Kirsten Presnell
Ms. McKoy
English 2-Block 4
11 September 2013
The
Fight Against Domestic Violence
Approximately 1.3 million people each year are abused by
their intimate partner. Out of that 1.3 million, 15% are male victims.
(Domestic Violence and Abuse) Having children is a vast risk factor while in an
abusive marriage for this can result in the offspring becoming abusers meaning
it may jump from generation to generation. Domestic violence can also be sexual
assault. One in six women and one in thirty-three men have been a victim of an
attempted or completed rape. Domestic violence is when two people are in an
intimate relationship, but one individual tries to control and sometimes abuses
their partner. I chose this because I want to see things change and get better
throughout the community for the reason that domestic violence should not be
acceptable and needs more control over it.
Children can have long term effects as a result of
witnessing abusive situations within their parents. In the U.S, 75% of battered
women admit that their sons or daughters are either physically abused or
sexually abused. If the kids are not being abused, 90% of them are witnessing
the violent outbursts between their parents, specifically 3.3 million.
(Domestic Violence Facts) Daughters, whose mother was in a harmful
relationship, are six times more likely to be sexually abused than girls that
come from non-abusive homes. Either way, domestic abuse can be extremely
harmful to the entire family, so authorities need to get more involved.
For many years, South Carolina has been ranked in the top
10 states for having the worst cases amongst domestic violence. “I think a lot
of people don’t realize it, but domestic violence is not just a criminal
justice system problem. It’s a community problem,” Pee Dee Coalition Against
Domestic and Sexual Assault Executive Director Ellen Hamilton said, “I think we
look to the criminal justice system to fix what is basically a relationship
problem.” Ellen Hamilton believes that domestic violence is a community problem
and I feel that people, whether it is the authorities or the public, need to
help and get involved to protect citizens. Government truly needs to get
involved and especially protect the children in these heart wrenched homes.
I chose to do this topic because I feel that it is an
enormous deal in America. People need to help control it. I do not have
domestic violence in my home nor have I ever seen it happen in person, but I do
know how giant the topic has gotten. Millions of people get abused by their
partner in the world. However, if everyone came together to fix this problem it
may be solved. Magazines, newspapers, or even talk show hosts have brought the
topic to the public’s attention to help stop it or at least decrease it. Should
the government become more involved in domestic violence cases involving
children? Children are one of the biggest victims in situations like this, and
they never asked to be in a home that would be so painful. If the national
government would not want to help the abused person, they should at least help
the kids that do not deserve to be in those kinds of terrible circumstances. I
believe that the national government should make safer places for the victims
so they will have somewhere to go when they are helpless and hurt.
