Domestic Violence

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Domestic Violence
Domestic violence (DV) or intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant problem in the United States of America (USA) (Leigh et al. 215). Many people suffer in silence from this pervasive, life-threatening, and insidious societal problem. DV, may it be psychological, sexual, or physical can contribute to numerous negative health impacts, including depression, trauma, anxiety, unwanted pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infections. In addition, children who become exposed to DV might experience growth-related problems, distrust of caregivers, and behavioral disorders. The majority of individuals affected by this issue are not willing to share it with others since they believe it is a family problem that should be solved internally. That perception make it challenging for the victims to get appropriate help, where in some cases DV results in death. Domestic violence should be eliminated by creating safe platforms where people can speak freely since it violates humanity and endangers the lives of women, men, and children.
DV has been a significant societal issue for an extended period. Traditionally, it was perceived as a private family matter, meaning that affected individuals would not have reported the problem. Family members were expected to solve the issue without informing the public, which contributed to the majority of the victims remaining silent. Males, females, and children can be victims of DV. However, women are significantly affected and 1 in 3 females experience some kind of DV in their lifetime. Some victims of DV are killed by their aggressive partners. In particular, women’s probability of being killed is 70 times, particularly when they try to leave their intimate partners after experiencing DV (Noltimier 870). Cases of DV in the USA increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, during this period, individuals were encouraged to stay at home due to lockdowns, quarantine, social distancing, and other preventive measures implemented by the government and health organizations, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to reduce the spread of the deadly virus. Specifically, the lifetime prevalence of severe DV is 15% for men and 21% for women. Between 16th March and 30th April 2020, cases of DV in the USA increased to over 24,000 incidents (Hsu and Henke 363). The main challenge in addressing this problem is that many people still believe that DV is a private issue. That is why the majority of victims suffer in silence since they hesitate to report perpetrators of IPV to the respective authorities as it might appear as a betrayal. As such, if safe platforms are created, many victims of DV will come out and speak without fear, which is the only way they can get the assistance needed to overcome their problems. Individuals should realize that they should not feel tied to abusive partners, marriages, or families and that they can redeem themselves by speaking openly in safe platforms, where no one is judging them.
Women and children should be more encouraged to speak out on DV since they are the ones that suffer the most. They are likely to become victims of DV, which has far-reaching adverse consequences on their mental and physical health. For example, children and females cannot protect themselves from males in cases of DV. The latter are energetic and might use weapons to harm the more vulnerable group. Besides, around 68% to 80% of children are exposed to DV in their homes. Some DV cases are fatal and result in death. Approximately 55% of victims who are killed by their intimate partners are females, especially when they make an effort to leave their abusive relationships (McLay 862). Stay-at-home policies during the coronavirus pandemic exacerbated the DV problem since the perpetrators and victims had more time to spend together, resulting in numerous conflicts. Additionally, many people were stressed and depressed since some of them lost their livelihoods and had no income-generating activities to provide for their families. In cases of DV, the abusive partners want to maintain control and power over their partners, leading to the commitment to violent tactics (Nnawulezi and Hacskaylo 915). They do not like it when the victims try to do something to redeem themselves. In that light, coming up with safe platforms, which will be achieved on the Internet, will enable victims of DV to share their challenges without triggering their partners to act aggressively, leading to severe physical or mental injuries and death.
Specifically, eliminating DV can be done by determining the things that cause this problem. For instance, crisis settings that might lead to financial strain and social isolation are likely to contribute to family violence. Based on the Family Stress Model, actual economic hardships result in stress related to the fulfillment of family financial obligations, needs, and emotional distress (Drotning et al. 190). These factors that lead to an increased likelihood of DV can be used as predictors of the problem and might help to manage the issue before it affects many people. When creating a safe platform for individuals to share their DV-related challenges, it is good to give priority to those significantly affected by this issue. The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) shows that firearms were used in around 3.4% of DV events between 2003 and 2012 in the USA (Frattaroli et al. 574). Some intimate partners get angry to the point that they do not want to spare the lives of their victims. Nevertheless, since it’s hard to identify perpetrators of IPV, it can also be challenging to control the use of firearms in DV cases. A safe platform for DV victims can be appropriate to report the presence of firearms in families experiencing violence. That way, authorities can be involved to take away the weapons before the perpetrators think of using them to harm their victims.
With the rise of the Internet, a safe web-based platform can be implemented to encourage individuals suffering from DV to report their incidents. Currently, many people have access to electronic devices and Internet connectivity. The most significant thing about the web-based platform is that victims of DV can share their stories when it is safe for them to avoid their partners’ suspecting. Besides, victimization surveys can be done to know the prevalence of IPV in different regions (Anderberg et al. 499). On that note, authorities can act faster to prevent harm to many people. The freedom of reporting DV cases will help relevant stakeholders to understand various factors that contribute to this problem and come up with effective preventive measures. One of the challenges in identifying DV cases is because it involves conflicts among intimate partners that occur behind closed doors (Lee and Newton 1). However, a safe speaking platform can expose how this problem takes place so that proper policies can be implemented to combat it. Community health workers (CHWs) can be included as primary stakeholders in c...