will become more life threatening. Another injury that can be caused by domestic violence is emotional injury. Emotional abuse is considered to be just as damaging to the woman as physical injury. Many people would not consider this a significant problem but to the person experiencing the injury, it can be a lifelong recovery. When treating victims for domestic violence, emotional abuse is often overlooked but the abuse can leave life-long scars if untreated. Domestic violence can lower a woman’s self-esteem, decrease their ability to think rationally (mainly out of fear of the decisions they make) and loss of independence. Domestic violence does not have to involve beatings and bruisings, emotional abuse can be just as damaging to a partner as physical. Emotional abuse can include name calling, yelling, isolation and controlling behavior. Along with emotional abuse, a reason that partners cannot leave abusive relationships is because of financial abuse. By controlling the income of the couple, the abused partner has no way to leave because of lack of resources. An abusive partner will withhold credit cards and cash, giving the abused partner a weekly “allowance” and making the abused partner account for every penny of money spent just to state a few. Financial abuse can have significant effects on escaping from the relationship. The abusive partner knows that if they can control their partner, there is no way they can ever leave them making them feel more dominant and controlling. Sexual abuse is largely a part of domestic violence and is considered to be part of physical violence. Sexual abuse is considered when a partner is forced to participate in any unwanted, unsafe or degrading sexual activity. Forced sex, even if it is with an intimate partner where the couple has previously had consensual sex, is considered rape. No matter the relationship status of a couple, each partner always has the right to say “no”. Physical dominance mixed with sexual dominance makes the abusive partner feel as if they have extreme control over their partner. Therefore, any situation where there is both physical and sexual abuse occurring, the rates of death are higher. The best way to stop domestic violence is to recognize the signs that it is occurring. The first signs to recognize are the characteristics of the abuser. Abusers use dominance against their victims. Abusive individuals need to feel power in their relationships. They will make decisions for the whole family and control every aspect of their partner’s life. They may treat their partner as a possession in order to control them. Abusers also use humiliation to abuse their partners. They want their partner to feel worthless. They make their partner believe that no one else will ever want them if they leave the relationship. Insults, name calling and public put downs are all designed to decrease a female’s self-esteem in order to make her feel powerless. An abusive partner will isolate their partner in order to increase their dependence. He will prevent the abused partner from seeing her family and friends and will make their partner ask for permission to go anywhere or see anyone. Abusers will continually threaten their partner to prevent them from reporting the domestic violence. This is the main reason why women lack in reporting of domestic violence. Abusers will intimidate their partners by using threatening looks and gestures, destroying property and even putting weapons on display for the victim to see. This sends a message to the victim that there will be violent consequences if the victim does not obey their abuser. Finally, abusers use denial and blame as a reason for their behavior. They blame their aggression on a bad childhood, a bad day and very often on the victims of their abuse. Somehow, the violent abuser will blame their abused partner for their anger and behavior. Because of the prevalence of domestic violence in society today, women need to know the resources available to them if they become a victim. The first thing that a woman needs to do to protect herself is she is currently in an abusive relationship is to prepare ahead of time. She should prepare a bag with everything that she would need if she had to leave suddenly. Make a copy of her car keys and store them somewhere only she knows about. Pack a bag with all of the clothes she would need to stay away for a few days. If children are involved in the relationship, pack enough stuff for them (i.e. their clothes, favorite toys, etc.) to stay away for a few days. Have enough money packed in the bag to pay for a hotel room if needed for a few nights. If the abuser has attempted to kill any of them, the family will be safer to stay away from any familiar locations and stay in a hotel for the first night. If they drive far enough, this will ensure that their partner will not be able to locate them. Once the abused partner has escaped the situation, there are shelters that have been established that allow families to stay and get help until they are able to be on their feet again. In Columbus, OH there are 5 shelters and a counseling service available to victims. If a victim is unsure if their situation is considered domestic violence, there are multiple hotlines that victims can call. These hotlines also offer advice to victims on how to escape their situations and regain their lives back. Victims can call CHOICES hotlines if they are located in Columbus, OH and talk to a real person about their problems. Many women find strength by hearing the stories of other women. “Survival stories help people who are suffering abuse and living in shame find the strength to talk about their own pain” (Dodd, 2007, p. 3J). Domestic violence is an increasing problem in society today. Domestic violence is claiming too many lives and causing too much permanent damage to its victims. Health care workers need to examine all aspects of a woman when they report their case to decrease the number of scars left over. Power and control are the central reasons why abusers victimize their partners and the abused fears of death and being alone forever cause the abuse to be a continual cycle. The only way to stop domestic violence is for victims to stand up and speak out about their attacks. Ladonna Wilkerson spoke publicly about her attack after she and her son were both shot (her son, killed). “Everyone who has been through a situation like this has a story. We have to do something to stop this” (Dodd, 2007, p.3J). Domestic violence is taking over the lives of too many people in society something needs to be done to stop this madness.