Domestic Violence

Domestic violence accounts for 15% of all violent crimes. In the United States, approximately 20 people are physically abused by their partners per minute. Statistically, it accounts for an average of more than 10 million men and women in a year. Men are equally prone to domestic violence as women. There are more than 20000 recorded phone calls every day reporting sorts of domestic violence. The most prone people are women ranging in the age of 18 and 24 years. It is expected that intimate characters separate after cases of violence. However, due to fear of being harmed or killed after separation, most people remain in their relationships. The study shows that a woman reports an assault by a lover after approximately 35 times (Gerdes 64). Statistics shows that globally everyone among three women experiences violence from their partners within their lifetime. 30% of these cases occur during pregnancies.
There are reasons why women would choose to remain with their partners even after the assault. Most women fear the actions of their partners after they leave. One in seven women is stalked by their past lovers to the point of believing that they will be harmed or killed. They also fear that someone close to them will be harmed (Balkin 133). 142 women were killed between the year 2003 and 2008 by their partners at their workplaces. It is evident that domestic violence has an impact on the economy. Approximately 8.3 billion dollars are spent to deal with partner’s violence. Another effect to the economy is the rampant rise of suicides.

72% of all suicides reported are associated with intimate partners. 94% of these suicide victims are women (Garcia- Moreno 1268).
Women also choose to remain in abusive marriages to protect their children. It is proven that for stable growth of a child, there must be the presence of the mother and the father in their lives (Kishor & Kiersten 74). However, their mentality is affected since 1 in every 15 children yearly are exposed to domestic violence. 90% of those children witness the violence (Kitzmann 339). Women are deemed to be the weaker sex and would, therefore, be deeply attached to their partners and hope for them to change. Family economic dependency would also give women reason to stick by their partners. In most cases, men are the breadwinners in their families. Women would therefore rather remain in abusive relationships for the sake of children upbringing and their provisions. In cases where a woman is the main contributor, she would feel obliged to providing to their partners regardless of their behavior.
Society sends very powerful messages about the roles of women in the society which include ensuring their relationships and marriages never fail. Therefore, women feel obligated to stay in their marriages, despite being abused to avoid isolation and shame. They would also feel like a failure for giving up on their marriages. Women also have a belief that they should have a man by their side for survival. Changing from one man to another due to various issues would expose them to being branded as whores. They, therefore, feel more obliged to remain in any relationship compared to men. Domestic abuse is a source of pain and suffering to every affected person. It is a primary cause of stress (Garcia- Moreno 1262). The government should intervene by creating policies that would help curb cases of domestic violence.
Works Cited
Balkin, Karen. Violence against Women. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2004. Print.
Garcia-Moreno, Claudia, et al. “Prevalence of intimate partner violence: findings from the WHO multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence.” The Lancet 368.9543 (2006): 1260-1269.
Gerdes, Louise I. Domestic Violence. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Print.
Kishor, Sunita, and Kiersten Johnson. “Profiling domestic violence: a multi-country study.” (2004).
Kitzmann, Katherine M., et al. “Child witnesses to domestic violence: a meta-analytic review.” Journal of consulting and clinical psychology 71.2 (2003): 339.