Perspectives on Domestic Violence
Domestic violence can affect a variety of people. This includes:
- Children
- Parents- mother or father
- Guardians
- Grandparents
- Other family members
- Teachers
- Hospital staff
- Police
- Hotlines
The Child
This picture shows a child that has drawn a picture of what they see or experience in their home life. The picture shows three people, the child, his mother and father. The father is hitting the mum. The child in the picture is shown saying “no, me”. This implies the child would rather be hit then have his mother hit. 92% of children believe domestic violence is a very serious or quite serious situation (Healey, 2005). It is also estimated that in 30-60% of families where domestic violence is in the home the child is also being abused. When looking at these statistics there is a chance that what this child has drawn is something that does happen at home, where this child is abused as well as his mother. Children see and hear the abuse their mothers endure. The children may act as protectors and attempt to interfere to stop the mother being abused (Mullender, 2002)
The Victim
In this picture the woman has been beaten by her partner. She states the man who beat her says he loves her. This line would suggest the man felt remorse or regret after beating the woman. Healey (2005) states regret and remorse can be part of the cycle of abuse, however because someone is feeling these feelings does not mean they will change and not hit someone again. Healey (2005) states control or manipulation and jealous behaviours can be confused with love. The woman may believe he loves her because he is possessive. Violence is not love; it can affect a person’s feelings, actions or what they say in a negative way.
The Abuser
There is a myth that women provoke violence from men. This comes with the saying “she asked for it….”. In this photo the man hit the woman because she was talking with some males and in his eyes she was flirting with them. He believes she knew she shouldn’t do that and the consequences if she did. He believes she got what she deserved. This is another perspective on domestic violence. A survey was conducted in the UK and it found in one third of domestic violence incidents there was no argument before domestic violence began. The abusive male partner had started an argument deliberately so he was able to become violent (Healey, 2005). However, it should be known that domestic violence perpetrators are not exclusively men. Domestic Violence is not limited or dictated by gender, a man can be abused also (Domestic Abuse Helpline, 2012).