domestic violence it's everybody's business. please join us in supporting domestic violence awareness! domestic violence should not happen to anybody. Maybe you have lived with abuse, maybe it happened just once maybe you work or live next to someone who is being abused right now. In 1994, 1995, and again in 20, michigan changed the laws that deal with domestic violence to make it easier for the victims of abuse to get protection through the legal system.

We have tried to include information to help you get support and plan for your safety including resources to the best and most affordable divorce attorneys in detroit and other michigan locations. If this booklet applies to you, you just need to remember two things: first, abuse is never okay second, you are not alone. If you know someone whom you think is being abused a friend, family member, co worker, client, patient or parishioner please consider contacting one of the agencies listed below to discuss ways to safely help them.

Domestic violence is defined by the missouri coalition against domestic and sexual violence mcadsv as ldquo a pattern of assaultive and coercive behaviors that adults or adolescents use against their current or former intimate partners rdquo mcadsv, 2006, p. It occurs in relationships where the individuals are currently or previously dating, married or divorced, living together or have a child together. Domestic violence is not an isolated event, but a pattern of repeated abusive and coercive behavior mcadsv, 2006. It distorts what is suppose to be a mutual relationship between two people and turns it in to a power struggle, leaving one person with more power.

It is a ldquo socially supported behavior learned through observation, experience and reinforcement rdquo mcadsv, 2006, p. Domestic violence is not impulsive it is very purposeful and instrumental in the relationship to allow the abuser to control the victim at all times. There are some shocking statistics proving the wide use of domestic violence approximately 4.8 million accounts of physical and/or sexual violence is reported annually arias, 2002. Approximately 834,700 men are physically assaulted and/or raped by intimate partners annually. A person is more likely to be hit or killed at home by a family member than at any other place or by any other person lawson, 2001. It is often asked why a victim does not leave, by doing this it is implied that it is the victim's responsibility to stop the violence, which blames them for the abuse mcadsv, 2006.

Format of Speech Writing for Students

Not all victims necessarily want to leave the relationship, but want to stop the abuse in the relationship. The victim who stays may be doing so to protect the children or for financial reasons, since some abusers do not allow the victim to work. The abuser may use threats and unpredictable behavior to make the victim believe he/she cannot leave. Some theories that may explain domestic violence include: psychological, psychodynamic/attachment theory, alcohol and drug abuse, social learning theory, frustration aggression theory, feminist theory and family systems theory lawson, 2001. Social learning theory and feminist theory are the most commonly used, while psychodynamic is used less frequently. Psychodynamic explanations for domestic violence emphasize the quality of early parent child relationships. Attachment theory views humans as goal directed they have a basic need for security, protection and intimacy with an attachment figure babcock, 2003.

However, children develop ldquo maladaptive internal working models of relationships when caregivers are consistently unreliable, absent, or unresponsive disruptions in the attachment process precipitate intense anger, anxiety, fear and grief which impede a child's ability to develop a trusting and secure attachment rdquo babcock, 2003, p. This insecure attachment leads the person to take these feelings of anger, anxiety and fear into all their intimate relationships. When these emotions are present the person is more likely to have a need to use violence to control their relationships. The feminist perspective argues that domestic violence is only committed by men against women and if a woman does hit it is in self defense or retaliation.

Improving Sentence Structures for Academic Writing

The feminist sees society as a power struggle where men are ldquo socially, politically and economically dominant over females rdquo hines, 2007, p. This power struggle gives men the false understanding that they can control not only society but their interpersonal relationships as well hines, 2007. Research has found a significantly higher rate of wife battering ldquo among men who hold patriarchal ideologies and approve of violent attitudes toward a female partner rdquo lawson, 2001. However, a feminist perspective does not adequately address partner violence in gay and lesbian relationships.

The social exchange theory works with the assumption that ldquo human interaction is guided by the pursuit of rewards and the avoidance of costs and punishments rdquo danis, 2003, p. In other words, people will use violence against each other when the cost of being violent does not outweigh the rewards. The costs would be considered someone hitting back, being arrested and imprisoned or a loss of status danis, 2003. To solve the domestic violence crisis someone working under the social exchange theory would say that increasing the cost of violent behavior will eliminate it. Social learning theory views violence as intergenerational or as a learned behavior hasselt, 19.

Doing Research Is a Fulfilling Experience

Children learn from their caregivers through observation that violence is an effective means of resolving conflict and maintaining control in relationships. Research supporting social learning theory has indicated that between 60% and 80% of abusive men come from violent homes babcock, 2003 , showing that violence can be transferred from one relationship to another. Another perspective says domestic violence is a human problem woman can also be batterers hines, 2007. They recognize that while male violence is usually more brutal and causes more injuries, woman can still be the aggressor. One study states that women do not cite retaliation as their main reason for abuse, but name anger, jealousy, retaliation for emotional hurt, efforts to gain control and confusion as their main reasons hines, 2007. The study also states that half of all violent arguments are initiated by the woman and about 25% of the violence is perpetrated by the female hines, 2007. There are four types of abuse: physical, sexual, psychological or verbal and economic.

It consists of scratching, hitting, biting, kicking, pushing, shaking, choking, locking the partner out of the home or throwing objects. Sexual abuse is considered any sexual act or degradation committed against the partner to gain control or hurt the partner. It consists of withholding sex and affection as punishment, rape, pressuring the partner to have sex by threats or coercion or calling the partner inappropriate sexually degrading names. Psychological abuse is aimed at bringing the partner down by negating their importance and making them feel insecure. It consists of breaking promises, verbal attacks, playing mind games, calling names, stalking or always claiming to be right why the partner is always wrong. Economic abuse is most commonly seen in the elderly, but is very prominent in domestic violence. It consists of withholding money from the partner, ruining the partner's credit score or not allowing the partner to work.